News Releases

November 2000

CISCO SYSTEMS CHAIRMAN SPEAKS AT CCRI BREAKFAST

LINCOLN – John Morgridge, chairman of the board of the third highest valued company in the world, Cisco Systems, was the guest speaker recently at a Chamber of Commerce Business Outlook Breakfast sponsored by the Community College of Rhode Island Foundation. Morgridge’s talk, “The New Economy is the Internet Economy,” was peppered with humor and insight into the $1 billion-plus Internet technology industry.  Morgridge challenged the audience members – mostly business leaders and professionals from higher education – to embrace the Internet revolution, or “the second Industrial Revolution.”

Morgridge told the audience that since the Internet is changing the way we work, live, play and learn and is impacting governments and businesses on a global scale, we need to keep pace with the Internet economy in order to survive.

 “All of our institutions will be impacted by this revolution,” said Morgridge. “In the Industrial Revolution you could hide, but not in this revolution – you cannot hide.”

Attendees were as fascinated with Morgridge’s remarks about the Internet economy as they were with the history of Cisco and Morgridge himself. Morgridge joined Cisco just 12 years ago as its president and CEO and quickly grew the company from $5 million in sales to more than $1 billion in sales. When the company went public in 1995, he was appointed chairman of the board.

Today, Cisco is one of the best examples of a company using Internet technology to gain a competitive advantage with more than 80 percent of the company’s orders and customer support being transacted via the Web. 

“The network line is the umbilical cord of Cisco Systems,” said Morgridge who added that there are no paper forms at his company. “The network is the company.”

And if the network is the company, asked an audience member, then how do you protect the company?

“Buy Cisco!” laughed Morgridge who added more seriously that Cisco has never had a major incursion into its network. A forward-looking Morgridge also explained that the company hires very smart people and continues to construct securities that are needed for the Internet economy.

“Expect lots of changes in the next five years,” he said.

The Morgridge Business Outlook Breakfast was another effort by the CCRI Foundation – the college’s non-profit arm – to bring local businesses into New England’s largest community college.

CCRI CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK

LINCOLN –   In observance of International Education Week, the Lincoln campus Student Government at the Community College of Rhode Island is promoting international education with a variety of activities that they have organized.

The Spanish Club will present a display of Spanish artifacts in the cafeteria on November 14. On November 15, the French Club will set up an exhibit reflecting the customs and culture of France. The cafeteria will offer ethnic fare highlighting Spanish, French and Oriental cuisine throughout the week.

Plans also include presentations on French authors and ethnic dances by the members of the Dance Club. For more details on those activities, call 333-7159.

United States Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and United States Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright have called for the celebration of International Education Week, November 13-17. International Education Week is part of a cooperative response by the Departments of Education and State to the Presidential policy directive on international education.

CCRI PHILOSOPHY CLUB HOSTS BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY LECTURER/AUTHOR

WARWICK – Andrew Schoedinger, chair of the Philosophy Department at Boise State University, will be the guest speaker at the November 15 meeting of the Knights of Philosophy at the Community College of Rhode Island, Knight Campus. The noon lecture in the auditorium is free and open to the public.

Schoedinger’s lecture, “Where Have All Our Values Gone?” will preview his upcoming work. Schoedinger studied philosophy at Brown University and is the author of many books including “Anthology of Medieval Philosophy” and “The Problem of Universals, Our Philosophical Heritage.”

For more information about Schoedinger’s presentation, call Debbie Condit, president of the Knights of Philosophy, CCRI’s philosophy club, at 885-5438.

October 2000

CCRI Professor Represents U.S. at Art Festival in Russia

Nancy Wyllie, Associate Professor of Art at the Community College of Rhode Island, was one of five artists selected to represent the U.S. at  the 3rd International Festival of Experimental and Performance Art held at Manege Central Exhibition Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia, August 20- September 3, 2000. Artists from 20 countries, including Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, Denmark, the UK, Portugal, Israel, Japan, Eastern Europe and countries of the former USSR participated in this exhibition, which was curated by The Dostoyevsky  Foundation in London.

