RWU 50 Years in Bristol

commemorative FALL 2019 | CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN BRISTOL

PUBLICATION

RWU Begins the Next Chapter, led by President Miaoulis Meet RWU’s 11th president, discover his vision for the university and learn some things you didn’t know about him.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

rom Dairy Farm to F College Campus

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even Things You Didn’t Know S About the First Days in Bristol

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ommitment to Community C is in Our DNA

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The University Rhode Island Needs Now

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ROGER’S EVOLUTION Hear from faculty and alumni who were part of the beginning of Roger Williams College.

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WU Law: 25 Years of R Delivering on its Promise

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A Primer on Campus Buildings

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ow to Build a Thriving H Athletics Program

A LIVELY EXPERIMENT A foldout timeline celebrating the important milestones and birth of core values over the past half century of school history.

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Special thanks to Jill Rodrigues ’05, Blair Carroll ’13 and the support of the entire Marketing team, Library team and the 50th in Bristol Planning Committee.

RWU BEGINS THE NEXT CHAPTER, LED BY PRESIDENT MIAOULIS. Meet RWU’s 11th president, discover his vision for the university and learn some things you didn’t know about him.

Celebrate

OUR REMARKABLE HISTORY!

Roger Williams University is celebrating a half-century anniversary since the opening day of our Bristol campus on September 29, 1969. This fall, we launch a year-long celebration to honor our history; reflecting on the university’s evolution into the institution it is today and looking forward to our exciting future.

This special issue of 50 Years in Bristol celebrates the establishment of our Bristol campus and our faculty, staff, students and alumni who have all taken part in adding their voices and contributions to our story. This publication includes stories from faculty who helped create the early baccalaureate programs and alumni who recall Roger Williams College in its ground-breaking infancy. There is a foldout timeline exploring the milestones and core values that shaped our university. It also features an introduction to President Ioannis Miaoulis, who is leading the university at a time of exciting growth in RWU’s impact in Bristol, Providence

and across the region and in increasing inclusion and diversity efforts among the student and faculty populations.

In addition to this magazine, there are a number of ways to join the celebration of our history. Visit our 50 Years in Bristol website rwu.edu/go/Bristol50 for more stories and historic photos, a detailed timeline of RWU history, and information on upcoming events.

We encourage you to share your memories and photos on social media using #RWUBristol50 or email us at stories@rwu.edu. And save the date, from April 20 to April 24, 2020, for a week-long celebration, including the dedication

of our new SECCM Labs building, Community Engagement Celebration, Day of Giving, and inauguration of President Miaoulis.

Fifty years ago, Roger Williams College opened the Bristol campus as the next step in our “lively experiment,” focused on innovation, opportunity and community. This institution has been shaped by the tens of thousands of students, alumni, faculty, staff, donors and community supporters who believed in our potential to serve as the university the world needs now. Join us in reflecting on where we’ve been and where we are going.

From Dairy Farm

to College Campus

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or nearly a century before Roger Williams College established the Bristol campus, the land was a thriving dairy farm, home to the Howe and Fulton families and their prize-winning Jersey dairy cows.

In 1877, Dr. Herbert Marshall Howe, a mining and railroad tycoon from Philadelphia, purchased 120 acres on Bristol’s southern peninsula and named it Ferrycliffe Farm. Howe and his family abided there during summers in the Homestead, a house he built on the spot where the University Residence stands today. But Howe remained active in the farm’s operations, his prized possession a bull named Gilderoy, capable of siring cows that produced 15 pounds of milk a week.

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The farm stayed within the family for development. Ros Bosworth, Sr., publisher of the another two generations, passed to Howe’s Bristol Phoenix, knew that Roger Williams Junior daughter Edith Howe and her husband Halsey College (RWJC) was looking to build a new DeWolf, and on to their daughter Mary Howe campus outside of Providence and introduced and her husband Marshall N. Fulton. the parties, helping to make Roger Williams

The Fultons had history. eight children and lived in The Fultons offered more than Providence, while summering “Education is not an end 60 acres of their farm to RWJC at Ferrycliffe Farm. One in 1965. From the house across in itself, but rather the of those children, DeWolf the street, DeWolf watched the development of a skill Fulton, recalls fond memories campus rise “brick by brick.” The set for each student to of farm life – milking cows, family participated in the August unselfishly help make exploring horse stables, and 1967 groundbreaking ceremony, riding atop hay bales in the and Marshall served on the Board their campus, town, back of the pickup his mother of Trustees until his death in country and world a drove in from the fields.

1977. In August 2016, RWU better place.”

Prepared to retire from re-named the main entrance farming, the Fultons didn’t DeWOLF FULTON Fulton Way, in honor of Marshall, want to see Ferrycliffe Farm and installed a plaque in the divided into a housing center of campus.

DeWolf maintained ties at RWU, serving for a time as an adjunct faculty member and mentoring students. His family would be proud to see the great institution that Roger Williams has become, DeWolf said, and to have played a part in creating the university’s history.

“My parents were great civic servants who taught me to give back to the community, and Civic Scholars is the example of Roger Williams at its best. Civic Scholars realizes what it means to be the ‘university the world needs now’ – for students to give back and play a dynamic role in the community where they live,” DeWolf said.

“Education is not an end in itself, but rather the development of a skill set for each student to unselfishly help make their campus, town, country and world a better place.”

Honoring the Legacy of Native Land Images Courtesy of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University

Each day makes us all aware that the ground upon which we stand is the Pokanoket Wampanoag’s sacred land — for generations tribal members lived here and plied these waters. With each step, may we always honor them.

Adjacent to RWU lies King Philip’s Seat, the site where the Wampanoag sachem held council.

Our namesake, Roger Williams, challenges us to promote tolerance, inclusion, and respect for all people – and with that comes a duty to express gratitude to those upon whose land we now reside. As we humbly recognize our mere 50 years in Bristol, we invoke the words above that we use at Convocation and Commencement to remind us that our land is sacred land.

With each step, may we always honor them.

How many changes to campus can you spot in these photos taken in 1969 and in 2019? While some structures have remained – the original dining hall (now the Fine Arts Center), lecture hall (which became Feinstein School of Humanities, Arts and Education) and math-science building (an expanded School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management), and library (now the business school) – the university has grown to accommodate the iconic University Library, additional residence halls, and many other buildings not pictured. The latest addition being built in the heart of campus is SECCM Labs, a 27,000-square-foot, three-story, state-of-the-art applied learning laboratory building.

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Seven Things You Didn’t Know about the First Days in Bristol

For those who were there in the first days of the Bristol campus, the start of the semester was filled with excitement and myriad new developments. Here’s how students, faculty, and staff acclimated to their new home.

