Rhode Island College Magazine, Fall 2023, Issue #6

M AGA ZINE ZINE

RHODE ISL AND COLLEGE

fall 2023 | ISSUE #6

Boosting adult learners & launching new initiatives, RIC is moving the state forward RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

1

2

2|

|FALLFALL 2023 2023

scenes from new student orientation

RHODE RHODE ISLAND ISLAND COLLEGE COLLEGE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE|

|3

3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

16

10

ric today

The Hope Scholarship, new majors and other news from our campus community.

18

20

20

27

atrÉvete center of excellence

nursing across borders

student support

A new initiative from the School of Social Work aims to diversify mental healthcare.

Two nonprofit programs expand the School of Nursing’s reach internationally.

A recent alum finds her calling in the same office she once turned to for help.

30

cover story

RIC goes all in on adult education and workforce development.

sections

conversations

Letter from the President....................................... 6

The RIC community is diverse — made

Social Media Highlights......................................... 8

up of students, faculty, staff, alumni and

Rhode Island College Today................................. 10 Around Campus...................................................... 46 Class Notes.............................................................. 62 RIC Foundation....................................................... 64 Alumni News........................................................... 66

4

|

FALL 2023

parents. Tell us what you think. Let us know the topics you want to read. Let’s hear all your voices. Email us at occm@ ric.edu. To submit graduate updates for the Class Notes section, email Alumni Relations at alumni@ric.edu.

38

lessons in leadership

Tracing Marianne Raimondo’s path from chemistry student to Dean of the School of Business.

/rhodeislandcollege @rhodeislandcollege @RICNews

# RICNews

table of contents

46

40

photo essay

See the everyday life of a residential student from her point of view.

around campus

A new home for the School of Education and a new dean for Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

54

athletics go gold

A former champion wrestler enters the workforce, plus a month for the history books.

56

faculty highlights

Professors produce new research and projects on sabbatical, plus Ukrainian cinema.

By day, Ruth Soares is a teacher assistant in the Pawtucket School

Department. In the evening, she’s the one doing the learning and studying.

As a student in the Bachelor of Professional Studies program, Ruth, 54, is on the path to finally earning her bachelor’s degree. (She earned an

alumni q&a

Former Congressman James Langevin returns to his alma mater to lead a new institute.

64

giving & philanthropy

The RIC Foundation has a recordsetting day, plus the expanded food pantry on campus.

RHODE ISL AND COLLEGE

M AGA ZINE

on the cover

58

fall 2023 | ISSUE #6

associate’s from CCRI in 2021.) We photographed Ruth as both of her selves – diligent student and busy professional – and combined the two to present a fuller picture of the workload adult learners carry every day. Turn

to our cover story on page 30 to read more about how Ruth and others like her are balancing their daily responsibilities and their educational goals.

All In

Boosting adult learners & launching new initiatives, RIC is moving the state forward

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

1

|

5

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

MASTHEAD

rhode island college magazine fall 2023, vol. 6 editor-in-chief

John Taraborelli ‘02 editor-at-large

Gita Brown

art director

Ashley Mercado executive director of external relations and college communications

Jeanette St. Pierre photography

Gita Brown Deolinda Mendes Ashley Mercado Gene St. Pierre ’77 Justin Wilder ’10 contributors

Gita Brown Jhon Cardona John Taraborelli ’02 Jeff Theodore web communications

Carrie Miller Andrew Sandlin

data management printer

Cummings Printing Hooksett, NH

about the magazine Rhode Island College Magazine is published twice annually.

Selection and publication of entries are at the editor’s discretion.

The magazine is produced by the Office of College Communications and Marketing in cooperation with the Division of College Advancement and External Relations.

To request extra copies, email occm@ric.edu.

6

|

FALL 2023

That was Gov. Dan McKee’s message to the crowd when we celebrated RIC Day at the State House on June 1. He was speaking to both the state’s strong and continued support for Rhode Island College and the palpable sense that momentum is building here on campus. RIC is more dynamic, more energetic, more competitive and more visible than it was just a year ago. We’re making strategic investments, adding academic programs, stabilizing our enrollments and, most importantly, responding to Rhode Island’s needs.

on

The governor’s message wasn’t just talk. He, along with legislative leaders in the General Assembly, made major investments in Rhode Island College with this year’s state budget, approving funding for both a five-year pilot of the Hope Scholarship and $2 million to launch the new Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. That renewed support demonstrates that state leadership believes our college is an anchor institution for Rhode Island, an educational and economic engine to drive the state forward.

ric

Marcia Selinger

we ’ re all in After completing my first full year as president, I have to agree with the governor: I’m all in on RIC, too! Everywhere I look on campus I see new reasons for optimism and enthusiasm. As you look through this magazine, I think you’ll agree.

Turn to page 10 and you can learn more about the Hope Scholarship, which makes the last two years of a four-year degree tuition-free for eligible Rhode Island Students, and the new Cybersecurity Institute (pg. 58) led by former congressman James Langevin ’90, an esteemed alumnus and national expert on cybersecurity. These are two transformational investments in the college.

president’s letter

college officers rhode island college interim president

Jack Warner

interim provost, vice president for academic affairs

Carolyn Masters

vice president, cfo, administration and finance

Stephen Nedder

In our cover story, starting on page 30, you’ll read about how RIC is going all in on increasing the educational attainment and professional development of Rhode Island’s workforce, creating new and more accessible pathways to four-year degrees for working adults.

We’re also all in on the programs and supports we need to recruit and graduate students from diverse backgrounds, whether it’s low income, first generation or students with documented disabilities (pg. 27) or bringing more Hispanic/Latinx students into the field of social work (pg. 18).

Our School of Nursing faculty are proving that they’re all in on using healthcare to make an impact, not just locally but globally. Turn to page 20 to read about two examples in Haiti and Africa.

There are so many new and interesting things happening all around campus, from new academic programs (pgs. 11 and 48), to new deans in the School of Business (pg. 38) and Faculty of Arts and Sciences (pg. 51), to new graduates (pgs. 15, 49 and 54), to new levels of success for RIC Athletics (pg. 55).

There is truly something wonderful happening at Rhode Island College right now and we’re going all in to build on that momentum. We’ve got an exciting year ahead of us and I’m glad you’re able to join us.

chief of staff, interim vice president of college advancement and external affairs, and interim executive director of ric foundation

Clark Greene

interim vice president of external relations and diversity

Anna Cano Morales

vice president for student success

Cindy Kozil

vice president of corporate relations & professional studies

Jenifer Giroux

interim executive director of strategic initiatives

Kimberly Bright

vice president of interim vice president of human resources

Margaret Lynch-Gadaleta college mission

As a leading regional public college, Rhode Island College personalizes higher education of the finest quality for undergraduate and graduate students. We offer vibrant programs in arts and sciences, business and professional disciplines within a supportive, respectful and diverse community. Dedicated faculty engage students in learning, research and career attainment, and our innovative curricula and co-curricula foster intellectual curiosity and prepare an educated citizenry for responsible leadership.

Jack Warner Interim President Rhode Island College

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

7

SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

We’re isexcited Today a BOLDtonew see day students at Rhode back on the quad Island for theCollege first dayasofwe classes! begin Looking the tenure forward to a of Interim great year President #RhodeIslandCollege Jack Warner. Please#College join us in#Campus welcoming #FallSemester Dr. Warner #Drone to the RIC community!

Meet @ricpride an lgbtq+ organization on campus! They are looking for executive board members forWe’re the 2022-2023 @GovDanMcKee: all in on @RICNews! Great year!

DMsee usso if you’re interested instudents, joining. staff and grads to many enthusiastic #ricstudentorgs #ally #ricpride at Rhode Island College Day at the State House.

@ricalumni: Yesterday was an amazing day with the class of 1963! They celebrated their 60th reunion with us with great stories and memories. Help us celebrate them!

Lots of students hope to land their dream internship. For this elementary ed. major a long shot paid off: Kenny Vallejos is the first RIC student to land a paid White House internship.

Link in bio to read his story.

What anfrom Amazing Day!the Such a joined Leaders around state rewarding experience runningopen along us this afternoon to officially with student veteran for theMann Run To Home and celebrate the friends new Horace hall.

A Base Foundation 2022.

Thanklearning you to alllaboratory, that technologically advanced donated for the cause, 100% goes right to the RTHB Horace Mann will provide a foundation for Foundation because of their partnership with Mass the future of education Rhode General Hospital.

This causethroughout helps provide vital Island. funds for the life saving clinical care and support

8

|

FALL 2023

Jeremiah “I decidedhopes to be bold, to onelike daythe become RIC motto, a police and goand officer backloves to school,” to visitsays RIC Campus 36-year-old PD. Liping He’s a Providence Zhang. She resident graduates who from recently RIC asgraduated an awardwinning from pre-K. artist!

Ofc.#RICNews Del Santo#experienceRIC got him a graduation #RICSpirit card #RICGrad2022 and a gift card to #RICCommencement2022 McDonald’s to celebrate his #BeBOLD big #rhodeislandcollege accomplishment! #RICNews #classof2022 #art #artist #adultlearner

Ariana was getting ready for the upcoming semester in one of my favorite spots on campus, overlooking the quad She’s interested in getting involved with student groups this year that connect to her secondary education English major! #MyRIC #RhodeIslandCollege

social media highlights

/rhodeislandcollege @rhodeislandcollege @RICNews

The RA team is excited for next week’s move in days!! We’ll welcome new first-year students on Friday the 25th and all returning members of the RIC community on Saturday the 26th.

Which residence hall are you in this year?

Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed.

The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday. #juneteenth is a time to gather with family and community, honor the present and reflect on shared history and tradition. Discover the tastes, and experiences Why is the sounds State House dome lit up of in the red?

African American tradition.April 26, It’s for RIC Giving cultural Day! Tomorrow, the Rhode IslandofCollege Foundationwhose will host One Photos courtesy @rblackheritageri archives Bold Day of Giving to benefit RIC students. are housed on the RIC campus. #RICNews

@BrendanKirbyTV: As a proud @RICNews Alum, it was a pleasure to welcome President Jack Warner to @TheRhodeShow today. Learn more about their Hope Scholarship: [ric.edu].

We’re excited to welcome Sam Ferry to the @rhodeislandcollege community as he takes on the role of Head Coach of @go_anchorman_ mbb

You may be overlooking this building on campus. You shouldn’t... @ric_greenhouse has life forms you wouldn’t believe. “Come in and explore,” says Greenhouse Manager Pam Hill.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

9

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE TODAY

Hope is In June the state made a major investment in both Rhode Island College and the future of Rhode Island Here students: R.I. Gov. Daniel McKee signed into law the new Hope Scholarship at Rhode Island College.

high-quality four-year degree for less than $25,000, by far the most affordable option in Rhode Island.

The scholarship will be available to both new and current RIC students, as well as some adult students.

To be eligible, students must be Rhode Island residents who qualify for in-state tuition, be enrolled fulltime, have declared a major, maintained a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5 and earned a minimum of 60 credits towards an eligible program of study. Students must also commit to live, work or continue their education in Rhode Island after graduation.

Dr. Jack Warner, president of Rhode Island College, is effusive in his praise of the governor and of House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson and House Education Chair Joseph McNamara, who led the effort to pass the legislation and funding. “Their leadership led to this transformational investment in public higher education that will pay dividends to Rhode — d r. j a c k w a r n e r Island for years to come,” Warner says.

Rhode Island College is the pathway to social mobility for many Rhode Islanders. [The Hope] Scholarship opens that pathway for so many more people.

The RIC Hope Scholarship logo

10

|

FALL 2023

The Hope Scholarship will make the final two years of a four-year bachelor’s degree tuition-free for Rhode Island residents who meet the criteria. The legislation funds a five-year pilot that will close the gap after students in their junior and senior years have exhausted all other forms of financial aid. The result is that many in-state students will have the opportunity to earn a

“The Hope Scholarship will be an important tool in building the highly educated workforce that will drive Rhode Island’s economic future,” says Warner. “We know that a high-quality degree from Rhode Island College is the pathway to social mobility for so many Rhode Islanders. This scholarship opens that pathway for many more people. It’s not just the scholarship recipients who benefit, but the entire state, as we strengthen public higher education.”

campus news

“Cybersecurity is ultimately a business problem,” says Chair and Associate Professor of Computer Science Suzanne Mello-Stark.

“Security breaches put businesses and their clients at risk. With our business-focused degree, not only will our students be prepared to help organizations protect sensitive data from cyber attacks, they will be taught important business skills.”

Another major created in response to the state’s workforce needs is biotechnology. Recently, the State of Rhode Island announced plans to develop a biotechnology sector. To build the necessary workforce, the state tapped Rhode Island College to create a B.S. in biotechnology degree program and invested funding necessary to support it.

New Majors Since its inception in 1854 as a “normal (a 19th-century term for instituRespond school” tions that train teachers), Rhode Island to Workforce College has always focused on developwell-trained professionals for the state’s Needs ing workforce. That work continues in the 21st century, evolving with the demands of a modern global economy.

This fall the college adds three new majors that address employment needs. The cybersecurity major is an expansion of an academic program that began in 2020 as a minor. It launches alongside RIC’s new Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies that is being led by former congressman and RIC alumnus James Langevin ’90. (Read more on pg. 58.) Both the institute and the major will be housed within the School of Business.

While the demand for cybersecurity experts is high, supply is low. In Rhode Island alone, there are currently 2,700 job openings for cybersecurity-related positions, and more than 700,000 nationwide. In response, the B.S. in cybersecurity was established as the first business-oriented undergraduate cybersecurity program in Rhode Island.

Biotech is a multidisciplinary major encompassing courses in chemistry, computer science, math, physics and, of course, biology. Biotechnologists are the innovators of the future, working on challenges like the large-scale production of vaccines and the genetic modification of crops that resist pests or diseases.

“This new major is a win for everyone involved,” says Associate Professor and Chair of Biology Dana Kolibachuk.

“Students will develop the skills they need for employment in a field that is expected to grow, companies will benefit from a skilled local workforce and the economy of Rhode Island will benefit by having these companies located within the state.”

The third new major is sports management, also housed within the School of Business.

(Read more on pg. 48.)

“We are an engine for the development of the state’s workforce and an anchor institution for its economic future,” notes Dr. Jack Warner, president of Rhode Island College.

“With these investments, we will be able to make more advancements in the development of the highly skilled workforce our state needs to remain competitive in the global economy.”

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

11

rhode island college today

$300K Biology Fellowship Established by Prof. Emeritus Lloyd & Terri Matsumoto RIC Associate Professor of Biology Geoff Stilwell says that Matsumoto’s investment in the Biology Department has been transformative. “Thanks to Lloyd and Terri Matsumoto, RIC students seeking internships and fellowships are able to have real-world experiences,” he says.

“I’ve always supported anything to do with student research,” Matsumoto says, “because I think there’s a great payoff for students in the future. My ultimate goal is to strengthen the Department of Biology and attract more students.”

Each summer, thanks to a $300,000 Summer Research in Biology Fellowship established by Professor Emeritus of Biology Lloyd Matsumoto and his wife, Terri, additional funding will be available for RIC biology students who take part in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program.

Student participants in the SURF program conduct faculty-directed research over a 10-week period and receive a stipend.

They work under the guidance of a professor and alongside their peers. They read scientific literature, design experiments, engage in troubleshooting and attend seminars and workshops.

This is the second fellowship established by the Matsumotos for the Department of Biology. In 2018 they founded the Lloyd and Terri Matsumoto Endowment for Biology, which awards grants to juniors and seniors engaged in faculty-directed research. Both fellowships are managed by the RIC Foundation.

RIC Police Department Earns International Accreditation Late last year the Rhode Island College Police Department received a big feather in its cap. The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), a group internationally recognized as representing the gold standard for public safety agencies, granted accreditation to the RIC Police Department. It is the only public institution of higher learning in Rhode Island to reach such status and one of 12 police departments in the state that is CALEA-accredited. Only five percent of law enforcement agencies in the nation are internationally accredited.