Wyllie exhibited a suite of large-scale cibachrome photographs that document an encounter with a sheet of industrial plastic caught in the high winds. These images served to jog the memories of Russian visitors who were asked to leave written accounts of their own encounters with the extraordinary. The participatory element of this exhibition is a continuation of Wyllie’s exploration of memory that began in 1994 with a workshop that coincided with her solo exhibition, “Sightings,” at CCRI Knight Campus Gallery.

In addition, Wyllie showed digital images in an international alternative process exhibition,  First To See The Light 2000, at Wanganui Regional Polytechnic in New Zealand during the month of May.

CCRI PROFESSOR SOUNDS THE CALL TO RECOGNIZE RHODE ISLAND'S HISTORIC ARMORIES

WARWICK – Roberta Humble of Warwick, a professor of English at the Community College of Rhode Island for 31 years, has put Rhode Island on the map – when it comes to armories anyhow. Humble is the chair of Historic Armory Week, November 4-12, a celebration that is unique to Rhode Island.

For eight days, the 18 armories throughout Rhode Island, from Westerly to Woonsocket, will open their doors for tours and a variety of activities, from a Civil War Ball to a clam boil.

Four unique bus tours have been planned in addition to the dozens of other activities. On November 4, the Day in Newport bus tour will include a visit to the state’s oldest armory as well as shopping and lunch on Thames Street; on November 5, a day-long bus tour will visit 14 of the armories; on November 11, it’s the “Autumn in Glocester” tour that includes a visit to historic Chepachet Village and its antique shops; and on November 12, travel to the historic Wilcox Tavern for lunch, tour the Westerly Armory and enjoy a band concert by The Westerly Bank, the oldest non-military band in the country.

Humble, president of the Westerly Armory Restoration Committee grew up attending community events at the Westerly Armory and can tell the stories of every one of the state’s armories, half of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s these stories that she hopes to share with the public if these venerable old buildings are to be preserved.

“They are not just military buildings but they are community centers,” said Humble, an honorary colonel in the Rhode Island Militia for her work done on preserving armories and their history. “They are also reminders of why we enjoy our freedom.”

Armories, explained Humble, were built with money from the state in thanks to the militia units. The Armory of the Kentish Guards in East Greenwich, for example, was built on land purchased with state money in thanks for those who served during the Dorr War in 1842. The oldest armory was built in 1835 and the “youngest” in 1928.

CCRI has supported Humble’s efforts to preserve Rhode Island’s history, providing some release time for her this semester to organize the statewide activities. In addition, Humble spent a sabbatical semester last year writing a 150-page book on the history of the state’s armories along with retired Colonel Howard F. Brown. The book is available in the CCRI Bookstore.

For more information about the activities during Rhode Island Historic Armory Week, call 738-3844 or visit their Web site at www.rhodeislandarmories.org. All profits from the week’s events will benefit armory restorations.

MAKING TIME COUNT – MORE THAN 600 REGISTERED FOR CCRI’s WEEKEND COLLEGE COURSES

PROVIDENCE – There might be an occasional complaint about missing the football game on television, but it hasn’t stopped these dedicated students from getting an education. The inaugural semester of the Community College of Rhode Island’s Weekend College at the Liston Campus has been, by all accounts, a smashing success. More than 600 students are registered for classes held Friday, Saturday and yes, Sunday, each week.

The students are getting a total college experience, too, said Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Philip Sisson, with the Providence campus bookstore, library, cafeteria, advising and academic affairs all open for business throughout the weekend.

“During the week, it’s a lot of younger students, but at the Weekend College the students are all ages and it’s wonderful,” said Debbi Baker, 49, president of the Liston Campus Student Government. “Some are here working on degrees and others just to get new knowledge. So many of the students tell me that Weekend College is the best thing that could have happened to them.”

Will Jackson, Weekend College site coordinator, said 34 courses are running this semester with plans to offer 65 courses in the spring. In addition to the credit courses, CCRI’s Office of Community Services is running a variety of non-credit courses this fall such as Building Self-Esteem, Commercial Driver’s License, crafts classes, Food Manager Certification and Lead Abatement Certification. According to Emilio Colantonio, director of Community Services, at least as many courses will be offered in the spring.

Roxanne Johnson, teaching Financial Accounting for the first time, couldn’t have asked for a better first teaching experience. “The students are enthusiastic, dedicated and eager to learn. They really want to be here,” she said.