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Convocation also marked opening day, where RWU President Ralph E. Gauvey and R.I. Governor Frank Licht gave the official green light to start the semester.

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Although campus had been completed, the opening was delayed by a four-month-long statewide strike by carpenters and sheet metal workers. Roger Williams College didn’t officially hold its first classes until Monday, September 29, 1969.

Before classes started, the student government held Orientation Weekend, welcoming Bristol and Providence students for a screening of Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, an informal convocation, cookout, tent dance, “sing in” and moonlight rides on the SS Prudence II.

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Everyone was a commuter at first. Until the original residential hall was completed in December, students living in the Providence YMCA and YWCA commuted to Bristol for classes.

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While the Providence campus remained home to the Business and Engineering departments until 1972, the Divisions of Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences launched the new Bristol digs.

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It was hardly challenging finding class in those days.

Courses were held in only two buildings – what is now the Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management.

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Right from the beginning, Roger Williams supported student voices and ideas in shaping the institution. As then-new Dean of Students Leonard Goldberg told the Bristol Phoenix newspaper, “[Students] will become more involved with their environment. They will be discussing rules and regulations and how they should be made, and what they want to change.”

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Commitment to COMMUNITY is in our DNA

By Julia Rubin

We think about each community’s needs with every partnership and project. When a group of graduate architecture students designed neighborhood health stations for five sites across Rhode Island, they customized their ideas to the specific in which each would be located.

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Education and engineering students teamed up to introduce 250 Bristol-Warren fourth-graders to wind energy and wind turbine design.

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efore the first day of classes this fall, 1,100 first-year students deployed to 39 different sites in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, participating in service projects at partner sites ranging from organizing resources at Providence’s Youth Pride, Inc. to playing bingo with senior residents at Franklin Court Assisted/Independent Living in Bristol.

What began in 1994 with 30-40 volunteer participants, RWU’s Day of Service has grown to become the region’s largest single-day service program. Now called Feinstein Community Connections, the day instills RWU’s core value of serving the community at the start of every new student’s college career.

“I consider it as frontloading our value of service. Before students even get in a classroom, they’re in the community,” said KC Ferrara, who ran the school’s Volunteer Center in the 90s and is now director of the Feinstein Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement.

“This program introduces our students to RWU’s philosophy of strengthening society through engaged teaching and learning.”

Commitment to community has been such as serving community-driven needs central to our mission since the beginning – and through the Community Partnerships Center, embedded in the history of the Bristol campus an Honors Program course that examines land (the Feinstein Center and Community food insecurity in Rhode Island, a psychology Partnerships Center reside in the original course that promotes mental health well-being farmhouse of Ferrycliffe Farm, which provided among youth in Jamaica, an interdisciplinary sustenance in milk and vegetables to local history and journalism course where students communities). Today, it’s evident across the interview people facing economic disparities university, from the communityand social inequity in the engaged work of undergraduate Dominican Republic, “We do have the ability and graduate students to public health work through and the resources to University College’s mission to the Foundation for meet the higher education needs of connect with and be of International Medical Relief learners of all ages and stages, and help to the community.” of Children across Central RWU Law’s focus on experiential America, and a management pro bono legal clinics that serve course that developed a the community while providing students handspolicy manual and employee training video for on training as lawyers.

Bristol’s Coggeshall Farm Museum.

Many of these efforts start in the classroom

“We do have the ability and the resources to and then expand beyond the lecture hall into connect with and be of help to the community. local and global communities through the work Faculty are very intentional about linking the of our Civic Scholars – students who believe in work we’re doing to the students and what the power of community-engaged work. Civic they’re going to be learning in the class,” scholarship spans across all schools of study at explained Associate Provost for Academic Affairs RWU. Their work encompasses opportunities Sue Bosco.

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Community Connections

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15 YEARS OF TRADITION

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2005

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2009

Still dealing with the impact of Hurricane Irene passing over the area just a few days before, the 2011 Community Connections was canceled.

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Since 2005, students have contributed more than 88,200 hours of service to our neighboring communities through the Feinstein Community Connections program.

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Instilling a Pro Bono Ethic at RWU Law

At RWU Law, instilling a passion for serving

the community is as important to the law school’s mission as preparing graduates for successful law careers. Students perform at least 50 hours of pro bono legal service, meeting a critical need in the community while developing a deep pro bono ethic in generations of RWU Law graduates.

Additionally, many students gain real-world experience by representing indigent clients through the law school’s in-house clinics and clinical externship programs. Law students can also learn about issues facing marginalized communities in need of legal service through the Alternative Spring Break program, representing detained immigrants in Dilley, Texas, and working with hurricane victims in Puerto Rico and New Orleans.

“Our programs are designed to bring students face-to-face with clients in need, helping law students to understand the huge responsibility of being a lawyer for someone facing incarceration, loss of their children, eviction, or a host of other problems,” said Laurie Barron, director of RWU Law’s Feinstein Center for Pro Bono & Experiential Education. “This hands-on experience is often transformative, helping students to realize what they want to do with their law license and why there is a pro bono ethic in the legal profession.”

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University College: Meeting the Community’s Needs

critical issues in the region, such as developing Pivot the Hustle, a program to prevent recidivism among incarcerated men and women, and an English-as-a At RWU’s Providence campus, University Second Language Teacher Certification Program to College (UC) was founded with the goal of work toward a solution for the growing demand to identifying and addressing the needs of the educate a more diverse population and help meet community, while meeting students where they the needs of the English language learners in the are and helping them build a path to success. Its greater Providence area. innovative programs and services have only grown

Each community has unique goals. Our exponentially since then. responses are nimble and

UC now serves all intentionally look different from learners, from professionals “We are really thinking each other when actualized seeking career-training to about how we take a holistic through courses, the Feinstein adult learners, as well as approach that honors the Center, RWU Law’s pro bono middle and high school legal clinics, or community ecological and cultural students, who can take and workforce development at advanced and college-level, context of our community” UC. It is through partnerships for-credit courses. UC is that RWU listens to what is also home to the Research, needed and works together to solve problems Policy and Practice Collaborative, which includes by guiding our students through learning, the Latino Policy Institute and HousingWorks research and scholarship that help communities RI. These organizations research and analyze thrive. issues ranging from housing to socioeconomic

“We are really thinking about how we take information on the local Latino community a holistic approach that honors the ecological to help inform public policy decisions made in and cultural context of our community,” said the state, as well as the Center for Youth and University College Vice President Jamie Scurry.

Community Leadership in Education, Providence “The whole idea is: How do you anticipate what Talks and Ready to Learn Providence, focused on the current needs are as you build and grow to strengthening K-12 education. They are addressing what the future needs will be?”

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President Miaoulis and his partner Heidi pitched in with the first-year class to clean up Bristol Town Beach.

