Alumna Cheryl Garvin was recently honored with the Faculty Excellence Award at Rhode Island College. Garvin will soon graduate from RIC’s nursing program with an overall GPA of 3.95. She is a member of elite international nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau and was also named to the National Dean’s List, a selective group consisting of about 1% of the nation’s undergrads.

Beith earns Ph.D

Linda Beith, manager of instructional support in the department of information technology, has recently earned her Ph.D. from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minn. Her specialization is instructional design, with a focus on online learning. Beith’s dissertation is entitled, “Shooting the Rapids: Exploring Faculty Learning Circles as a Development Strategy.” She conducted her research here at CCRI.

Zuromski earns student recognition

Professor of Psychology Ed Zuromski has earned the special recognition of a group of students who jointly authored a letter to college administrators praising his style and quality of teaching. A dozen students in Zuromski’s General Psychology course signed their names to a letter that concludes, “Dr. Ed Zuromski has positively affected the lives, perspectives and education of innumerable students…he enriches the culture of the Community College of Rhode Island with his efforts. We are lucky to have professors like him.”

Students pitch in

Ten students from CCRI’s student government and service learning teams recently did a fall clean-up at the House of Compassion. The House of Compassion is historically known as the Luke Jillison House. It’s believed to have been a station on the underground railroad. Today the house is a group home for people living with AIDS. The students filled a whole dumpster full of junk from the attic. (contributed by Hazel Sasnett)

Basileo earns second master’s

Advisor Mike Basileo of Advising and Counseling recently completed his second master’s degree in counseling at Rhode Island College. Alumna nominated for W.E. Upjohn Award Diane Johnson, alumna, Foundation trustee and active volunteer in CCRI’s Women Tech project, was recently nominated for an award from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Johnson is a Pfizer scientist and was chosen as a nominee based on both her professional leadership and community service.

CCRI to co-host 2006 ACUTA national conference

In April, CCRI and Providence College will co-host the 2006 Spring Seminars of ACUTA, the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education. ACUTA’s purpose is to support higher education institutions in achieving optimal use of computer and telephone communications technologies. Bruce Barrett, director of networking and telecommunications at CCRI, serves on the organization's programming committee and was instrumental in bringing the conference to Providence.