Veteran instructor Alfred Colonies who is teaching Principles of Management on Sundays agreed, adding, “These students might not otherwise have an opportunity to go to college.”

“I am so grateful for the support of the department chairs and the faculty,” said Sisson. “Their support has helped make this program a success.”

Jackson, who as site coordinator is at the campus throughout the weekend, said that he’s also seeing students who normally attend classes during the week visit the college campus on the weekends to access services and use the library.

Students who need help with financial aid applications, college admittance applications, career counseling and scholarship searches among the many other services offered, can stop in at the Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) at the Liston Campus. The EOC is open Friday evenings until 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Library/Learning Resource Center is open Fridays until 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Admissions/Records Office, the Office of Financial Aid and the Counseling/Advising offices are open Fridays until 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Also open during Weekend College is the cafeteria with expanded hours on Fridays from 3:30 to 7 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sundays from 8 am. To 12:30 p.m.

For more information about Weekend College, call 455-6113.

CCRI FACULTY GET SUPPORT IN DEVELOPING WEB-BASED COURSES

WARWICK – Fourteen more faculty members at the Community College of Rhode Island will get the training they need in order to help them make intelligent use of technology in teaching, thanks to a grant from the RI Board of Governors for Higher Education Incentive Fund for Excellence in Technology.

CCRI will split a $98,000 Teaching with Technology Fellows grant with the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College again this year. Last year, CCRI trained 16 faculty members in the Web CT software package that makes it possible to create web-based courses that include private class e-mail, a course bulletin board, on-line testing, an on-line grade book, links from syllabus or class notes to other Web sites, audio and video presentations and other useful educational tools.

Faculty members are awarded a $1,000 stipend and $1,000 for the purchase of tools and/or software they need to implement the Web CT course such as a scanner, digital camera, etc.

“The feedback we received from a student survey found that the Web CT experience was overwhelmingly positive for the students,” said Linda Beith, CCRI Faculty Support Coordinator. “Students like the opportunity to check their grades and take tests at times convenient to them. Students and teachers love this.”

Faculty members must file an application and proposal in order to be considered for a Teaching With Technology Fellows position. If selected, the faculty member undergoes six full days of training during a semester break and then is required to mentor a colleague.

Presently, CCRI has 53 courses that include some aspect of Web CT; some courses offered are entirely on-line courses while other faculty members use Web CT to supplement what they do in the traditional classroom.

“What we are beginning to see now is a movement toward collaboration in departments,” said Beith. “Instructors are sharing their work with others in their department and with other departments as well.”

CCRI is the largest community college in New England with more than 15,000 students each semester.

September 2000

CCRI FOUNDATION ANNUAL MEETING

WARWICK -- The election of the 2000-2001 officers highlighted the annual meeting of the Community College of Rhode Island Foundation on September 21 at the Warwick Country Club.

The Board officers re-elected were: Betty J. Capaldo of Riverside, Junior Achievement of RI, president; Stephen L. Hines of Providence, Human Resources Consultant, vice president; David L. Goolgasian of Cranston, BankRI, treasurer; and Augustine Capotosto Jr. of East Greenwich, Quality Management Systems, Secretary. Immediate past president is Gerald P. Conroy of New York, an attorney.

Julie M. White, director of Institutional Advancement introduced CCRI President Thomas D. Sepe who presented appreciation awards to the 1999-2000 Foundation officers and recognized committee chairs. Capaldo announced that the CCRI Foundation Annual Fund raised more than $183,000 during the past year, an increase of nine percent over the prior year, and endowed three new scholarships. She outlined the goals of the Foundation for the upcoming year that includes increasing Alumni and Foundation giving by 10 percent and endowing six new scholarships as well as implementing a Planned Giving program. In his report, Richard V. DiGennaro, president of the CCRI Alumni Association, pledged to continue to build on the success of the Alumni Annual Fund direct mail and phonathon campaigns that raised more than $20,000 this year.

Re-elected as trustees of the Foundation at the annual meeting were John I. Howell of Warwick, Beacon Communications; Charles F. Miller of Warwick, RI Higher Education Assistance Authority; Louis A. Pullano of Cranston, CCRI Athletic Department; and George Souza of Warwick, CCRI Physical Plant. Newly elected as a trustee was Bruce Stein (Class of 1975) of Warwick, IM  Gan Discount Liquors.