It may look like the same library, but these photos, taken 50 years apart, are of campus libraries in two different buildings (and no, those aren’t the same chairs, either). The original library occupied what is today the Mario J. Gabelli School of Business, while the new University Library opened in 1991. Since then, the library has grown into a digital academic hub providing open educational resources and specialized research assistance, with a Learning Commons space for student work, a Media Tech Center, and a renovated Mary Tefft White Cultural Center housing cultural programs and events.

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ROGER’S EVOLUTION Imagine being able to shape a new college with a bright future. That’s just what faculty and students got to do when Roger Williams College opened its Bristol campus in September 1969. From a campus spread out between the Providence YMCA and a former mill building on Pine Street, the newly-minted college now had a sweeping waterfront spot to call home, four-year baccalaureate programs to start from scratch and a thriving student life scene to unfold. It was a time marked by enthusiasm, innovation and community-building. We sat down with faculty members Bob Blackburn, Khalid Al-Hamdouni, Lorraine Dennis and Mel Topf; and alumni George Bolden ’74 and Bill Geraghty ’78.

By Jill Rodrigues ’05

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Dennis:

We arrived to a burgeoning campus – a campus in progress. One of the interesting things was the Theatre Department became energetic and appropriated a classroom for evening theater, which was transformed at 4 o’clock and broken down after the play.

WHAT WAS THE MOST EXCITING THING ABOUT THOSE FIRST YEARS? Mel Topf:

LORRAINE DENNIS Lorraine Dennis began teaching psychology at the Providence YMCA in 1968, and retired after 32 years in 2000. She remains connected to RWU, as part of a group of university retirees that hold monthly breakfasts (now at Upper Commons) and has organized trips with her neighbors to campus lectures.

WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR FACILITIES IN PROVIDENCE? Khalid Al-Hamdouni:

We followed the college’s motto, “A lively experiment” – a phrase picked up from Roger Williams, the man. We were encouraged to be different from every other college in the country. It was surprisingly as simple as majority vote at the committee or council meeting, and we’d get a program started.

Blackburn:

We had a chance to write the early history of a college. That was the first year of four years [of programs], the first of having four years of students. We had to develop a faculty constitution, make all kinds of recommendations to the administration about academic requirements. We were like starting from scratch.

1968 Dennis:

The fact that we were all “instructors” [not “professors”] meant that we escaped the usual race for tenure and rank. We were truly able to turn our attention to the business of teaching and creating innovative classes. My course in women’s studies was one of the early examples in psychology programs. We took students abroad to London a number of times and to the West Coast to experience the intersection of Hispanic and Native American cultures.

I started teaching on Pine Street, which had nothing but engineering and the business school there. In the basement of a church was the student union, where people could get sandwiches.

Lorraine Dennis:

Liberal arts were in the Providence YMCA, where if you vacated a desk to go to teach a class, somebody else came to take it over – the desks never got cold. If you wanted to counsel a student, you took them out on the fire escape for some privacy.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE ON THE NEW BRISTOL CAMPUS? Bob Blackburn:

Everybody was thrilled to go from the prior campus, which was barely adequate for our needs, to a place where we had plenty of space. There were 1,200 or 1,400 students in Bristol, all liberal arts. The professional studies were still in Providence.

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Al-Hamdouni:

We were very hands-on in the engineering technology program. We were the first to design a concrete boat for competition, and we’d get the American Society of Architecture to come and look at the structure models our students had built.

Bill Geraghty:

GEORGE BOLDEN After starting a family and a career in electrical engineering at Kaiser Aluminum, George Bolden ’74 decided to go back to college part-time to earn his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Roger Williams. In 2010, Bolden created the Gregory Bolden Scholarship at RWU, in honor of his son, Gregory Bolden ’98, ’05M, an 18-year veteran of the Providence Police Department and graduate of the School of Justice Studies.

WHAT WAS THE APPROACH TO TEACHING IN THOSE YEARS? George Bolden:

My experience was probably a little different from most students in that I was already working in engineering, in addition to going to school. For me, that was an advantage, being able to see the connection from the classroom to the laboratory at Kaiser Aluminum.

I remember collecting samples along the rocks on Ocean Drive and along the campus by the bridge. One task was to collect 100 different samples, identify, preserve and present each one with a description of where you found it. We’d take a small boat out, drop overboard and scuba dive to find sea anemones, ocean crabs, bivalves and univalves, or check turbidity with a Secchi disk, test salinity and temperature.

WHAT WAS CAMPUS LIFE LIKE? Geraghty:

We had quite a bit of fun on campus, great music and dance parties. One of the popular bands that performed was Beaver Brown; they did great covers of South Side Johnny and Springsteen. I became president of the Scuba Club and we’d go on organized dives on weekends, down in Newport or somewhere fairly local. At one point, we rented the YMCA pool in Providence and had an indoor scuba party on a Saturday night.

Blackburn:

The Kent State killings [on May 4, 1970] affected everybody who was in college no matter where they were in the country, and Roger Williams’s response to that was to end the academic year. There was maybe only a week of classes left, but classes were cancelled and final exams were optional. Students and faculty met for teach-ins, and we talked with students about the causes and effects of what was happening.

HOW HAS ROGER WILLIAMS CHANGED AND WHAT CHANGE REMAINS TO BE MADE? Topf:

In the first 10 years, some changes came as a result of denials of accreditation, lawsuits, firings – problems that many colleges would not survive. A reason many of the old-timers like myself got involved beyond teaching classes was to attend to these issues.

Somehow, we instinctively knew that this wasn’t just another college – that there was something special about this place, and we wanted to see it develop and flourish.

Topf:

We responded to the Vietnam War – I recall a sit-in, inside the lecture hall known as Room 157. Classes were cancelled and faculty and students, about 200-300, sat and gave speeches protesting the war.

Topf:

Originality and innovation were encouraged.

A department, or area, as we called them in those days, would get together and decide how they should teach a course. There were learning moments for us to achieve a balance between providing a dynamic liberal arts program and preparing students for professional positions. It was an evolution that took many years.

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MEL TOPF Mel Topf has been a faculty member since the Bristol campus opened in Fall 1969. Now teaching in the writing studies program, he was instrumental in developing the English literature, (former) film studies and communications programs, and served briefly as Acting Provost in 1988.

The concept behind the school is important, viable and sustainable – they are endeavoring to provide the kind of education that kids should really have and providing them with the types of professors, environment, and tools they need for getting there.

Blackburn:

The first few years the college didn’t really have this idea yet of the student who takes courses from both liberal arts and professional studies is going to be the stronger student and have a better chance to get a job. But that grew over the years, and now we’ve come to see that it is absolutely true.

