URI Engineering Dean Hails $2 Million Gertz Family Gift

URI Engineering Receives $2 Million Gertz Gift to Fund Scholarships and Ocean Research Building

“In commemoration of our 50th and 40th graduation anniversaries, we are pleased to add to the Gertz Family Scholarship Endowment to further support deserving engineering students,” said Barry Gertz. The University of Rhode Island announced Nov. 4 that Barry Gertz, a 1976 graduate, and Sandra Gertz, who earned her degree in 1986, have made a $2 million gift to the College of Engineering, splitting the donation between an expanded scholarship program and the construction of a new ocean engineering facility on the Narragansett Bay Campus, uri.edu reported.

The announcement lands as URI undertakes a $300 million, multi-phase revitalization of its Narragansett Bay Campus. Of the $2 million gift, $750,000 will be immediately added to the fully funded Gertz Family Engineering Scholarship Endowment, while the remaining funds flow to the College of Engineering Future Fund to support construction of the new ocean engineering building currently underway.

Eight Scholarships Annually, Renewable for Up to Three Years

The scholarship fund, founded a decade ago, will provide awards to eight second-year College of Engineering students each year. The scholarships are renewable for up to two years, or three years for students pursuing a degree within the International Engineering Program, provided recipients maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher to remain eligible. The College of Engineering dean’s office, working in conjunction with the Office of Enrollment Services, selects the recipients.

The renewable terms mean a single recipient in the International Engineering Program could receive sustained support through three years of advanced study.

URI Engineering Dean Hails $2 Million Gertz Family Gift

A 27,000 Cubic Foot Test Tank Bearing the Gertz Name

The new ocean engineering building will house a 27,000 cubic foot test tank—measuring 30 feet by 30 feet by 30 feet—that will bear the Gertz name in recognition of the couple’s commitment to education. The tank will support specialized research in underwater acoustics, a field where URI College of Engineering faculty already maintain significant research partnerships with the Office of Naval Research.

“We are pleased to donate to the dean’s Future Fund for the construction of the new engineering building on the Bay Campus,” Barry Gertz said. “We have had the pleasure of getting to know Dean Anthony Marchese and observing the wonderful impact he has had on students and the engineering college.”

The new facilities will deliver the infrastructure required to match URI’s research capabilities, supporting the crucial efforts to grow Rhode Island’s blue economy and extend its role as a national leader in the sector.

From Founder’s Club to Café: A Multi-Generational Legacy

“Barry and Sandy are proud URI alumni and have been tremendous supporters of the College of Engineering for many years,” said Marchese. “Indeed, the Gertz name has become synonymous with our key tenets: community, access and academic excellence.”

The family’s connection to URI dates back to Barry’s father, Junius “Babe” Gertz, a member of the class of 1950. Junius Gertz served in the inaugural class of the URI College of Engineering Founder’s Club and established the original Gertz Family Endowment prior to his death in 2007. When the Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering opened on the Kingston Campus in 2019, the family’s philanthropic support resulted in a café in the building being named after Junius Gertz.

“It was an honor to name the café in his memory,” Barry Gertz said.

“The Gertz Café has become a community-wide gathering place for URI faculty, students and staff from across campus and the Gertz Scholarship has changed lives by providing access to a high-quality engineering education,” Marchese said. “This new gift will greatly expand the number of scholarship recipients and will provide our ocean engineering students and faculty with facilities that are commensurate with their best-in-the-world excellence.”

Gertz Family Honors URI Legacy with Engineering Scholarships

URI President Marc Parlange joined Marchese in speaking with Barry and Sandra Gertz alongside current Gertz Scholars Aidan Parry and Iris Rogers, highlighting the direct connection between the family’s philanthropy and the students it supports. The new building’s test tank will enable underwater acoustics research that complements URI’s existing partnerships with the Office of Naval Research.

For the Gertzes, marking their 50th and 40th graduation anniversaries with this gift commemorates their time at URI and supports deserving engineering students.

“Since our days at URI, we have maintained a strong family connection to the University,” Barry Gertz said.

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