Column: Beneath the beard

04/28/09 - Middle name: Lee

Hobbies: Fishing, gardening, woodworking



Favorite singer: Willie Nelson



Favorite basketball player: URI alumnus Cuttino Mobley who got his NBA start with the Houston Rockets and recently retired as a New York Knicks player due to a heart condition.



Favorite color: Blue - "That's always been my favorite."



Favorite URI moment: The men's basketball team's victory over Kansas University in 1998 during the second round in the NCAA tournament. Carothers said he attended graduate school with KU's president, and spoke with him briefly before the game ... but not after.



The truth behind the e-mail address: Carothers' e-mail in the URI directory is muskrat@uri.edu. (That must have been interesting when legislators e-mailed him about an issue). But he grew up in Appalachia, and what better activity to engage in than hunting muskrats for beer money?



Early leadership role: Twice elected as president of his fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi, during his time as an undergraduate at Edinboro University in Philadelphia.



Newest hobby: Studying yoga. Carothers said his instructor understands the true meaning of the muskrat..."Those little guys follow me around."



Opinion on the new Rhody: "I don't know what happened with that." He has taken pictures with many Rhody Rams during his presidency, but he said he does not plan on posing with the new-and-improved mascot any time soon.