BOB BLACKBURN The longest-serving faculty member still teaching today, Bob Blackburn began instructing in philosophy on the Providence campus in 1968. You may have seen him driving around campus in a vehicle bearing the vanity plate, “RWU” – an intuitive purchase he made foreseeing the college would one day become a university.

Al-Hamdouni: Geraghty:

It’s gone from being like the one-room schoolhouse to a university. The professors and students I was surrounded with were high caliber, and that quality has pervaded the entire university.

I would like to see more international and minority students and faculty. We have not achieved enough of that. Is it because we’re a small school and isolated in Rhode Island?

But I think we are going in that direction, we are becoming more diverse.

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BILL GERAGHTY Although he’s led a decadeslong investment banking career, Bill Geraghty ’78 has remained involved in the development of the marine bio program, where he earned his degree. Geraghty, managing director at Ameriprise Financial Services in New York City, has developed the Mark Gould Memorial Scholarship and Research fund, helped launch the Luther H. Blount Shellfish Hatchery with the Lobster Mortarboard Society Observation Room, and outfitted RWU’s new research vessel (pictured here, on board with his wife, Kat) for coastal research with cuttingedge sampling, safety and navigation equipment.

Bolden:

I was the only person of color at Roger Williams College’s engineering program [in the early 1970s], and there were very few people that looked like me on the Providence Pine Street campus. I think there’s still some things that have to be addressed at RWU, but they have expanded their thinking and have been more welcoming and inclusive. Right now, there’s an attempt to create an Alumni of Color Association. We can be a place where students of color can turn to, to get some encouragement and to serve as their advocates.

WHAT CORE VALUES HAVE STAYED TRUE FOR ROGER WILLIAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS? Topf:

The close relations between students and faculty. Here, it’s so easy to get to know teachers, and I think that culture is distinct to Roger Williams.

Dennis:

Professor Bill Grandgeorge’s saying has remained true – “We not only know our students’ names, we also know their dreams.”

MORE ONLINE

Hear them tell their stories in extended video interviews available at rwu.edu/go/Bristol50-videos 15

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1969

1980 Geraghty:

When I was at RWU, the goal was to provide a broad-based education and to develop high-quality students who are encouraged to interact with the real world around them through their studies, so that you are not shocked by your first work experience. The school prepares students for life after college on a professional level, and the environment prepares them as human beings to function better in society. Those are the things that I found so attractive then, and I think they have only done better at enhancing all of those.

Al-Hamdouni:

The best thing about teaching is you can see the result – just like in engineering, you get to see the bridge or building you designed. Everywhere I go in Rhode Island, I come across former students working in engineering and construction management. You become very proud of what you’ve been a part of, to see how things develop and what it is today.

The campus is well-established and the programs have become more recognized.

KHALID AL-HAMDOUNI Khalid Al-Hamdouni joined the faculty at the School of Engineering Technology on the Providence Pine Street campus in 1968. In the earliest years, he helped develop programs in engineering, construction management and architectural engineering. One of the longestserving faculty, he continues teaching in today’s School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management.

Roger Williams College celebrated its first graduating class on the Bristol campus in 1970, awarding 342 bachelor’s degrees just outside the library (now home to the Mario J. Gabelli School of Business) – a much smaller footprint than the university now needs for Commencement. These days, thousands of people fill up the main athletic field each year for the undergraduate, graduate and law school ceremonies – and the number of degrees conferred has soared to 1,148 bachelor’s degrees, 157 master’s degrees, 130 law degrees, and 74 associate’s degrees and certificates at the 2019 Commencement ceremonies.

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A Lively Experiment From our humble beginnings as a branch of Northeastern University to becoming an innovative, forward-thinking university dedicated to developing civic-minded scholars, RWU has always been committed to our mission of strengthening society through engaged teaching and learning. This timeline highlights the important milestones and birth of core values that make Roger Williams the vital institution it is today.

ROGER WILLIAMS 100 Years Ago Did you know that RWU traces its roots back to 1919?

Roger Williams began as the School of Commerce and Finance, a branch of Northeastern University, inside the Providence YMCA.

With the state’s approval to become a 4-year institution, Roger Williams College moved out of the Providence YMCA and opened its Bristol campus, on 60 acres overlooking Mount Hope Bay. The new campus offered a full liberal arts baccalaureate program (expanded a few years later when professional studies programs relocated from the Providence campus). Work completed on the first residence hall soon after the official opening, marking its origin as a residential campus.

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1970

An early-adopter of study ab Theatre Department’s Londo Abroad program has been co offered every fall for 48 years students study abroad in mo countries, across six different

1971

Two decades later, the YMCA Board of Directors took over the school. Closed during World War II, it re-opened as the YMCA Institute of Engineering and Finance in 1945.

In 1956, it became the state’s first independent, nonprofit two-year college under the newly incorporated YMCA. The board of directors named the school Roger Williams Junior College, and a few years later added a liberal arts program to round out its offerings in accounting, engineering and management.

By 1965, RWU President Ralph E. Gauvey, the college’s second president, had decided that the school needed to expand, purchasing more than 60 acres of land in Bristol. With the location of a new Bristol campus secured, the junior college became a four-year institution and changed its name to Roger Williams College in 1967.

The college maintained a Providence campus while the liberal arts program launched the opening of the Bristol campus in 1969.

Ralph E. Gauvey, 1964-1975

Roger Williams College holds the first Commencem in the space between the administration building and the business school). The college awarded 342 degree President Ralph E. Gauvey as keynote speaker.

As the university developed, its imprimatur changed with it. Pictured here are the official seals of the YMCA Institute (prior to 1956), Roger Williams Junior College (1956), Roger Williams College (prior to 1970, in 1970 and in 1993) and Roger Williams University.

Hawks were called back home to celebrate the first Alumni Weekend. Today, the annual celebration welcomes graduates to celebrate the work of their fellow alumni, kayak on our beautiful waterfront, take in an athletics event or performing arts show, while catching up with old friends and making new connections.

The first Student Center helped to create a thriving student life on campus, providing a space for concerts, dances and student groups. It was also home to a larger cafeteria, bookstore and the Rathskeller – fondly referred to as “The Rat.”

broad, the on Study ontinuously s. Now our ore than 40 t continents.

1974

ment on the Bristol campus, d the former library (now es and featured RWC

Natale A. Sicuro, 1989-1993

1976

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RWU Law – the state’s only law school opened its doors, expanding the univer mission to include developing lawyers w passion for social justice and pro bono After 25 years, the law school continue deliver on the promise of graduating la who become leaders in their communit

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1992

Roger Williams receives University status to become RWU.

