URI hires NASA scientist as dean

By The Associated Press

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP)–  A NASA scientist will join the University of Rhode Island as dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography.

Paula S. Bontempi, an alumna of the school and a biological oceanographer for over 25 years, is slated to begin her new role at the university’s Narragansett Bay campus late this summer.

Bontempi joins the school from the Earth Science Division of NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. where she serves as acting deputy director.

She will replace Dean Bruce H. Corliss who has held the role since 2012. Corliss announced his retirement last spring.

©The Associated Press 2020