Retired professor Humble earns induction into Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
Retired professor Humble earns induction into Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
April 19, 2022
Retired Community College of Rhode Island English Professor Roberta Mudge Humble of
Warwick is one of nine inductees in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Class of
2022.
Established in 1965, the Heritage Hall of Fame exists to honor and recognize, and
to extol and publicize the achievements of those Rhode Island men and women who have,
in the words of the Hall of Fame induction citation, "made significant contributions
to their community, state, and/or nation." With nearly 800 members, the Heritage Hall
of Fame tells the story of Rhode Island history via interactive technology using the
biographies of its inductees while noting their collective impact upon every phase
of Rhode Island's development.
Humble, who is also an author and the Founding President of Westerly Armory Restorations,
Inc., joins an elite list of Rhode Island royalty in the Heritage Hall of Fame, including
Rhode Island’s founder, Roger Williams; former U.S. Senator John O. Pastore; Governor
Theodore Francis Green; legendary broadcaster Salty Brine; and J. Arthur Trudeau,
a pioneer in the support of those with intellectual disabilities in Rhode Island and
across the nation.
“It’s a great honor to be sandwiched between Roger Williams and Salty Brine,” Humble
said. “This is the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, and Rhode Island has the deepest
heritage of any state in the nation.”
The Class of 2022 also includes: restaurateur, boxing referee, international judge,
and promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr.; founder of the Independence Trail Educational Foundation
Robert I. Burke; businessman and developer Arnold Buffum Chace Jr.; former Speaker
of the House John B. Harwood; former Board of Trustees of Rhode Island Hospital chair
Dr. Edward A. Iannuccilli; Providence Journal reporter Mark Patinkin; civic leader and philanthropist Stanley Weiss; and former
professional boxer Wilfred W. Greene.
This year’s 57th annual induction ceremony will be held Sunday, May 1 at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel in Warwick beginning at 5 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at riheritagehalloffame.com or by phone at 401-273-1787.
Born in Westerly, RI, Humble earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English
from the University of Rhode Island and taught Technical Writing and Oral Communications
at CCRI from 1970–2017. She also earned an additional 45 credits beyond her master’s
at Oxford and Edinburgh universities and both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air War Colleges.
In addition to developing textbooks for each course, Humble has also written and developed
18 books and games on Rhode Island history and culture, including The Historic Armories of Rhode Island, a children’s book entitledRhode Island’s Friendly Faces, The RIght to Crow: A Look at RI’s Firsts, Bests, &
Uniques, and Rhode Island for the Native and the Naïve.
In 1992, Humble formed a nonprofit, the Westerly Armory Restoration, Inc., to restore
and maintain the historic Westerly Armory for ongoing use by the community. The Armory
is a museum of both community and local military memorabilia as well as home to America's
oldest active community band, The Westerly Band. Eight years later, Humble co-authored
her first book, The Historic Armories of Rhode Island, with the late Howard F. Brown, a pictorial of the state’s 18 armories.
Humble has also served on the Board of Directors of the Warwick Historical Society
since 2017 and holds numerous awards and honors, among them the Feinstein Merit Award
for Outstanding Community Service by the RI Foundation in 2003, the Rhode Island Historical
Preservation & Heritage Commission’s 2001 Education & Advocacy Award, and the Silver
Good Citizenship Medal from National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
in 2018.
At CCRI, Humble taught Technical Writing and Oral Communications to a variety of students,
including firefighters, engineers, nurses, and even dental assistants. She is proud
of her impeccable attendance for more than four decades and her correspondence with
past students who remain grateful for the lessons learned inside the classroom.
“That, among everything, makes you feel the most accomplished,” Humble said. “Technical
writing in particular is a very useful skill, and I’ve always enjoyed teaching it.
I’m proud of the students who go on to achieve great things and take a moment to let
us know how they’re doing.
“CCRI is one of the best resources our state has to offer. Many will graduate and
go on to do great things, but the one thing it will provide for every student is an
opportunity, and that’s all you can hope for.”
Humble enjoys antiques and refinishing, history, writing, college basketball, American
automobiles, armory restoration, and her six domestic birds; her interest in the latter
led to her membership in the Rhode Island Audubon Society, the National Audubon Society,
and the Cornell Ornithological Society. She is also Past Commander of the Military
Order of Foreign Wars and a member of the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery and
the Naval War College Foundation.
On February 24, 2025, the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) recognized CCRI alumni Francine Jackson’s contributions to astronomy education and outreach by naming an asteroid in her honor.The designation was announced in WGSBN Bulletin 5, No. 3, under new names of Minor Planets.
