Rhode Island College
Encyclopedia
Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...

al, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, USA. Rhode Island College is the oldest of the three public institutions of higher education that operate under the aegis of the Board of Governors for Higher Education; the two other institutions are the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...

 and the Community College of Rhode Island
Community College of Rhode Island
The Community College of Rhode Island, commonly abbreviated as "CCRI", is the only community college in Rhode Island. It was founded as Rhode Island Junior College, "RIJC", in 1964 with 325 students studying on the former Knight Estate. Today CCRI consists of six campuses and enrolls over 16,000...

.

History

Rhode Island College was first established as the Rhode Island State Normal School by the Rhode Island General Assembly
Rhode Island General Assembly
The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Senate with 38 senators...

 in 1854. Its creation can be attributed to the labors of Henry Barnard
Henry Barnard
Henry Barnard was an American educationalist and reformer.-Biography:...

, the first state agent for education in Rhode Island who had established the Rhode Island Teachers Institute at Smithville Seminary in 1845, and his successor, Elisha Potter. Rhode Island State Normal School was one of the nation's first normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...

s (teacher preparatory schools), which grew out of the humanitarian groundswell of the mid-19th century spurred by educational missionaries like Horace Mann
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was an American education reformer, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833. He served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1834 to 1837. In 1848, after serving as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education since its creation, he was...

. The school attracted hard working young people who came chiefly from ordinary backgrounds, who wanted to teach and who had no other way of preparing themselves.

Not yet thoroughly convinced of the school's value, the General Assembly curtailed its financial support in 1857 and the school was moved to Bristol
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....

 where it lingered until 1865 before closing. However, in 1869, the newly appointed state commissioner of education, Thomas W. Bicknell
Thomas W. Bicknell
Thomas W. Bicknell , American educator, historian, and author, lived to be 91.Bicknell, born in Barrington, Rhode Island, he was the son of a farmer, minister, state legislator, and Colonel in the Bristol County, Rhode Island Militia, Thomas would become a wealthy eastern historian and educator...

, began a vigorous personal campaign to revive the school. His efforts were rewarded in 1871 when the General Assembly unanimously voted a $10,000 appropriation for the school's re-opening in Providence.

Renamed the Rhode Island Normal School, the institution settled into a period of steady growth punctuated by periodic moves to larger quarters. The general favor won by the school after its first difficult years had passed and was confirmed in 1898 when it moved into a large building specially constructed for it on Providence's Capital Hill near the State House
Rhode Island State House
The Rhode Island State House is the capitol of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It is located on the border of the Downtown and Smith Hill sections of the state capital city of Providence...

 (this space is now occupied by the Providence Place
Providence Place
Providence Place is an urban shopping mall in the central part of Providence, Rhode Island. Opened on August 20, 1999, it is located near the Rhode Island State House and Providence Station. It compromises three main floors and is connected to the nearby Westin Hotel via skyway. It also features...

 mall).

At first, the Rhode Island Normal School offered admission to both high school graduates and non-graduates, with high school graduates expected to complete their studies in one year. However, by 1908 the program had been lengthened to two and a half years and restricted to high school graduates.

In 1920, the Rhode Island Normal School was renamed Rhode Island College of Education by order of the General Assembly, the college now offering a four year program which upon completion one would receive a Bachelor of Education
Bachelor of Education
A Bachelor of Education is an undergraduate academic degree which qualifies the graduate as a teacher in schools.-North America:...

 degree. At this time the observation school, which dated back to the 1890s, was renamed the Henry Barnard School. The college's graduate program also originated in the early 1920s and the first master's degrees were conferred in 1924.

For the next three decades the college remained a small, teachers' college with a student body of four to six hundred men and women, most of whom went on to teach in the elementary and junior high schools of the state. Early in the 1950s that calm was shattered by intense debate that arose over the college's role in the state system of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 and for a time serious doubt was cast on its continued existence. There were plans to merge the institution with Rhode Island's other four year college, the University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...

. After careful consideration, the Board of Trustees of State Colleges decided to keep the college independent and strengthen it overall.

In 1958, the college was moved to its current campus in the Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Providence, Rhode Island
Mount Pleasant is a working-class residential neighborhood situated in the northwest of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bordered by Olneyville to the south, Valley to the east, Manton to the west, and Elmhurst to the northeast, and the Town of North Providence to the north...

 section of Providence. In 1959, the Rhode Island Commission to Study Higher Education recommended the development of the institution into a general college which was approved by the General Assembly. Reflecting the broadening of purpose, the institution's name was changed for the final time to its current name Rhode Island College in 1959.

