Michael A. Rice

Michael A. Rice
Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
from the 35th district
In office
January 6, 2009 – January 4, 2011
Preceded by John Patrick Shanley, Jr. (D-35)
Succeeded by Spencer E. Dickinson (D-35)
Personal details
Born (1955-03-04) March 4, 1955
San Jose, CA
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Rufina Delizo Rice
Children Maria Isabel Rice
Residence Wakefield, R.I.
Profession Professor of Fisheries & Aquaculture at University of Rhode Island
Scientific career
Fields Aquaculture, Environmental physiology
Institutions University of Rhode Island
Alma mater University of San Francisco,
University of California, Irvine
Doctoral advisor Grover C. Stephens
Known for aquaculture of bivalves
Website
http://web.uri.edu/favs/michael-a-rice/

Michael Alan Rice, (born March 4, 1955) is an American professor of fisheries and aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island and former state representative from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. A Democrat, he served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing the 35th district, encompassing the village of Kingston and West Kingston, and parts of the neighborhoods of Tuckertown, Wakefield and Peace Dale. Rice was first elected in November 4, 2008 and served from January 6, 2009 to January 4, 2011.

Education and early career

Rice was born in San Jose, California, to Richard Eugene Rice and Marilyn Joyce (Cardoza) Rice. He is a descendant of 19th Century Azorean settlers in California and a direct descendant of Edmund Rice. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1972 in Garden Grove, California. Rice attended Servite High School in Anaheim, California before attending the University of San Francisco, and graduating with a B.S. in Biology in 1977.[1] While working in the laboratory of physiologist Grover C. Stephens at the University of California, Irvine, he earned both a master's degree in biology in 1981 and a Ph.D. in comparative physiology in 1987. Rice served in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Republic of the Philippines from 1981 to 1985 working with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.[2] During that time, he worked to improve the sanitary quality of farmed oysters.[3][4] In 1982, while working with José Maria DeGuzman of Value Trading Company, Inc., in Dagupan City, he helped establish the first commercially successful farm for serranid grouper fish in the Philippines.[5][6]

Academic career

Rice has spent most of his career in academia, first appointed to the faculty of the University of Rhode Island (URI) in October 1987.[7] His academic research interests are in the area of environmental physiology and ecology of bivalve molluscs,[8] and he has further research interests in the field of aquaculture.[9] His major contributions have been the demonstration that bivalve mollusks have the ability to absorb amino acids directly from seawater as a nutrition source, and that bivalves serve an important role in mediating the cycling of nitrogen and other nutrients within marine ecosystems. Additionally, he has studied the effects of shellfishing on the population ecology of bivalves. His research has led to refinements to the practice of managing shellfishery resources in coastal waters, estuaries and marine protected areas.[10]

Rice has made contributions to the growth of the aquaculture industry in Rhode Island,[11] and internationally,[12] including the Philippines, Tanzania,[13] the Republic of Georgia, and The Gambia.[14][15] Working with Enrico Beridze of the Iberian Pontomarine Aquaculture Company,[16] he introduced mussel farming to the Black Sea coast of Georgia. Rice has been the recipient of three Fulbright Scholarship awards: Republic of the Philippines 1996-97; Indonesia 1997; and Republic of the Philippines 2006. At the University of Rhode Island he served as Chairman of the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science from 2000 to 2004, and Chairman of the URI Faculty Senate from 2005 to 2007.[2][17]

Civic involvement and politics

Rice has served from 1999 to 2000 as the president of the Tavern Hall Club, a not-for-profit organization in Kingston, RI dedicated to the preservation of the historic (1738) Elisha Reynolds House as a community meeting place and social center.[2][18] He has also served as the President of the University Club of URI from 1995 to 1996.[19] He was elected in 2007 to the board of directors and in 2008 as treasurer of the Edmund Rice (1638) Association, a genealogical and family history association that meets annually in Sudbury, Massachusetts.[20] In 2011, Rice was nominated by Bruce Sundlun and appointed by Lincoln Chafee as a Rhode Island Commodore.[2]

Prior to election to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2008, Rice served as an appointed member of a number of governmental commissions, including the Conservation Commission of South Kingstown from 1992 to 2008.[21] He chaired that commission from 1998 to 2008.[2] Also prior to election, he was appointed by the Speaker of the RI House of Representatives, to the Legislative Commission on Aquaculture Development (1995–1998),[22] to the Legislative Commission to Develop and Coordinate a Collaborative Effort to Formulate a Restoration Plan for the North Cape Barge Oil Spill (1999),[23] and as Legislative Commissioner proxy to meetings of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (1999–2000).[24]

In 2008, upon the decision of incumbent Rep. John Patrick Shanley (D-South Kingstown) not to run for a fifth term in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Rice ran and was challenged by Republican James K. Haldeman for the open seat. In the election held on November 4, 2008, Rice defeated Haldeman by 57.5% to 42.5%, carrying each of the district's five precincts.[25]

During the 2009 legislative session, Rice served on the House Committee on Separation of Powers and Government Oversight. In the 2010 session, he served on the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, and the House committees on Separation of Powers, Government Oversight, and Constituent Services, as well as the Special House Commission to Study the Structure and Workings of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.[1][26][27]

