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leadership

Celebrating the Leadership of
Robert M. Beagle, 1991-2012

About Vice President Beagle

Robert Beagle began his Advancement career in 1979 as an Executive Assistant to the President responsible for legislative affairs and public relations. He has served as Vice President at Edinboro University (PA) and Vice Chancellor for the Minnesota State University System, having established the Advancement program in both organizations. In Minnesota, he was also responsible for building a corporate outreach and engagement program in the Twin Cities. Since 1991, he has been Advancement Vice President at the University of Rhode Island. In 2009 and 2010, he also served as URI's transitional officer for the change in Presidents.

Robert M. Beagle

During his URI career, Beagle has led six philanthropic campaigns (endowment and building) plus three marketing campaigns. The University of Rhode Island is presently in the midst of an award-winning five-year "Think Big. We Do." branding initiative. He also helped lead the successful November, 2010 state-wide bond referendum campaign to secure voter approval for a $65 million Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences at URI.

One of his professional priorities has been alumni communications and alumni programming, believing that connected alumni are at the heart of everything else an institution does in terms of advancing itself. Under his leadership, URI totally re-organized its alumni outreach efforts and its alumni communications.

A contributor to national books in the Advancement field, Beagle has also authored a variety of articles. He also is a contributing author to "Driving Business Results with Your Marketing Strategy," a book published in 2011 by Aspatore (a division of Thomson Reuters). He has spoken at professional district and national conferences, served as a national faculty member for his professional association, and chaired a national conference at Chapel Hill, NC on the relationships between athletic fundraising and institutional advancement. Most recently, he does workshops regarding Presidential transitions and how to manage them. Beagle received a Council for the Support of Education (CASE) Distinguished Achievement Award for 25 years of outstanding service to the Advancement profession and management.

Beagle is an Adjunct faculty member in URI's Harrington School of Communication and Media, where he teaches a graduate seminar in Organizational Communication. He also serves on the Harrington School Advisory Board. A former college debate coach, he is a contributing author to several textbooks in debate. In 1976, he received the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Distinguished Teaching Chair.

His undergraduate degree is in Political Science from Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA), and his graduate degree is in Communication from Penn State. He serves on the Board of Directors for Fellowship Health Resources, a Rhode Island based non-profit serving New England and Mid-Atlantic states.

Beagle and his wife Gerri live in Wakefield, R.I. In addition to their three grandchildren, their hobbies include walking and travelling.

More Information

For more information about Vice President Beagle, see the press release announcing his retirement.

Robert M. Beagle Family Endowment Fund

In honor of the distinguished service of Robert M. Beagle, a special fund has been established to help support current students in the Harrington School of Communication and Media that are engaged in off-campus experiential learning.

For more information about the Robert M. Beagle Family Endowment, please contact Rebecca Schiff at 401.874.2528 or rschiff@foundation.uri.edu.

Contribute to the Robert M. Beagle Family Endowment today!

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