KINGSTON – A $250,000 pledge from Hasbro Inc. Chairman Alfred J. Verrecchia and his wife, Gerrie Verrecchia, will help the University of Rhode Island Foundation to attract funds for a scholarship at the URI College of Business Administration.

The Verrecchia’s gift to the URI Making a Difference campaign will fund a challenge grant to attract donations to establish the scholarship fund. The money will provide a dollar-for-dollar match for individual donations of up to $12,500. Gifts in that amount may be pledged over five years, the university said.

Some donations may also be eligible for employer matches, the university noted. For information about the nearly 600 companies that match employee contributions, check www.matchinggifts.com/uri/.

“URI attracts an outstanding cadre of students – many of whom, particularly in our present economic climate, have difficulty financing their education,” Al Verrecchia said in a statement yesterday afternoon. “Gerrie and I feel strongly about supporting students and supporting URI.

“By challenging others to give generously, we can provide direct assistance to Rhode Island students in need while helping to enhance the university’s competitiveness,” he said. Scholarships established as a result of the Verrecchia Challenge will bear the name of the donor or any name the donor chooses to honor, the university said.

“Al Verrecchia is part of the very fabric of Rhode Island,” URI President Robert L. Carothers said in a statement. “From his undergraduate days at URI to his rise to Chairman of Hasbro, he has always supported URI and has remained committed to its growth and success.

“We are very appreciative of the devotion and the philanthropic spirit both he and Gerrie continue to demonstrate, particularly in the area of endowment creation, one of the priorities of the University’s current Making A Difference capital campaign,” Carothers said.

The Hasbro chairman received his undergraduate degree from the university in 1971, an MBA in 1974 and an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2004.

“I am very grateful for the fine education I received at URI, which most certainly contributed to any professional success I have achieved,” Verrecchia said. “Gerrie and I are happy to be able to put this high caliber of education within reach of deserving students who may not have otherwise had the opportunity.”

Mark Higgins, dean of the College of Business Administration, thanked the Verrecchias, saying: “Some of the most distinguished names in business – Al Verrecchia among them – are graduates of URI. We are fortunate that so many of them have a strong affinity to their alma mater and continue to demonstrate that through their financial support.

“The significant gift from Al and Gerrie is most generous,” Higgins said, “and we encourage other graduates and friends to take advantage of this opportunity and double their gifts through the Verrecchia challenge.”

The University of Rhode Island’s Making a Difference Campaign is a drive to raise $100 million to help URI provide student scholarships, enhance the campus experience, recruit and retain outstanding faculty, and fund cutting-edge academic and research initiatives. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.advance.uri.edu.