“The department went through a rigorous self-study of its policies, practices and processes to obtain compliance before a review was done by CALEA assessors. RIC police were recognized for reflecting universal best practices in policing and for providing exemplary police services to the campus community,” says RIC Police Chief James Mendonca (third from left in photo).

“The CALEA accreditation process is a collective effort, and I am extremely proud of the hard work and devotion that the 12

|

FALL 2023

men and women of this agency have displayed,” he says of the 21-member force. “Their commitment to the principles and standards of best practices has transformed our department into an organization that demonstrates a steadfastness to professional excellence in policy and practice.”

Mendonca is now the only Rhode Island police executive to have led two agencies to CALEA accreditation. He was formerly chief of police in Central Falls, where he led the department from municipal bankruptcy to CALEA accreditation within five years.

rhode island college campustoday news

Adams Library Houses Langevin Congressional Archives Former congressman James Langevin ’90, whose service representing Rhode Island’s 2nd District concluded last year, has donated his congressional archives to his alma mater.

The collection of legislation, documents, correspondence, speeches, photos and more will be housed in Adams Library’s Special Collections, where they will be curated for exhibit.

“The first-rate education that I received at RIC laid the groundwork for my career in public service,” says Langevin. “Donating my congressional archives to my alma mater was an easy decision. I hope that this collection will contribute to future scholarship about my work on behalf of Rhode Island, the study of Congress and the history of our beloved state.”

The trove of approximately 30 boxes of physical items, as well as a cache of electronic records, began arriving at Adams Library in November, where Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Veronica Denison began organizing and archiving them in order to make them available for public access.

Plans for the archives include a permanent, rotating exhibit within the library and a dig-

ital exhibit on the library’s website. The archived materials will be available to the general public in the Adams Library Special Collections Reading Room by appointment only, Monday through Friday, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

from left: Former Congressman James Langevin ’90, RIC President Jack Warner and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse during a visit. Both Langevin and Warner wear RIC-branded ties.

“This is an exciting resource to add to Special Collections. I am looking forward to making it accessible to the RIC community and the general public,” says Denison.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

13

rhode island college today

Rhode Island College partnered research material from the RIBHS collecDouble Duty Inwith2021 the R.I. Black Heritage Society tion. She will also develop curriculum for for Historian (RIBHS) to preserve and manage their K-12 schools in Rhode Island. which are now being stored in in Africana archives, “Right now, we’re working on the website Building 8 on East campus. Thousands of Studies and items – letters, photographs, quilts and portal so that K-12 educators can click on a lesson plan and pull it into their curricuother historical material – will need to be R.I. Black inventoried, cataloged and digitized, with lum,” Cummings says. “Teachers can also Heritage the goal of sharing these archives with the arrange a field trip to our building, where their students can see these artifacts in Society community. person, some of which date back to the To that end, the college hired Sherri Cummings in a joint appointment. She is assistant professor of history and Africana studies as well as historian and director of community engagement for RIBHS.

Cummings completed her Ph.D. in history at Brown University in May 2022, specializing in Atlantic world history, early African American history and Africana intellectual history. Her joint appointment will allow her to teach a course at RIC on “The Black Experience in Rhode Island” and provide students with a rich reservoir of primary 14

|

FALL 2023

colonial era. We might have actors re-enact, for example, the life of a Black seamstress in Newport and we’ll have hands-on activities.”

Cummings emphasized that the impetus for housing this collection at RIC and for developing programs for the community is so that not only RIC students but all Rhode Islanders can come in and learn about their past. “Ultimately, this is not Black history, this is our history – all of Rhode Island’s history,” she says.

campus news

Once Homeless, This 2023 Graduate is Now Pursuing a Career in Social Work Approximately 1,100 undergraduate and graduate students earned their degrees at RIC in May, and each one became a big story amongst their family and friends. But one graduate actually made national news.

For 48-year-old Francisca Garcia, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work in 2023, it was the end of a long journey that began with homelessness. After making the front page of the Providence Journal and being interviewed

by WJAR NBC 10, her inspiring story was picked up by NBC affiliates across the country, as well as the Spanish-language network Univision.

Garcia arrived in Bronx, New York, from Ecuador in 1999, with her son of six months. She had come to stay with family.

Two years later, she was forced to leave with her toddler and her five-month-old daughter. While wandering the streets of New York, a woman suggested she go to Rhode Island. It will be easier to find help there, she said.

“I came to Rhode Island in 2001,” Garcia says. “I didn’t speak English and I didn’t know anyone. When I arrived, the taxi driver took me to a police station. There, they found someone who spoke Spanish so that I could explain to them what I was doing here.”

For a while, Garcia and her children lived in a homeless shelter. She said she decided to major in social work because of the suffering she saw in the shelter.

Women and children were going hungry, she says. Children were crying because they didn’t want to be there, and feeding her own children was an everyday odyssey. “We had to leave the shelter at 6 a.m. and go to a food pantry in downtown Providence if we wanted to get food,” she says.

I feel that I can motivate people and help them value and believe in themselves.

—francisca garcia

Thanks to a social worker at the shelter, they were transferred to transitional housing. “I saw how much the social worker – the only one who spoke Spanish – could help improve the lives of people who were at that shelter,” she says. “It motivated me to learn English so I could someday become a social worker and help others, too.”

Garcia took ESL classes. Four years later, she got her GED and enrolled at CCRI, earning an associate degree in social work in May 2019. In fall 2019 she transferred to RIC to major in social work. She says that her time in RIC’s B.S.W. program has given her the knowledge she needs to help those who are oppressed.

“I feel that I can motivate people and help them value and believe in themselves,” Garcia says.

This fall she begins working on her master’s in social work at RIC.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

15

rhode island college today

Program Clears Pathway to College for Central Falls Students More than 50 Central Falls High School juniors have been conditionally admitted to RIC for fall 2024.

They are the Anchor 2 Success Class of ’24.

RIC’s Elementary Education Programs Earn High Distinction The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recognized the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development’s (FSEHD) B.A. and B.S. programs in elementary education as among the best in the nation in preparing future elementary education teachers to teach children to read. These programs earned an A+ distinction in NCTQ’s latest report, “Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction.”

They are among just 48 nationwide and are the only programs in Rhode Island highlighted by NCTQ for going above and beyond the standards set by literacy experts.

To earn an A+, programs had to exceed an NCTQ panel’s targets in five components of scientifically based reading instruction: phonics awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. NCTQ evaluated 693 traditional undergraduate and graduate programs across the country, including three in Rhode Island. Only 23 percent of programs earned an A+ or A grade.

NCTQ President Heather Peske says RIC’s programs serve as worthy examples for preparing teachers to assist the more than 1.3 million fourth-grade students nationally who can’t read at a basic level.

“Other teacher preparation leaders and faculty across the country must take note,” she says. “There are programs that are doing this right, ensuring that their elementary education teacher candidates get the preparation in how to teach reading that they both want and deserve.”

16

|

FALL 2023

Anchor 2 Success is an inter-institutional agreement between Rhode Island College and Central Falls High School wherein RIC will conditionally admit juniors who have maintained a minimum GPA of 2.5 and a 90 percent attendance rate. Admittance is based on the condition that they maintain these standards throughout their senior year.

In addition to automatic acceptance, Anchor 2 Success students will have their Common Application fee waived, and their enrollment fee and housing deposit waived.

“These students have already proven themselves,” says Anchor 2 Success Coordinator Maya Suggs.

“Waiving these fees is our reward to them.” Suggs’ role includes assisting these students in filling out the Common Application, guiding them through enrollment and providing any other supports they need.

“My job,” Suggs says, “is to be beside them throughout the enrollment process. Our job, as a college, is to make whatever dreams they have come true. It’s good to know that we’re making a difference in their lives.”

campus news

Building a Pipeline for Year Up Job Training Program in IT “Hey, I’m locked out of my computer.”

“Darn it, the system crashed and I just lost my file. How do I get it back?”

“Honest to God, the computer wasn’t working until you got here.”

That’s a day in the life of help desk employees Emily Cabral, Aidan Lowther and Pam Montes (from left to right in photo). They are just a few of the many staff and student workers employed at the ITS Help Desk at Rhode Island College. They’re the ones employees and students call when they’ve got computer or printer problems. And all three of these technicians got their IT training through Year Up Rhode Island.

Year Up is a 100 percent tuition-free job training program for underserved young adults who may face barriers to accessing education and job opportunities. It offers a business track, an investment track and a help desk/desktop support track. It takes a year to complete the program and students receive a stipend throughout the time they’re in training. What’s more, their course work is eligible for college credit.

Cabral and Lowther joined the help desk/desktop support program after COVID hit and classes moved online. At the time, they were sophomores at Rhode Island College – Lowther a biology major and Cabral undecided. Their Year Up training ended in 2022 at which time they returned to RIC as computer science majors. At the same time, they were hired to work part time at RIC’s ITS Help Desk as service technicians.

Montes enrolled in Year Up about six years earlier. She, too, left college (CCRI) in her sophomore year; she completed the help desk/desktop support program and soon after was hired full time by RIC. At age 27, Montes is currently completing a Bachelor of Professional Studies degree in organizational leadership at RIC. For these three students/staff members, all roads led back to Rhode Island College. With a degree, they will now be able to access even greater opportunities.

“I think IT is the best field to get into right now,” Montes adds. “It’s an amazing starting point for any career because tech is ubiquitous – it’s everywhere.”

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

17

atrévete center of excellence

NEW CENTER SEEKS TO

ELIMINATE

B A RR I E R S IN LATINX MENTAL HEALTHCARE by jeff theodore

F

or many years, it’s been challenging for Latinx community members in Rhode Island to find a bilingual mental health provider. The pandemic only made that prospect worse.

In fact, Rhode Island’s behavioral healthcare workforce, which is primarily white and English-speaking, does not reflect the racial and cultural diversity of state residents and efforts must be made to close this gap, according to a 2021 report by the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island.

The Atrévete Center of Excellence for Latinx/Hispanic Social Work Practice, housed inside the School of Social Work at Rhode Island College, was recently created to fill that void. By 2027 the Center of Excellence anticipates it will add as many as 55 trained bilingual providers to the state’s behavioral healthcare workforce.

“When you need help for your family or child, it’s hard to find a Spanish-speaking clinician in Rhode Island, and those clinicians who are bilingual have long waiting lists,” says Professor of Social Work Jayashree Nimmagadda, director of the center. “This project is an opportunity to build capacity to provide culturally responsive services to a growing community and meet their mental-health needs.”

Nimmagadda also served as principal investigator for a four-year U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration grant that brought the center to fruition,

18

|

FALL 2023

bringing in $650,000 in the first year with the possibility of renewal for another three years, totaling $2.6 million.

The center’s mission is multifaceted and plans to address five major goals: Create a pipeline of Latinx students from high schools and community colleges to RIC’s B.S.W. and eventually M.S.W. programs (specializing in clinical social work).

Recruit and retain Latinx faculty.

Build community partnerships to provide experiential learning for clinical social work students.

Strengthen curriculum to address issues regarding Hispanic and other minority populations.

Conduct research on culturally adapted evidence-based interventions for mental-health issues.

While Nimmagadda will oversee all center operations, RIC assistant professors of social work Vilna Tejada M.S.W. ’12; and Joise Garzon ’12, M.S.W. ’13, Ph.D Ed. ’23 are the center’s co-directors. Aswood Bousseau, another RIC assistant professor of social work, will fill the role of faculty development advisor and Assistant Professor Estrellita Moronta ’18, M.S.W. ’19 has been named the center’s first faculty fellow.

“This grant will allow us to be change agents,” Garzon says. “What we see hap-

pening is that providers in the community are not matching the demographics. The biggest part of this grant is being able to create more diversity in the field, so Latinx people can communicate in their own language when receiving services.”

Nimmagadda and Garzon will also connect with guidance counselors at local middle and high schools to engage with Latinx students about career possibilities in the social work field.

“Usually when students think of helping other people as their passion, they gravitate toward nursing,” Nimmagadda says.

“We plan to be more intentional about building awareness so that students in places like Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls can see themselves as a part of the social work profession.”

Garzon says she wasn’t aware of social work when she was a high school student in Central Falls and contemplated a career in psychology.

“As we venture into the schools, it allows Latinx students to build their social capital and have access to faculty members from whom they can ask questions,’’ Garzon says.

“I didn’t have that experience, so this is a huge equity piece.”

Equity and inclusion will take center stage in efforts to revamp the School of Social Work curriculum and conduct culturally sensitive evidence-based research, Tejada says.

day-care is self-care The faculty and directors of the new Atrévete Center of Excellence for Latinx/ Hispanic Social Work Practice (clockwise from top left): Associate Professor Aswood Bousseau, Assistant Professor Estrellita Moronta, Assistant Professor Vilna Tejeda, Professor Jayashree Nimmagadda and Assistant Professor Joise Garzon

“There is a gap in research by and directly for the Latinx community,” she says. “Many of the people who publish want to see standard Eurocentric approaches to practice. Our goal is to change that and bring in indigenous and Afrocentric practice.

We believe there are alternative treatments that can serve our community more effectively.”

Bousseau adds that the center’s work aligns perfectly with the college’s Hispanic Serving Institution status, a federal designation recognizing schools where 25 percent or more of undergraduate full-time student enrollment identifies as Hispanic. It’s the only four-year college in the state with such a distinction.

“This is a great way to highlight our HSI status,” says Bousseau, whose role within the center is to help Latinx faculty work on their scholarship and build a curriculum for the center. “We won’t be an

HSI in name only but will provide practitioners with much-needed services in the community.”

Through the center, Tejada says cohorts of students will be trained to adopt a sense of cultural humility.

“Our hope is that this will lead to an end of over diagnosing and over medicating in our communities,” she says.

Nimmagadda says the center’s partnerships with community agencies, such as the Providence Community Health Center and Clinica Esperanza, will also be vital.

“We have signed agreements with these agencies for our students to become interns and receive clinical supervision from a licensed M.S.W. who is bilingual and can be a role model for them,” Nimmagadda says. Students will learn about specific health disparities and

social determinants of health that impact Hispanic communities.

As faculty fellow, Moronta will teach four courses, including one this spring specifically targeting Latinx mental health, and pitch in on research initiatives. After she completes her doctoral degree at Simmons University in Boston later this year, Moronta hopes to join the RIC faculty full-time.

“This center is going to be a big deal for the state, and what I see from its creation is empowerment, inclusion and creating a space for Latinx populations,” Moronta says. “It shows that Rhode Island is progressive and willing to do what it can to diminish the trust disparity that Hispanic people tend to have with medical providers.”

Tejada agrees.

“By training clinicians, we’re staying ahead of the game and proactively addressing an issue before it becomes an epidemic,” she says.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

19

NURSING ACROSS BORDERS

B Y G I TA B R O W N

above: Lesotho (pronounced “lah-soo-too”) is a mountainous, landlocked country surrounded by South Africa.

20

|

FALL 2023

nursing across borders

aids orphan care

F

or many years, I had been wondering what I could do to help in the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” says Associate Professor of Nursing Deborah Kutenplon. “In 2008 I decided to pack up my family and move to Lesotho.”

Lesotho is a country in Africa with the second highest HIV rate in the world. One in four adults is HIV-positive.

For a year, Kutenplon worked at Tsepong HIV Clinic in Lesotho, alongside other international volunteers – doctors and nurses – and local staff.

“At that time, Tsepong had been open for only four years and was one of only four HIV clinics in the country,” she says. “Yet during the time I was there, the clinic saw its 10,000th patient.”

HIV is a virus that is spread when infected blood, breast milk, semen, vaginal or anal fluids enter the body. The virus destroys white blood cells (CD4 T cells) that help the body fight off disease. HIV becomes full blown AIDS when the CD4 T cell count falls below 200 or the patient develops a serious infection or disease.

“An entire generation of parents in Lesotho have died of HIV/AIDS, leaving more than 100,000 orphans,” Kutenplon says.

Upon returning to the United States, she felt that she needed to do more.

