The 2007
Award Recipients
Candace Oviatt, Scholarly
Excellence Award
 Candace
Oviatt is the anchor of our Graduate School
of Oceanography where her stellar scholarship
in marine biology is recognized worldwide.
She knows more about Narragansett Bay
than any number of old salts. Her four
decades of research on our state's most
treasured resource have helped save the
bay by guiding its resource management
and conservation. Her steady publications
about the bay range from the historical
impact of over-fishing to the alarming
consequences of climate change. While
her focus is local, her work provides
a worldwide understanding of coastal ecology.
During the last seven years, she has been
the principal investigator or co-investigator
of $7 million in prestigious grants. She
is a role model to a myriad of students
and former students, many of whom have
become leaders in coastal and marine research,
management, and policy. For contributing
to our outstanding oceanography reputation,
we proudly present Candace Oviatt the
2007 URI Foundation Scholarly Excellence
Award.
Damon Rarick, Teaching
Excellence Award
 Damon
Rarick sure knows how to keep college
students engaged in their studies. The
unconventional German professor makes
it entertaining to learn as fun and games
aren't verboten. For example, in an intermediate
"German for Engineers" course, he incorporated
automobile engines into his lessons. By
the end of the semester, the class became
a "functional" human engine model, according
to one student who was the intake valve.
To this day, the student says he can tell
you the process of every stroke in a four-stroke
engine in German without referring to
a textbook. While laughter is encouraged,
this professor's classroom goals are serious:
proficiency in listening, writing, speaking,
and reading German and an understanding
of the German culture. For his enthusiasm
and innovation, we gratefully present
Damon Rarick the 2007 URI Foundation Teaching
Excellence Award.
Kathryn S. Meier, Administrative
Excellence Award
 Kathryn
Meier, assistant director of our Cancer
Prevention Research Center, is a master
juggler. She doesn't juggle bowling balls
or chain saws. That would be much too
easy. Instead, she juggles the administration
of grant accounts-currently she's overseeing
25 of them-an amazing feat given the challenges
of People Soft, grant accounting, and
changing federal guidelines. But Meier's
impressive versatility doesn't stop there.
She can keep the Center's large-scale,
community-based intervention programs
on time and on task. She ensures that
the Center has the people, space, equipment,
and all other resources it needs for its
research programs. She also is a Polaris
for graduate students, the guiding light
that illuminates their path to success.
Her leadership is reflected by her election
as the new president of the Society for
Public Health Education. For her dazzling
ability to keep things moving, we gladly
present Kathryn Meier the 2007 URI Foundation
Administrative Excellence Award.
Michael P. McDonald,
Staff Excellence Award
 Michael
P. McDonald, a property control and supply
officer for the Department of Housing
and Residential Life, is a mover and shaker.
He oversees the ordering and delivery
of equipment and custodial supplies for
our 22 residence halls and three apartment
complexes, including nailing down orders
for all carpet and furnishings. He's the
person responsible for moving truckloads
of furniture for conferences, orientation,
and fall move-in. He coordinated the furniture
delivery and installation for our three
newest residence halls. A man for all
seasons, he keeps the linen supplies flowing
during summer conferences and brings rock
salt to the doorstep in the winter. And
he does it all with a smile. He is also
vice president of Council 94/Local 528
and known for his leadership and fairness.
For making his multiple labors look easy,
we gladly present Michael P. McDonald
the 2007 URI Foundation Staff Excellence
Award.
Previous Award Recipients
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