The East Campus includes the former grounds of the Rhode Island State Home and School, the first post-Civil War orphanage in the country. In recent years, many efforts have been undertaken by Rhode Island College and its benefactors to preserve Nina's House (formerly known as the Yellow Cottage or Cottage C), one of the original structures from the State Home.

Academics

The academics at Rhode Island College received national recognition in 2011 when Forbes Magazine ranked the college the 571st best college out of the 3,000 plus colleges and universities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Academic programs at Rhode Island College are divided into five colleges: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Management, the School of Nursing, and the School of Social Work. These schools offer more than 90 undergraduate and 30 graduate programs for students. Rhode Island College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...

. Among the five colleges, individual departments have received additional accreditation from the following associations: Council on Social Work Education
Council on Social Work Education
The Council on Social Work Education is the national association for social work education in the United States of America.The CSWE sets and maintains standards of courses and accreditation of bachelor's degree's and Master's degree programs in social work.The CSWE specifies foundation social work...

, National Association of Schools of Art and Design
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
The National Association of Schools of Art and Design , founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees. Member institutions complete periodic peer review...

, National Association of Schools of Music
National Association of Schools of Music
The National Association of Schools of Music is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music...

, National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education was founded in 1954 to accredit teacher certification programs at U.S. colleges and universities. NCATE is a council of educators created to ensure and raise the quality of preparation for their profession. NCATE is recognized by the U.S....

, and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is an autonomous nursing education accrediting agency that contributes to the improvement of the public's health. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S...

.

The James P. Adams Library is the main library serving the entire community in support of teaching and learning. Students, faculty, staff and the community have access to a wide variety of knowledge resources including electronic reference resources, e-books, databases, audiovisual materials, and special collections. The library is also the academic, social, and intellectual center of the campus, hosting a variety of lectures, exhibits and performances to the benefit of the campus community.

Students and faculty

With an enrollment predominantly from Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut, the institution historically has served as a "College of Opportunity" for first-generation college students.

66% of the student body are full-time students.

67% of enrolled students are female, and 33% of enrolled students are male

President

Nancy Carriuolo is the ninth president of Rhode Island College. The president is the chief executive officer of the College and is responsible for the success of the College's mission in providing superior academic programs and research. The previous president, John Nazarian, who was associated with the College for more than fifty years, retired from the presidency at the end of the 2007-2008 academic year. Prior to 1920, the chief academic officer of the College was known as the principal.
President Years in Office
John Lincoln Alger 1920–1940
Lucius Albert Whipple 1940–1951
William C. Gaige 1952–1968
Joseph Kauffman 1968–1973
Charles B. Willard 1973–1977
David E. Sweet
David E. Sweet
David E. Sweet, , academic, was the founding president of innovative Metropolitan State University and later president of Rhode Island College, where he spearheaded the Leadership Rhode Island program.-Early life and education:...

1977–1984
Carol J. Guardo 1986–1989
John Nazarian 1990–2008
Nancy Carriuolo
Nancy Carriuolo
Dr. Nancy Carriuolo was named the ninth president of Rhode Island College on May 12, 2008 by the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education...

2008–present

Notable graduates

Justine Mainville
Math the Band
Math the Band is an American electronic band formed in 2003 in Westford, Massachusetts by Kevin Steinhauser. Justine Mainville was added to the lineup in 2007. They've released many full-length albums and various EPs...

, keyboardist, drummer, singer and merch girl for Math the Band
Math the Band
Math the Band is an American electronic band formed in 2003 in Westford, Massachusetts by Kevin Steinhauser. Justine Mainville was added to the lineup in 2007. They've released many full-length albums and various EPs...

.

Robert Gonzalvez, the first Hispanic judge in the history of Rhode Island, graduated in 1975.

James Langevin
James Langevin
James R. Langevin is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life and education:Langevin was born in Providence, Rhode Island...

, 2nd District Congressman from Rhode Island, was a graduate of Rhode Island College, majoring in public administration. Langevin also served as President of Student Community Government, Inc., during his undergraduate career at the college.

Ron McLarty
Ron McLarty
Ron McLarty is an American actor, playwright and author. He began his career in theatre during the early 1970s with one his earliest professional performances being the role of Lucky in Michael Weller's Moonchildren for the play's American premiere at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. in November...

, a noted television actor and novelist, is a graduate of the College; in 2007, he was the featured speaker at commencement, and was awarded an honorary degree.

Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis is an American actress.Known primarily as a stage actress, Davis won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II . She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in the...

, a Tony Award winning and Academy Award nominated actress. In 2001, she was awarded the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in King Hedley II. In 2009, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in the film Doubt, and in 2010 she won a Tony Award
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...

 for "Fences".

