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Roger Williams University sponsors workshop aimed at applying latest research on local corals toward solutions for declining tropical coral reef health around the globe. 

BRISTOL, R.I. – With Roger Williams University’s marine scientist Koty Sharp at the helm, 20 leading coral reef scientists from around the United States met at RWU last week to explore ways research on non-tropical corals in New England waters can lead to solutions for tropical coral reef health across the globe.

When imagining the depths along Rhode Island’s coasts, not many realize it is home to temperate corals including Astrangia poculata, the Northern Star Coral which inhabits waters along the entire East Coast. Sharp has been researching this coral’s microbiome for several years, bringing her work to the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in Honolulu, Hawaii, last month where she shared her latest science with more than 3,000 coral reef scientists and practitioners discussing coral reef health status, tools and solutions geared towards conservation strategies.

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Newly hired Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Keetra Dixon is thrilled to join the RISD community, almost star-struck at the notion of working side by side with some of her all-time favorite designers. Despite many years of experience as a practicing professional, she sees herself as a novice when it comes to “blending learning, making and teaching into a unified studio practice.”

Dixon traveled to RISD from Alaska last year to lead Urging Osmosis, a graduate workshop in Graphic Design that encouraged students to focus on methods rather than results. “It was all about process,” she explains, “taking on methods used by designers they emulate and learning by openly exploring those methods.”

The experience was as educational for Dixon as it was for students. “I’m not looking for a lot of nodding when I’m teaching a class,” she says. “I’m looking for a conversation. Students at RISD are phenomenal: hardworking, on point, willing, smart and engaged in active dialogue. That’s a community I want to be a part of.”

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Bryant University celebrated another milestone as a leader in international education on Aug. 3 by welcoming the first group of students from Bryant Zhuhai in China to the Smithfield campus. Eighty-seven students – more than half of Bryant Zhuhai’s inaugural class – will spend a week in the United States as part of the Sophomore International Experience program.

“Seeing you here at Bryant, just one year after you began this transformational experience, just makes me so proud,” President Ronald K. Machtley told the students. “It is such a great honor to welcome you to the Bryant campus.”

Bryant University’s first-entering class of 160 Chinese students began their studies Bryant Zhuhai last September. In collaboration with Beijing Institute of Technology Zhuhai (BITZH), the new four-year undergraduate program prepares students with the global perspective that is essential for success in today’s international business world. The academic program in Zhuhai, which is taught in English, is designed to mirror the vigor of Bryant’s nationally recognized curriculum and the quality of faculty. The graduating students will receive a Bryant University degree.

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NEWPORT, R.I. (Aug. 3, 2016) – Members of Olympic sailing, triathlon and rowing teams competing in polluted waters at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro may be interested in peer-reviewed research just published by a Salve Regina University chemistry professor and co-authored by one of her undergraduate students.

Dr. Susan Meschwitz, assistant professor of chemistry, and Salve Regina senior chemistry major Emily Poulin have discovered that a class of organic molecules are proving effective in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria, a finding with the potential to impact modern medicine as the misuse and overuse of antibiotics have led to the development of widespread resistance. See the article published July 25 in the journal “Molecules” by MDPI (Basel, Switzerland):http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/21/8/971.

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