PawSox owner donates $35M to University of Rhode Island
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Tom and Cathy Ryan
The former CEO of Rhode Island retail and health care company CVS, and a part owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox, has gifted the University of Rhode Island $35 million.
The university announced Tom Ryan’s contribution, its largest ever, Monday morning.
The gift from Ryan and his wife Cathy builds on the couples’ philanthropic giving to the university, which now totals more than $56 million.
Ryan’s gift will provide transformational funding for the university, including an expansion of research and teaching capacity for neuroscience and the creation of a scholars program to attract high-performing students, the university said.
The gift includes $24 million for the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and $10 million to establish the Thomas M. Ryan Scholars. Another $1 million will go to the men and women’s basketball programs.
The Ryans established the Ryan Institute in 2013 with a $15-million donation, which was then the largest private gift.
The gift by a single owner of the team nearly equals the team’s total financial contribution to a $101-million ballpark being built in the Canal District as the PawSox look to relocate to Worcester for the 2021 season.
To build the $101-million Polar Park, the city is ponying up nearly all of the cash, with the team putting up $6 million and paying about $1 million a year for 30 years to help pay off some of the city’s bonds.
Ryan is one of 13 current owners of the team, along with Chairman Larry Lucchino. Polar Beverages President & CEO Ralph Crowley, who is attaching his brand’s name to the ballpark, Polar Park, is also joining the ownership group.
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