Annie Smith Peck
Annie Smith Peck
Annie Smith Peck was an American mountaineer.Peck was born into a wealthy family, which made it possible for her to get a good education. She attended the Rhode Island Normal School, graduating in 1872...

, a pioneering woman educator and mountaineer, graduated from the college when it was still known as the Normal School.

Peter Boyer
Peter Boyer
Peter Boyer is an American composer, conductor, and professor of music. He is known primarily for his orchestral works, which have received over 250 performances, by more than 90 orchestras....

 is one of the most frequently performed young American orchestral composers. His work Ellis Island: The Dream of America
Ellis Island: The Dream of America
Ellis Island: The Dream of America is a work for actors and orchestra with projected images by American composer Peter Boyer, composed in 2001-02, commissioned by the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut...

 for actors and orchestra was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 2006.

James Macomber, novelist, author of internaional legal thrillers "Bargained for Exchange", "Art & Part", "A Grave Breach", "Sovereign Order". As a RIC undergraduate, Macomber was president of the freshman and sophomore classes, was elected President of the Student Senate in his junior year, and as a senior was the first student to be named to the College Council.

Sharon Ellen Burtman
Sharon Ellen Burtman
Sharon Ellen Burtman is an American chess player. Her titles include National Master ; Woman International Master ; New England Women's Champion ; and United States Women's Champion ....

, 1995 US Women's Chess Champion.

Hugh Leonard
Hugh Leonard
Hugh Leonard was an Irish dramatist, television writer and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote more than 18 plays, two volumes of essays and two autobiographies, one novel and numerous screenplays and teleplays, as well as writing a regular newspaper column.-Life and...

, Irish playwright, screenwriter, and columnist, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1980.

Sandeep Joshi, James Thibault, Keith Kaplan, David Ouellette, James Della-Selva, Robert Tsang, Lorraine Levin and Edward Gonsalves, members of the 1985 Pan Am Intercollegiate and National Champion chess club. RIC replaced Columbia University as the new National Champion in 1985 by defeating Rutgers, Michigan, Baruch College, Ohio State, Northwestern and Harvard. RIC also routed Canadian National Champion University of Toronto 4-0 to become the 1985 Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Champion.

Campus life

There are 19 varsity sports, 6 in the fall, 6 in the winter, and 7 in the spring. RIC is primarily a commuter school; its six residence halls house 1194 students.

Student activities and clubs on campus are governed and funded by Student Community Government, Inc., a semi-autonomous organization financed by the college's student activity fee, consisting of an executive board, parliament, and several committees. Notable amongst several dozen organizations is the campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...

 station, WXIN (FM)
WXIN (FM)
For the licensed station with the actual callsign assigned by the F.C.C., see WXIN .WXIN is the student campus radio broadcast service of Rhode Island College. WXIN operates a part 15 FM transmitter on the property of Rhode Island College, in Providence, RI, USA...

, which has been on air since 1979, and the Anchor newspaper, a weekly student-run and operated paper published since 1928.

Rhode Island College has recently seen an increase in Greek life on campus. The Greek Council has been reformed, as it now consists of three fraternities and three sororities. Fraternities at Rhode Island College include national groups Kappa Delta Phi
Kappa Delta Phi
Kappa Delta Phi is a college general men's fraternity that was founded on April 14, 1900 at the Bridgewater Normal School, now known as Bridgewater State University...

, Iota Phi Theta, and local group Omega Kappa Rho. Sororities at Rhode Island College include local groups Zeta Xi Delta, Sigma Iota Theta, and Lambda Chi.

Other active clubs on campus include Rhode Island College Ice Hockey, Rhode Island College Programming, Students for Justice in Palestine, Future Elementary Education Teachers, Biology Club, Organization of African Students and Professionals in the Americas, Harambee, Anchormen Rugby, Anchorwomen Rugby, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Latin American Student Organization, NSSLHA, Anchor TV, Rhode Island College Ballroom Dance Club, and the English Club. As of September 2009, there are 71 clubs on campus considered "active" by Student Community Government, Inc.

A new $30 million, energy efficient, LEED-certified residence hall (simply called "New Residence Hall" for now) opened for the fall semester of 2007. The 125000 square feet (11,612.9 m²) building expanded the institution's existing housing capacity by 44%.

RIC also has a Campus Ministry in the lower level of Donovan Dining Center, next door to the Unity Center. The ministry is non-denominational with many religions, ethnic groups, and academic concentrations represented.

The college's Music, Theatre and Dance department has a strong presence on campus. Tickets to performances are offered to students at a discounted rate.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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