Retired faculty served PC for 210 years
Dr. Francine Newth ’80G
Seven faculty members who taught, conducted research, and influenced the lives of thousands of students over several decades retired from Providence College in the period of Dec. 30, 2015, to June 30, 2016. Together, they gave 210 years of service.
The retirees (by name, rank, start date, and administrative roles) are: •D r. Jane P. Callahan, professor of education (elementary/special education) and of public and community service studies; 1993; chair, Department of Elementary/Special Education •D r. Philip E. Devine, professor of philosophy; 1990 •D r. Peter S. Goodrich, associate professor of management; 1984; director, MBA Program •D r. Alan L. Kessler, assistant professor of economics; 1985; chair, Department of Economics •D r. Francine Newth ’80G, associate professor of management; 1982; chair, Department of Management; director, former Division of Business Administration •D r. Paul D. Quinlan, professor of history; 1990 •D r. Patrick V. Reid, professor of theology; 1977; chair, Department of Theology
Class of 2020: 1,035 strong, high marks for academics, service The incoming Class of 2020 checked in for the start of fall classes with 1,035 members, 54 percent of whom are women. The class’ academic profile is robust, with 704 members carrying an unweighted institutional GPA of 3.25 or higher, including 204 students whose GPA ranged between 3.75 and 4.00. The first-year students demonstrated a propensity for co-curricular involvement in high school. Some 877 participated in varsity athletics, 781 performed community service, 266 participated in performing arts (music, theatre, art, and dance) organizations and activities, and 190 were involved in student government. In the areas of ethnic makeup and geography, 16.3 percent of the Class of 2020 identifies itself as either African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, Native American, or Alaska Native, and 64 percent hails from one of the six New England states. Twenty-nine percent come from mid-Atlantic states, ranging from New York to Virginia.
NEW TH: PC ARCHIVES. STR ASSER: COURTESY OF THOMAS STR ASSER.
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Ancient tools discovered by Strasser team displayed Stone tools dating back at least 130,000 years that were found on the Greek island of Crete during archaeological research led by a Providence College faculty member are being displayed for the first time in a museum in Crete. The discoveries are significant as they push the history of seafaring in the Mediterranean back by more than 100,000 years and have implications on the colonization of Europe and beyond by early African hominins, our pre-Homo sapiens ancestors. In 2008 and 2009, Dr. Thomas F. Strasser, professor of art history, led a team of archaeologists and geologists, and several PC undergraduate students, on the Plakias Survey in Crete. It was the first project to identify Mesolithic and Palaeolithic artifacts in datable geologic contexts. The team explored caves in the area around the town of Plakias and discovered stone tools that included traditional microliths, spines, denticulates, end scrapers, and percoirs, as well as bifaces (hand axes), cores, and cleavers. Some of the artifacts are now exhibited in a museum in the early 16th century church of St. Francis in the western Crete city of Rethmynon.
Left: Strasser alongside tools in the museum display 5