Virginia V. Sides, 1976-1977

William H. Rizzini, 1977-1989

A c a c c y M y c

The university offered its first master’s degree program with the Master of Science in Criminal Justice. Of the 56 students enrolled in the first class of MSCJ, many have gone on to leadership roles in law enforcement agencies throughout the country. One graduate even completed a study that helped lead to the creation of Rhode Island’s police accreditation. The university is now home to more than 320 master’s students across 13 degree programs.

Anthony J. Santoro, 1993-1999 Launching the first legal clinics – the Criminal Defense Clinic and Family Law Clinic – the law school has since expanded its in-house clinics and clinical externship programs to offer exceptional depth and relevance, making experiential education and practice-readiness an integral part of what it means to graduate from RWU Law. All law students complete at least 50 hours of legal work with a pro bono focus, helping the community’s neediest populations, while instilling a deep pro bono ethic in the next generation of legal practitioners.

l– rsity’s with a work. es to awyers ties.

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As the university re-launched the Honors Program, creating a community of talented scholars seeking to go deeper into classroom and co-curricular experiences, it also established the first formal community service program with RWU’s Day of Service – now called Feinstein Community Connections, where 1,100 firstyear students fan out across Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts to serve more than 30 community organizations each year. Both programs have developed generations of campus and community leaders and an ethos of commitment to community.

1999

Joseph H. Hagan, 2000-2001

2000

The university launched its unique Core Curriculum, enabling students to gain a well-rounded education in the liberal arts, sciences and professional studies, regardless of their choice in major.

Harne the Co faculty needs and So years a comm

Roy J. Nirschel, 2001-2010

2001

Ronal

RWU established the Intercultural Center with a vision to provide a student-centered space that would welcome people of all nationalities, faiths and personal identities. Embracing a mission to develop global citizens capable of critical thinking, compassion and respect for differences, the Center has expanded to include multicultural, international, and queer and trans student initiatives.

essing the energy and expertise on campus, ommunity Partnerships Center has connected y and student knowledge and skills with the of community partners around Rhode Island outheastern Massachusetts. In the last six alone, 4,313 students have worked with 303 munity partners and completed 368 projects.

After returning to the Capital City in 1994, RWU expanded our presence in 2016 with the opening of a new Providence campus. The One Empire Street campus is home to University College, RWU Law’s pro bono and experiential learning programs, and excellent master’s programs, including the new Master in Business Administration.

Ioannis (Yannis) Miaoulis, 2019

Andrew Workman, interim, 2018-2019

2010

2011

ld O. Champagne, interim, 2010-2011

Donald J. Farish, 2011-2018

2015

2016

2018

2019

RWU launched an initiative to create a culture of Civic Scholars – students who believe in the power of communityengaged work. Through projectbased learning and hands-on collaborations with community partners, Civic Scholars are empowered to learn, adapt and conquer challenges while making a meaningful impact on the communities we serve.

A new applied learning lab – SECCM Labs – will deliver the latest technology from the engineering, computing and construction management industries right on campus. RWU broke ground earlier this spring and will open the doors to the 27,000-square-foot three-story, state-of-the-art laboratory building early next year.

Want More RWU history?

For an expanded historical timeline, visit rwu.edu/go/Bristol50-timeline

THIS AUGUST, IOANNIS MIAOULIS TOOK THE HELM AS RWU’S 11th PRESIDENT.

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RWU BEGINS THE NEXT CHAPTER, LED BY PRESIDENT MIAOULIS

By Jill Rodrigues ’05

In his first weeks on the job as RWU’s 11th president, President Ioannis Miaoulis dove headfirst into campus life whirling back into action for the start of the fall semester.

D

uring RWU Law orientation day, he greeted new law students between classes, and at Convocation he welcomed first-year and transfer undergraduates, acknowledging his shared status with them as a new Hawk. Rolling up his sleeves, he helped students move into their new home at RWU and pitched in with the entire first-year class for community service in our local communities on Feinstein Community Connections day.

His momentum had already begun well before his first day, meetings with students, staff and faculty across the university, and regional leaders, holding 30 listening sessions to hear their questions and ideas and offer insights into the kind of president he hopes to be. That is, a community-driven leader, strategic thinker, collaborator, and seasoned fundraiser who will lead efforts to increase support and connections to raise the profile of Roger Williams nationally.

“With its unique mix of liberal arts and professional programs, top-notch faculty, the state’s only law school and a hub of innovation in Providence, Roger Williams University is positioned to become a national model for transforming higher education. RWU’s distinctive focus on experiential education and community engagement is preparing all learners to excel in a rapidly changing world – and to tackle the problems that matter most to society,” Miaoulis said.

“WITH ITS UNIQUE MIX OF LIBERAL ARTS AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS, TOP-NOTCH FACULTY, THE STATE’S ONLY LAW SCHOOL AND A HUB OF INNOVATION IN PROVIDENCE, ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY IS POSITIONED TO BECOME A NATIONAL MODEL FOR TRANSFORMING HIGHER EDUCATION.”

Before RWU, he served as president and director of Boston’s Museum of Science since 2003, introducing more than 1.5 million visitors a year to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

During his tenure, he brought in $500 million in fundraising that helped transform the museum into an internationally-acclaimed resource for STEM education and supported the creation of worldclass exhibits, outreach programs, and innovative educational initiatives. He also founded the museum’s National Center for Technological Literacy, introducing engineering and technology through K-12 curricula programs that have reached an estimated 18 million students.

His career in higher education began at his alma mater, advancing to Dean of the College of Engineering and Associate Provost during his 16 years of service at Tufts University. As dean, he helped raise $100 million for the engineering school and worked closely with students and faculty to more than double its research initiatives, introduce new programs, form professional partnerships within the industry, and significantly increase the number of female students and faculty members.

As leader of RWU, Miaoulis will continue to champion the university’s vision to strengthen society through engaged teaching and learning by delivering an experiential education that prepares our students to graduate ready to thrive in successful careers and interact with society in mutually rewarding ways.

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LOOKING AHEAD WITH PRESIDENT MIAOULIS

MIAOULIS HAS GOTTEN SETTLED IN THE UNIVERSITY RESIDENCE WITH HIS PARTNER, HEIDI MAES, A NATIVE OF BELGIUM.

Q

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THE UNIVERSITY THE WORLD NEEDS NOW?

A

To be the university the world needs means we must pay attention to all that is happening beyond our campus borders. We must listen to what the world needs, be in dialogue with industries and communities, and form partnerships that enable our students to help solve problems through academic research. There isn’t just one model of a university that will work for all students throughout all time. So “now” is meaningful to us, because now is always changing and points directly to a larger issue in higher education – it’s too often slow and unmoving. To continuously ask what the world needs now requires us to adapt, to be nimble and responsive so that our students are prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

Q

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS YEAR’S STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS?

