Carothers gives the grand tour before saying 'so long' to office

04/28/09 - Like many great thinkers before him, University of Rhode Island President Robert L. Carothers had a dream.

But unlike dreams of peace and more money for the university, Carothers woke up with a very different idea.

Standing in his office yesterday morning, chuckling, he said, "I had this dream that I was dead. My oldest son and daughter had debated about what to do with all these plaques." Continuing, he gestured to the various knick-knacks decorating his office: mementos from years past, images of Rhody the Ram and numerous awards. "Who would want this stuff?"

Strolling around his workplace, he pointed out a four-foot tall painted, balding figure holding a stack of books. Standing next to Carothers's side shelves, the figure stares at a wall adorned with a borrowed Picasso painting from a former URI president's office.

Laughing, he said, "People are a little bit spooked by it."

A golden-framed painting hung on a wall adjacent to his desk, cluttered with notes, binders and directories of university staff. Carothers ambled over to the picture of a rock beside an overgrown pond, with shades of blue, green, brown and gray. Next to the painting, a leafy plant lies in front of an office window.

Carothers called the painting "a peaceful scene."

Pausing for a moment in front of the art, Carothers stopped. "I'm looking at this, and it's kind of calming," he said.

The painting is not the only thing in Carothers' office that calms him after stressful meetings with Rhode Island's top officials, heads of university colleges or student group leaders. Sprinkled throughout his "second home" are reminders of his actual home in Saunderstown, R.I., with his wife, Dean of University College Jayne Richmond, and children.

Picking up a picture of himself and his grandson looking out over the water of Wickford Harbor, Carothers described the atmosphere of his office in just two words: "It's personal."

"I try to make it much more homelike and welcoming when people come in," he said. A known negotiator, Carothers said some of the pieces in his office, an ossified basketball from a 1925 game between URI and Springfield College - serve more as conversational pieces to "overcome anxieties" among opposing parties.

His personal life makes a strong appearance in his office through photos and keepsake items, such as a figurine of a black and white shaggy-haired dog, emulating his own dog, Brendan, sitting at the top of his desk. Alongside pictures of his grandchildren sitting on Santa's lap in 2004 and a championship ring, it might seem like a visitor is walking into someone's living room, not the roosting spot of URI's highest official.

But on a second look, the office is clearly Rhode Island bred. A marble ram head sits atop books on Carothers' coffee table, which he said he found in a box from the Class of 1940.

"I dug it up, and it looks nice," Carothers said.

A small model of the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences sits on one of his side tables enclosed in a clear cube, and a plaque honors Carothers with the National Award for Campus Safety from two years ago.

Nearby the photos of Carothers' family are photos of the URI family, including two side-by-side framed photos of him and the old Rhody the Ram, and Vice President of Advancement Robert Beagle alongside Rhody.

But through it all, the personality and quirks of Carothers remain. Leading out of his office into the conference room next door lays more plaques and awards. But next to them sits an unusual sight: five shelves enclosed in a glass case filled with whales of all materials and of all sizes.

Clasping his hands in front of him, Carothers explains his dissertation in college, which included the book "Moby Dick." Throughout his URI tenure, faculty, staff and visitors have bestowed whale upon whale to fill his glass case. Shrugging, Carothers said, "I think I've bought about three of them."

Though the whales might not hold the most significance in his office, Carothers said he's looking forward to cleaning out his office and the President's House on the URI campus, which is filled with Carothers' keepsakes, personal and impersonal alike.

Carothers said he is planning a garage sale "probably around Memorial Day weekend" to rid the house of all unwanted possessions.

Gesturing to the couches, brought from his own home, and his $4 rocking chair from his days at Kent State University, he chuckles again.

"The good furniture we won't give away," he said.