University of Rhode Island
President
Robert Carothers’ leadership in the effort to curb high-risk drinking
has helped to increase awareness and attention of the issue on his campus
and around the country. Since his arrival at the University of Rhode Island,
he has worked tenaciously to rid URI of its long-standing party-school reputation.
He was successful in realigning the institution’s priorities and attitudes
around drinking, garnering support from students, faculty and alumni. President
Carothers took a tough stance on alcohol being served on campus. In the face
of some opposition, he banned alcohol at all on-campus events, including trustee
and Homecoming festivities. This was a controversial position to take, but
the policy has gradually gained more and more support. The 2000 Homecoming
succeeded in meeting its goals, as it was URI’s first Homecoming in
more than a dozen years without injury or multiple hospitalizations .
President Carothers also served on the National Advisory Council to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) Panel on Prevention and Treatment in 1998 and was instrumental in the creation of the groundbreaking NIAAA report, A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges. He has also worked at a state level on the alcohol issue, providing testimony for Rhode Island legislature in support of lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit from .10 to .08.
President Carothers continues to exemplify vision and leadership for healthy and informed students on the URI campus, in the state of Rhode Island, and across the country.