Newly elected to the board were Denise Jenkins of Smithfield, School One and Beverly J. Wiley of Foster, The National Conference for Community and Justice.

CCRI ADDS THREE NEW ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS

WARWICK – The Community College of Rhode Island received approval from the RI Board of Governors for Higher Education to offer three new allied health programs beginning this academic school year. The certificate programs are: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), renal dialysis technology and diagnostic medical sonography.

The programs were created in direct response to the needs of the healthcare industry, according to Maureen McGarry, Dean of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences at CCRI who added that the programs are each two-semesters long with classes offered evenings and weekends at the Liston Campus, Providence.

“The requests for us to consider these programs came from the community,” said McGarry, “and are evidence of our close relationship with the community we serve.”

According to McGarry, a fairly large number of people in the state require dialysis, which is used in place of a non-functioning or poorly functioning kidney. The program will prepare individuals to work as renal dialysis technicians in community dialysis settings and will also prepare them to sit for the national certification exam.

There is a high demand for prepared technicians who will work with nurses and other team members at kidney centers, she said. Individuals applying for the program should hold, or be eligible to seek, a Certified Nursing Assistant certificate prior  to completing the program, hold a CPR certificate for healthcare providers and should be a high school graduate or hold a GED certificate.

Individuals already certified as radiographers can apply for the certificate in program in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Since the price of MRI machines is no longer so cost-prohibitive, many more facilities are now offering MRIs and there are not enough qualified individuals to administer this diagnostic procedure, said McGarry.

With the increased volume of sonography equipment being used in a variety of facilities in community settings, there has been an increased demand for individuals certified in administering diagnostic medical sonography, said McGarry. Students in this program need to be either already certified as radiographers or hold an equivalent allied health certification.

For more information about any of these programs, call 333-7252.

SIX CCRI STUDENTS COMPLETE PRESTIGIOUS SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

WARWICK – Their summer research projects included such imposing titles as “Photorespitory Gene Expression at Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Levels” and “Data Analysis Code for The Psyche Project.” No, these are not doctoral candidates but rather Community College of Rhode Island students working with some of the greatest minds in science today.

Six Community College of Rhode Island students recently completed an intense 10-week summer internship with nationally renowned scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island.

“There is incredible amount of talent and skills at community colleges,” according to Sam Rodriguez, assistant director of science for education at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. as he viewed the posters that students prepared detailing their research work. “If we can expand this program, we can change the scientific and technological culture. Students need to realize that with just two years of college education, they can make a difference.”

CCRI was one of 17 community colleges included in the northeast consortium of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science grant that paired students with scientists at Brookhaven for research projects in such areas as biotechnology, chemistry, computing, energy, agriculture and global security.

The students, Marsha Flaherty and Mark Ruzzo of Coventry, RI, Elizabeth Perry of Tiverton, RI, Allison Sawchuk of South Kingstown, RI, Christopher G. von Glahn of Westerly, RI and Jonathan Taylor of Scituate, RI, certainly did their professors proud when the faculty members visited the research lab for the group’s poster session and closing ceremonies recently.

At the poster session, Denise Yordy, associate professor of biology at CCRI, roamed the aisles of poster presentations, picking up literature and chatting with students.

“The work I’m seeing here supports the old adage that how you expect someone to perform is how they will perform,” said Yordy. “They were expected to perform well and they did!”

Flaherty, a single mother of four children (ages 3, 10, 12 and 15) traveled home on weekends during the 10-week program.

“It was hard being away from the kids, especially my 3-year-old, but I realize that everything that impacts me, impacts them,” she said. “If this can improve my future then it will improve theirs.

“The instructors and scientists here opened up a whole new world for us,” said Flaherty. “It was challenging and just great to be around such bright people. I would love to work here.”

CCRI, which will continue as a consortium member this year, is expanding the Brookhaven experience to include six to nine college credits for this internship experience for students who participate next summer. In addition, CCRI students will be applying for week-long “mini-semester” internships in both December and April.

Rodriguez said the partnership with community colleges began two years ago based on “purely selfish motives.” It typically costs labs about $200,000 to recruit, train and place a laboratory technician. Meanwhile, the scientific labs were more frequently looking overseas for Ph.Ds to fulfill their needs and overlooking the community college students who could do the hands-on work needed. It didn’t take long to appreciate the fact that it costs only about $10,000 to have a community college student intern in place for a 10-week summer session, said Rodriguez.