A

We need our planning to be “action-oriented.” The Vision Project can serve as an excellent guide for us, but we need to make sure we do not just create a plan to sit on a shelf. We must move quickly from strategy to action, because the world will adapt whether we act or not. And we must involve everyone on campus.

Q

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER PRIORITIES FOR THE UNIVERSITY DURING YOUR FIRST YEAR?

A

Beyond working on the strategic plan, I want 1.) to create a more inclusive environment that welcomes and values all expressions of diversity and identity, and to guide the launch of a university-wide Equity Action Plan this fall; 2.) to identify and explore areas of interdisciplinary strengths, such as coastal resilience and sustainability; 3.) to expand our external partnerships to include corporations and build a nationallyrepresentative board of trustees that believes in and can advance our mission; and 4.) to develop a campus master plan that will outline improvements to academic spaces, facilities and residence halls.

Q

H OW WILL YOU FOSTER A CULTURE OF PHILANTHROPY IN THE RWU COMMUNITY?

A

To create a culture of philanthropy means that everyone on campus must see themselves as a potential fundraiser, and not just expect the president or advancement team to do all the work. Every office plays a role, from faculty and staff who are the most passionate advocates for their programs, all the way through how facilities play a critical role in making our campus welcoming and safe. Additionally, I hope we can create a culture where students see themselves as “alumni-in-training” by making sure they not only form a strong connection to the university, but also recognize that their future success was possible, in part, to the time they spent with us and that will inspire them to pay it forward.

Q A

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR? I love meeting students, faculty and staff and hearing their stories. Those stories will have the power to inspire not only me and the work we will do together during this year of strategic planning, but also the donors with whom I share your stories. Stories have the power to bring to life how a donor’s gift will make a difference to the campus and to the lives of our students.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN BRISTOL

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5 FUN FACTS ABOUT YANNIS #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

A NATIVE OF ATHENS, GREECE, WATER IS LIKE A SECOND HOME TO YANNIS. In his youth, he was a sailor, a member of a swimming team, and a scuba-diving enthusiast. These days, you’ll find him fishing from his Boston Whaler for bluefish in his spare time.

HE FIRST SAW RWU FROM THE WATER OF NARRAGANSETT BAY where he’s been fishing since he was 26 years old. Navigating out of North Kingstown’s Allen Harbor Marina that day, he motored up alongside what he noted to be a beautiful college campus.

WITH AN ACADEMIC BACKGROUND IN ENGINEERING, HE HOLDS TWO PATENTS for the design of sustainable systems that re-use energy from vehicle engines. One method transforms waste thermal energy from exhaust gases to warm the passenger cabin and catalytic converter to significantly reduce emission pollution. The other redirects stored waste heat to help preheat diesel engines for those challenging cold starts.

MEET FLETCHER, THE RWU FIRST DOG From stealing the spotlight during the president’s first official visit to campus to making the rounds at a faculty and staff welcome back reception and the Student Involvement Fair, the lovable, 8-year-old golden retriever has been making appearances around Roger Williams – accompanied by his owner, President Miaoulis.

Fletcher is already settling into his new home at the President’s residence, where he has a big backyard to bury rawhide bones and luxuriously roll in the lush grass. Welcome, Fletcher, one of our newest Hawks!

TO SAY HE LOVES TO COOK WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT. He joined Facilities’ annual summer cookout and dished up a huge pot of paella. He’s already begun hosting dinner parties at the president’s residence. “When I first have people over the house, typically I cook Greek.” For following dinner invites, he treats them to a variety of ethnic cuisine from Japanese to Spanish, Korean and Thai.

HE NEVER ONCE PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER IN COLLEGE. He didn’t have to! Even as an undergraduate, he was organized and prepared. Each Sunday morning, he’d plan out his school week on an oversized calendar. “I was free every Friday and Saturday night to have fun, and I never studied past 8:30 p.m. during the week. I recommend that every student get one of these calendars and stick to their plans.”

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM! @RWUFLETCHER

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THE UNIVERSITY RHODE ISLAND Needs Now

By Victor Alvarez

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In 2016, RWU joined our partners in the Town of Bristol for the opening of the Bristol Maritime Center.

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fter a day of sailing on community room appointed with Narragansett Bay, visiting modern nautical décor and local art, boaters can glide into as well as information about Bristol’s Bristol Harbor and find restaurants and shops. an unusual starting

A few years ago point for their landthrough RWU’s Community Their vision was a big based adventure. A Partnerships Center, a part of that getting off Revolutionary-era cross-disciplinary team of the ground and we’re armory hulking on business, architecture and reaping the benefits the harbor’s edge construction management now with increased has been converted students conducted an revenue and growth. to welcome visiting economic feasibility study to boaters with new reimagine the town’s aging Bristol Town shower and laundry Naval Armory. Their work Administrator Steven Contente facilities, a spacious helped the town receive an $861,000 federal grant

that funded the building’s renovation in 2016 into the Bristol Maritime Center, as well as adding a dinghy dock and 16 new moorings in the harbor.

“If it wasn’t for the students’ vision and concepts, this project may not have ever happened. Our visiting boaters are increasing every year. The [mooring] spaces were full, and we had need for an expansion,” Bristol Town Administrator Steven Contente said. “Their vision was a big part of that getting off the ground and we’re reaping the benefits now with increased revenue and growth.”

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN BRISTOL

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In partnership with local schools, our education students conduct their student teaching practicums in the local schools, giving them vital professional practice while providing additional classroom resources to the community.

While the Maritime Center is “our case study of success” in partnering on projects with RWU, according to Bristol Community Development Director Diane Williamson, it is just one example of the impact of RWU’s community-engaged work in Bristol and across the state.

Also in Bristol, students have, for example, conducted teaching practicums every year in the local schools, created a marketing plan for Mount Hope Farm and designed a stormwater runoff treatment system at Bristol Town Beach, enabling our students to gain real-world experience while applying their knowledge and skills toward solving problems that matter to the communities we serve.

“The students have a way of asking questions and framing questions in a way that’s different from what you usually get from a consultant or the town staff,” Williamson said.

“People really want to engage with them.”

While forging deep connections in the university’s backyard of Bristol, RWU has also continued to strengthen its commitment in Providence. Outgrowing its former modest space in the capital city, Roger Williams expanded its presence in 2016 with a new campus in the heart of downtown Providence that’s home to University College (UC), RWU Law’s pro bono 31

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and experiential programs, and the new Master English-as-a-Second Language Teacher in Business Administration program.

