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December 2002

Two CCRI co-op seminars were recently included in the Best Practices Booklet of the New England Association for Cooperative Education and Field Experience

Two Community College of Rhode Island co-op seminars run by Wakefield resident Anne Marge were recently included in the Best Practices Booklet of the New England Association for Cooperative Education and Field Experience (NEACEFE). The college's Workforce Experience Seminar and E-Learning Co-op Seminars, overseen by Marge, who is director of CCRI's Cooperative Education and Career Placement program, were included in the publication. CCRI Cooperative Education and Career Placement offers job search assistance and a credit co-op program. 

Marisa Albini of Warwick has been hired as Director of Alumni Affairs

WARWICK--Marisa Albini of Warwick has been hired as Director of Alumni Affairs at the Community College of Rhode Island. Albini will organize alumni events, programs and services and work with the CCRI Foundation to cultivate alumni donors.

Albini holds an MA in education and a BA in journalism from the University of Rhode Island, and an AS in social science from Dean Junior College.

Previously, she worked as an assistant director of major gifts and as an assistant to the vice president for university advancement at the University of Rhode Island. 

Leslie Gell of Providence has been hired as Program Director for the Division of Lifelong Learning

PROVIDENCE--Leslie Gell of Providence has been hired as Program Director for the Division of Lifelong Learning at the Community College of Rhode Island. Gell will work to promote adult education and literacy services at the college and to oversee grant programs and special projects. She will also help develop personal enrichment, education and entertainment programming.

Gell holds a master's degree in education with a focus on ESL from the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She also holds a bachelor's degree from Brown University.

Previously, Gell worked as executive director for Brown University's Fox Point Early Childhood Education Center and as a coordinator of vocational training programs at the International Institute of Rhode Island.


CCRI to offer workshop on 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People'

The Community College of Rhode Island will present a three-day workshop based on Stephen R. Covey’s best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Tuesday-Thursday, Feb. 4-6 at the CCRI Knight Campus in Warwick. Participants who complete the workshop may earn 2.2 CEUs. Tuition is $1495 and includes all course materials. 

Over the course of three days, students will learn ways to develop leadership skills, cultivate business relationships, hone negotiation strategies and learn crisis-management techniques. The highest-level course Covey offers to the general public, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People workshop is recommended for those currently in positions of leadership and influence within their companies. For more information, call 877-552-2949.

The workshop is sponsored by the CCRI Institute for Leadership & Organizational Development, which provides area businesses with customized skills training to improve individual and organizational effectiveness. 


Georgia Maurasse of Providence receives a $1,000 merit scholarship

PROVIDENCE--The National Retail Federation (NRF) recently awarded Community College of Rhode Island student Georgia Maurasse of Providence a $1,000 merit scholarship for receiving the highest score on the NRF's National Assessment in Customer Service.

Maurasse, a member of the Delta Epsilon Chi Association (DECA) for marketing, management and entrepreneurship students, took the customer service test at the DECA Southern and North Atlantic Region Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. This is the first time that the National Retail Federation has offered the test, which is based on standards developed by the Sales & Service Voluntary Partnership in conjunction with representatives from the retail, wholesale, personal services and real estate industries. By passing the test, students receive a National Professional Certification in Customer Service.


Christina Spaight O'Reilly of Rumford has been hired as a Public Relations Coordinator at the Community College of Rhode Island

RUMFORD--Christina Spaight O'Reilly of Rumford has been hired as a Public Relations Coordinator at the Community College of Rhode Island. O'Reilly will create advertising and marketing campaigns for the college, and will aid in the coordination of media coverage. She will also help write, edit and layout CCRI publications.

Previously, O'Reilly worked as a communications coordinator for the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. She holds a bachelor's degree in international affairs from the George Washington University.

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November 2002

CCRI gets okay to pursue Quonset facility
 

NORTH KINGSTOWN--The Community College of Rhode Island received the go-ahead from the State Properties Committee yesterday to pursue a new center for training and technology in the Quonset Point/Davisville Industrial Park. The college has entered into a 5-year lease agreement with owner Mary Emerson on a 10,000-square-foot former manufacturing facility located at 125 Airport Road, North Kingstown.

At the Quonset facility, CCRI will offer customized training geared to such industries as boat building, information technology and construction. Among the course offerings planned are fiberglass and metal fabrication, welding, lead and asbestos abatement, computer training, leadership development and Lean Manufacturing. Classes in ESL and Command Spanish will also be offered. The Community College of Rhode Island's latest initiative will be overseen by the CCRI Division of Lifelong Learning.

The current timetable for the project calls for a March 2003 opening. CCRI at Quonset will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 8 am - 10 pm. Third shift training may also be offered, depending on demand.

Presently undergoing extensive renovation, the facility will include two computer labs with more than $70,000 worth of new computers and technological infrastructure. It will also feature new welding equipment, a machine shop, a classroom and a 1,100-square-foot multi-purpose training space.

This spring, CCRI launched a successful welding program, contracting with the Quonset-based business, Ocean State Testing Inc. Toray, another Quonset-based business, has provided free-of-charge the location for CCRI's Lean Manufacturing training program. Offered in partnership with RIMES, the Lean Manufacturing program began training employees of CAS America this fall. Quonset Point/Davisville is also home for some CCRI computer training and Commercial Driver's License program courses.

In 2001, CCRI conducted two surveys of Quonset Point/Davisville businesses to define interest in an area training facility. After identifying 125 Airport Road as a possible site for a center, CCRI demonstrated that the building qualified as a sole source provider in February 2002, thereby paving the way for negotiations with the building's owner. Structural, electrical and HVAC plans were approved several months later, and a lease agreement was reached this fall.

Community collaborators on the CCRI Quonset project include the Economic Development Corporation, the Central Rhode Island and North Kingstown Chambers of Commerce, the Workforce Investment Boards of Greater Rhode Island and Providence/Cranston, and the RI Department of Labor and Training.

"We are eager to have a permanent presence for CCRI in Quonset/Davisville. We've been in touch with area businesses for the last 18 months, and they're very eager to see that this is a reality," says Phil Sisson, Dean of Lifelong Learning at CCRI.

For more information, call the CCRI Center for Training and Development at 825-CCRI.
 