“I thought, if I could funnel more resources to the people doing the work on the ground, they could do more for more children.

That’s how AIDS Orphan Care got started.”

She recounts the story of Mpho who, after her parents died of HIV/AIDS, went to live with her aunt. The aunt, knowing what killed Mpho’s parents, took the child to be tested for HIV. When Mpho tested HIVpositive, her aunt made her sleep in a shed outside. She wouldn’t let her eat with the rest of the family. Mpho was three years old. Eventually a granny in her village, unrelated to Mpho, took her in and they’ve lived together ever since. However, the granny was too old to work and they often struggled with lack of food. AIDS Orphan Care was founded to help orphans like Mpho.

The nonprofit has two projects: The Peanut Butter Project and The Mamello Primary School.

The Peanut Butter Project was designed to feed malnourished, HIV-positive children. “Peanut butter is a high protein, locally available food. It’s the primary ingredient in Plumpynut, the medical supplement given to acutely malnourished children all over Africa,” she says.

Kutenplon wires money to five Baylor Pediatric HIV Clinics in Lesotho to purchase and distribute jars of peanut butter to malnourished HIV-positive children during their doctor’s visits.

“One kilogram of peanut butter is protein for a month,” she says. “It doesn’t need refrigeration. It doesn’t require cooking.”

The Mamello Primary School is her other project.

“I met the founder, the school’s namesake, while I was there,” Kutenplon says.

“Mamello had polio as a child and had Founded in 2010, AIDS Orphan Care is started a school where physically disabled a 501(c)3 nonprofit that “provides AIDS children could come and live and get orphans and children who are HIV-positive physical therapy and an education. When with the same things we want for our own HIV hit the country, she saw that AIDS kids – food, clothing, a warm bed, an eduorphans and HIV-positive children were cation, health care and the knowledge being stigmatized at regular schools. So, that someone cares,” Kutenplon says. she expanded her school to include them.”

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

21

aids orphan care

An entire generation of parents in Lesotho have died of HIV/AIDS, leaving more than 100,000 orphans.”

—associate professor deborah kutenplon

Lesotho is situated in the Maloti Mountains, the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It’s the only sovereign enclave in the world outside of the Italian peninsula.

22

|

FALL 2023

Though Mamello Primary School is open to the general public, it is particularly sensitive to the disabled, HIV-positive and AIDS orphan demographic. Over 500 students from 18 villages learn there.

More than 200 are orphans, many of them HIV-positive.

As an all-volunteer organization, donations to AIDS Orphan Care go directly to the clinic administrators and to Mamello for the children. To raise funds, Kutenplon hosts a walkathon each year whose participants include RIC nursing faculty, students and their families.

AIDS Orphan Care assists with the basic needs of these children, whether it be clothing, blankets or HIV medicine. Though the Lesotho government provides free HIV medical care, it does not pay for certain medicines or chest x-rays needed to diagnose tuberculosis, a common killer of HIV-positive people. (Approximately 73% of Lesotho patients with tuberculosis are co-infected with HIV.)

“During COVID, I was afraid that the donations would drop off because we couldn’t hold the yearly walkathon,” she says. “We actually raised more money. I think people became sensitized to how fragile life is, seeing so many people die of COVID, and how much we are all part of one community. I think it inspired them to give more.”

For the past 10 years, AIDS Orphan Care has expanded to fund a free breakfast and lunch program for Mamello students throughout the school year. More recently, the fund paid for a vegetable garden and the purchase of hens, cows and pigs to help the school become more self-sustaining. Food crops, eggs and meat help feed the children, while the pigs’ offspring can be sold to pay for teachers’ salaries.

When asked what drives her to volunteer and give of her services, Kutenplon says, “My religion. I’m Jewish, and we place a great deal of emphasis on everyone using whatever resources you have – whether it’s money, knowledge or energy – to repair the world. That’s why we’re here.

That’s why we’re alive.”

Along with AIDS Orphan Care, Kutenplon volunteers for Women’s Refugee Care, an advocacy agency in Providence; she is faculty advisor for the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing’s Multicultural Student Nurse Organization; and chair of the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

nursing across borders

Lesotho is situated in the Maloti Mountains, the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It’s the only sovereign enclave in the world outside of the Italian peninsula.

“I think it’s important that nursing students recognize that being a nurse is not just about doing your job well, though that’s obviously important,” she says. “It’s also about looking around you to see what else you can do with your skills and your resources.

“Maybe we can’t solve the problem of world hunger, or poverty or AIDS in Africa. But we can help an orphan get enough to eat today. We can make sure they’re warm in winter. We can pay for their school supplies. We can get them to the doctor for HIV care. We can let an orphan know that they’re not alone, that on the other side of the world someone cares.”

For more information on AIDS Orphan Care, or to donate, visit the nonprofit’s website at aidsorphancare.org.

I think it’s important that nursing students recognize that being a nurse is not just about doing your job well...It’s also about looking around you to see what else you can do with your skills and your resources.”

—associate professor deborah kutenplon

above: Mamello Primary School classroom. left: Kutenplon treated patients ranging from newborns to the elderly at the Tsepong clinic.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

23

haitian humanitarian network

haitian humanitarian network

T

he village of Beaulieu is an area so remote that you can’t find it on a map. Situated in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world and the most mountainous in the Caribbean, village huts are spread out throughout the mountainsides, rather than centrally located in a compound.

The people of Beaulieu have no electricity, safe drinking water, public transportation, schools or hospitals.

Yet somewhere hidden in the mountainous terrain is a clinic co-founded and directed by Jocelyne de Gouvenain ’11 B.S.N., ’17 M.S.N., who grew up in Beaulieu and is now a doctoral student and assistant professor of nursing at Rhode Island College. Her husband, retired RIC Professor of Biology Roland de Gouvenain, is the other co-founder, serving in a supportive role.

For the past 20 years, their clinic has been a lifeline for the villagers. Called the Erline and Armelle Clinic after Jocelyn’s two aunts, this facility provides primary care, preventative care and community health education.

To get to the clinic, people trek on foot or by donkey for miles. The villagers are mostly subsistence farmers, although only one-fifth of Haiti’s land is considered suitable for growing crops due to soil erosion and the absence of irrigation. Thus, more than half of the country’s food, including 80 percent of its rice, is imported. Yet these are a rugged people. They are used to making the most out of a little.

It was the villagers who built the clinic, funded by the de Gouvenain’s nonprofit – the Haitian Humanitarian Network (HHN).

Women and children carried each foundation rock and countless buckets of water

right: The original clinic — a rented shed. left: The current clinic, designed by the HHN board president Don Dinsmore and built by Jocelyne’s brother with other villagers, includes a waiting room, two exam rooms, a pharmacy and an office.

24

|

FALL 2023

on their heads up the mountain to the men who made bricks from the material and constructed the building.

Founded in 2003, the first iteration of the Erline and Armelle Clinic was a one-room hut Jocelyn rented from a village woman for $12 a month. In 2007 HHN donations paid for the construction of a three-room building. The current building, completed in 2010, contains five rooms: a waiting room, two exam rooms, a pharmacy and an office.

Staffed by four nurses, two part-time doctors and an administrator/pharmacist, the clinic treats an average of 350 patients a month, who pay 25 gourdes (the equivalent of 25 cents in U.S. currency). Those who can’t afford to pay are seen for free.

“In the 20 years since it was founded, our clinic has gone beyond my expectations and the expectations of the villagers,” Jocelyne says.

She opened the clinic after her aunt hemorrhaged to death after giving birth. “At the time, the village didn’t have any access

Assistant Professor of Nursing Jocelyne de Gouvenain.

nursing across borders

The village of Beaulieu is an area so remote that you can’t find it on a map and huts are spread out throughout the mountainsides

In the 20 years since it was founded, our clinic has gone beyond my expectations and the expectations of the villagers.”

—assistant professor j o c e ly n e d e g o u v e n a i n

Villagers walk for miles to get to the clinic in Beaulieu.

to healthcare,” Jocelyne says. “So, they carried my aunt on a stretcher to the next village where there was a clinic, but by the time they got there, she had bled to death. She was 35 years old. Her name was Erline Hilaire. I wasn’t in the village when she died because I was studying nursing in another village. My aunt was instrumental in sending me food, clothing and anything else I needed to go to school. She died before I could use my learning to help her. With the blessings of the village elders, I decided to build a clinic in our village to decrease maternal and infant mortality.”

The clinic’s other namesake is her husband’s aunt – Armelle – who also supported Jocelyne’s nursing studies. “Aunt Armelle’s objective,” she said, “was to help me with my education so I could help my people.”

“Ultimately, it was friends in the United States – nurses, doctors, engineers – who trusted me enough to invest their time, their energy and their money to help me get the clinic off the ground,” Jocelyne says.

“The current president of HHN, Donald Dinsmore, and his wife, Sue, along with other early supporters, such as Dr. Thomas Gorin, devoted 20 years of their life to support the building and operation of the clinic. Though I initiated the clinic, it wouldn’t have happened without them.”

With the creation of HHN, a 501(1)c(3) nonprofit, the clinic has been able to raise funds to keep its operations going. HHN is an all-volunteer organization, with 100 percent of donations going directly to the clinic.

In 2015 Joanne Costello, RIC professor of nursing, met with Jocelyne.

“Jocelyne was in our master’s degree program, specializing in population and public health nursing,” Costello says. “I was so impressed by the work she was doing through HHN. I wanted our students to learn more about global health.

At the time, the School of Nursing didn’t have a global health program.”

Costello initiated a partnership between HHN and the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing. From 2015-2019 students from all four of RIC’s graduate nursing programs accompanied Jocelyne once or twice a year to Haiti to work in the clinic.

Costello eventually offered the experience as a for-credit, elective course titled NURS 521: Global Health Experience: Haiti.”

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

25

haitian humanitarian network “I was part of the first student group to go to Haiti,” says Katie Cherenzia M.S.N. ’17 “Little did I know how profoundly it would impact my life and my future.”

Cherenzia describes it as “a fully immersive experience in that we lived like the villagers.

We didn’t have electricity, we used buckets of water to take showers and Jocelyne did all the cooking. Before flying out to Haiti, I packed a suitcase full of donated school supplies to bring to the children in the village. At night, when the clinic was closed, children would come wanting to learn English. I made lifelong friends and have been able to stay involved with HHN by joining the board of directors, where I am currently vice president.”

“RIC nursing students also provided public health education,” says Costello, “such as disaster preparedness training in a country known for its severe hurricanes and earthquakes.”

HHN funds the rebuilding of homes after natural disasters and partners with Hope for Haiti, Project Hope and Caritas, who have been able to share their medical supplies, personnel and/or medicines with the clinic when there are political or natural disasters. HHN also established the Erline and Armelle Foundation to provide Beaulieu children with scholarships to attend primary school in the neighboring village.

“Beaulieu has gone from being a place that no one heard of to a place where if you

I was so impressed by the work [Jocelyne] was doing...I wanted our students to learn more about global health. At the time, the School of Nursing didn’t have a global health program.”

—professor joanne costello

say, ‘Beaulieu,’ people know it because of the clinic,” Jocelyne says. “Our success has been a team effort. We are here because of all our friends in the U.S. On behalf of the people of Beaulieu, we are very grateful.”

Jocelyne de Gouvenain is a recipient of the 2023 Alumni Honor Roll Award for Nursing. She is currently a RIC doctoral student and assistant professor of adult health nursing at Rhode Island College.

She also works per diem at Rhode Island Hospital. Due to civil unrest, NURS 521has been suspended. More information on the Erline and Armelle Clinic can be found on the Haitian Humanitarian Network website at haitianclinic.org.

left: Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in Haiti. Here, a nurse at the clinic checks a patient’s blood pressure. above: The Erline and Armelle Clinic pharmacy.

26

|

FALL 2023

student support

ONCE SHE WAS A STUDENT IN NEED OF SERVICES, NOW SHE PROVIDES THEM FOR OTHERS The Office of Student Support Services at RIC helps all students excel as they reach that most important milestone – graduation. written by jhon cardona as a first-person narrative based on an interview with destiny zepeda ’22

written by jhon cardona as a first-person narrative based on an interview with destiny zepeda ’22

Destiny Zepeda (right) chats with students in her office.

A

lmost right after I started my first year at Rhode Island College, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I was a first-generation college student and a member of RIC’s Preparatory Enrollment . \Program (PEP). I didn’t feel connected to the college because classes had moved online.

I also lacked the confidence to enroll in any of the student organizations or programs on campus.

During the lockdown, my PEP advisor, Mackenzie Williams, reached out to me to let me know that Student Support Services (SSS) – a federally funded program for low-income, first-generation students and students with a documented disability – was accepting new applicants. SSS provides support, such as counseling, financial aid assistance, tutoring, professional development, scholarships and more, to help students feel confident in their ability as scholars.

Mackenzie not only recommended that I sign up for SSS but assisted me in filling out my application. Thanks to both PEP and SSS, I was able to find community and build relationships at RIC. During my time as an undergrad, SSS advisors taught me how to become an effective advocate for myself and how to expand my contacts to people outside of SSS. Through my advisor’s guidance, I learned a step-by-step process to go through when I needed help.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

27

student support By my senior year, I finally felt a strong connection to the college. During that year, I was required to complete an internship as part of my youth development major. SSS helped me find that internship opportunity. One of the advisors thought I would be a great match for CREAR Futuros (College Readiness, Achievement and Retention), a program created by the Hispanic Federation to help more Latinos earn a college degree.

At CREAR Futuros, which is located in the SSS office, I became a mentor for other students. I connected them to various resources on campus and recommended that they access SSS whenever they needed help.

During that internship, I realized how much I enjoyed working with first-generation college students. I realized that this is what I wanted to do as a career.

As a first gen, you can feel like you don’t have the support you need outside of class. Most first gens work part-time or even full-time jobs while balancing school. In my senior year, I was working a 20-hours-a-week internship, another 20-hours-a-week part-time job and taking classes.

In my senior year, SSS advisors helped me explore my options for grad school. They explained to me the requirements to be accepted into the M.A. in youth development program at RIC and who I needed to reach out to. They reviewed my application essay and made appropriate suggestions for how to improve my writing. I am now in my first year of the master’s program at RIC. After graduation, SSS was key in helping me find a job in my field. One day, Mackenzie let me know that an SSS advisor position had opened up. I applied and started working in August 2022. I am now doing what I dreamed of when I interned for CREAR Futuros – helping first-generation college students excel.

Now, as an advisor, I meet SSS students three times a semester – I have a beginning, middle and end-of-semester check-in with them – to see how they are doing not only in their classes but in their

28

|

FALL 2023

Students share common tables to work on school assignments at Student Support Services.

interpersonal relationships within the RIC community. If a student is having difficulty with a class or an assignment, I connect them to tutors. I help them select classes, create a study schedule, get connected with other organizations on campus and even discuss their personal lives outside of school if they need to.

SSS also helps students develop professional skills by holding – during Fall and Spring Semester – activities like Community Wednesday. At this event, we bring in professionals who talk about their real-world experiences on the job and teach students how to market themselves in the professional world. Our students are not only able to network at these events, they gain new skills.

In terms of building a sense of community, the SSS office offers a very comfortable common space for students to hang out, talk to friends, play cards or do homework.

SSS also offers scholarships to first- and second-year students. If eligible, they can receive up to $1,000. If an SSS student is struggling with tuition, we can help them look for scholarships outside of our program.

As an advisor, I meet with students who are having a wide range of concerns. Not

When I started working at SSS, I was afraid that I might not qualify for the job, but soon enough my co-workers helped me realize how much I bring to the organization by helping students in the same way I had been helped.

—destiny zepeda ’22

If an SSS student is struggling with tuition, we can help them look for scholarships.

Zepeda chats with Assistant Director of Student Support Services Mackenzie Williams.

—destiny zepeda ’22

HOW DO STUDENTS too long ago, I met with a student who was struggling with mental health issues.