Certification Program, delivering mastery-based, The impact of the One Empire Street job-embedded preparation to more than 80 campus ripples across the public school teachers statewide state, serving as an important in Rhode Island, reaching conduit for developing a at least 1,500 students to pipeline of professional talent date. In partnership with the and meeting critical needs in Department of Corrections, UC the community. offers a program it developed, With its mission to Pivot the Hustle, to incarcerated educate learners of all ages men and women to prevent and stages, UC offers relevant, recidivism. Through all its work, flexible degree pathways UC is committed to honoring and vital, customized the cultural and ecological career-training programs context of the communities it and partnerships with serves. industries, community“Roger Williams Roger Williams University based organizations, public University is an invaluable education, and municipalities. resource in building Rhode is an invaluable resource UC is transforming the Island’s workforce,” Rhode in building Rhode Island’s student transition from K-12 Island Governor Gina workforce. In particular, schools to higher education Raimondo said. “In particular, the university’s innovative by providing advanced and the University’s innovative college-level, for-credit courses approach to training ESL approach to training ESL to middle school and high teachers in Rhode Island is teachers in Rhode Island school students. They are meeting an important demand is meeting an important stepping up to tackle critical in our state.” demand in our state. issues in the region such as launching an innovative Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo

RWU’s University College is helping to close the achievement gap for English language learners in Rhode Island by preparing public school teachers to educate a linguistically diverse population.

Each year, RWU Law pro bono legal clinics serve people in the greater community, providing needed legal services to indigent clients and individuals interested in starting a business.

“Roger Williams University made an incredible investment in Providence,” said Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. “With RWU’s larger presence, we’re in a much stronger position to address the needs of our community while educating law students in a much more holistic way.”

As he takes the helm this year, RWU President Ioannis Miaoulis intends to build on that legacy of commitment to community by growing the university’s relationships with government agencies, school systems, businesses

and nonprofits throughout the state to partner on important research, training, internships and job opportunities.

“To realize our mission to be ‘the university the world needs now,’ we must listen and understand what those needs actually are,” Miaoulis said. “We are well-equipped to elevate the partnerships we already have and to create new connections with industry, business, government and the community that will get our students the critical experience sought by today’s employers, while providing valuable resources and knowledge to our partners.

Our students graduate prepared for successful careers and ready to make a difference in their communities.”

Your support helps make a lasting difference in the lives of students through enhanced educational experiences with community impact.

DONATE TODAY Text RWU50 to 41444 or visit rwu.edu/giving

Mt. Hope Bay is not only a great selfie backdrop, but for generations of sciencelovers, it’s been a fascinating place for students and faculty to gain hands-on learning and conduct impactful research. The top photo shows Mark Gould, professor from 1973-1999, collecting samples from Mount Hope Bay with a marine biology student.

The marine biology program started in the early 1970s with bare-bones facilities. Now, the science building houses a wet lab, shellfish hatchery, Aquatic Diagnostic Lab, learning platform and fully outfitted research vessel, pictured right, enabling faculty such as Professor of Chemistry Stephen O’Shea to bring students out on the water to do research along the coastlines and in the depths of the bay.

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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN BRISTOL

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RWU LAW: 25 YEARS OF DELIVERING ON ITS PROMISE

By Michael M. Bowden

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of what it means to graduate from RWU Law.” ust over a decade ago, as the Great Recession student’s ‘real’ education; it’s part and parcel of

In 2009, RWU Law’s Pro Bono Experiential ravaged the U.S. economy across multiple how we prepare them for their lives as lawyers.”

Learning Requirement – which was created in industries, the bottom fell out of the nation’s legal

Yet another measure of RWU Law’s post1997 and required all students to complete 20 education sector. Barely 15 years old at the time, recession development is reflected in the increase hours of law-related volunteer work – was raised Roger Williams University School of Law made in the diversity of its student body. to 50 hours. “The goal is twofold,” explained several decisions during the downturn that would

The school is more than twice as diverse as Laurie Barron, director of RWU Law’s Feinstein shape the institution it has become today, at 25. it was just seven years ago, with 29 percent of the Center for Pro Bono &

“In a crisis, you have to do some real soullaw school’s overall student Experiential Education. searching and figure out what’s most important body identifying as racially “Experiential education isn’t “We want students to about your institution,” explained Dean Michael and/or ethnically diverse. something that we do as a luxury This year’s entering class provide as much service Yelnosky. “For us, setting those priorities as possible while they are at the tail end of a student’s ‘real’ also includes the highest-ever produced some positive results.” in law school, but also

Broadly, the school prioritized: (1) ensuring education; it’s part and parcel of percentage of women, at 61 to really instill in them a affordability, (2) enhancing experiential percent, and fully 13 percent how we prepare them for their pro bono ethic.” education, (3) expanding pro bono opportunities, identifying as LGBTQ. lives as lawyers.”

In 2016, Roger and (4) broadening student diversity.

The result is a group of Williams University

In its most dramatic response to the students who bring with them doubled the size of its downtown presence in changing landscape of legal education, RWU Law an extraordinary breadth of perspective and Providence with the opening of new campus introduced its Affordable Excellence initiative, purpose, and put that education to work, both offices at One Empire Street, which now house reducing tuition by 18 percent in 2014. In in law school and after graduation – effectuating the law school’s pro bono and clinical programs. addition, the school guaranteed that tuition change, improving communities, fighting for the “The new space in would not increase during a disadvantaged and changing their world. ∏ Providence is a manifestation student’s three years of law “We’ve made experiential of our educational school, and did not increase education very much an philosophy,” Yelnosky said. tuition for an incoming class until 2018. These moves made integral part of what it means “Experiential education isn’t something that we do as a RWU Law the best-priced to graduate from RWU Law.” luxury at the tail end of a ABA-accredited private law school in the Northeast, with tuition that’s not just lower but, in many cases, much lower than peer schools.

The results were swift and tangible: enrollment stabilized and then began to creep up again. The move also won the school recognition in national media.

The law school also doubled down on its already strong program of experiential education by issuing another signature guarantee – that every student would have at least one substantial clinical experience during his or her time in law school.

“We got innovative,” Yelnosky said.

Added Professor Andy Horwitz, Assistant Dean for Experiential Education, “We’ve made Judge Melissa Long, Christopher Smith ’07, and Weayonnah experiential education very much an integral part Nelson-Davies ’07 at RWU Law's 2019 Diversity Symposium.

Help us continue to secure the resources to preserve the comprehensive, student-centered, learning experience that distinguishes RWU Law. Give Today.

Text RWULaw to 41444

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A PRIMER ON CAMPUS BUILDINGS In 1991, RWU builds a threefloor University Library, with its iconic clock tower, in the heart of campus. The new library contains more than books and the university’s archives, home to the Mary Tefft White Cultural Center (recently renovated by a gift from John Hazen White in honor of his mother), Learning Commons, Tutoring Center, Center for Student Academic Success and Jeremy Warnick Center for Student Accessibility Services.