The Community College of Rhode Island is pleased to co-sponsor a professional development seminar, “Keys to Excellence,” offered by the Disney Institute this month. In this one-day Rhode Island opportunity, local businesses and service industry professionals are invited to learn the proven success strategies that have established Disney’s exceptional reputation for customer service and employee satisfaction.

“Keys to Excellence” challenges management professionals to re-examine their practices, from hiring and training to establishing a broad culture of service and company vision. Dynamic presentations and relevant case studies bring each program topic to life in true Disney fashion.        CCRI offers such non-credit professional development seminars through its Institute for Leadership & Organizational Development, a program of the Division for Lifelong Learning. The Institute targets the local business community with its programs in management skills and business practices.

According to Fred Colonies, Director of the Institute for Leadership and Organizational Development, “The College is pleased to provide this opportunity for Rhode Island businesses to attend such extraordinary training locally. Disney is famous for their performance management. What a great example to emulate within our own organizations!”

The seminar will be held on Friday, Nov. 15, at the Crown Plaza Hotel at the Crossings in Warwick and will run from 7:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. Cost is $399, with special rates offered to members Northern R.I., Central R.I., or Greater Providence Chambers of Commerce, as well as to members of the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA), the sponsor organization.

For registration information, go to: www.nehra.com. If you require any special accommodation to participate, please call (781) 235-2900.

CCRI Hall of Fame to induct six new members

Senator Jack Reed and CCRI President Emeritus Edward J. Liston will count among the new inductees to the Community College Hall of Fame when the latest ceremony takes place Friday, Nov. 15 at the Providence Biltmore. Established in 1994, the biennial Hall of Fame honors former faculty and staff, as well as current friends of the college, who have had made a positive and unique impact on CCRI. 

Other inductees for the year 2002 include former CCRI faculty and staff members Raymond A. Ferland of Smithfield, Lloyd S. Kaplan of Providence, Harry C. Keenan of North Kingstown and Raymond J. Newbold of Narragansett.

Ferland, a former social science and human services professor as well as a former vice president for student affairs, will be honored for his student advocacy efforts. He is responsible for establishing the Raymond A. Ferland Student Assistance Program, which provides emergency funds to needy students.

Kaplan, a professional musician as well as a professor, has taught music at CCRI since 1966, where he developed the college's jazz program. Recently, the Lloyd S. Kaplan Music Scholarship was established in his name.

Keenan served CCRI not only as a science professor, but as a counselor, administrator and coach. The college's golf coach for more than a decade, Keenan was named regional coach of the year five times, and was recently inducted into the CCRI Athletic Hall of Fame.

Liston, CCRI's second president, greatly expanded the scope of the college during his 22-year tenure. In addition to creating the Center for Business and Industrial Training and founding satellite facilities throughout the state, Liston opened the campus college's urban campus in South Providence. This campus is now known as the Liston Campus.

Newbold was one of the 13 original faculty members at Rhode Island Junior College, the first chairman of the mathematics department, and the college's first baseball coach. From 1972-78, Newbold served as dean of arts and sciences of the Providence campus, where he oversaw the move to the new Flanagan Campus in Lincoln. He retired from teaching in 2000.

Senator Reed will be honored for his support of Rhode Island Higher Education. Recently, Reed helped secure nearly $6 million in funding for the Rhode Island Educational Opportunity Center and the Rhode Island Educational Talent Search, both housed at the CCRI Liston Campus in Providence.

President of the CCRI Alumni Association Richard V. DiGennaro will preside over the Hall of Fame 2002 induction ceremony. He joins Assistant to the President Nancy V. Abood as co-chairs for the event. Executive Vice President of Business Affairs Robert Henderson chaired this year's selection committee.

Senator Jack Reed of Cranston will be inducted into the Community College of Rhode Island Hall of Fame, Friday, Nov. 15 at the Providence Biltmore. Established in 1994, the biennial Hall of Fame honors former faculty and staff, as well as current friends of the college, who have made a positive and unique impact on CCRI. 

A vital supporter of higher education in his home state, Reed recently helped secure nearly $6 million in funding for the RI Educational Opportunity Center and the RI Educational Talent Search, both housed on the CCRI Liston Campus in Providence. On the Knight Campus in Warwick this summer, he also hosted a field hearing of the Senate Health Committee to address the healthcare worker shortage in Rhode Island and the nation.

In 1996, Reed became the 47th United States Senator from Rhode Island. Previously he served three terms as member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District.

Reed is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He is also the senior Democratic member of the Joint Economic Committee.


Edward J. Liston of Harpswell, Maine and Vero Beach, Fla. will be inducted into the Community College of Rhode Island Hall of Fame, Friday, Nov. 15 at the Providence Biltmore. Established in 1994, the biennial Hall of Fame honors former faculty and staff, as well as current friends of the college, who have made a positive and unique impact on CCRI. 

President Emeritus Edward J. Liston, the second president of the Community College of Rhode Island, has been a leader and advocate for community colleges for more than 30 years. During his 22-year tenure, Liston expanded the scope and influence of CCRI throughout the state. He created an Office of Community Services to provide non-credit enrichment courses to the general public and a Center for Business and Industrial Training to offer customized job training for companies. He established a network of satellite facilities across the state to bring postsecondary education to outlying communities and forged partnerships with high schools to encourage students to continue their education. He also established the non-profit CCRI Foundation to seek external funding for scholarships, endowment, special projects and professional development opportunities. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, President Liston expanded educational opportunities for inner city residents with the opening of the college’s third campus in 1990 in South Providence. That campus is now known as the Liston Campus.


Harry C. Keenan of North Kingstown, a retired psychology professor at the Community College of Rhode Island, will be inducted into the CCRI Hall of Fame, Friday, Nov. 15 at the Providence Biltmore. Established in 1994, the biennial Hall of Fame honors former faculty and staff, as well as current friends of the college, who have had made a positive and unique impact on CCRI. 

Described by one of his associates as "a complete Renaissance man," Keenan has served in a variety of roles at CCRI, including counselor, biology and psychology professor, administrator and coach.

