KINGSTON, R.I. — Former CVS chief executive Thomas M. Ryan and his wife are giving $35 million to the University of Rhode Island to bolster a neuroscience institute, scholarships, and URI basketball — the largest private donation in the state university’s history.
Ryan told the Boston Globe that his father, George Ryan, died of Alzheimer’s disease eight years ago, and his mother, Anne Ryan, “died taking care of him.” So in 2013, the Ryans provided $15 million — then the largest private gift in URI history — to establish the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience at URI.
Now, Ryan and his wife, Cathy Ryan, are donating $35 million, including $24 million for the neuroscience institute, which works on the prevention and treatment of disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS.