Rice was defeated for reelection by Spencer E. Dickinson in the September 14, 2010 Democratic Primary by a margin of 52.8-47.2%.[28][29] Rice was targeted for defeat by the Rhode Island Labor Movement after voting to cut pension benefits for workers.[30]

In 2011, Rice was appointed to the Rhode Island Democratic Party State Committee representing at-large Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district, serving until 2017.[31] In 2013 he was appointed by Governor Chafee and received confirmation by the Rhode Island Senate to serve a three-year term on the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council,[32] and reappointed for a second term by Governor Raimondo.[33] He has been active with the American Association of University Professors.[34]

Selected publications

Selected legislation as enacted

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Michael A. Rice Legislative Biography". Rhode Island Secretary of State. Retrieved Mar 22, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Archived version of About Michael A. Rice". Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  3. ↑ Rosario, W.M., N. Poquiz and M.A. Rice. (1982). Oyster depuration: one answer to polluted estuaries. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (Manila) Newsletter 5(3):14. FAO Agris Depository
  4. ↑ Rice, M.A. (1992). Bivalve aquaculture in warm tropical and sub-tropical waters with reference to sanitary water quality monitoring and postharvest disinfection. Tropical Science 32:179-202. Web Access
  5. ↑ Rice, M.A. and A.Z. DeVera. (1998). Aquaculture in Dagupan City, Philippines. World Aquaculture 29(1):18-24. Web Access
  6. ↑ "Crab Cakes at the University of Rhode Island". www.bcfishmonger.com. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  7. ↑ p. 318 in University of Rhode island General Catalog 2011-2012
  8. ↑ Rice, M.A. (2007). Bivalvia. pp. 141-144 In: Vol. 3, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 10th Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York. Web Access
  9. ↑ "Michael A. Rice Biography Page, University of Rhode Island". Retrieved 7 Nov 2014.
  10. ↑ Rice, M.A., A. Valliere, and A. Caporelli. (2000). A review of shellfish restoration and management projects in Rhode Island. Journal of Shellfish Research 19:401-408. Web Access
  11. ↑ "Rhode Island Aquaculture Situation & Outlook Report" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  12. ↑ Rice, M. A. (2003). Aquaculture. pp. 372-417, In: B. Hazeltine and C. Bull (eds.), Field Guide to Appropriate Technology. Academic Press-Elsevier Science, New York. ISBN 0-12-335185-5
  13. ↑ Rice, M.A., A. J. Mmochi, L. Zuberi and R.M. Savoie. (2006). Aquaculture in Tanzania. World Aquaculture 37(4):50-57 PDF
  14. ↑ "Rice studies aquaculture and water in The Gambia". by Brett Warnke, Narragansett Times January 27, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Shoreline Water Quality Survey: Gambia’s water relatively clean". by Abdou Rahman Sallah, The Point: Gambia January 12, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  16. ↑ Rice, M.A. (2009). Aquaculture in the Republic of Georgia. World Aquaculture 40(1):26-29.PDF
  17. ↑ "Senate Resolution R05-06-4 in appreciation of Chairperson Rice". University of Rhode island Faculty Senate. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  18. ↑ Tavern Hall Club and Preservation Society Presidents. p.20. In: Tavern Hall Preservation Society 100th Anniversary. Tavern Hall Preservation Society, Kingston, RI 21pp.
  19. ↑ "URI University Club". Retrieved May 1, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Edmund Rice (1638) Association". Retrieved May 1, 2009.
  21. ↑ "South Kingstown Conservation Commission". Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  22. ↑ "1997H-6929 Aquaculture Commission". Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  23. ↑ "1999H-6460 Oil Spill Commission". Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  24. ↑ Minutes of meetings of Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Atlantic Beach, NC (April, 1999); Portland, ME (June 2000); Portland, ME (October, 2000); and Atlantic City, NJ (December, 2000). ASFMC, 1440 Eye St. NW Washington D.C. ASMFC.
  25. ↑ "Rhode Island Board of Elections: Representative in General Assembly District 35, 2008 general election". Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  26. ↑ "Rhode Island House Journal 1-7-2009" (PDF). Rhode Island House of Representatives. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  27. ↑ "Rhode Island House Journal 1-5-2010" (PDF). Rhode Island House of Representatives. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  28. ↑ "District 35 2010 Primary Results". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved Sep 15, 2010.
  29. ↑ "A Rough Night for RI House Democratic Incumbents". WPRI.com. Retrieved Nov 20, 2011.
  30. ↑ Elk, Mike. "Look to Rhode Island for How to Target Anti-Labor Democrats". September 21, 2010. In These Times.
  31. ↑ "2013 RI Democratic State Committee Membership" (PDF). RI Democratic State Committee. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  32. ↑ "p.14 Senate Journal 11 June 2013" (PDF). Rhode Island Senate. Retrieved 22 Jun 2013.
  33. ↑ "p.6 Senate Journal 16 June 2016" (PDF). Rhode Island Senate. Retrieved 4 Apr 2017.
  34. ↑ "URI-AAUP Political Action Committee". Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  35. ↑ "2009-H5690a" (PDF). Rhode Island General Assembly. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  36. ↑ "2009-H6226aa" (PDF). Rhode Island General Assembly. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  37. ↑ "2010-H7024a" (PDF). Rhode Island General Assembly. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  38. ↑ "2010-H7109" (PDF). Rhode Island General Assembly. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.