When not in the classroom, Professor Keenan could often be found in the field house, where he worked as golf coach for more than 10 years and as president of the faculty/staff running club, the Knight Krawlers, for more than 20 years. As golf coach, he saw his teams win five New England championships and seven national tournaments. Keenan has been named regional coach of the year five times and was inducted into the CCRI Athletic Hall of Fame in May 2002.


Raymond J. Newbold of Narragansett, a retired mathematics professor at the Community College of Rhode Island, will be inducted into the CCRI Hall of Fame, Friday, Nov. 15 at the Providence Biltmore. Established in 1994, the biennial Hall of Fame honors former faculty and  staff as well as current friends of the college who have made a positive and unique impact on CCRI. 

One of the 13 original faculty members at Rhode Island Junior College, Newbold was the first chairman of the college's mathematics department. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Professor Newbold coached the college’s first baseball team and continued coaching until 1980.

In 1972 Professor Newbold left the mathematics department to become dean of arts and sciences at the original Providence campus. He supervised the move from that facility to the new Flanagan Campus in Lincoln in 1976, after which he returned to the mathematics faculty until his retirement in 2000.


Dr. Raymond A. Ferland of Smithfield, former Vice President for Student Affairs at the Community College of Rhode Island, will be inducted into the CCRI Hall of Fame, Friday, Nov. 15 at the Providence Biltmore. Established in 1994, the biennial Hall of Fame honors former faculty and staff, as well as current friends of the college, who have made a positive and unique impact on CCRI. 

Ferland joined the Rhode Island Junior College faculty in 1967, where he served as a faculty member in both the social sciences and human services departments and later as vice president for student affairs. Among his accomplishments, Ferland oversaw the construction of the CCRI Flanagan Campus in Lincoln.

Through the years, Ferland has been a strong advocate for students, especially those needing help in overcoming social and economic barriers to achieve their educational goals. He is responsible for establishing a book loan fund to provide emergency assistance for students. Financed by proceeds from an annual golf tournament, the fund has since been renamed the Raymond. A. Ferland Student Assistance Program. His strong support of student athletes earned him the prestigious Green Jacket Award from CCRI Athletics.

Lloyd S. Kaplan of Providence, a retired music professor at the Community College of Rhode Island, will be inducted into the CCRI Hall of Fame, Friday, Nov. 15 at the Providence Biltmore. Established in 1994, the biennial CCRI Hall of Fame honors former faculty and staff, as well as current friends of the college, who have made a positive and unique impact on CCRI. 

Kaplan has been a vital part of the CCRI community since he began his college teaching career in 1966. At CCRI, he developed the jazz program of study as an alternative for music majors and introduced new courses in opera, 20th-century music, jazz history and the creative process in the arts.

Kaplan has taken his love of music into the community as well, lecturing for the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities and for assisted living and retirement communities. In recognition of his accomplishments at CCRI and in the community, a Lloyd S. Kaplan Music Scholarship was established at CCRI in his honor.

Kaplan has been a professional musician since his army bandsman days in the 1950s. Specializing in jazz, he can be found at events at CCRI and around the state, performing with his own trio, Lloyd Kaplan’s Aristocats.

Bilingual Judicial Interpreter Certificate Program

PROVIDENCE--The Community College of Rhode Island will offer an open house for its new Bilingual Judicial Interpreter Certificate Program on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the CCRI Liston Campus atrium, One Hilton St., Providence.

Slated for a January 2003 launch, the new CCRI Bilingual Judicial Interpreter Certificate Program is a 22-credit curriculum which combines existing courses in justice administration and cooperative work experience with new offerings in translation, interpretation and criminal procedure. The certificate program was created in response to a Rhode Island General Laws amendment guaranteeing non-English speakers access to qualified interpreters during criminal legal proceedings.

Initially, the program will train interpreters for Spanish speakers only, although long-range plans include interpreters for Portuguese, Cape Verdean and Cambodian speakers as well. The latest census figures list nearly 9% of Rhode Island's population as Hispanic.

To be effective translators, interpreters will learn to master three difficult tasks: (1) to translate documents on sight, (2) to translate conversation simultaneously into both English and Spanish, and (3) to recount an argument sequentially in another language.

The program's classes will be offered on a part-time, evening schedule to accommodate the needs of working adults. Students must demonstrate fluency in English and Spanish prior to acceptance into the program

CCRI's Bilingual Judicial Interpreter Certificate Program is a much-awaited step toward standardizing Rhode Island's court interpreters, a movement that has been spearheaded by the court's Task Force on Limited English Speaking Litigants.

With the help of a Rhode Island Foundation planning grant, CCRI officials have spent the past two years collaborating with representatives from the Rhode Island Supreme Court and the Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs to create the Bilingual Interpreters Program.

Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams stated, "This training program is essential to the Rhode Island Courts and the citizens we serve. We currently have a severe shortage of trained, experienced interpreters. Without these professionals, the courts are handicapped in our mission to provide equal access, a fundamental right."

For more information, call (401) 333-7385.

CCRI Update recently won a 2002 Silver Medallion of Achievement

The CCRI Update, a quarterly newspaper for students and faculty at the Community College of Rhode Island, recently won a 2002 Silver Medallion of Achievement for District I of the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR). NCMPR District I members include community colleges from Newfoundland to Maryland. The CCRI Update is produced by the Office of Public Relations and Publications.

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October 2002

CCRI programs to stay at Newport Hospital

At a Press conference last week, CCRI President Thomas D. Sepe announced the college's continued collaboration with Newport Hospital.

The Community College of Rhode Island nursing and rehabilitative health programs housed at Newport Hospital, which were slated for relocation this January, will stay at their current location until the opening of the new Newport County CCRI campus in 2004, Newport Hospital President and CEO Arthur Sampson and CCRI President Thomas Sepe announced at a press conference today.

Due to budget cuts, CCRI had planned to close the Newport Hospital satellite after its lease with the hospital ran out in January 2003, and to relocate the programs temporarily to its Warwick campus. This move presented a hardship to many area students, who would have faced longer commutes or lacked the ability to get to classes.

Newport Hospital officials have agreed to rent CCRI its current classrooms and laboratory space for the nominal cost of approximately $35,000 a year. This figure represents the cost of utilities and maintenance, and is a comparable to the cost of relocating the program to another CCRI campus until such time as the new Newport County campus is operational.

