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Community College of Rhode Island
What Ever Happened To...
Dr. Marguerite Turner
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Ever wonder what happened to a great CCRI teacher, administrator or student who left a lasting impression on you? "What Ever Happened To...?" is a series of articles on individuals who helped shape the fabric of our college through their teaching innovation and excellence, their forward-thinking contributions to the college's long-term success, and their achievements in their career and community.
Even after so many years, one of Dr. Marguerite Turner's fondest memories is the excitement of opening a new school and working with students who hadn’t given college a high priority in their lives. Turner, the first vice president of academic affairs for Rhode Island Junior College (now CCRI), is referring to the opening in 1964 of the new junior college in the old Henry Barnard School at the foot of the State House in Providence.
Starting a brand new college was hard work, and Turner recently recalled how she traveled to various high schools in her new position as academic dean seeking students for the new school. The community college was a new concept for both students and parents alike, and Turner, along with academic department secretary Helen McCarthy, aggressively pursued their mission of recruiting new students.
In the 1999 publication, Recollections of a Pioneer President, written by former CCRI president Ed Liston, Turner said, “The concept of the junior college was relatively new, at least to Rhode Island. We had the opportunity to make of it almost anything we wanted to, and it was marvelous to bring together people from all walks of life, various backgrounds, people who had wide experience who could give something to these young people.”
Her outreach was successful, and in 1964, the college opened with an enrollment of 224 students. Turner is quick to clarify that the enrollment was actually 225, but there was one no-show. In the early days of the college, Turner is proud to say that everyone knew each other’s names.
Turner worked in the Warwick school system from 1940 to 1956 prior to joining the community college. While teaching in Warwick, she met Dr. William Flanagan, another Warwick teacher, who urged her to get her doctorate degree at the University of Connecticut. After graduating from Connecticut, Turner became an associate professor of guidance and counseling at Rhode Island College. After Flanagan was named president of RIJC, he hired Turner as the first dean of the college.
“It was an exciting time,” said Turner, “and the excitement increased year after year as we moved from the old school into the Brown and Sharpe facility, and finally into the brand new Knight Campus in Warwick.”
In 1976, Turner retired. Her contributions to the college were acknowledged in a 1994 tribute when she was inducted into the CCRI Hall of Fame. During her tenure, Turner hired dozens of professors, including existing faculty members Music Department Chair Susie Swenson and Jim Twining of the English Department.
Today, Turner, 87, lives in Cranston and spends much of her time working in her greenhouse and tending to her flower garden. She meets weekly with friends, including Janice Howard, former registrar at CCRI, and with members of the local garden club. Turner’s husband Daniel, an educator who had a successful career in the Warwick school system, passed away in 1995.
On a recent cold December day, Turner expressed her good wishes to all who remain at CCRI. In closing, when asked to name her favorite flower, she replies, “The daffodil, of course, because it means that spring is just around the corner.”