Two years into the program, said Rodriguez, the senior scientific staff has been sold on this “human experiment” and they clamor for more of these very motivated and able-minded young researchers.

“It was so nice to be surrounded by brilliant people all the time,” said Taylor, who created a new (and apparently better) version of the laboratory’s budget and expense report.  Taylor is now working part-time at Brookhaven while he finishes up his studies at CCRI. Taylor said he’s thrilled to be earning “three times more than I ever made in my life” and preparing applications to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Tech, schools he would not have likely considered before his internship at Brookhaven.

Sawchuck spoke with the fervor of a true science devotee.

“We are running out of petroleum oil – basically, we will be out of oil worldwide in about 40-70 years,” said Sawchuck as she explained her summer research project will involved working with scientists who are trying to develop bacteria that will eat sulphur, allowing the heavy crude oil to be made usable. It was an interesting project for the biology major who hopes to go into forensic science.

“I want to come back again next year,” she said, adding that she will recommend it to her classmates. “We were treated like employees and not students.”

The Community College of Rhode Island with 15,000 students each semester is the largest community college in New England.

CCRI RECEIVES PARTNERSHIP INNOVATION AWARD

The Community College of Rhode Island has been chosen as the recipient of AchieveGlobal's 1999-2000 Partnership Innovation Award.

CCRI was chosen for this award based on its project with North Kingstown-based Brown & Sharpe, the world's leading manufacturer of dimensional metrology equipment. CCRI's Office of Leadership Development designed a training program to provide the soft skills necessary to meet the challenges of Brown & Sharpe's Six Sigma initiative.

Fred Colonies, the director of the Office of Leadership Development, will receive the award on behalf of the college at AchieveGlobal's conference in San Antonio, Texas in October.

AchieveGlobal is the world's largest training and consulting company consisting of three companies: Zenger-Miller, Kaset and Learning International. The company works with more than 3,000 public and private sector organizations, more than 400 Fortune 500 companies and has partnered with 650 community colleges nationally.

CCRI's partnership with AchieveGlobal/Zenger-Miller enables the Office of Leadership Development to provide affordable organizational training in areas such as team effectiveness, front-line leadership, quality improvement, facilitating skills and communication skills. Zenger-Miller training can be customized to meet an organization's needs and can be provided at any of CCRI's main campuses or on-site.

CCRI AWARDED TECHNOLOGY GRANT

A group of faculty members from the Community College of Rhode Island has been awarded a $32,000 grant from the Board of Governors to support its Prismatic Perceptions interdisciplinary, web-based humanities project.

This core group members are Carol Panaccione and Susan Brown of the Foreign Languages and Cultures Department, and Susan Apshaga and Debra Lilli of the English Department. Judeth A. Crowley, Dean of Arts and Sciences, is serving as team administrator.

The grant from the Incentive Fund for Excellence in Technology will support implementation of the Mona Lisa module, Phase II of the project. The web-based module will focus on the Renaissance and will involve the work of 10 departments throughout CCRI, including music, art, literature and foreign languages. Phase I of the project was supported last year by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Mona Lisa module will allow students to explore life at the time of Leonardo da Vinci, listen to musical compositions, view paintings that were produced in the 16th century throughout Europe, compare and contrast the literary texts of the time, journey virtually to Florence and to the Louvre in Paris, and step into and explore the historical context in which da Vinci lived.

The grant will sponsor 10 fellows to dedicate 37.5 hours to the project over the Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 semesters. The four fellows presently developing the core Mona Lisa module are Paul Leclerc in the Philosophy Department, Robin Medeiros in the English Department, Doris A. Swenson in the Music Department and Denise Turgeon in the Psychology Department.

The state budget includes $250,000 for the Board of Governors Incentive Fund for Excellence in Technology. The purpose of the fund is to promote quality education by helping faculty make the best use of instructional technology.