"It has always been our goal to continue to offer our nursing and rehabilitative health programs at Newport Hospital, and we are thrilled that we have been able to work out a solution that is beneficial to both the hospital and our students," said Sepe.

“CCRI is a valuable resource to this hospital and to healthcare in this area which is why it was important to us to keep this satellite location on Aquidneck Island,” said Sampson. “Many students in the nursing and rehabilitation programs would have been very inconvenienced by having to travel to another campus for an education.”

Since 1988, Newport Hospital has served as a satellite campus for the CCRI nursing program. CCRI confers approximately 150 Associate in Science in Nursing degrees each year, an estimated 20 percent of whom were educated at Newport Hospital.

More recently, CCRI's newly created Rehabilitative Health Department, which oversees the Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapy Assistant and Therapeutic Massage programs, also has been based at the Newport Hospital satellite campus.

Earlier this year, when the RI General Assembly cut the budget for higher education, the Community College was forced to take several cost-cutting measures, the most visible of which was the closing of five CCRI satellites. Three of these satellites were located on Aquidneck Island, at Middletown High School, the Navy Base, and Newport Hospital. While the high school and Navy Base satellites closed this September, the CCRI Newport Hospital satellite was scheduled to close in January 2003 when its lease expired. The hospital satellite closing would have displaced approximately 360 students.

The closing of the Aquidneck Island satellites did not impact construction plans for a new CCRI Newport County campus, to be located on 5+ acres off Ranger Road. The campus, financed by a $10 million dollar bond approved in 2000, is slated for groundbreaking this fall.

Liston Campus expansion breaks ground

(L-R) Commissioner Warner, President Sepe, Governor Almond, Lusi Construction’s Armand Lusi, Lt. Governor Fogarty, architect Mark Fisher, Chairwoman Dowling, and Secretary of State Edward Inman raise their shovels at the Providence expansion ground breaking.

The Liston Campus is stretching its wings now that construction is underway for a new addition.

Since earning her associate’s degree through CCRI’s Liston Campus, Donohue has gone on to earn a bachelor’s degree at URI, and now works as an assistant teacher in an alternate learning program in Barrington.

Jeff Hughes and Red MacDonald headline CCRI jazz concert

Warwick, RI--The Community College of Rhode Island Music Department presents, "An Evening of Traditional Jazz," at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13 at the Bobby Hackett Theatre at the CCRI Warwick campus. Local jazz players Jeff Hughes, Red MacDonald, Dick Whaley, Bob Petteruti and Joe Holtzman are slated to perform, as well as special guests Lloyd Kaplan and the Aristocats.

Admission is $15 for the general public and $12 for students and seniors. All proceeds will benefit the Bobby Hackett Scholarship Fund, named for the famous jazz cornet player who worked with Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.

For more information, call CCRI at (401) 825-2168.

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September 2002

CCRI Foundation announces new Board of Directors

Denise M. Jenkins, a resident of Smithfield and head of School One in Providence, has been elected president of the Community College of Rhode Island Foundation Board of Directors.

Other officers elected for a one-year term are:

Ronald J. Caniglia of Warwick                                      CCRI Foundation Vice President
      President, Stand Corporation

Leonard A. DiLorenzo of North Kingstown                      CCRI Foundation Treasurer
      Vice President of Quality, Davol, Inc.

Beverly Wiley of Foster                                                CCRI Foundation Secretary
      Women's Softball Coach, CCRI

Established by the RI General Assembly in 1979, the CCRI Foundation is an independent non-profit corporation, created to encourage and provide college support from private sources.

Foundation funds are used to build a self-perpetuating endowment for the college and for scholarships. These funds are also used to support college-wide projects, such as faculty enrichment and development, cultural activities, educational equipment purchases, campus beautification, athletics and library acquisitions.

Community College of Rhode Island Newport County Campus Fact Sheet

History
When the Rhode Island General Assembly adopted its master plan for a system of community colleges in 1960, it envisioned four campuses serving all areas of the state. More than 40 years later, the CCRI Newport facility will complete this vision by adding another campus to the existing campuses in Warwick (enrollment @8,000), Lincoln (enrollment @6,000), and Providence (enrollment @2,000).

Construction timeline
Groundbreaking for the site is planned for late summer 2002. The campus is expected to be operational in spring 2004.

Funding
A voter-approved 2000 referendum has financed the $10.933 million needed to build the Newport County Campus.

Student body
The CCRI Newport County Campus has a projected enrollment of 2,000 students. At present, CCRI serves 800 students through its East Bay satellites at Newport Hospital, Newport Navy Base, and Middletown High School.

Architectural features
►The 65,000-square-foot campus will appear as a single, three-story building that is in fact three connected structures: a student services complex, a classroom/laboratory wing and a 250-seat auditorium.

►The building's façade draws from the shingle-style architecture indigenous to the Newport area and includes a brick ground floor, a shingled second floor and a pitched roofline punctuated by dormers and a turret.

►A light-filled, two-story atrium serves as an enclosed public square and employs energy-saving, passive solar energy principles.

►The new campus has been designed by J. Michael Abbott of Newport Collaborative Architects.

Educational features
The new campus will include: 16 "smart" classrooms wired for both data and video reception; physical therapy, occupational therapy and therapeutic massage laboratories; academic computer labs; and a distance learning classroom.

Like CCRI's other campuses, the Newport facility will also include a Success Center, where students may receive such support services as skills assessments and tutoring.

Programming
The Newport County Campus will house the CCRI Nursing and Allied Health programs currently based at Newport Hospital. This includes the Rehabilitative Health department, which oversees Occupational Therapy Assistants, Physical Therapist Assistant and Therapeutic Massage programs.

CCRI officials are currently collaborating with business leaders to create programming opportunities of special interest to the East Bay community. Potential offerings at the Newport Campus include travel & tourism and marine-trade courses.

Selling at Mach I author Steve Sullivan to speak at Business Outlook Breakfast

Organization turn-around specialist Steve Sullivan will share strategies to streamline sales, leadership and performance systems at "Recipe for Business Success," this fall's Business Outlook Breakfast, at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Crowne Plaza at the Crossings, Warwick. The breakfast is sponsored by the Community College of Rhode Island Foundation and Atrion, in cooperation with RITECH and Providence Business News as well as the Providence, Central Rhode Island and Northern Rhode Island Chambers of Commerce. Cost for the event is $30 per person.

