Michael Rice Papers (Ms. 240)

Biographical note

Michael Alan Rice is a professor of fisheries and aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island a former state representative for the Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 35. He attended Servite High School in Anaheim, California. Rice went on to attend the University of San Francisco, where he earned his B.S. in Biology in 1977, and the University of California, Irvine where he received his M.S. in Biology in 1981 and his Ph.D. in Comparative Physiology in 1987. From 1981 to 1985, Rice served in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Philippines, working with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. He began his academic career at the University of Rhode Island in 1987, studying environmental physiology, aquaculture, and bivalve mollusk ecology in Rhode Island, the Philippines, Tanzania, and the Republic of Georgia. He is also the recipient of three Fulbright Scholarship awards. In addition to his career in academia, Rice is heavily involved in civics and politics. Rice was elected as a Democrat to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2008, serving District 35 (Kingston, West Kingston, parts of Tuckertown, Wakefield, Peace Dale), from January 6, 2009 to January 4, 2011. During his term, Rice served on the House Committee on Separation of Powers and Government Oversight, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, and Special House Commission to Study the Structure and Workings of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. He is currently serving a three year term on the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (2013).