As a first gen, this student feared failing and disappointing their parents and family. We were able to help by connecting the student to RIC’s Counseling Center and to the CARE team, which aims to promote student well-being and success while prioritizing the safety of students in the RIC community. We also got in touch with the student’s professors to let them know that the student was experiencing life challenges.

– we try to answer it. In some cases, we may require that you schedule an appointment, but we’re always here for anyone in the RIC community. I like to say that it’s the students who make this organization what it is.

Looking back from when I first became an SSS member until today, I can see how much I’ve accomplished over the years.

On another occasion, I helped a student plan out their schedule for the school year and find tutors who could help them improve their study habits. I also gave them some suggestions for getting more involved on campus. I recommended Harambee – RIC’s Black student organization. Now the student is part of Harambee’s executive board.

As a student, I was particularly shy and lacked the confidence to speak up and even believe in myself. When I started working at SSS, I was afraid that I might not qualify for the job, but soon enough my co-workers helped me realize – because that’s how compassionate everyone is here – how much I bring to the organization by helping students in the same way I had been helped. I’m sure someday other students will feel the same way I feel about Student Support Services at Rhode Island College.

What’s great about SSS is that we have an open-door policy. If you have a question – even if you’re not an SSS member

To learn more about Rhode Island College’s Student Support Services and high school programs, visit ric.edu.

BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES (SSS)?

To be an eligible SSS student, you need to be enrolled at RIC and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

You also have to meet at least one of the following criteria: • Be a first-generation college student (which means that neither your parents or guardian has a bachelor's degree).

• Meet the Federal TRIO Program low-income levels (which means that your family's taxable income for the previous year didn’t exceed 150 percent of the poverty-level amount).

• Have a documented disability (this means that a qualified medical professional diagnosed you with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of your major life activities).

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

29

RIC ANSWERS THE CALL

for adult education and workforce development 30

|

FALL 2023

cover story

by jeff theodore

A

s a public institution, Rhode Island College is concerned about supporting industry and business for the benefit of our graduates, who should be employment ready with the skills and knowledge to thrive in the workplace,” says Rhode Island College President Jack Warner.

• A bevy of grant-funded projects funneling through the college’s Institute for Education in Healthcare [within the School of Business] to boost training among healthcare providers statewide.

That’s a challenge since the latest labor statistics reveal that the state’s workforce isn’t growing by much. Over the last 20 years, Rhode Island’s working-age population increased by only 10 percent, the lowest increase in New England.

Launched in Spring 2022, the B.P.S. is RIC’s first fully online adult degree completion program, designed for people who have earned some college credit but didn’t finish. In Rhode Island, that’s estimated to be about 125,000 residents.

Factor in an “enrollment cliff” that some education experts predict will trigger a 10-15 percent drop among traditional college-age students by 2025. Other experts say the drop may not be as dire. Nonetheless, to address the anticipated decline, Rhode Island College has strengthened its institutional focus on adult learners.

The program – which launched with concentrations in social services and organizational leadership and allows participants to take two courses apiece in two eight-week sessions within a semester – is comprised of adult learners who may be juggling work, family and community commitments. New concentrations in strategic communication and educational foundations launched this fall.

“To be sure, the adult market is competitive, but we think we can grow in several different arenas,” Warner says. “We’re working to carve out the right niche.”

Among the strategic new initiatives in the college’s adult education/workforce development arsenal are: • A steadily growing Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S.) degree completion program • A redesigned Office of Corporate Engagement and Professional Studies whose mission is to strengthen the connections with employers and fulfill workforce needs • New weekend graduate courses in clinical social work and “HyFlex” courses for graduate nursing students

busy adults opt for the b.p.s. program

Candidates must be 25 years and older, have five years of documented work or military experience, at least 24 college credits and be working toward their first bachelor’s degree. Some of the students’ professional experience can count toward college credit.

Ruth Soares, Nicole Haas-Rodriguez and Kieshana Dawkins, who are concentrating in social services, are among the women who formed the B.P.S. “alpha cohort” in spring 2022. Haas-Rodriguez hopes to move up in her career from executive assistant at a local healthcare agency to healthcare advocate. Soares, a teacher assistant in the Pawtucket School Department, says she isn’t certain yet about her next steps but believes the B.P.S. represents the link

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

31

adult education to her future. Dawkins plans to use the degree to open a drop-in center for residents in need on Providence’s South Side and name it after her late mother, Penny, who was known for always helping others.

They all expect to graduate in Spring 2024.

“I’ve always wanted a college education but didn’t know how it would be done,” says Soares, 54. “Now that I’m doing it, I’m so excited about learning new things. I think sometimes colleges are so focused on attracting students in the 18-24-yearold range, they tend to neglect people in my age range. Being a part of B.P.S. is going to open doors for everybody, and I’m happy that I will be able to finish in two years, rather than five.”

I’ve always wanted a college education but didn’t know how it would be done... B.P.S. is going to open doors for everybody.

—ruth soares

At times, Haas-Rodriguez says she’s felt like an imposter in her current job.

“Having a degree isn’t going to make me that much smarter or a better person in any way, but it will make me feel a little more secure. It will signify to everyone at my job that I’m supposed to be there, and, more importantly, I will know that I’m supposed to be there,” she says.

Dawkins, 44, used to work as a mental health clinician at CODAC (a behavioral healthcare treatment nonprofit in Providence) but couldn’t earn the same salary as fellow clinicians because she didn’t have a degree.

Aura Cruz and Laura Garcia, friends and colleagues who work together in the outpatient ambulatory specialty clinic at Rhode Island Hospital, are also B.P.S. students earning degrees in organizational leadership.

Cruz, 30, wants to be a leader in healthcare management and a resource for people who need it. |

FALL 2023

“She keeps me on my toes, and I keep her on her toes,” says Garcia, 33, of Cruz.

Garcia intends to use her degree to become a physician assistant, working directly with patients. “Enrolling in the B.P.S. program has opened my eyes to the fact that there are so many people who could benefit from this program but don’t have the resources,” she says.

Cruz says she now realizes there isn’t an age limit on earning a degree.

Haas-Rodriguez, 35, says the B.P.S. program appealed to her because “it’s “In my early 20s, I used to beat myself up, geared toward adults who have responthinking that my college education needed sibilities outside of just being a student. to happen then,” she says. “But I’m glad And this is something I can get into and it’s happening now with me as a working stay focused. That’s very motivating to me.” person. I see things in a different light.”

“Without a degree I’m limited,” she says. “At CODAC, I couldn’t write notes or get paid a higher amount, but I was doing all this clinician work, such as counseling and writing up treatment plans. But I wasn’t being compensated enough to support my family.”

32

“I want to be the type of leader who makes a difference in the community and finds ways to make the work environment a better place,” says Cruz, who persuaded Garcia to join her in the B.P.S. program.

building a bridge to r.i. employers In October 2022 President Warner named Jenifer Giroux as the college’s first-ever vice president of corporate engagement and professional studies. Giroux, formerly associate vice president of professional studies and continuing education, is tasked with partnering with the college’s academic offices to develop strategies that expand adult education, continuing education, workforce development, online coursework and graduate studies.

“Our goal is to look at economic trends to make data-driven and informed decisions about how to meet the needs of state employers,” Giroux says. “The priority is to have more employer engagement here on campus and opportunities for our students to work with business and industry.”

Thus far, Giroux says she’s receiving encouraging response from employers around the state.

“They want to bring RIC in or send their employees to the college for training,” she says. “There’s an affinity for RIC, especially from our alumni at various corporations around Rhode Island.”

Giroux also oversees activities at the Rhode Island College Workforce

cover story

Ruth Soares, 54, is working towards her Bachelor of Professional Studies with a concentration in social services. She expects to graduate in Spring 2024.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

33

adult education “There’s an art and a science to instructional design,” Warner says. “We all had to pivot to remote learning because of COVID but that wasn’t the best way to intentionally design remote activity.

There’s a lot more to it than that.”

Nino says he’s working with faculty and administrators to promote a change in the way some see online learning.

above: The RIC Workforce Development Hub in Central Falls, a former bank building.

current programming at the hub includes: Bookkeeping/ accounting training Community health worker training Digital literacy English as a Second Language classes First aid/CPR Healthcare bridge program for multilingual learners Internet technology help desk training Medical assisting training Medical assisting training for multilingual learners

“Online learning can be as good as traditional learning, if not better, when well designed,” he says. “Online learning is a need for today’s learners, not a luxury or something trendy. For several students, online is the only way to get an education.

Besides a flexible delivery format, learners are looking for content that is connected to specific knowledge, skills, and abilities. They want to know the accompanying classes can be aligned to career readiness and reaching their career goals.”

Development Hub in Central Falls, an education and training facility that opened in 2020. After a brief hiatus during COVID, the hub, where programming is primarily grant-funded and cohort-based, is now fully active again.

Equus Workforce Solutions, an organization that provides workforce development, career advising and financial literacy has recently set up shop in the hub.

The Department of Labor and Training is expected to begin offering services at the Hub after the new year.

“For anyone who comes to the Department of Labor and Training and are interested in workforce development programs or educational opportunities, we’ll be right there to meet with their clients,” Giroux says.

The hub, which offers certificate classes and job training in a community that’s roughly 70 percent Hispanic/ Latinx, recently received New England Commission of Higher Education approval to offer credit-bearing classes.

This will allow expanded programming to include undergraduate, graduate and dual enrollment courses.

creating convinience for adult learners New models of course delivery are taking root in the college’s School of Social Work and Zvart Onanian School of Nursing.

Graduate social work courses focused on clinical training are now being held on weekends. The courses, which began in Fall 2022 with an initial cohort of 29 participants, are designed to help students learn clinical treatment modalities and evaluate whether their practice work is efficient.

“During information sessions, we heard from students who wanted more flexibility, so we decided to start the weekend courses,” says Jennifer Meade, chair of the Master of Social Work program, who created the weekend program in collaboration with former School of Social Work Interim Dean Jayashree Nimmagadda. “We will continue with more classes, and I have a feeling they’re going to be pretty packed.”

These are the type of courses that Warner says he’s pushing to become more relevant at RIC. Deborah Bergner, a student in one of the courses, says the weekend program is a winning concept.

Warner says that the college is also aiming “It’s flexible, manageable, creates a sense to build a team of instructional designers of community and recognizes that people like Miko Nino, who since fall 2022 has been have busy lives and other responsibilities,” working as assistant vice president for adult she says. Bergner works as a residential life and online education alongside Giroux. and housing coordinator at the University 34

|

FALL 2023

Aura Cruz and Laura Garcia are co-workers who enrolled in the B.P.S. program together. “She keeps me on my toes and I keep her on her toes,” Garcia (left) says.

of Rhode Island (URI) doing field work in URI’s Counseling Center and she serves on the town council in South Kingstown.

“There’s a range of people in the classes, from new bachelor’s degree grads to older people like me. I applaud the school of social work administrators for piloting this program. They want it to work, and we [students] want it to work, too.”

Meade says the program was curated to include contributions from both tenured and adjunct faculty.

“For this to be successful, we wanted the program to mirror what we do with the regular weekday courses in social work,” she says. “I believe this first group has had a good experience and we’re hearing from prospective applicants who’ve learned about it word-of-mouth.”

Meanwhile, graduate and doctoral programs in RIC’s Zvart Onanian School of Nursing are becoming more accessible through new HyFlex courses. A HyFlex class allows students with scheduling challenges to access classes in-person, virtually through video conferencing or asynchronously through Blackboard recorded sessions. Students may choose the mode that works best for them from course to course or session to session.

The move to HyFlex aligns with national trends toward increasing online and distance learning in graduate nursing education, according to an American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2021 report.

Amy Dark, 53, says HyFlex enabled her to complete her Master of Science in nursing degree and graduate in May 2023.

“I began my plan of study while living in Rhode Island, which made the campus easily accessible,” says Dark, a school nurse. “In July 2022 I moved with my husband to southern Maine, and, because of Hyflex, I’ve been able to finish with the same level of quality education.”

Dark praised the school’s seamless rollout of HyFlex courses.

“Via Zoom, HyFlex is fully integrated and makes you feel like you’re there in the classroom with everyone,” she says.

“Faculty also have been very responsive and approachable. If I email a faculty

“Without a degree I’m limited...I was doing all this clinician work...But I wasn’t being compensated enough to support my family,” says Kieshana Dawkins, a mental health clinician and B.P.S. student.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

35

member, he or she responds immediately, and I feel like I’m getting the same level of support I’d receive if I were there physically. I think the school of nursing values the experience nurses have in their current roles and understands people who have been out in the workforce and returning to secure more education.”

Jim Conway, a longtime neurology nurse at Rhode Island Hospital, agrees. He’s using HyFlex to earn his Doctor of Nursing practice degree.

“HyFlex has made me a better student,” says Conway, 60. “I can be at work or at home and log in to take care of things. I feel like I have a better work/life balance now.”

While he wasn’t initially too savvy with Blackboard, Conway credits faculty and Internet technology staff for their assistance.

“The thing about HyFlex is that you have to be dedicated to make sure you don’t get behind,” Conway says.

expanding healthcare job training in rhode island From its headquarters inside the School of Business, the Institute for Education in Healthcare (IEH) is leading the way as the largest earner of indirect funds on campus, generating more than $7 million in grants in 2022 alone. Those funds are being used to customize training programs for hundreds of current and future healthcare professionals around Rhode Island and throughout the region.

Created in 2016, the institute has changed the face of behavioral healthcare in the state, says IEH founder Marianne Raimondo ’09 M.S.W., who now serves as dean in RIC’s School of Business.

“There are many professionals working at healthcare organizations who never finished their college degree,” says Raimondo. “Our institute is offering opportunities to educate workers in hospitals, nursing homes, home care companies and health centers to earn their degrees. Ultimately, this benefits the quality of care. People are better educated and equipped to serve their patients, residents and clients. That’s a win for the healthcare industry, Rhode Island College and our students.”

Interim IEH Director Tonya Glantz says that in its seven-year existence IEH has grown tremendously.

“In the past, our work has often centered on working to assist older adults, but we’ve expanded to include community health organizations, behavioral health organizations and the Rhode Island 36

|

FALL 2023

cover story

We’re staying true to our mission: to be the bridge that connects higher education departments on the RIC campus to the community, leading students to career pathways while also informing the transformation of the workforce.

—tonya glantz interim director for education in healthcare

Department of Education,” says Glantz. “However, we’re staying true to our mission: to be the bridge that connects higher education departments on the RIC campus to the community, leading students to career pathways while also informing the transformation of the workforce.”

Evidence of IEH’s efforts can be found at the Providence Center, a mental health clinic that assists about 18,000 Rhode Island adults, adolescents and children affected by psychiatric illnesses, emotional problems and addictions. In the past, The Providence Center has had issues retaining case managers, who are a critical part of the center’s behavioral health efforts. With funds from a state grant, the Providence Center partnered with IEH in 2018 to create a career ladder apprenticeship that provides specialized training for case managers.

Mercy Morales ’13, a case manager at the Providence Center who coordinates the care of 40 clients, says the apprenticeship emboldened her confidence on the job.

“I learned more on topics such as medication management, how to reduce the stressors of my clients and what it means to be a leader and agent of change,” she says.

Gabriella Garza, a program manager at the Providence Center, says since the apprenticeship

began, she’s noticed that more case managers like Mercy have decided to stay.

“Our staff turnover is lower, and I attribute that to the apprenticeship,” Garza says. “Case managers feel like we’re investing in them, so they want to stay. We give them the proper training and the feeling of having room to grow.”

Mercy Morales ’13 (right), a case manager at The Providence Center, completed an apprenticeship through the Institute for Education in Healthcare.

Gabriella Garza (left), a program manager, says apprenticeships have reduced staff turnover.

Through the years, IEH has recruited several RIC undergraduate and graduate students to work on training delivery and data. Glantz says some have gone on to write grants themselves and become influential within the ranks of the state’s healthcare administration.

“Now that people have seen our work, we’re a go-to institute,” Raimondo says. “For example, I’m on the governor’s Alzheimer’s Council. At a recent meeting, people were talking about dementia training. That led to a follow-up to see what role IEH can play to provide training to community and healthcare providers and social services agencies across the state.”