Author of the best-selling business books Selling at Mach I and Leading at Mach II, Sullivan has shared his expertise with an illustrious clientele including IBM, Kimberley-Clark, Yale University, Fleet Bank, Microsoft, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy.

Before founding Motivational Resources seven years ago, Sullivan spent nearly two decades in sales and management at both International Paper and Williamhouse-Regency, generating a combined $1.2 billion in sales growth. A former army ranger, platoon leader and brigade operations officer, Sullivan received an extensive military education at the Defense Race Relations Institute, Armor School, Airborne School and U.S. Petroleum Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from the University of Florida and a Master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California.

For more information, call the CCRI Foundation at 333-7150.

The Community College of Rhode Island Foundation was established by an act of the Rhode Island General Assembly in January 1979 as an independent, non-profit corporation. The Foundation encourages and provides support from private sources for the Community College of Rhode Island.

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August 2002

Charles Sullivan Fund committee celebrates a special birthday

The CCRI Foundation is throwing a combined birthday party for Professor Charles Sullivan and thank-you party for donors newly established Charles Sullivan Fund, on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Community College of Rhode Island Knight Campus, 400 East Ave., Warwick.

Initiated this spring to honor Sullivan for his work at CCRI and in the Rhode Island community, the Charles Sullivan Fund is chaired by Paul Brooks, Barbara Dreyer, Constance Evrard and Susan Symonds. Honorary chairs for the event are Oskar & Laurie Eustis and Vartan & Claire Gregorian. To date, the fund has raised approximately $75,000 in support of arts and humanities at the college.

The evening's speaking program includes remarks by Sullivan and by the event's honorary chair, Trinity Repertory Company Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. Professor Lloyd Kaplan and his jazz band, the Aristocats, perform jazz at one party station, while CCRI music instructor Cheri Markward and friends offer classical guitar and violin at an adjacent station. Russell Morin provides catering for the event.

Teaching English at the community college since 1967, Sullivan has garnered both Teacher of the Year and Third World Teacher of the Year during his tenure. At CCRI, Sullivan founded a scholarship in his name to benefit women returning to college. He is also chairman of the CCRI Committee for the Arts and Humanities.

A poet in his own right, Sullivan has become a fixture in Rhode Island's art and social service communities, serving as chair for the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities and as a board member of Trinity Repertory Company, Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island, the Providence Athenaeum, and Sunrise House.

Other committee members include Deborah Aiken, Jeffrey Austin, Deborah & William Brody, Gene K. Burns, Hon. Christine Callahan, Sen. & Mrs. Lincoln Chafee, Barbara & Tim Colt, Maryann Harmsen, Marie Jean Langlois, Barbara Meek, Joan & John Monaghan, Nancy Potter, Sen. Jack Reed, CCRI President Thomas D. Sepe, Nancy Sullivan, Terry Tullis, Jack White, JulieWhite and Connie Worthington.

For more information about the Charles Sullivan Fund, call the CCRI Foundation at 333-7150.

Pullano appointed athletic director

Louis Pullano of Cranston has been appointed Director of Athletics and Associate Dean of Student Life at the Community College of Rhode Island.

Pullano is a graduate of CCRI, where he was a starting centerfielder on the college's baseball team. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to give something back to the student athletes, of which I was one," Pullano says.

As director, Pullano will oversee all intercollegiate athletic programs, the college's physical education programs and CCRI's athletic facilities and equipment. With the added title of associate dean of student life, Pullano also will develop new recreational programming.

"I will work hard to develop intramural or recreational programs for all of our students, not just our student athletes," Pullano says. "I also plan to hold events that enhance student life on all the campuses and bring the student body together."

Pullano holds a BS in physical education and an MS in athletic and physical administration from the University of Rhode Island. Since 1995, Pullano has served as Associate Director of Athletics at CCRI

Children's Residential Programming Certificate

The CCRI Department of Human Services and the umbrella organization Rhode Island Council on Residential Programs for Children and Youth (RICORP) have collaborated to create a 30-credit-hour certificate program in Children's Residential Programming. The program is designed for the direct care staff who supervise children placed out of the home due to abuse, neglect, family stress or other problems. Certificate courses will begin this fall at both CCRI and at the RICORP offices with a strong enrollment, for the program has a built-in clientele of approximately 700 direct care staff who currently work at RICORP's 32 member agencies.

According to program creator and CCRI Human Service Associate Professor Jerry Hatfield, the goal of the certificate is to provide direct care staff with a common knowledge base of behavioral science and communication skills. This is necessary, he explains, because unlike trained social workers and family therapists, many of the attendants in children’s residential care have only a high school education. “The ones who spend the most amount of time with the kids are the ones who are least educated,” he says.

With the exception of a new course in technical writing, most of the courses needed for the Children's Residential Programming certificate are already offered at CCRI, and include human services and psychology offerings in special needs populations, psychology, family intervention skills and behavior modification.

The right training can make all the difference, says Jim Harris, Executive Director of RICORP. “Kids’ behavior can go on a scale from 1 to 10. These kids—some of them have been severely abused and neglected—they can be very distrustful of adults, and they will act out their fears and frustrations. If a caregiver can learn that a child’s behavior is signifying some unmet need, then he can help discern what the need is and make sure it is fulfilled for the child.”

Few agencies understand the need to instill trust and build communication skills between caregivers and children better than the Child Welfare League of America. Director of the CWLA New England Region Adrienne Williams calls the program “a coup for the child welfare field,” and applauds its emphasis on creating skilled direct care staff.

“It’s my hope,” Williams says, “that other states will not only study and replicate this program, but realize the power of partnership that brought it to fruition.”

CCRI names new Vice President for Academic Affairs
 

WARWICK, RI – Ruth D. Sherman, Ed.D., of Easton, Mass., joins the Community College of Rhode Island as Vice President for Academic Affairs.

As Vice President, Sherman is a member of the college's senior management team and    is responsible for providing vision with academic and administrative leadership in the areas of educational policy, instructional planning, program review, academic personnel actions, faculty development and resource planning and allocation. She is also responsible for advancing the college's educational initiatives involving transfer issues, developmental education and student success initiatives.

