Warren philanthropist and shipbuilder Luther Blount will donate a 175-foot cruise ship to three institutions of higher learning.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 20, 2006

BY TOM MOONEY
Journal Staff Writer

Philanthropists often give colleges monetary gifts. But a cruise ship?

"I got a pile of ships," said 89-year-old Luther Blount yesterday in explaining why he was giving one of his Warren-made vessels to three area institutions.

Come the end of the year, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University and Wentworth Institute of Technology, in Boston, will assume ownership of the Niagara Prince, a 175-foot cruise ship which usually plies the Mississippi River between Chicago and New Orleans.

The vessel, built in 1994, is valued at about $6.5 million, said Blount, a Warren shipbuilder and owner of American Canadian Caribbean Lines.

Hopefully, the three schools will be able to sell the ship for that price, said Blount, and split the proceeds.

Blount said he wanted to give the schools a vessel to sell "because I kind of owe something to each one of them."

Blount graduated from Wentworth in 1937 with a degree in machine construction and tool design. The college recently named an auditorium for Blount after he donated $1 million to the school.

Roger Williams University and Blount have teamed up to try to bring oysters back to Narragansett Bay. The university, which awarded Blount an honorary doctorate in marine science in 2003, operates the only shellfish hatchery in the state. It recently received a $1-million federal grant, Blount said, for hatchery improvements. "So, I wanted to do something with that."

And Blount said Rhode Island College in 2000 presented him with an honorary doctorate of commercial science degree "and since it seems like smaller Rhode Island schools never get anything, I would like to see that they get something, too."

In a prepared statement, Roger Williams University President Roy J. Nirschel said: "We thank him for his gift, which will help us strengthen our aquaculture program and expand our marine science facilities."

Wentworth President Zorica Pantic said Blount had maintained a relationship with his alma mater for more than six decades and "set an example of alumni dedication that will benefit students for generations to come."

RIC President John Nazarian said: "By gifting one of his grandest creations to the three institutions of higher learning, Dr. Blount reaffirms his lifelong appreciation for the power of education."

The Niagara Prince carries up to 90 passengers and crew. The vessel can navigate shallow waters and low-lying bridges using a retractable pilothouse.

Blount said the ship, which underwent a winter renovation, left Warren Tuesday heading for Florida, where it will cruise for a time before spending much of the summer in the Great Lakes. After some fall foliage cruises off the coast of Maine, Blount said, it will return to its home port and be turned over to the three schools for sale.

tmooney@projo.com / (401) 277-7359