These are some of the initiatives in place at Rhode Island College to support adult education/workforce development. As the demographic of higher education continues to evolve, RIC will continue to employ innovative strategies to educate and serve the needs of all Rhode Islanders.

far left: The RIC Workforce Development Hub contains classrooms, labs, computer and conference rooms equipped with the amenities needed for students to enhance their abilities and enter the workforce with new skills.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

37

Leadership A STUDY IN

IN THREE ACTS

Preparation for leadership started early for the children of Joseph and Josephine Raimondo. Today, Marianne Raimondo ’09 M.S.W., the eldest, leads RIC’s School of Business; her brother, Thomas Raimondo, is a noted pulmonologist; and her sister, Gina Raimondo, is Rhode Island’s first female governor and current U.S. secretary of commerce.

From high-powered healthcare management executive to dean of RIC’s School of Business, Marianne Raimondo is blazing a path of innovation. by jeff theodore

first act As a young girl, Marianne Raimondo once asked her father, a longtime chemist and chief of materials science at the Bulova Watch Company in Providence, why he rose so early each morning from their Greenville home to head off to work. She says his answer provided her with her first example of what it means to be a leader.

“He said he had guys on the shop floor and in the lab and he had to be there for them.

As a young kid, it showed me that being a leader is about being there for those who work for and with you. My father was there helping, coaching and teaching his team members,” she says.

Raimondo’s mother served as a worthy example, as well.

“In the 1950s mom went to Bryant College at a time when few women attended college,” she says.

“She went on to become executive secretary in the Office of Personnel at the U.S. Rubber Corporation until she became pregnant. In those days, once you became pregnant, they made you quit. So, she became a stay-at-home mom. After my grandmother passed away, my grandfather moved in for 25 years and mom became his caretaker as he got older.”

38

|

FALL 2023

In the Raimondo household, education was paramount.

“My siblings and I were encouraged to study and do our best,” she says. “I wouldn’t say there was pressure to succeed, but we were encouraged to keep getting better.”

Raimondo learned another lesson in leadership as a teenager waitressing at the Galilee Beach Club.

“The chef would make food and then ask all of us, mostly teenagers, ‘What do you think?

How does it taste? How does it look?”’ she says. “I was struck by that and thought, ‘What do I know? I’m just a kid.’ However, later in life, I realized that this chef was empowering us by engaging us. And that’s how I lead now, by listening and engaging.”

second act

deals with the incidence, distribution and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health. After graduation, Raimondo began working in healthcare. Along the way, she earned a Ph.D. in public health/health policy and management at UMass.

Raimondo rose through the healthcare ranks to become vice president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, an organization that assists member hospitals with meeting the healthcare needs of Rhode Islanders through advocacy, representation, education and services.

She later joined a national healthcare management consulting firm, climbing to the role of vice president/partner of the firm.

“As the only female member of the senior management team, I was constantly challenged and discredited,” she says.

Like her father, Raimondo earned a bachAnother battle she faced was convincing CEOs elor’s degree in chemistry at Providence to focus on quality assurance issues.

College. It wasn’t until she had enrolled in a doctoral program in analytical chemistry “Like any other organization, hospitals and at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst healthcare companies have to balance a that she realized chemistry wasn’t her calling. budget and make a profit and sometimes quality is compromised,” Raimondo says. “When She ended up earning a master’s degree I got into the healthcare field, manufacturers in epidemiology/biostatistics at UMass. were ahead of healthcare when it came to qualEpidemiology is the branch of medicine that ity improvement methods. I brought their meth-

lessons in leadership

providers and social service organizations across the state and has been praised for its programs in leadership development, behavioral health, aging, dementia, case management and other programs.

Raimondo says, “When the institute first started, we partnered with the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, who contacted healthcare organizations across the state and asked them what their training needs were, and we listened,” she says. “At the time, behavioral health was the top concern everywhere. I feel like our institute has had an impact. Our challenge now is to grow and build capacity.”

School of Business Dean Marianne Raimondo

ods to healthcare organizations. I was often bucking the system in persuading CEOs to get on board. I did a lot of pioneering and challenging work in the early 90s.”

At age 39, Raimondo married the love of her life, David Jasinski, a healthcare administrator. At age 41, pregnant with their first child, Gianna, Raimondo decided to leave her consulting firm. Her son, Peter, was born a year later.

the end of the day, what they needed was counseling,” she says.

That realization prompted Raimondo to enroll in RIC’s School of Social Work at age 50. She earned her M.S.W. degree in 2009 and went on to become a licensed clinical social worker.

third act

“I went from consulting CEOs of healthcare organizations to being a social worker sitting at the bedside of hospice patients,” she says.

“I had enough clients to start my own consulting practice,” she says, “which I ran for “While visiting every nursing home in Rhode Island, I saw all the management and qualiseven years.” Raimondo also taught relity-of-care issues I had been consulting about gious education at her church. for years, but it wasn’t my role anymore to address such issues with administrators, and “One day, the director of religious education approached me and said, ‘I’m retiring. it was difficult to bite my tongue.”

Would you like this job?’ Initially, I was thinking, ‘No, I’m going back to healthcare When a healthcare administration faculty position at RIC opened up in 2013, Raimondo management.’ Then I decided to take the saw it as an opportunity to marry her training job and to continue my healthcare conin social work with healthcare. “It was also an sulting part time.” opportunity to teach future generations about how to improve healthcare,” she says.

It was her work at the church that influenced her to consider adding another field to her healthcare career – social work. In 2014 Raimondo established the Institute for Education in Healthcare at Rhode Island College. It is a regional model for training “As director of religious education, I current and future healthcare professionhelped families who were having probals. Now in its seventh year, the institute has lems with finances, substance abuse, their gained recognition for training healthcare marriage or their spiritual needs, but at

In fall 2022 Raimondo was appointed dean of the college’s School of Business by RIC President Jack Warner.

“My challenge, as dean, is to make sure the curriculum is contemporary and meets the needs of businesses today and in the future, and I want to make sure our students are prepared to land jobs. I’m confident we can grow and move forward,” she says.

Tonya Glantz, who now serves as interim director of the Institute for Education in Healthcare, says Raimondo’s work ethic, compassion and just-do-it spirit has been a tremendous asset at Rhode Island College.

“I have long admired the way she truly cares about RIC students, how she goes above and beyond to ensure that they receive a quality education and, more importantly, connect them to meaningful experiential learning opportunities,” Glantz says. “She sets the bar high and she sets an example that should not only be applauded but emulated.”

So, what is Raimondo’s fourth act? Some pieces of it are already taking shape: the School of Business will launch a new sports management major (see pg. 48) and new cybersecurity major in the fall (see pg. 11), and the college was recently approved for funding to create the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies, which will also be housed under the School of Business (see pg. 58). With a leader as innovative and multifaceted as Raimondo, anything is possible.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

39

In this photo essay, rising junior Deolinda “Dolly” Mendes shows you what campus life looks like from her end of the lens. Dolly is a nursing major with a dance minor, an RA at Weber Hall, president of the Class of 2025 and a member of Student Community Government, Inc. As an RA, I’m responsible for 400 freshmen in Weber Hall. An RA’s roles and responsibilities include building a warm residential community, acting as a mentor, being a familiar first resource when students have academic questions and assisting them when they have problems or referring them to the Counseling Center. I chose to become an RA because I love making friends and building community. I want to be that familiar face that incoming freshmen can count on.”

40

|

FALL 2023

photo essay

I won Miss Worcester in 2022 during my freshman year at RIC. Here, I am competing in the 2023 Miss Massachusetts Competition at the Hanover Theatre. I won for overall talent.

Part of our RA training activities was going to a Food Truck Festival at Roger Williams Park. (from left: Maci Dorantes, Dolly Mendes and Shannon O’Connell.)

This is my dorm room. Residents like Avery Leonard (sitting on bed) often pop in to talk. Students have many stressors. As freshmen, they’re going to a new school, they’re leaving home for the first time and they’re trying to form relationships, which can be difficult. When my residents pop in, it could be about which donut to get from Dunkin to struggles with home life or financial problems. I think my residents know they can lean on me at any time.

left: During our two-week RA training, Shannon O’Connell and I got tattooed tongues.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

41

photo essay

Chicken tenders and fries are my go-to meal at Donovan Dining Center. At the checkout, I always talk to Rick (cashier). I’ve known Rick since I was a freshman. He’s my favorite Donovan worker ever. Even when I’m super stressed, he can put a smile on my face.

42

|

FALL 2023

photo essay

Studying in RIC’s Simulation Center and Nursing Resource Lab. Ever since I was young, I’ve wanted to be a nurse. I use the communication skills I learned in my nursing classes when I communicate with my residents.

I work out at RIC’s Rec Center about three times a week. Here I am with one of my residents, Sarah Scherer.

My residents threw me a late-night birthday party for my 20th birthday.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

43

photo essay

above: Hanging out in the dorm with my residents (from left, Brodie Burgun, Jack Doyle and Avery Leonardo). right: During freshman move-in at Weber Hall, Daniel Asencio and I fool around.

above: It’s 4 a.m. and I have to get keys for a student who is locked out of their room.

That’s pretty common. right: This is where all the spare keys are kept.

It’s Spring Break and I’m on my way to Miami, Florida. (From left, Dolly Mendes’ mom and Dolly Mendes ) 44

|

FALL 2023

photo essay

This is the last week of school. My bestie, Savannah Jenard, and I are attending the masquerade ball in the Student Union.

Playing Monopoly with my residents in Weber Hall.

Playing pool with my residents.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

45

AROUND CAMPUS 46

|

FALL 2023

school of education

A NEW ERA BEGINS AT HORACE MANN The fully renovated building finally provides the School of Education with a true home On Monday, April 3, President Jack Warner stood alongside R.I. Gov. Daniel McKee, Postsecondary Education Chair David Caprio and elected officials, cutting the ribbon to mark the official reopening of Horace Mann Hall, the flagship building of the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development (FSEHD). A three-year, $25 million renovation of the building was completed late last year, its first major transformation since opening in 1971.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era in teacher education at our state’s first and oldest institution of public higher education,” Warner said at the event.

“Rhode Island needs teachers who are trained in the most modern, cutting-edge classroom practices and we need a facility that meets those standards. The allnew Horace Mann Hall is that facility, the jewel of our nationally recognized School of Education.”

Education Professor and Chair of Educational Studies Charles McLaughlin says the building is easily the best he’s ever worked in during his more than 30-year career.

“It was worth waiting for,” he says of his office, which overlooks the building’s front lawn. “This is what I’ve always thought a professional office would look like. I’m pinching myself because I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot.”

Rachel Clemons, coordinator of RIC’s Field Education Youth Development program, agrees.

She praised the state-of-the-art technology and noted that her students arrive well before classes begin because that’s how comfortable they feel in the welcoming environment.

“I feel such gratitude for a learning space that feels like it was done intentionally, thoughtfully and with the care of the faculty in mind, but most importantly the students,” Clemons says.

The renovation was made possible by the 2018 approval of a $70 million bond by Rhode Island voters that also funded upgrades to the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus. Major improvements include a wing featuring six classrooms and three seminar rooms, bright and spacious student common areas and a three-story addition for offices. The building began hosting classes again in January at the start of the spring semester.

“There’s something to be said about having a home for your particular discipline,” says former FSEHD dean Jeannine Dingus-Eason.

The redesign emphasizes those flexible common spaces where students can meet, study, work and collaborate. Dingus-Eason says the building can now serve as a “landing space” for students.

“Research shows the importance of incidental learning, which is peer-to-peer learning that happens in the hallways after class,” she says. “It was hard for that type of learning to happen when we didn’t have a true home.”

Dingus-Eason says the window glass on the front façade is her favorite feature in the building. left: Horace Mann Hall

“It looks like a living prism, especially at different times of the day when it catches the light,” she says.

Students converse in the lounge of Horace Mann Hall.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

47

school of business

LET THE GAMES BEGIN The School of Business launches new sports management major Sport’s management is not only one of the biggest businesses in the country, it is one of the fastest growing majors, says RIC Director of Athletics Don Tencher.

This fall, Rhode Island College will launch a new sports management major under the School of Business.

“We are very excited to launch this new major and to be the first college in Rhode Island to offer it,” says Dean of the School of Business Marianne Raimondo. “The sports management field offers many job opportunities at the high school, college and professional levels.

We know that many students who are athletes or who just love sports will be attracted to a program that combines their passion with career opportunities.”

A longtime advocate for this major, Tencher is happy to see it come to fruition. He has been and continues to be involved at the national level in the education of athletic administrators and is constantly engaged in the professional goals of RIC’s more than 400 student-athletes. Through his experience, he’s found that many student-athletes aren’t looking to become phys ed teachers but want to become athletic business professionals.

“In the past, someone interested in becoming an athletic administrator would first become a phys ed teacher and work their way up to coach and then administrator,” he says. But that has changed. High schools, colleges and professional organizations are now looking for people with a business and manage-

ment background.

“Through Marianne’s leadership, we conducted research to find out if there was any interest in this major amongst the interscholastic league,” Tencher says. “We found overwhelming support.”

The sports management field offers many job opportunities at the high school, college and professional levels.

— m a r i a n n e r a i m o n d o, d e a n of the school of business

Core courses will be taught by professors in the School of Business and experts in the field of athletics. One expert in the field, Dave Roach, will be teaching SMGT 201: Introduction to Sports Management.

An extremely well-respected athletic director for 30 years, Roach worked for Brown University, Colgate University and Fordham University. He was also president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and a high-powered Division I coach at a number of institutions, including the University of Tennessee.

In his introductory course, Roach will give students an overview of what it’s like to be a high school athletic director, a collegiate athletic administrator and to work at the professional level.

“When I say professional level, I’m not just talking about professional teams,” Roach explains. “I’m talking about professional sports venues and organizations. You could work for the Patriots, or you could work for the AMICA Mutual Pavilion or you could work for a company that sells sports sponsorships for colleges and professional organizations.

“On both the intercollegiate and professional levels, there are careers in tickets, compliance, administration, fundraising, promotions and marketing. That’s why we refer to this field as sports management rather than athletic administration. It runs the gamut. The possibilities are endless.”

According to Raimondo, RIC’s School of Business is already working to establish relationships with high schools, colleges and pro sports teams in the area to provide RIC students who major in this area with internship and job opportunities.

RIC Head Men’s Soccer Coach Kyle Froberg

48

|

FALL 2023

school of nursing

A FAMILY AFFAIR Wendy Chicoine is a three-time RIC graduate, and her daughters are following in her footsteps Wendy Chicoine’s eureka moment came after her middle daughter, Paige, was diagnosed with an eye-movement disorder.

“I went home and told my husband that I was going back to school for nursing,” she says. “To this day it’s a decision I’ve never questioned. I know I’m in the right place.”

Since 2011, Chicoine, age 46, has been a fixture at the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing. She earned her R.N. to B.S.N. in 2013; her M.S.N. in public health and community nursing in 2018; and her Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degree in May. “I keep coming back to the School of Nursing because I know I have the support of the school and I know the professors genuinely care and want you to succeed,” she says. “The professors understand that most of us are full-time employees with significant responsibilities.”

As associate vice president of clinical operations and clinical education for Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC), Chicoine’s responsibilities have not gone unrecognized.

For her leadership in caring for 60,000 patients at PCHC during the COVID pandemic, she was named the 2021 Community/Public Health Nurse of the Year, an award sponsored by Rhode Island Monthly and the Rhode Island State Nurses Association. Nurse honorees are nominated by their peers and selected by a panel of nursing professionals and educators.

Chicoine was also recognized for her role in establishing the state’s first walk-up and drive-through COVID testing site in April 2020. She assisted with developing operational procedures, infection control procedures and patient education.

“It was all hands on deck and very surreal,” Chicoine says when asked about PCHC’s COVID response.

“You learn about these types of things in public health but don’t really think about it until it happens. I was able to utilize my skills in a way I never had before, and I learned so much.”

