Faculty, student exchanges, joint research planned

KINGSTON, R.I. –March 19 , 2007—The University of Rhode Island and the College of The Bahamas signed a memorandum of understanding last month to promote exchange programs.

URI was part of a 15-member delegation from Rhode Island led by Maj. Gen. Robert Bray with members of the state’s National Guard, business community members, and URI officials.

The agreement, signed in February by Robert L. Carothers, URI president, and Janyne Hodder, president of the College of the Bahamas, calls for faculty and undergraduate and graduate student exchanges. The pact also calls for joint research, seminars, and academic meetings, special short-term academic programs, and staff development projects.

The College of the Bahamas, established in 1974, has an enrollment of nearly 5,000 who come from the areas located throughout the 100,000-square archipelago. It offers bachelor’s degrees and some joint master’s degrees in conjunction with accredited institutions in the U.S. The college is aggressively expanding on its programming, research activities, and physical facilities, and electronic offerings with the goal of attaining a charter as a university this year. Its main campus is located near the center of Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas.

Pictured above

SIGNING: College of the Bahamas President Janyne Hodder, URI President Robert L. Carothers (center) sign an agreement to promote exchange programs. Seated (l-r) are Franklyn Wilson, Council Chairman College of the Bahamas (COB), the Honorable John Rood U.S Ambassador to the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas; Hodder, Carothers, and URI Vice Provost Lynn Pasquerella. (Standing l-r) are Vice President COB Linda Davis, CPT. Mike Manning, State Partnership Program Coordinator R.I. National Guard; and Robert T. Bray Commanding General R.I. National Guard. Photo courtesy Lt. Col. Denis Riel, RI National Guard Public Affairs Officer