Sherman comes to CCRI from Bristol Community College where she was Dean of the Division of Enrollment, Workforce and Community Development. She brings with her two decades of community college leadership in administration, academic programming, strategic planning, resource development, fiscal oversight, enrollment management and business, education and community partnerships.

Sherman holds an associate's degree from Massachusetts Bay Community College, a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a master's of education from Northeastern University and a doctorate of education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Sherman also served as a fellow with the Massachusetts Higher Education Executive Leadership Institute.

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May 2002

 

Media Preview Community College of Rhode Island Newport County Campus

EAST BAY – The Community College of Rhode Island released detailed plans for the Newport County Campus, a 65,000-square foot facility to be built on a 5+ acre-site off Ranger Road in Newport. The new campus will serve the more than 800 students currently enrolled in CCRI's three Aquidneck Island satellites – Newport Hospital, the Newport Base, and Middletown High School – as well as more than 1,000 new students from the East Bay and South County areas. The shingle-style building, designed by Newport Collaborative Architects, will include a classroom and laboratory wing, a student services wing, and a 250-seat auditorium.

Groundbreaking for the project is planned for late summer of this year. Officials expect the new campus to be operational in spring 2004. . Http://www.ccri.edu/newport, a Web site offering the public a virtual tour of the new campus, will be operational in early June.

For more information, read the cover story of the enclosed CCRI Focus Magazine. A fact sheet on the project is also included in your packet.

To schedule interviews or receive high-resolution digital photos, please contact CCRI Public Relations Coordinator Laura Hart (401) 825-1175, cell: (401) 623-1101; or Assistant to the President Nancy Abood, (401) 825-2181.

Seminar for Dental Hygienists Planned

WARWICK- The Division of Lifelong Learning, the Dental Hygiene Department, and Alumni Affairs have partnered to give a seminar entitled:
Fear Factor: Oral Pathology
What the RDH Should Know.
This seminar was designed to offer a continuing education opportunity for dental hygienists that will cover examination procedures, diagnostic and descriptive terminology and also a comprehensive review of common oral diseases and dental hygiene interventions. The Rhode Island Dental Hygienists Association has also approved two Continuing Education Units (CEU) for participation in the seminar and certificates will be provided to attendees as proof of participation.

Kathi Duffy, RDH, MS, who is a registered dental hygienist and assistant professor to CCRI, will present the seminar. She has over 27 years experience in the dental profession as a dental assistant and dental hygienist, and is a lead teacher for the dental hygiene program pathology course at the college.

"This is our first endeavor with this division (Lifelong Learning) to provide the continuing education for alumni and any other hygienist within the state," said Duffy. "Part of our license renewal as dental hygienists is receiving continuing education credits which are required to maintain our license. This seminar will help the alumni and any other hygienist in doing so."

The seminar will be held Thursday, June 6 from 6-9 PM at the CCRI Knight Campus in Warwick. To register for the seminar, one must call the CCRI Division for Lifelong Learning at (401) 455-6114, or fax (401) 455-6190. The cost of the seminar is $25 for CCRI Alumni and $30 for Non-Alumni.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and currently enrolls more than 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

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April 2002

March 2002

Financial Independence Training Offered

Accredited Financial Advisor Marylou Berry Roche offers this important lesson to overeager consumers: "Your life won't be fantastic if you live on plastic."
This spring, Roche teaches a two-day workshop in managing household finances entitled, "Financial Independence Training—the FIT Team USA" as part of the Community College of Rhode Island's new Division for Lifelong Learning. The course will be offered on Wednesday evenings, March 20 and 27, at the CCRI Lincoln campus, and on Tuesday evenings, April 2 and 9, on the Warwick campus. The cost for the course is $35. Pre-registration is required.
Roche uses a "financial freedom chart" to help participants control their debt and live within their means. Her unique system organizes her clients' life areas by color: red for physical fitness, green for financial, blue for relaxation and gold for leisure. "It really comes down to getting discipline in every aspect of your life. Financial stability is just a by-product of the system," Roche says.
This color code system keeps participants from alternately avoiding or overemphasizing their financial problems. "That way, a family can discuss money only on green time instead of fighting all week," Roche explains.
Another key to the system is identifying monetary misconceptions. "We're always thinking of the dollars we're going to have, as opposed to living with what we really have today," she explains. Roche helps participants learn how to eliminate what she calls "mystery money," and identify her clients' personal "money gobblers."
Roche, president of the FIT Corporation of Wakefield, has worked as a corporate trainer and financial advisor since 1992. Her clients have included Southern New England Telephone (SNET), Texas Instruments, Good Will Industries, and Roger Williams Hospital.
For more information on this or other Lifelong Learning courses, call (401) 333-7070 or log on www.ccri.edu.
Established this spring, the CCRI Division for Lifelong Learning offers non-credit skills training and personal enrichment programs as well as professional development courses and customized business training. The Community College of Rhode Island, New England's largest community college, currently enrolls more than 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes. Currently, the college has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln.