As a healthcare administrator, Chicoine aims to use her D.N.P. to help the broader population on a systems level.

“My goal is to improve the overall health and well-being of people, not just at the individual level but at the population level,” she says. “That’s where I find my passion. What I love about my job is that I get to do this every day.”

Wendy Chicoine, B.S.N. ’13, M.S.N. ’18, D.N.P. ’23

Receiving her third degree from the college was special, Chicoine says, because she did it alongside her 23-year-old daughter, Taylor, who earned a degree in health sciences with a concentration in human services.

Taylor says she admires her mother’s will to learn.

“She’s very hard-working, smart and caring. It was an honor to graduate with her.” Paige, the daughter who inspired Chicoine’s nursing career, is currently an art education major, making RIC truly a family affair.

“I want my kids to be proud of me,” she says. “I’ve been going to school since they were young. I hope I’ve showed them that they can do anything they set their minds to. Will I ever stop learning? Probably not.

I always want to learn more.”

Case in point: Chicoine is enrolled this fall in a Rhode Island College graduate nursing course to earn a quality and safety certificate.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

49

school of social work

NEW PARTNERSHIP REMOVES BARRIERS FOR SOCIAL WORK PROFESSIONALS Interagency program is helping social workers become licensed clinicians

A

cross the country there is an ever-increasing demand for social work clinicians, particularly clinicians who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).

To expand the number, diversity and educational level of these professionals, the Rhode Island College School of Social Work, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (RIOPC) have created a unique program.

Launched in 2022, the Health Professional Equity Initiative removes barriers so that working professionals in the home- and community-based services sector can earn their M.S.W. degree and become licensed clinicians.

Classes are held in the evening and students receive funding for tuition, fees, books and other aid necessary to complete their degree.

The program is targeted at working professionals like Silvia Adames, a 51-year-old community health worker for Blackstone Valley Community Health Care.

The only reason I hadn’t gotten a degree in the 20 years I’ve been in this country is because I couldn’t afford it. Now I [can] go to school tuition-free.”

— m . s . w . s t u d e n t s i lv i a a d a m e s

Back in her native Dominican Republic, she was a successful professional accountant, while her husband was a chemical engineer. Their three daughters went to the best schools. But out of fear for their family’s safety, they left everything behind 20 years ago to come to the United States.

Adames couldn’t practice her profession in the United States because the accounting laws here are different.

She was told she would need to go back to school and become recertified. But the family didn’t have the money and Adames couldn’t speak English.

So, at age 36 she went to work in a factory and took English lessons in the evening at the local library. She entered the home- and community-based services sector, working as a nursing assistant in a nursing home. It was there that she found her true passion.

“I loved the patients,” she says. “I loved listening to them.

Many of them never received visitors. Many of them felt alone. I was that person that they could talk to.”

Adames trained and became certified as a medication technician. After 15 years of service at the nursing home, she was injured from lifting a patient. It ended her career at age 45.

She then trained to become a community health worker. At Blackstone, Adames continues to do what she loves most – listen to patients and counsel them. Upon completion of her M.S.W. program, her dream will have been realized.

“When I heard about this special program at RIC, I saw it as an opportunity,” she says. “The only reason I hadn’t gotten a degree in the 20 years I’ve been in this country is because I couldn’t afford it. Now I have the chance to go to school tuition-free. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

My supervisor encouraged me to apply. He said, ‘You’ll make a great counselor because you’re already doing the work, only now you’ll be paid for it.’”

Silvia Adames

50

|

FALL 2023

faculty of arts & sciences

QUENBY HUGHES, NEW DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Not only is Hughes a RIC alumna and daughter of two retired RIC professors, she is the first woman to serve in this leadership role.

O

n June 19 Professor of History Quenby Olmsted Hughes ’95 became Rhode Island College’s seventh dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the first woman to serve in this role. She replaces former dean Earl Simson, who served for 15 years.

FAS is the largest division ​on campus, with 16 departments and 10 programs across the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences. As a former history major, Hughes is a product of the division.

She enrolled at RIC early – in her senior year of high school – while her father, Richard Olmsted, was RIC professor of philosophy and her mother, Audrey Olmsted, a RIC professor of communication. Being a “professor’s kid,” Hughes initially did not expect to complete her degree at RIC. Through RIC’s Student Exchange Program, she attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada, for a year.

“My intention was to eventually transfer to McGill, but I found that wasn’t for me,” she says. “The classes were massive – my smallest class had 90 students – and I was primarily taught by graduate students. It really reinforced for me how special Rhode Island College is. Class sizes cap at 30 and the faculty really mentor and care about their students.” Hughes concluded that there’s no place like home.

She earned her B.A. in history summa cum laude at RIC in 1995 and went on to complete her A.M. (1997) and Ph.D. (2003) in modern American history at Harvard University.

After earning her doctorate, Hughes initially taught part time at Harvard and at the same time at RIC. She eventually sought a tenured position at RIC because, she says, “RIC makes a real difference in students’ lives.”

Hughes has taught more than 30 different RIC courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.

She was also elected president of the faculty union and served on several committees. Her

FAS Dean Quenby Hughes

division’s primary goal, she says, is to educate students in a wide variety of liberal arts fields that have a shared emphasis on critical and creative thinking. This, she believes, helps “future-proof the degrees all RIC students earn through the General Education Program.”

“There’s a lot of economic uncertainty about the future,” she continues. “It’s really hard to predict what our society and our economy is going to look like in the future. Research suggests that it will be through general education programs that students gain the flexibility of mind to be able to confront uncertainty and change. We are effectively helping individuals function in an uncertain world. We teach everyone.”

Overall, Hughes says she is excited about bringing the division together around the common goal of supporting RIC students, be it through academic advising, mentorships, internships and gen ed courses.

“It feels like a really good time to become dean,” she says. “There’s this broader energy of optimism at the college and this wonderful momentum.”

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

51

visual & performing arts

STEPPING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT RIC’s newest student organization celebrates the history of African and African American Dance Last spring Rhode Island College’s roster of more than 70 student organizations gained a new multicultural dance group – Motherland’s Finest. The group made their debut during Black History Month.

Founded by RIC nursing student Victoria Gyamfi, who is also a member of Harambee, the college’s first black student organization, Motherland’s Finest hopes to simultaneously lift the spirits and offer a bit of African and African American history.

Of Ghanian descent, Gyamfi says she grew up mimicking dances such as “Azonto,” a popular dance genre from Ghana that features acrobatic knee bending and hip movements, and Afrobeat, a Nigerian dance that combines West African musical styles with American funk, jazz and soul influences.

The repertoire of Motherland’s Finest spans Afrobeat, hip-hop and step dancing. The latter is a form of percussive dance that requires participants to use footsteps, spoken word and hand claps. Since the early 1900s, step dancing has been a ritual practiced among African American fraternities and sororities.

Gyamfi was a member of the step dancing squad while a student at Providence’s Classical High School. She says step moves are complex and have been a challenge for other members of the dance company to learn.

“But my outlook with the other dancers is to be patient,” she says. “I tell them not to stress because this organization is supposed to be a fun thing. Everyone’s dance levels are different.”

Gyamfi says she named the organization Motherland’s Finest because “Africa is the motherland. Life started there.”

“I want this group to be a way to honor, cherish and remember the long, rich history and talent of Black people.”

52

|

FALL 2023

Victoria Gyamfi, founder of the new student group Motherland’s Finest

visual & performing arts

SONGBIRD MAKING HER MARK IN MUSIC INDUSTRY

While working on a major in psychology at RIC, Jessica Zeltzer ’23 crisscrossed the country, between Los Angeles, New York and Rhode Island, writing, recording and performing her own emotionally charged music.

In 2021 she signed a performance artist development deal with Siri Music Group, an Orchard Sony music collective. Her latest single, “Crying,” was released in March 2023. She performed the song on “Good Day New York” in May – the same month she earned her bachelor’s degree.

Zeltzer, who uses only her first and middle name, Kaela, professionally, says, “Throughout my four years at RIC, I’ve had amazing professors who were supportive of my journey.

They were so accommodating of my schedule, which got busy sometimes between performances and meetings.” Now, she says, she’s ready to take on the world.

“ENDINGS” THE FIRST FULLLENGTH FEATURE FILM BY RIC STUDENTS

This year film studies students produced their first full-length feature film titled “Endings.”

The film tells three interconnected stories (each running about 15 to 20 minutes) about characters dealing with different kinds of endings.

The first story, “Show Me How to Live,” written by Angelica DiMaio ’23, focuses on the loss of a long-term romantic partner. The second story, “Growth Spurt,” written by sophomore Emily Daltorio, is about two friends facing the end of high school; one wants to hold onto the past and the other is looking forward to the future.

The third story, “Politics are Falling Apart,” written by Greg Jason ’23, covers a televised political debate that goes completely off the rails.

“Endings” is available for viewing on the RIC Film Studies YouTube Channel.

SCULPTOR MELDS HIS LOVE OF MOVIES WITH HIS LOVE OF FINE ART

Throughout his four years at RIC, art major Michael Mollicone ’23 developed his skills as a sculptor and his production design skills on film crews in Rhode Island and Boston.

As a result, his sculptures have become like miniature movie sets of people interacting.

RIC Professor William Martin describes Mollicone’s pieces as a combination of his Italian American background, the expressive characters he draws in his sketch books and his film production work. “They’re captivating and humorous, drawing the viewer in,” says Martin.

Mollicone won the Senior Award for his sculpture “Mousy’s Bar” – a miniature bar scene set in the 70s, which was exhibited at the Bannister and Chazan galleries. Currently, he is working on his second RIC degree – an M.A.T. in art education.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

53

athletics

LACKMAN PREPARES TO WRESTLE FINANCE REPORTS, NOT OPPONENTS Since first grade, wrestling has played a vital role in Nathan Lackman’s life. The reigning NCAA Division III national champion in wrestling says the sport taught him to never give up.

“There was this flyer going around at school about wrestling, and in my mind, I thought it was about World Wrestling Entertainment,” recalls Lackman, a 2023 graduate in political science, with a minor in business management. “That’s what I thought I was getting myself into, but it was much different than that.”

The Wernersville, Pennsylvania, native who now resides in Cumberland didn’t consider that wrestling was moreso a mental exercise.

“Wrestling is 80 percent mental and 20 percent discipline,” he says. “You can know all the wrestling in the world, but if you don’t have the right mindset and believe in yourself, none of it matters.”

Recently, Lackman emerged victorious in the 2023 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships in a match with his younger brother, Matthew, a student at Alvernia University. He says it didn’t kick in until weeks after his victory what he had accomplished.

“When you’re in competition mindset, you don’t think of winning a championship like that. All I could do was go out there and give it all I had. I knew other wrestlers were gunning for me, but I never felt pressured to win,” he says.

Stephen Masi ’19, Lackman’s best friend and an assistant wrestling coach at RIC, says Lackman was an anchor for him during the wrestling season.

“Nate put RIC on the map as the top wrestler in New England history,” Masi says. “He’s helped the school land top-level recruits and we’ve returned to a high place in the rankings. That’s a testament to Nate’s character and selfless acts. He’s like a little brother to me.”

The NCAA championship win (his second consecutive) represented the pinnacle of Lackman’s longtime wrestling career. Now he’s preparing to make his mark on the financial planning industry. As a financial planner, he wants to service people in their 60s and 70s and help them make decisions regarding retirement. Since 2021 he’s worked as a customer service specialist at Pensionmark Meridien Financial Group in Providence.

RIC Assistant Professor of Political Science Natalie Rogol, who taught and advised Lackman, says she’s confident he will “knock it out of the park” in the financial advising field. During his time at RIC, he’s been on the dean’s list four times and earned the Rhode Island House of Representatives ScholarAthlete Award.

“Whatever job he picks, he’s going to be a success,” Rogol says. “He’s one of those people who possesses strong character, leadership, social skills and expresses pure kindness to other people. When I’ve had other wrestlers in my class, you can tell that they respect and look up to him.”

Lackman intends to turn his attention to helping his little brother and other young wrestlers at the Iron Faith Wrestling Club in Warwick, where’s he an assistant coach.

He’ll leave them with his prescription for success, recalling when he once was an underweight youngster who almost quit wrestling.

“I’m the kid who never gave up,” he says. “My value is so much greater than a win or loss. But, in life, with whatever you want to do, it can be reached if you refuse to let failure define you.”

Nathan Lackman ’23

54

|

FALL 2023

athletics

A MONTH FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS

RECORD-SETTING SEASON FOR BASEBALL

A CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE

Last March was one of the most exciting months in the history of RIC athletics, with teams and individuals across three sports making their marks in the record books.

The women’s basketball team, after a dominant regular season (26-3, 15-1 in conference) that concluded with a third-straight Little East Conference Championship, made an unprecedented run in the NCAA Div. III tournament, advancing all the way to the Final Four. Their road through the tournament included upset victories against third-seeded Rowan University; previously undefeated University of Scranton (ranked third in the country); and the University of Chicago, ranked 10th in the country. Their historic run ended on March 18 with a 56-51 loss to Christopher Newport University in the national semi-finals. The program’s best-ever season resulted in RIC being voted into the top 10 nationally in the final D3hoops.com and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association polls for the 2022-23 season.

Just five days later, senior gymnast Kelsey Gates won the national title in the floor exercise at the the NCGA National Championship at Winona State University in Minnesota. Gates also earned All-American honors for the fourth time in her career.

Earlier in the month, senior wrestler Nathan Lackman won his second consecutive national title in the 165-lb. weight class at the NCAA Div. III Wrestling National Championship (see opposite page). March 2023 will truly earn its own chapter in the history books of RIC athletics.

The Anchormen posted a historic season on the diamond, winning their first-ever Little East Conference regular season championship with a 14-1 in-conference record (27-11 overall).

This earned them the right to host the Little East Baseball Championship tournament, also a first for the school, bringing teams from around New England to Pontarelli Field. The number one seeded Anchormen advanced with wins over Castleton and Southern Maine, before falling to defending NCAA Div. III national champs (and eventual Little East champs) Eastern Connecticut, 8-5, in the ninth game of the tournament. Several individual benchmarks were set during the Anchormen’s historic season, as well, with senior pitcher Connor Davey becoming the team’s all-time leader in wins with a 24-11 career record, senior pitcher Shaun Gamelin (pictured above) setting the program’s all-time (212) and single-season (143) strikeout records and junior third baseman Cal Parrillo becoming the team’s alltime leader in career RBIs (141). Along the way, Head Coach Frank Holbrook earned his 100th win.

On April 29 more than 700 former student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, families and friends gathered in Roberts Hall Auditorium to celebrate 100 Years of Athletics at Rhode Island College.

Master of Ceremonies Dante Bellini ‘80 opened the speaking portion and was followed by RIC President Jack Warner and R.I. Gov. Daniel McKee. RIC Director of Athletics Don Tencher closed the ceremony. RIC recognized more than 180 former student-athletes as part of its 100th Anniversary Teams and handed out 25 Centennial Awards of Distinction.

