Dave Lavallee is incredibly dedicated in his service to the University. Photo by Anna
Dave Lavallee is on his 25th year of working in the communications department for the University of Rhode Island, but his dedication to the University began long before he started his job in 1994.
Lavallee’s father attended URI and got his degree in 1948. Lavallee followed in his father’s footsteps and graduated in 1979 with a degree in journalism.
During his time as an undergraduate student at URI, he was a sports writer and sports editor at The Good Five Cent Cigar. At the time, The Cigar was publishing newspapers four days a week, and the production process was a week-long process.
Just hours after graduation, Lavallee packed up and moved to Connecticut. There, he started a job as a full-time reporter and photographer for the Manchester Evening Herald in Manchester, Connecticut. After working there for over a year, Lavallee came back to Rhode Island and worked for the Woonsocket Call as a staff writer, photographer
According to Lavallee, the Call began to cut staff after being bought out as a chain, which gave him an incentive to leave. After leaving the Call, the alumnus came back to Kingston to pursue a graduate degree. He earned a masters degree in public administration in 1987.
Lavallee left URI once more to work as a photographer, general assignment reporter, business reporter and, eventually, an assistant city editor at the Newport Daily News. After five years in Newport, Lavallee returned to the University and has been working for communications ever since.
Lavallee has seen the University physically grow through the extensive construction URI has undergone.
“The transformation from when I was a student here, and then even when I came back and was a student again and then as a worker, so much has changed,” Lavallee said.
When Lavallee was a student, buildings like Hillside Hall, Brookside Apartments, the new engineering complex and other science buildings were unimaginable.
“I’m still amazed when I walk around campus and I see CBLS and the Avedisian pharmacy building and Beaupre,” he said.
While Lavallee admitted the campus has grown immensely in size, the biggest thing that has changed has been the representation of the University.
“The thing that’s most impressive is that this University’s reputation is as strong as it’s ever been,” he said. “The University has always had a pretty good reputation beyond state borders, but in the state, not so much. I think that has changed a lot. Public officials now want to be connected to us. They want us to be leaders in business and research. We really had to fight to build our image.”
In his position as assistant director of communications, Lavallee writes press releases, works closely with public safety to send out messages to students, is a media spokesperson for the University, helps set the media up with professors for research stories and works as a contributing editor for the URI Alumni Magazine.
Lavallee has also taught a URI 101 class every fall semester since 2006. He teaches first-semester freshmen in the journalism major how to get acclimated to college life and develop journalistic skills.
“This work requires that journalistic ability to pounce from one thing to the next and try not to get flustered,” Lavallee said. “You have to get used to that. Your job is never done.”
In Lavallee’s time working for URI, some of his greatest works include covering the entire construction process for the Thomas M. Ryan Center.
“We covered every milestone of the construction since the very beginning of demolition,” he said. “I’ve been inside that building from the ground-up. Even to see the first events happen in there was outstanding.”
Another major accomplishment for Lavallee as assistant director was covering a 1997 on-campus test of the exact weapon used to assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. Lavallee worked on the three-day event which included a simulation for the media, the final test and traveled to a Pennsylvania laboratory as they tested the weapon again.
“It turned out the tests were inconclusive, but to be part of this was just unbelievable,” Lavallee said. “This was just absolute history. In the time I’ve been here, I don’t know there has been another story that has captured more media attention than this one.”
Lavallee cites his colleagues as an important aspect of his work.
“One of the best parts of this job is that I get to work with a range of folks, not just in this office but all across campus,” he said. “I feel privileged to be able to work with these folks. Sometimes I wonder if I’m up to the task.”
In the communications department, Lavallee has developed an internship program for current students to work in the communications department. Typically meant for public relations majors, Lavallee has them work on press releases and perfect their writing skills for the future.
“I tell people proudly that our [internship] program has a 100 percent job placement rate at some of the biggest agencies and companies in the world,” Lavallee said. “It’s very gratifying to see these students join us as sophomores and then leave us as solid writers and communication professionals.”
Lavallee’s work in the communications office has left him with a legacy and strong bonds with his coworkers.
Dave is incredible,” Director of Communications and Marketing Linda Acciardo said. “He’s been an incredible colleague for many years. I don’t know anybody more dedicated to the University than Dave.”
Kelly Mahoney, executive director for external relations and communications, also spoke highly of her work with Lavallee.
“My experience working with Dave has been very fun. If there’s one way to characterize Dave Lavalle, he has a great sense of humor and brings some lightness to our office on any given day when it’s most needed.”
While Lavallee has grown as an individual since being a URI student, his love for the University has too.
“It’s easy to be proud to be a URI graduate,” he said. “There’s a lot to be proud of here.”