Practicing Nurse Ethicist speaks to East Bay Business Community

 "Everything in life is pretty easy if you're not on life support," says medical ethicist Dr. Diann Uustal.
A nationally recognized educator in clinical ethics, Uustal will address members of the Rhode Island healthcare community at an East Bay Business Breakfast entitled, "Ethics Conversations: A Dialogue with a Practicing Nurse-Ethicist," from 9-11am on Friday, March 8, at Newport Hospital, Friendship and Powell Streets, Newport. The breakfast is sponsored by the Community College of Rhode Island Foundation in cooperation with Sovereign Bank and Beacon Mutual Insurance . Admission is $15 per person or $12 for each member of a three-member company team.
What happens when a patient's family requests procedures that the patient's doctors feel are medically inappropriate? Does it matter if pain medication is habituating when the patient who receives it is terminal? When is it time to remove a feeding tube from a permanently unconscious patient? In a forum similar to a town meeting, Uustal anticipates questions like these, as well as questions on such hotly contested medical topics as patient's rights, end-of-life care and adequate pain management.
With life-and-death issues part of her job description, Uustal knows first hand the importance of communication among family members and healthcare personnel during and before medical emergencies take place. Many of the thorny issues she faces each day could have been clarified with documentation of a patient's wishes, such as a medical power of attorney. "Families must have a dialogue before illness occurs," Uustal advises.
Speaking on safe patient care, Uustal worries about the demands placed on healthcare workers in some hospitals. "This is not a good time to be sick in healthcare," she warns. "We need to review the way we do staffing and the way we downsize. We've got to look at creative staffing patterns…. And at some point, we've got to rebel."
She also is concerned over current insurance company pay-out policies. "The emphasis is on sickness care, not healthcare, in this country," Uustal says, adding that most medical reimbursement policies are based on treatments and procedures only. "All the time it takes to nurture someone at the time of their death is not counted, because it is not reimbursable."
Uustal, who began her medical career as a University of Rhode Island-trained nurse, thrives on the complexity of the bioethics field. "If people want a blanket policy and a rule to follow all the time, then they will hate ethics," Uustal says, adding that her work "refuses to be categorized in little compartments, because you can't treat people in compartments."
She hopes that the healthcare workers who attend her discussion respond to the field's complexities. "I'd like to excite the audience about ethics instead of their throwing up their hand and saying, 'There are no right answers.'"
Uustal holds master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Massachusetts, and has completed a fellowship in ethics at Georgetown University. The author of four books including, Clinical Ethics and Values: Issues and Insights in a Changing Health Care Environment, Uustal has been named to Who's Who in American Nursing, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, Who's Who in American Women and Who's Who in Executives in Business. As president of her own consulting firm, Educational Resources in Healthcare, she estimates that she travels to two cities a week to teach the business of bioethics to other healthcare professionals.
"The Community College of Rhode Island has such a strong connection with the healthcare field in the East Bay area that Dr. Uustal was the ideal representative to speak at our first breakfast," says Julie White, Director of the CCRI Foundation, a charitable organization established in 1979 to encourage, seek and provide support for the college.
CCRI is the largest training institution of nurses in New England, conferring 150 Associate of Science in nursing degrees each year. Since 1987, CCRI has held nursing courses at its satellite campus at Newport Hospital. Newport Hospital is also the home for CCRI's Rehabilitative Health department, which offers occupational therapy assistant, physical therapist assistant and therapeutic massage programs.
In 2003, CCRI plans to open its newest campus, located on a 5.12-acre parcel on Ranger Road in Newport, on former Navy land donated to the city last year. The new campus, designed by Newport Collaborative Architects Inc., will house the nursing and rehabilitative health programs that are already offered at Newport Hospital as well as courses that are now offered at Middletown High School and the Naval Base. In addition, college officials are considering programs in technology, hospitality and other areas that will support the East Bay economy. Expected enrollment for the first year of operation is 2,000 students.

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February 2002

The Indomitable Spirit Performing Arts Series

This spring, the Community College of Rhode Island celebrates the artist's motivating force with its new Indomitable Spirit performing arts series. During the next three months, representatives from the fields of theater, music and the visual arts appear at all three CCRI campuses in special performances that are both free and open to the general public. Each event includes an audience discussion, led by visiting humanities scholars.

The first performance in the series features filmmaker/actor Don Mays in "Monologues and Dialogues," Friday, February 15 at 8 p.m. at the CCRI Flanagan Campus in Lincoln. Mays, a former stand-up comic and National Shakespeare Conservatory student, is also a self-taught filmmaker whose film, Same Difference, addresses issues of gang violence, sexual preference and prejudice. During the evening performance, Mays shares reflections on this film, as well as readings from the works of poet Langston Hughes and African-American writer Ralph Ellison. An ensuing commentary and audience discussion is led by Associate Director of Trinity Repertory Company Neal Baron and CCRI professor Charles Sullivan.

The next event in the series, entitled "A Renaissance Afternoon: Celebrating the Indomitable Spirit," takes place from 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20 at the CCRI Knight Campus in Warwick, and features an interactive performance by storyteller Marilyn Murphy Meardon, whose portrayal of Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England, transports her audience to the late 16th century. Also joining Meardon are musicians from the New England Mystic Consort, who perform songs in English and Spanish from the time of the Spanish Armada. Neil O'Connell, faculty member from Marymount-Manhattan College and expert in Tudor-Stuart England, leads the audience discussion.

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January 2002

Northeast Navy Show Band to help CCRI kick off new program for older adults

LINCOLN – One of the most sought after big bands in New England will help the Community College of Rhode Island kick off a new program of entertainment, classes, trips and symposiums geared especially for adults age 50 and older.

CCRI’s kick-off, A Star Spangled Spectacular, will feature a two-hour performance by the Northeast Navy Show Band – and a dance floor to enjoy as the band plays – on February 9 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Flanagan Campus, Lincoln. Jerilyn Nancy Sawyer, the 10-year-old “Country Charmer,” will open the show with an   a capella rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

Tickets for the Navy Band concert are free, but since seating is limited, tickets must be reserved by calling 333-7286. A cash coffee bistro with pastry will also be available. 

“The new Prime Time program embodies the spirit of the community college,” said Mary Parrillo, director of the Adults Skill Training program at CCRI and coordinator of the new program. “Prime Time allows us to recognize the significance of and be responsive to the needs of the older adult population by providing programming developed just for them.”

Prime Time will feature an entertainment series during the year that will include events such as a Tanglewood-type concert on the green at the Lincoln campus, a country hoe down at the Providence campus as well as a dinner theatre cruises and local entertainers.

Non-credit enrichment classes such as sailing, floral design, and computer classes are being planned. Symposia on issues such as health and wellness and financial planning for retirement will be offered as well a travel component that will include day trips and short trips.

Spanish English Center for Technology and Language open

LINCOLN--The Community College of Rhode Island's new Spanish English Center for Technology and Language/El Centro de Inglés Español para Tecnología y Lengua, is currently enrolling students in its Spanish language-based technology courses. Taught en Espanol and using Spanish training manuals, Beginning Computers and Basic Word begin the week of January 14 at CCRI's Lincoln campus. These six-week non-credit courses allow Spanish speakers to learn applicable job skills without first completing English as a Second Language (ESL) training. Cost for each course is $125.