The honorees received a specially minted All-Centennial medallion (pictured), designed by RIC Athletics and produced by World Trophies in Providence. The awards ceremony and dinner was preceded by tours of Legends Way in the Murray Center and varsity team reunions. It was a long-awaited celebration (delayed by the pandemic) of a century of excellence for RIC student-athletes.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

55

around campus

EXPLORING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM From the Arctic to Ghana, faculty deepened their knowledge and expanded their horizons through research and sabbaticals. These projects allowed them to get out of the classroom, take deep dives into their fields and produce new scholarship. Here are some of their journeys, whether literal or metaphoric, that they embarked upon over the 2022-23 academic year and presented to their peers at the Faculty Research and Scholarship Showcase. anthropology: Peter Little presented “Anthropology in a World of Electronic Waste and Toxicity: A Case Study from Ghana.” His research explores the lived experiences of Ghana’s electronic waste (e-waste) workers. art: Titled “Recent Photographs,” Amy Montali used a 19th-century-style camera to create large-scale color photographs. chemistry: Jamie Towle-Weicksel presented “The RIC Undergraduate Experience: Elucidating the Mechanism of DNA Pol Theta in Cancer.” Towle-Weicksel, who is currently on sabbatical, discussed her undergraduate cancer research program, which aims to decipher the mechanism of UV-damage repair. english: Russell Potter presented “Last Letters of a Lost Expedition.” His co-edited book, “May We Be Spared to Meet on Earth: Letters of the Lost Franklin Arctic Expedition,” unveils, for the first time, all the known surviving letters sent home from the early months of the expedition, which disappeared in 1845. history: Elisa Miller presented “The Rhode Island Woman Suffrage Movement in the Early 20th Century.” Her sabbatical project involved research into several

56

|

FALL 2023

“perch,” by Professor of Photography Amy Montali

woman suffrage organizations in Rhode Island and how they transformed and revitalized the movement. nursing: Lynn Blanchette presented “From the Cradle to the Grave: Public Health Nurses in Ireland.” On her sabbatical at the University of Galway, she worked to find commonalities and opportunities for new strategies to deliver nursing care in the public arena in the U.S. nursing: Sylvia Ross presented “Workplace Incivility in the Healthcare Setting: Why do Nurses Eat Their Young?”

Research shows that graduate nurses are a frequent target of uncivil and negative workplace behaviors from more senior, practicing nurses. Ross developed a workshop for senior nursing students to recognize this problem and develop skills to navigate and mitigate these situations. physical sciences: Medini Padmanabhan presented “Securing the Future of Physics

Education in R.I.” During her sabbatical, she collaborated with The Policy Lab at Brown University, which brings together experts from government agencies and universities to enable data-driven policy making. She also worked with Brown faculty members on a grant that could provide research opportunities for RIC students. political science: Claus Hofhansel presented “Understanding Naturalization Policy through Naturalization Guidelines: Discrimination, Rights, and Information in the German Case.” During his sabbatical he conducted archival research into the adoption and implementation of administrative naturalization guidelines. psychology: Thomas Malloy presented “Sabbatical Research: Visiting Scholar at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.”

Supported by a U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation grant, Malloy conducted research in statistics and methodology and published three papers.

faculty highlights

MY AREA OF EXPERTISE

INSIDE UKRAINIAN FILM

RIC Professor and Director of Film Studies Vincent Bohlinger, an expert on Russian and Soviet film, taught a course last spring on Ukrainian cinema and organized a Ukrainian Film Series at the college that included live Zoom discussions with the filmmakers. In this Q&A, Bohlinger discusses some of the Ukrainian films and their prominent themes that have emerged since Russia’s initial 2014 invasion. interview by gita brown

How are Ukrainian films reflecting on the war?

Some films directly document the crimes being committed by Russia. For instance, “Intercepted,” a documentary that is still in production, consists of secretly intercepted phone calls of Russian soldiers to their families back home. You hear a soldier telling his wife that he has stolen makeup for her along with size 38 New Balance sneakers from the home he just looted. “Grab whatever you can,” she says. “We always need t-shirts.” In another phone call a serviceman describes fellow soldiers shooting an unarmed woman dead in front of two children. “Why not?” his wife responds, “She’s considered an enemy, too.”

These soldiers are literally cataloguing their crimes.

Other Ukrainian films are examining what it’s like to live under siege. “The Earth is Blue as an Orange” is a documentary that won the Directing Award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It’s about a single mother and her children who make a film about living in a war zone.

There’s a kind of absurdism and sweetness to this film.

It’s about the magic of moviemaking.

Professor of Film Studies Vincent Bohlinger

You said one of the ambitions you had for your course on Ukrainian cinema was to showcase a Ukrainian cultural identity that is distinct from

Russia. How are filmmakers defining a separate Ukrainian identity?

Though the boundaries between Russia and Ukraine are clear, the boundaries of culture are not. In some films there’s a kind of nostalgia toward the old Soviet heritage that both Russia and Ukraine share. For instance, in the documentary “Heat Singers,” the workers at a heating plant, which provides heat to all the homes in the town, form a choir. Everyday, the townspeople are on the phone yelling at the workers and accusing them of not doing their jobs because they have no heat. But once a week, the workers stop everything to rehearse old songs, even dressing in traditional clothing. It’s a very Soviet mentality. They’re still reenacting some bygone day, even when facing all the difficulties inherited from those bygone days.

As far as Ukrainian cultural identity, I think it’s still being figured out. I think Ukrainian cultural identity is more about mindset. Ukrainians are consciously moving toward a European and Western mindset around democracy, freedom, the right to self-governance and self-determination. I think we’re watching cultural formation happen in real time.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

57

alumni q&a

58

|

FALL 2023

alumni q&a

alumni q&a

interview by john taraborelli

This can be a real gem for RIC. I would like to see this institute become one of the cornerstone programs RIC is known for, in the same way it’s known for teaching, nursing and social work.” — j a m e s l a n g e v i n ’ 9 0

James Langevin ’90 transitions from the halls of congress to Alger Hall

nation’s fastest-growing and most It’s always exciting when a successful critical industries.

RIC alumnus returns to their alma mater, but very few arrive with as “The cybersecurity industry is a rapidly much fanfare as James Langevin ’90. growing field, and it is imperative After serving Rhode Island in Congress that Rhode Island be at the forefront,” for 22 years, Langevin’s homecoming McKee said at the announcement. “We was announced by R.I. Gov. Daniel want to ensure that we are focused McKee at a press conference at the on growing critical subject matters at State House last April. Not content to Rhode Island College that will create simply enjoy a quiet retirement from a pipeline of talent for the jobs of Congress, where Langevin cofounded tomorrow.” and cochaired the House Cybersecurity The plan is to position Rhode Island to Caucus, he’s back at RIC to establish lead the region in developing highly the Institute for Cybersecurity and skilled cybersecurity professionals Emerging Technologies – and the through certificate, bachelor’sgovernor and General Assembly are and master’s-level courses and investing $2 million in state funding to programming while attracting launch the endeavor. leading researchers and education The new institute, which is housed professionals to develop practical within the School of Business, will and policy approaches to current incorporate the newly expanded cybersecurity challenges. cybersecurity major (it started as a minor in 2020, more on pg. 11) and serve as a regional hub for one of the

We caught up with Langevin at his new office in Alger 103 to learn more.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

59

They did that by introducing malware into the system’s logic controller. If they could do it there, they could do it at scale with multiple turbines. They could theoretically shut down a whole sector of the electrical grid. If this was done in the dead of winter, it would do damage not only to the economy but also lead to loss of life. You’re talking about the power grid not just being shut down for hours or days but potentially weeks or months.

It was an eye-opening and dire briefing that got me going down the path of determining how prepared we are – and how much we’re not prepared. I guess I was in the right place at the right time – or the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on the day.

What was your response to this realization?

There’s no silver bullet for cybersecurity. The best we can do is narrow the aperture of vulnerability and make it something more manageable.

Michael McCaul (R-TX) was the ranking member [on the committee] at the time. We formed a great partnership, the Cybersecurity Caucus, which I cocreated and cochaired until I left Congress.

We were also asked by the Center for Strategic and International Studies [a Washington, D.C. think tank] to cochair a national committee on cybersecurity comprised of 50 experts from both in and out of government to create an overall blueprint to be presented to the next president, which turned out to be Barack Obama.

During your time in the House, you became a national leader on cybersecurity. How and why did you become interested in this issue?

I really fell into it. I was chairing a subcommittee that had jurisdiction over cybersecurity, but I didn’t know how important this would become. A lot of our cyber infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, not the government, and we’re not adequately prepared for the threats we face. As I did a deeper dive, I realized how unprepared and vulnerable we are as a country.

So, this is something you had to come up to speed on rather quickly.

It started when the subcommittee staff director told me I needed a classified briefing right away regarding SCADA [supervisory control and data acquisition] systems for the electric grid. This is technology that allows for remote control of wind turbines and such. They bring great efficiencies, but with that comes a cost in terms of significant vulnerabilities.

The briefing was on the [Operation] Aurora threats [a series of 2009 cyberattacks aimed at dozens of organizations]. Scientists at the National Laboratories discovered this vulnerability. They showed me a video in which you see a turbine and generator operating normally, then it starts to shake and smoke and basically shakes itself apart.

60

|

FALL 2023

In 2019 Congress created the Cyberspace Solarium Commission to provide an overarching strategy to better protect the country. Serving on that was one of the most meaningful experiences in my 22 years in Congress. It was so nonpartisan. We came up with 80 recommendations and enacted just over a third of them in the first couple of years, including what I consider my signature achievement in Congress: creating the Office of the National Cyber Director [2021], which is a senate-confirmed position.

What is the vision for the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies, and what is your role in making that happen?

It’s widely recognized that there are approximately 750,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs nationwide right now. People who go into this field often start with a six-figure salary. There’s a real need in this state and in the country for experts in cybersecurity. What better place than Rhode Island College to create an institute to educate the next generation of cyber warriors, to put them on a career path to earn a good living and provide a vital need for the country?

The institute will focus on cybersecurity as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning. I will serve as distinguished chair, working alongside Marianne Raimondo, the dean of the School of Business, and Suzanne Mello-Stark, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems.

I’ll provide strategic guidance on the existing academic programs as well as more that will be created. The college already had certificate programs and a minor in cybersecurity, which just

alumni q&a

became a major. Soon I hope to see a master’s degree program.

Dean Raimondo, Associate Professor Mello-Stark and I will work together to see that the programs are robust and that we’re educating the next generation of experts. It’s fertile ground and there’s a lot of work to do.

What are some of the short-term goals?

We want to create a cyber range – sort of an internet-in-a-box to teach students how to do this work without it getting out into the wild, so to speak. We also want to get the institute accredited by the National Security Agency as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity. That should happen pretty soon.

Associate Professor Mello-Stark says all the building blocks are in place.

That’s an early priority because we want to see students here enroll in the CyberCorps, which is a national scholarship for service program. We have to be accredited for that. Undergraduate students who are accepted into that program get their tuition for their junior and senior years paid and are provided a stipend of $25,000 per year in exchange for a service commitment to take a job in cybersecurity for the federal government.

I’d also like to see us working with local high schools to get students onto a career path in cybersecurity, where they can start earning college credits in their senior year and graduate well on their way to earning their degree. That will put them on a career path that’s very lucrative.

What sort of external engagement will the institute have with the community?

We want to have juniors and seniors in the cybersecurity program working with nonprofits and municipalities, similar to the way third-year law students do pro bono work in their communities.

We also want to create an advisory committee to understand the needs of the business community, municipalities and law enforcement and give them a place to collaborate with us.

How do you see it scaling up?

We are going to look for multiple pathways to other funding opportunities. The governor and the General Assembly provided a significant starting point that will cover expenses for the first three years, but we want this to be self-sustaining. We’re going to go after federal funds, state funds, funds from the philanthropic and business communities.

We’ll be hosting conferences, bringing in renowned speakers on these technologies. We want to be out there hearing what the community needs are. There’s always a lag between what the business community needs and what’s being taught in schools.

We want to make sure that gap is as narrow as possible.

What potential do you believe the cybersecurity industry holds for Rhode Island?

I hope this is part of the economic engine that drives the state to

future success. If we want businesses to come here, we need a well-educated workforce. This will make us better able to fill the needs businesses have, and they’ve been challenged to fill jobs in cybersecurity.

I met with someone from Citizens Bank and he detailed how challenged they are to get the people they need. Citizens has hundreds of jobs in cybersecurity and they often have to hire from out of state to fill them. There are open jobs here and we have incredibly bright, talented people. We should be able to fill those jobs.

RIC President Warner has called this “the right idea in the right place at the right time.” I assume you agree.

What makes that true?

RIC is a place that young people come to develop the skills they need to start successful careers. It has world-class educators and world-class curricula. We have all the tools here and we can develop more to meet the state’s vital needs.

President Warner is doing a phenomenal job, making changes at the right time to do what we do well and to put resources in other directions when we need them. Clearly, this was one area of need.

This can be a real gem for RIC. I’m a big believer in RIC. I received a phenomenal education here. I would like to see this institute become one of the cornerstone programs RIC is known for, in the same way it’s known for teaching, nursing and social work.

You donated your Congressional archives to the Adams Library. How do you see people using them in the future?

Over 22 years in Congress I amassed a significant amount of thought leadership and research papers. I want future generations to be able to learn from that material and understand what was going on in Congress at the time. I hope it’s an opportunity for scholarship and research. And what better place than my alma mater?

I guess you’re feeling bullish on RIC… I think RIC is the best bang for the buck in the state.

Students can get a great education and not come out with mountains of debt, especially if the Hope Scholarship fulfills the potential we know it has. I believe it will. I want to see as many students as possible on the pathway to success.

Many students here are first-generation. That was the case with my family. I’m very proud of the education my family and I received here. I went here and I have an honorary doctorate.

My sister, my brother and my mom all graduated from RIC. That was one of the highlights of my time in Congress: I got to be the commencement speaker at my mom’s graduation.

I was also able to hand my sister her diploma the following year.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

61

CLASS NOTES 1963

Daniel Pires was inducted into the LaSalle Academy Hall of Fame.

1974The Honorable Susan

McGuirl received the Rhode Island Bar Association’s 2022 Florence K. Murray Award.

1986

Domenic Fusco Jr. was re-elected to another term on the Cranston School Committee and elected the committee’s new vice chairperson.

Peter Spadetti is lead account specialist for DXC Technology, an American multinational information technology services and consulting company.

James Sullivan was promoted to lead director of CVS Health’s Enterprise Procurement Department.

1991

Greg McLaughlin has written 14 full-length fictional novels over the past 20 years, completing 12 self-published books as well as a personal memoir. His latest fictional romantic drama called “Heading for Home” was released through his new publisher, Winding Road Stories, in 2023.

Accomplished composer Peter Boyer recently released a recording with the London Symphony Orchestra (Naxos).

The centerpiece of the album is “Balance of Power,” which was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center, along with eight of Boyer's works.

Wayne Solomon co-edited the award-winning book “Skin Deep: Pentecostalism, Racism and the Church,” published by Seymour Press in 2021. “Skin Deep” consists of essays by scholars in the Church of God who speak to the issues of racism in the church from the vantage points of biblical studies, theology, history, critical race studies and social studies. “Skin Deep” received the Church of God Historical Commission Award 2021-2022 Book of the Year.

62

|

FALL 2023

1992

1999

In 2021 the Rhode Island Press Association awarded Hugh Minor, former director of communications for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Honorable Mention in the News Story/Short category for his article “From Farm to Tables.” In 2022 Minor began a new position as director of marketing and communications for Saint Elizabeth Community in Warwick.

He is also a Leadership Rhode Island coach.

John Moretta has been elevated to shareholder of Littler Mendelson P.C., the largest law practice in the world exclusively devoted to representing management in employment, employee benefits and labor law matters.

Joseph Hutnak was recently promoted to senior promotional writer at Meditech, a Massachusetts-based software and service company that develops and sells information systems for healthcare organizations. He and his team also received the 2022 Medigy Marketing Team of the Year Award. Presented at the Health IT Marketing Community Conference, this award recognizes a healthcare IT organization for achieving outstanding results; working cohesively together; and producing stand-out content, campaigns and programs.

Holly Murry is center manager for the Atlantic Community Health Center in Maryland.

1993

2000

In 2022 Sarah Craveiro graduated from The Director’s Guild of America’s Assistant Director Commercial Training Program.

2004 2006

Justin Deveau, project executive of Shawmut Design and Construction, received the 2022 40 under Forty Award by the Providence Business News.

2007

Juan Pichardo was elected councilman for the City of Providence, Ward 9.

2010

1995

Heather Smith was appointed interim assistant superintendent of Dedham Public Schools.

1997

gee resettlement case manager at the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, received the 2022 40 under Forty Award

by Providence Business News.

Bibee worked with R.I. Gov. Dan McKee to recognize June 20 as Refugee Day in Rhode Island. He was also inducted into Marquis Who’s Who for his work in advocating for human rights across the world.