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On February 24, 2025, the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) recognized CCRI alumni Francine Jackson’s contributions to astronomy education and outreach by naming an asteroid in her honor.The designation was announced in WGSBN Bulletin 5, No. 3, under new names of Minor Planets.
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When an opportunity presented itself, Max Hayden took it and ran with it. Hayden initially focused on behind-the-scenes work for CCRI’s theater program. But after accepting and thriving in the lead role for the school’s Yellowman production in 2023, Hayden became a fixture of the school’s theater program over the last two years.
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If you love art or science, and especially if you love both, you’ll want to visit CCRI’s Lincoln Campus this month. Throughout the spring, CCRI Art & Design students collaborated with CCRI STEM professors and students to create original, science-inspired art projects. Funded by a $15,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR initiative, this collaboration highlights creative potential that emerges when these two disciplines meet.
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The Community College of Rhode Island Players’ 2025 Summer Rep will wrap up later this month. The annual theater season concludes with CCRI Players’ adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Richard III”, which will be directed by Jonathan Pitts-Wiley. The first show is scheduled for August 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with additional showings set for August 22, 23, and 24.
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is proud to announce the launch of a new Mammography Certificate Program beginning in Fall 2025. Developed in response to growing demand across Rhode Island and Massachusetts for certified mammography technologists, the program offers registered radiographers the opportunity to gain specialized training in breast imaging and prepare for careers in this high-need area of healthcare.
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The Community College of Rhode Island Players’ 2025 Summer Rep is just around the corner. The annual theater season begins Thursday, July 31 with CCRI Players’ adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”, which will be directed by Karen Carpenter and run through Sunday, Aug. 3. The performance, rehearsals for which began this week, is the first of a two-part series that will conclude with a four-day run of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” premiering Wednesday, Aug. 20.
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The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) proudly announces the hiring of Chef Kenneth Watt, CEC, MBA, as Assistant Professor of Culinary Arts. Chef Watt will lead the college’s all-new Culinary Arts program, which is unique to CCRI’s Newport County Campus.
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The Community College of Rhode Island is proud to announce that longtime coach and athletic director Vin Cullen has been named a recipient of the NJCAA Coaches Association Legacy Award, a national honor recognizing individuals who have made a lasting impact on two-year college athletics and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to student-athletes throughout their careers.
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June 27, 2025
WARWICK, R.I. -- The Community College of Rhode Island’s Cybersecurity Club is riding high after succeeding on a national scale during the spring. Thanks to a strong showing at the National Cyber League (NCL) spring competition, CCRI placed 27th nationally out of 510 colleges and universities in the final Cyber Power Rankings for the spring season. The performance was commended by David Ziechick, commissioner of the NCL, which has students perform real-world cybersecurity tasks that translate to the workforce.
CCRI Alum Johnny Villella Wins Emmy For Story On Providence Patrolman
June 23, 2025
Johnny Villella needs to clear more space in his trophy case. Villella, a CCRI alum, won an Emmy at the 2025 New England Emmy Awards in the category of News Feature: Serious Feature (Multiple Reports). The award is one of many for Villella, who’s enjoyed a long, decorated career at WPRI-TV (Channel 12 in Rhode Island).
CCRI Joins Achieving The Dream Network To Advance Student Success And Community Impact
June 16, 2025
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is pleased to announce that it has joined the network of Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national organization committed to advancing community colleges as accessible hubs of learning, credentialing, and economic mobility.
On February 24, 2025, the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) recognized CCRI alumni Francine Jackson’s contributions to astronomy education and outreach by naming an asteroid in her honor.The designation was announced in WGSBN Bulletin 5, No. 3, under new names of Minor Planets.
How Theater Alum Max Hayden Earned CCRI's Fifth Gamm Fellowship
June 11, 2025
When an opportunity presented itself, Max Hayden took it and ran with it. Hayden initially focused on behind-the-scenes work for CCRI’s theater program. But after accepting and thriving in the lead role for the school’s Yellowman production in 2023, Hayden became a fixture of the school’s theater program over the last two years.
CCRI Students Blending Art And Science In Unique Exhibition Funded By NSF Grant
June 04, 2025
If you love art or science, and especially if you love both, you’ll want to visit CCRI’s Lincoln Campus this month. Throughout the spring, CCRI Art & Design students collaborated with CCRI STEM professors and students to create original, science-inspired art projects. Funded by a $15,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR initiative, this collaboration highlights creative potential that emerges when these two disciplines meet.