Other SECETAL programs planned for 2002 include citizenship classes, interpretation and translation courses, advanced computer instruction, computer assembly, and Internet and Web site development classes.

Prior to the opening of Spanish English Center for Technology and Language, Spanish speakers often had to complete extensive ESL training to prepare themselves for other technical courses. This educational policy delayed students' ability to master and use employable computer skills. In creating the SECETAL, the CCRI Center for Business and Industrial Training can now move students to the workplace sooner. "Why should they have to wait?" asked Diane Marshall, CBIT coordinator and co-creator of SECETAL.

CCRI instructor and SECETAL co-creator Marco Enriquez-Bernau stressed how important this new program is to Rhode Island's Spanish community. "We filled up the classes right away. A lot of people started to call each other and to call us, to ask for those classes."

"ESL classes are not enough to give them a better job or a better life. We want to give the Spanish community those tools to get better jobs," said Enriquez-Bernau.

Warwick campus child care center open

WARWICK--The Community College of Rhode Island's newest addition, a child care center at the Knight Campus in Warwick, is currently recruiting children of CCRI students, faculty and staff for the spring semester.

Known as Kid's World, the Warwick center is the latest of three CCRI-based child care centers run by the Kent County YMCA. The other two are located on the CCRI Flanagan Campus in Lincoln and Liston Campus in Providence. Children of CCRI students, faculty and staff are eligible to enroll their 3- to 5-year-olds on a first come, first serve basis, provided that the youngsters are potty-trained.

The Warwick child care center includes both brand-new indoor facilities and an outdoor play area. The center can accommodate up to 39 children at any given time.

Sue Shanley, director of child care at the Kent County YMCA, oversees all three Kid's Worlds, a collaboration that began more than 10 years ago on the Lincoln campus. "The program was designed to encourage students who had young children to return to school and complete their education," Shanley says.

Parents can choose quarter-time, part-time or full-time enrollment for their children, depending on their CCRI classroom or work schedule. Shanley adds that parents do not have to be on the premises the whole time, which "makes it convenient for students who have to do internships or labs off-site." Rates range from $35 per week for 10 hours or less care to $140 for 40 hours a week.

Some CCRI students may be eligible for child care financial aid, Shanley says, adding that both Rhode Island's Department of Human Services and the YMCA Open Door program offer needs-based financial assistance for student parents.

Lincoln campus pool named one of top aquatic facilities in U.S.

The Community College of Rhode Island’s Lincoln campus pool, under the direction of Kevin Salisbury, CCRI Associate Athletic Director and Aquatic Director, has been named one of the nation’s top aquatic programs for 2000-2001 by the United States Water Fitness Association.

CCRI was ranked #1 nationally in the Junior College category, and 45th among all the national award recipients, which included YMCAs, four-year colleges, two-year colleges and others.

 The USWFA Awards are presented annually to programs based on the health and safety of the facility and of the aquatics program, staff members’ qualifications and certifications, administration and quality of the aquatics program, and leadership development of its staff and volunteers.

 The CCRI-Lincoln pool, which is a 25-yard, six-lane facility, was constructed in 1977 and serves the student population and the entire Rhode Island community. It has been utilized for community recreation, senior citizen activities, interscholastic and United States Swimming youth meets, state and municipal police training, physical education courses and youth camps. 

CCRI joins Cornell University in offering global seminar

How would you like to be an international student without ever having to leave your classroom?  The Community College of Rhode Island is offering a three-credit biology course called Man and the Environment that will link up students from the Flanagan Campus, Lincoln to campuses in New York, Iowa, Mexico and Hawaii. 

Students will take part in videoconferences and use the Internet, satellite and telephone technology to exchange ideas, make their own presentations and debate issues with their counterparts at other colleges, including global classmates from foreign countries.

Students will analyze case studies of real events and real people as they explore the social, cultural, political, technical, environmental and ethical aspects of food security and food supply, biodiversity, human population growth and global warming. And because the case studies are presented through videos, there is an added realism and credibility that will complement the background material that learners will study.

“Students in New England, for example, think very differently from students in the Midwest for whom flooding, wheat issues and river water management are of paramount importance to the existence of farming communities in that region,” said Luis Malaret, biology professor who will lead the Global Seminar project at CCRI. “Students at each college will end up learning perspectives they would not otherwise have had the chance to come to know.”

Malaret said that the subject of the seminar, sustainable food systems, was chosen by Cornell University because it has been estimated that the world’s population will double by the year 2050 so food production will need to keep pace in order to feed the world.  

Malaret learned of the project when a colleague came back from a seminar and shared what he had learned of the Cornell University project. Cornell is actually disseminating the course, through its case studies, to high schools, community colleges and other universities around the world.

“The skills that students will develop in this course are tremendous,” said Malaret who listed public speaking skills honed as mini-groups at each college present their take on the issues, technical skills that will come from using the latest distance learning technology, research skills that will be developed from studying the issues, writing skills as the learners develop reports and most importantly, critical thinking and analysis skills as students tackle issues of global concern.

The class will meet twice weekly, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from noon to 1:15 p.m. at the Lincoln campus. Classes begin January 22 and seats are still available for this course. For more information, call Malaret at 333-7295 or e-mail lmalaret@ccri.edu.

CCRI counselors receive Rising Star award

Two Community College of Rhode Island admissions/financial aid counselors were members of a committee that recently received national recognition from the National Association for College Admission Counseling or its work in developing a workshop to provided professional development for their colleagues in the New England Association for College Admission Counseling. 

Terri Kless of Smithfield, a counselor at the Lincoln campus, chaired the Two-year College Committee, which received the Rising Star Award that was established last year to honor those individuals and programs who are up-and-coming and strive to make a difference in college admission. Kless has worked at CCRI for 10 years.

“The New England Association for College Admission Counseling’s strategic plan suggested the need for more workshops geared specifically towards professionals in two-year colleges,” said Kless. “The program we designed provided professional development for these counselors as well as a forum for networking.”

Marilyn Borges of Providence, a Liston Campus, Providence counselor, was also a member of the award-winning committee. Borges, who has worked at the college for three years, was one of the members of the team that presented the one-day workshop for two-year college counselors. 

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has campuses in Warwick, Providence and Lincoln and satellite locations across the state. CCRI currently enrolls more than 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes.

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