Thomas Kenworthy, superintendent of the Portsmouth School District since 2020, was recently elected chair of the board of directors of the East Bay Educational Collaborative. The board is made up of area superintendents. Kenworthy will have a two-year term during which time he will also represent East Bay superintendents on the executive board of the Rhode Island Superintendents’ Association.

Sharon Harmon has been promoted to the rank of colonel in the Rhode Island National Guard, becoming their first Black colonel. Harmon said, “I pray that my promotion is only the starting point for other African Americans after me.” She served in Afghanistan and has earned several awards for her service.

2012Justin Bibee, a refu-

2015 Fiorella Castillo

Megan Cummins was promoted to assistant director of the Bryant Fund at Bryant University.

Scott Leo Renshaw earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California-Irvine in 2022.

2019

Daniel Thifault began his post-doctoral research fellowship in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with Moderna.

2020

Cesar Lopez now works as a case manager for The Providence Center, a mental health clinic.

2022

Martin James Lynn released their newest folk music album “One” for Nova New Chorus.

Christopher Hinds is a behavioral aid at Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy.

RETIREMENTS 1951 Joan Norman 1963 Linda Casey Anne Flood Daniel Pires 1973 Nadine Beirne Robert Cummiskey Patrick Keller Eileen Madden Richard Trottier 1974 Maureen Burns Elizabeth Craven 1978 Noveline Beltram Donna Della Porta 1979 Diane Trinque Ogden

became a paralegal for the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the U.S. District of Rhode Island in 2020.

1983 Anthony Azar Jean Rapoza

cently published their first novel, “Among the Founders.”

1985 David Powers

2018Douglas Anderson re-

1984 Celeste Labonte

class notes

WEDDINGS 2000 Jennifer (Wagner) Raposo was married on August 28, 2021, to Ricardo Raposo.

2008 Rionda Geraldes was married on November 12, 2022, in Miami, Florida, to David Silva.

2018 Jessica Burrows Falcon was married in in March 2021 to Robert Falcon.

BIRTHS

2013 Nicolas Hardisty and his wife Elizabeth Estremera welcomed their daughter Marigold Margarett Hardisty on November 9, 2022.

ANNIVERSARIES

1977 George Kennedy and wife Sandra Kennedy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by revisiting the Bahamas where they originally went on their honeymoon in 1971.

IN MEMORIUM 1941 Mary (Rooney) Lafferty 1942 Anna Prince 1943 Claire (Richards) Chase 1947 Esther (Partridge) Lenihan 1948 Eileen Tormey 1950 Mary Black Frances (Doyle) McSoley 1951 Patricia (Duncan) Campbell Pauline Mullins, M.Ed. 1952 Helen (True) Ballas Patricia (Keough) Chatty Dolores Tormey 1953 Barbara Burns-Sullivan Patricia Foster Maureen Lapan Robert Sullivan

1954 Carole (Murphy) Flynn Joanne (Emidy) Greenlee Barbara (Finegan) Monahan

1971 Mary Costello Joanne (Walsh) Haggerty, M.A. George Manyan

1955 Sylvia Agabian Marie (Okerblom) Mello

1972 Richard Beaumire, M.Ed. ’76 Thomas Dyman, M.Ed. Stephen Evangelista Daryl Gilbert Collette (O’Connell) Holmes Jean (Irza) Nowak Edson Place Jeffrey Reinsant Oscar Tassone Arthur Tobin

1956 Patricia (Browne) Paolantonio John Peterson 1958 Lois (Reynolds) Allard Janice Cahir Gloria (DeConcilis) D’Andrea-Godin Marcia McVicker Joseph Renquin 1959 Patricia (McVay) O’Hern 1961 Marybeth Peters Albert Tavares Ilma (Merikoski) Tikkanen 1962 Newton Allen 1963 Ronald DiOrio William Fobert Ann Masteron Mudite (Aizzila) Paux Anne (Raymond) Ricard Thomas Santopietro 1964 Nancy (Welch) Maynard Ann Marie (Cox) McCann 1965 Helen (Moriarty) D’Ordine Andrea (Nappi) Flynn Elizabeth (Goglia) Ruggiero 1966 Patricia (Davidson) Barry Americo Ottaviano 1967 Raymond Blais Russell Carter Mary Pendergast 1968 Mary (Westerberg) Allin Linda Goulet Eileen (Furtado) Malafronte James Moffitt 1969 Carol (McCrudden) Bennett Helen (Morin) Bolte Raymond Goulet Mildred Struck Janet (Rosen) Zurier

1973 Kathleen (Strasser) Rechter Jeffrey Stumpff Robert Tremblay Richard Warren 1974 Flora (Maddocks) Fairfield, M.Ed. Carol (Welch) Snyder 1975 Barbara (Nash) Bailey, M.A.T. Christopher Flynn Patricia (Dionne) Fuller Deborah (Zannella) Iancono Joyce (Pietras) Krabach Gloria (Papini) Reis 1976 Lois (Parent) Carlson Raymond Cooney Dennis DeLomba Robin (Talan) Justice, M.A. Colleen (Keenan) Walker 1977 Elizabeth (Frost) Allen Theresa (Moruzzi) Herman Alan Lemery, M.A. 1978 Katherine (Haverly) Bartley, M.Ed. Anne (Moskowitz) Fishbein Mary Ellen (Burke) Sosa 1979 Celia (Johnston) Bonville Dennis Brown Anna (Maccarone) Carnevale Mary Rockwell

1982 Jacquelynne (Rockwell) Alarie 1983 Pearl Ferland Charles Simeone 1984 Susan (Fox) Hjerpe 1985 Anna (Moniz) Ferreira Lynne Lovell-Alberg 1986 Maryann (Arruda) Mahoney 1987 Timothy McGee 1988 Bernice (Groce) Contee, M.S.W. 1989 Alexandra (Rudolph) Roberts Edward Soares 1990 Nila LeBlanc 1991 Joseph Capone, M.Ed. 1992 Elizabeth (Conley) Blanchette 1993 Leanne (Whiteside) Faris 1994 Jennifer Harter Michaela (MacManus) Keough Bernice (Retkowski) Massart 1995 Walter Greene Christine Kelly 1997 Tracy Nelson 1998 Robert Proulx 2001 Diane Alberico, M.S.W. 2002 Kristine (DeSerres) Peloquin 2003 Alicia Biros Malinda (Payette) McDermott

1980 Nancy (Wood) Carroll

2013 Barbara (Sartwell) Murphy

1981 Jean (McGill) Butler Beth Mazor Ruth (Graves) McVay James Tallman

2019 Leah Rosin-Pritchard

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

63

ric foundation

DOUBLING DOWN ON RIC GIVING DAY April’s annual day of philanthropy sets new record in number of donors by jeanmarie pariseau ’93, m. ed. ’00 On April 26 Rhode Island College celebrated its most successful Giving Day, the annual day of philanthropy organized by the Rhode Island College Foundation. The theme for this year’s fundraiser was One Bold Day of Giving. The goal was to engage 500 individual donors, a bold target that would more than double the number of donors from the previous year.

Thanks to the generosity of the Rhode Island College community, that goal was exceeded.

We had 587 donors contribute on Giving Day. Our dollar total this year was $150,499.

Giving Day on the Quad this year was bigger than ever. Students participated in games, a chalk art contest, karaoke and a bouncy house and indulged in sundaes and Del’s lemonade. The excitement was palpable and the whole campus was engaged. Everyone felt the energy of Giving Day. To ignite the spirit of competition, we held a contest among the five schools at the college: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Business, the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing and the School of Social

64

|

FALL 2023

Work. The school that solicited the most donors for its respective Dean’s Fund would be the winner of the prestigious Deans’ Cup. Each dean made a compelling video about why donors should give to their school. All of the schools put forth a tremendous effort, but the School of Nursing was the victor with a whopping 111 donations. The trophy was presented to Interim Dean of Nursing Justin DiLibero. Rumor has it that the other schools are already plotting how to trounce the School of Nursing in next year’s competition and earn bragging rights.

Another factor that led to this year’s success was the $10,000 challenge to the RIC community by RIC President Jack Warner and his wife Celeste Warner ’90. Warner said that if 100 alumni gave on Giving Day, he and Mrs. Warner would donate $10,000. Our loyal alumni came through and we received Warner’s very generous gift. Thank you to President Warner and our valued alumni.

The RIC Foundation board of directors, led by its president, Joyce Stevos ’65, placed

another challenge resulting in a $21,777 donation by the board on Giving Day. We couldn’t have had as much success as we did without our generous sponsors: University Orthopedics, BankRI, Partridge, Snow & Hahn LLP, Fiducient Advisors and Dimeo Construction Company.

The driving force behind this year’s Giving Day was, of course, our students. RIC students are resilient, they have grit, they’re determined and they work hard to achieve a better life for themselves and their families. More than 60 percent depend on financial assistance to finish their degree. Thanks to Giving Day donations, RIC students can build professional momentum rather than worry about debt after college. These donations ensure that they have access to state-of-the art facilities and that our faculty are supported in their research and professional development, which they bring back to the classroom.

Thank you to all who participated in Giving Day 2023. Please be on the lookout for our Save the Date for Giving Day 2024.

giving day by the numbers 587

Total Number of Donors

$21,777

Amount Raised

by Foundation Board Challenge

$150,499

15% 41% 7% 7%

Total Dollar Amount Raised

257%

Increase in Dollars from Giving Day 2022

152%

Increase in Donors from Giving Day 2022

28%

alumni friend students faculty staff

ric foundation

FOOD 4 THOUGHT FOOD PANTRY GETS AN UPGRADE RIC’s on-campus food pantry expands its space and its ability to fight hunger on campus RIC’s Food 4 Thought food pantry, which is operated by Learning 4 Life (4L), is thriving thanks to donor support. The purpose of the pantry is to combat food insecurity and to help students stay nourished while in school.

Until recently, Food 4 Thought was relatively small – the space was approximately 100 square feet within the existing L4L office space. However, a recent campaign raised more than $10,000 from more than 75 donors to expand and move the pantry to a bigger space.

During Spring Semester, Food 4 Thought was relocated to the lower level of Building 3 on the East Campus, which more than tripled the pantry’s size to 366 square feet. The larger space can also accommodate more shelves, allowing L4L to stock ingredients for meals, rather than supply grab-and-go options only.

The more secluded location helps students feel more comfortable while making use of the pantry.

An additional donation allowed L4L to purchase a refrigerator and expand beyond strictly supplying food. The pantry now offers chilled drinks, toiletries and feminine products, as well.

Another benefit of the new space is the creation of a lounge area adjacent to the pantry so that students can have a space to eat and study in privacy.

Adding more student workers to staff the pantry has allowed Food 4 Thought to remain open in the evening, providing support to those students taking night classes.

During the 2022-23 academic year, L4L distributed more than 1,800 pounds of food to almost 250 students. L4L plans to distribute much more during this academic year and to raise awareness across the campus about Food 4 Thought. A new system has been implemented to more accurately collect data and metrics for the pantry, which will lead to more accurate findings to guide future growth.

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

65

2023 ALUMNI AWARDS ALUMNI AWARDS ALUMNI AWARDS

HONOR ROLL HONOR ROLL HONOR ROLL

JOHN NAZARIAN ALUMNA OF THE YEAR SHAREN GLECKMAN ‘84

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

employment: Human resource

specialist/assistant (retired), Providence School Department.

ric involvement: Member of RIC

1854 Society, former member of RIC Alumni Board, Alumni Award Committee and Scholarship Committee.

CHARLES WILLARD ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

CHRISTOPHER REDDY ‘92

employment: Senior scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

ric involvement: Member of 1854 Society, and inducted into RIC Wrestling/Athletic Hall of Fame.

ANTHONY AZAR ‘83

TIM LABONTE ‘07

ROSENNY TAVARAS ‘12

Retired superintendent of Dighton-Rehoboth Schools.

Served as a Rhode Island state senator.

CEO of Stand Still Pictures, media producer for Waterfire Providence.

Brown University, director of the Health Equity Scholars Program.

FEINSTEIN SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

DEBORAH HANDFIELD ’05 Teacher, Hurley Middle School, Seekonk Public School District.

ALUMNI FACULTY AWARD

Primary organizer for the grade 8 Washington D.C. trip and coordinator of Grade 6 orientation week. Member of Massachusetts Compuet Using Educators, Hurley Middle School Council EDI Committee and teacher building representative for the Seekonk Education Association.

VINCENT BOHLINGER employment: Professor, Rhode

Island College.

ric involvement: Chair of College

Council; Online Learning Committee, Planning, and Budget Committees; and member of working group on the RIC Hope Scholarship.

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK DANIEL HARVEY ‘93 Retired faculty, RIC School of Social Work.

ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD JEAN SALERA-VIEIRA ‘97, D.N.P. ‘19

Created a Certificate of Graduate Studies in child and adolescent trauma and a Certificate of Continuing Study in interdisciplinary studies for assessment and treatment of trauma, co-proctor of nursing and social work interprofessional simulations and faculty organizer for R.I. Trans Health Conference.

employment: Associate chief nursing officer for professional development at Women and Infants Hospital. ric involvement: Facilitated the first clinical for a master’s-level nursing student at a national nursing organization.

ALUMNI STAFF AWARD TAMECKA HARDMON employment: Director of Records, Rhode

Island College.

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS JAMES FLORIO JR. ‘02 Chief operating officer at South County Psychiatry. Currently pursuing his masters in health care administration at RIC. Department of Psychiatry Excellence Award recipient 2015 and CARE Person of the Year nominee in 2019 and 2020.

ric involvement: Member of Calendar

Committee, Committee on Academic Policies and Procedures (CAPP), Scheduling and Registration Task Force and Academic Standing Committee Teacher of RIC 100: Introduction to RIC.

YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD MICHELLE VALETTA ‘11, ‘13 employment: Adjunct history

professor, director of RIC/ State House Educational Tour project . ric involvement: As former graduate assistant, conducted historical research on the North Burial Ground in Providence.

66

|

FALL 2023

ZVART ONANIAN SCHOOL OF NURSING JOCELYNE DE GOUVENAIN ‘10 Assistant Professor of the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing, RIC Graduate Student Leadership Awardee, RIC Doctor of Nursing Practice student, preceptor for RIC M.S.N. nursing students in Haiti from 2015-2019 and treasurer for Sigma Theta Tau, Delta Upsilon Chapter.

3 LAUNCHING FA L L 2 0 2 3 !

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

|

67

nonprofit org u.s. postage paid rhode island college

600 mt. pleasant ave. providence, ri 02908

why i give Retired educators Charles and Angela Abosamra say that if they hadn’t graduated from Rhode Island College in 1964, their dreams wouldn’t have materialized.

Angela was the first woman in her family to attend college and Charles was working fulltime at a wire company in Pawtucket, while enrolled at RIC. The couple met in an English class in their senior year. They married in 1965.

“Rhode Island College opened my world and prepared me for the teaching profession,” Angela says. “RIC also made it possible for us to afford a lifestyle we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Now the Abosamras want to give others the same opportunity by establishing a scholarship for future education majors. The decision to establish the scholarship arose from their deep belief in the power of public education.

“We believe the common denominator for an enlightened society is public education,” Charles says, adding that the key to becoming a good educator is the love of children and the desire to make a difference in their lives.

One of the Abosamras’ three daughters has followed in their footsteps.

“Christine, who also graduated from RIC, is a wonderful teacher,” Charles says. “Just like her dad,” he adds, with a laugh.

Angela Abosamra was an educator for 25 years, teaching first grade initially at Cranston’s Oaklawn School before moving on to spend her career as a reading specialist in West Warwick Public Schools. Charles Abosamra taught English at Bain Middle School in Cranston. He also served as a counselor and head of the school’s English Department for 27 years. His last eight years as an educator/counselor were spent at the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center.

rhode isl and college foundation w w w . r i c f o u n dat i o n . o r g

68

|

FALL 2023