WOMEN OF THE PROVIDENCE ART CLUB TOPIC OF LECTURE AT CCRI

WARWICK – Dr. Laura Prieto, a John Brown Fellow and professor of art history at Simmons College, will present the fourth lecture in a series on women artists in Rhode Island at the Flanagan Campus of the Community College of Rhode Island on September 19 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Prieto’s lecture, “The Lady or the Artist: Women of the Providence Art Club” looks at the dilemma of female artists in the late 19^th century and will be presented  at the Lincoln campus.

Prieto’s lecture is the fourth in a series of nine lectures, an essay booklet and an exhibition of the works of female Rhode Island artists.

The lecture series, as well as a juried art show of women’s works, was developed by the Rhode Island State Committee National Museum of Women in the Arts. The Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities provided funding for the project. The CCRI Foundation and the Rhode Island State Committee National Museum of Women in the Arts sponsored the art show portfolio.

Rosemary Prisco served as project director and editor of the essay booklet. She is president of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Museum for Women in the Arts and is a professor of English at CCRI.

The lecture series are free and open to the public. For more information, call Prisco at 333-7383.

SIX VERIZON EMPLOYEES BECOME CCRI’S FIRST NEXT STEP GRADS

WARWICK – The six men, all employees of Verizon Communications, look ordinary enough but they are actually trailblazers: they are the first graduates of an innovative program called the Next Step program that partnered the Community College of Rhode Island, Verizon (then Bell Atlantic) and a labor union.

Nicholas J. Teta of Charlestown, Edward J. Cote of Assonet, Mass., Dennis Ravenelle of Cumberland, Alvin H. Youngsma of Whitinsville, Mass., Francis B. Geary of Cranston and John J. Conley of North Attleboro, Mass. graduated with Associate in Applied Science in Telecommunications degrees from CCRI this past June.

The Next Step program offers selected Verizon employees the opportunity to attend classes at CCRI one full day per week on company time for two 15-week semesters per year earning a degree at the end of four years. The company pays the tuition and fees and even provides each employee with a laptop computer.  Participants also earn pay raises, halfway through the program and then again at the end.

“It benefits my job immensely and was a rewarding experience,” said Ravenelle who simultaneously earned an electrical engineering degree from CCRI. “My co-workers quickly realized what a commitment it was when we had 15 or more hours of homework every week.”

James J. Daly Jr., director of professional education for the telecommunications company, said that “it’s not just plain old telephone services anymore” and that initially, the intent of the program was to make sure the workforce was adequately prepared to work in an ever-changing industry.

“Next Step keeps the employees on the cutting edge of emerging technologies,” said Daly. “It strengthens them and instills in them the need for a lifelong approach to learning.”

The Next Step program is a national model, said Peter Woodberry, Dean of Technology and Business Programs and Next Step coordinator at CCRI, citing the distance learning aspect as a unique feature of the program. Students and teachers, using their laptop computers and Lotus Notes  work collaboratively between class sessions.

The curriculum include classes in the liberal arts and sciences, electronics and telecommunications as well as skills identified as “umbrella competencies” by Verizon such as critical thinking, problem solving, customer service and team building.

The Community College of Rhode Island is one of more than two dozen community colleges in New England and New York State that participate in this collaborative program. Verizon has been enrolling about 20-24 students each September at CCRI. And despite the long hours of homework and the challenging material covered, there’s never a lack of employee interest in the program. As stipulated in their International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers contract, employees must take and pass a placement test and then are chosen by seniority to participate in the popular program – there were 2,000 to 3,000 applicants for the 600 available slots in the region this year, said Daly.

CCRI NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES

Emilio A. Colantonio of Smithfield, former Director of Adult Vocational Training at the Community College of Rhode Island, has been named Director of Community Services at CCRI. Colantonio has been acting in this capacity prior to the official appointment.

In this position, Colantonio will have overall responsibility for all Community Services functions including planning, staffing, program development and responding to new course proposals. He will also oversee $1.5 million in grant money.

Close to 15,000 people take courses through community services each year with programs in the areas of Public Safety, such as school bus driver training and asbestos abatement; Occupational Skills, such as Certified Nursing Assistant training and food service; Welfare to Work, such as Realizing Educational and Career Hopes (REACH) and retail service; Enrichment, such as money management and calligraphy; and Support Services such as GED preparation/testing and employment counseling.

Colantonio has 15 years of experience working in higher education at CCRI. He holds a master's degree in adult education from the University of Rhode Island.

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