1978 A former Nike Missile

Site transfers to RWC, transforming the barracks into a residential hall in 1978. Part of the history of the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union, the U.S. Air Force established missile sites around the country to defend the nation from attacks by Soviet bombers.

1984 Led by Professors Kevin

1969 On 60 acres of

Jordan and Bill Grandgeorge, Historic Preservation students painstakingly dismantle two 19th century barns in Gloucester, Mass., and reconstruct them piece-by-piece as the Performing Arts Center in 1984.

waterfront, the Bristol campus opens in 1969 with a ScienceMath Building, ClassroomLecture Building, administration building, library, dining lounge, and the first residence hall.

1969

1983 The Recreation Center

In 1974, the Student Center becomes the first building dedicated to student life, offering a cafeteria, health services and space for events.

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opens in 1983 and doubles as a secondary location for Commencement in inclement weather. In 2003, the rec center undergoes a significant expansion that enhances the athletics program and provides a space for fitness and recreational activities; the facility later re-dedicates as the Thomas Paolino Campus Recreation Center.

1991 The business school

1987 Before the School of

Architecture rises on campus in 1987, design studio courses were held in the classrooms and gymnasium of a school building on East Main Road in Portsmouth, R.I. Program Director Raj Saksena occupied the principal’s office. A National Endowment for the Artssupported design competition conceives a befitting space (now home to the School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation) for its innovative education paradigm of students working together in an open environment, promoting collegiality and shared learning.

takes over the former library building in 1991, later undergoing a major renovation to become the Mario J. Gabelli School of Business with the support of Trustee Mario Gabelli.

Today, GSB hosts state-of-the art technology in a Bloomberg analytics lab; the Robert F. Stoico Financial Services Center that serves finance, business analytics and marketing research; and the Center for Advanced Financial Education complete with Bloomberg and Moneynet.com resources that help our students manage two real-dollar portfolios in real time.

A PLAN FOR THE BRISTOL CAMPUS As we celebrate the history of the physical changes to our campus, Roger Williams is also looking ahead to what the future needs will be. This year, RWU is undertaking the development of a 10-year Comprehensive Campus Master Plan to complete a vision for campus conditions, constraints, needs and priorities for the next decade. The university enlisted architectural planning firm Ayer Saint Gross, which evaluated every facility on campus and conducted listening sessions with faculty, staff, students, our neighbors and town officials earlier this year. They are now conducting a series of themed workshops and reviewing initial planning concepts at open forums on campus. The goal is to have an updated campus master plan by early next year.

1997 The Science-Math

Building renovates in 1997 to provide a home for the growing School of Engineering, which later became the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management.

2006 Known for its sustainably

sourced, highly-rated food – RWU’s dining services ranks in the top 5 percent in the country – the new, two-story student center, named The Commons, opens its doors in 2006. It also provides a welltraversed destination for student groups to recruit members and raise awareness about campus activities.

1993 RWU Law establishes

in 1993 as Rhode Island’s only law school, home to classrooms and appellate courtrooms where students get the opportunity to observe actual proceedings of the Rhode Island Superior Court.

In 1996, the Center for Economic and Environmental Development establishes a facility renowned for impactful research. It’s now home to a wet lab, learning platform, Aquatic Diagnostic Lab, and shellfish hatchery, all dedicated to the education of students, as well as advancing science and research for the aquatic industries.

2015 With a viewing deck

Of the other original buildings still standing on campus, the ClassroomLecture Building now houses the Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences and School of Justice Studies, the first dining hall became the Fine Arts Building, and the original Ferrycliffe Farm farmhouse is now home to the Feinstein Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement and the Community Partnerships Center.

and boat bay, the waterfront Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing & Education Center opens in 2015. The center is the first fully donor-funded building on campus.

TODAY

In 2009, RWU adds Global Heritage Hall, the Alumni & Admission Center and North Campus Residence Hall.

A 2018 groundbreaking commences construction of a three-story, state-of-the-art applied learning laboratory for the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management. Thanks to the generosity and support of individuals and corporations, SECCM Labs is set to open in 2020.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN BRISTOL

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HOW TO BUILD A THRIVING ATHLETICS PROGRAM

By Nicholas Williams

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Over the past 50 years, RWU Athletics has evolved from humble beginnings into one of the premier athletic programs in New England. With resourcefulness and time, here’s how the underdogs took wing as championship-winning Hawks.

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HAWKS THROUGH THE YEARS

START WITH TALENT (BUT NOWHERE TO PUT IT)

The Bristol campus opened without any athletics facilities, leaving teams to practice and play all over the East Bay. Basketball games were held at St. Andrew’s Gym in Barrington, soccer practices at Colt State Park and intramurals in the former Armory building in Bristol.

BUILD THE FACILITIES

As the Athletics program grew, so did the need for facilities. By the Fall of 1983, the Thomas Paolino Recreation Center opened for competition, featuring a new gym, locker room space, and an equipment room.

Playing fields were soon to follow, with spaces added behind the Field House for baseball and softball in 1989 and Bayside Field constructed in 1998 to give men’s and women’s soccer a field of their own.

In 2018, RWU launched a new visual identity for athletics with a more passionate, determined and fierce Hawk logo.

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In 2003, the recreation center expanded, boasting a new gymnasium with seating for 1,200, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and an 8,500-square-foot fitness center.

Converting Bayside Field to a turf field in 2011 enhanced it with seating for 575, lighting, a new scoreboard and press box. The upgrade enabled easier upkeep, better functional use for multiple teams, and promoted a better collegiate athletics atmosphere for fans and student-athletes.

In 2015, the Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center became the new home to RWU’s championship sailing team. A two-story, 6,450-square-foot building with a viewing deck, a boat bay, and a multipurpose room, it also hosted the 2015 U.S. Sailing Youth Championship.

JUST WIN, BABY!

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HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Former Athletic Director George Kolb (2001-09) led the department through significant growth, building the Campus Rec Center and Turf Field, increasing fulltime head coaches from four to 13 and adding Women’s Lacrosse, Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving, and Men’s and Women’s Track & Field as varsity sports.

Sailing Head Coach Amanda Callahan has been at RWU since 2007, leading the Hawks to become 30 ICSA All-Americans, earning 22 berths to ICSA National Championships and winning two national championships.

A four-year wrestler under longtime head coach Dave Kemmy, Jon Egan ’05 became head coach in 2011, claiming 143 match victories and coaching five NCAA All-Americans, as well as RWU’s first wrestling national champion.

National Championships

76 National Championship Appearances

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Current AD Kiki Jacobs has been instrumental in rebranding the Athletic department. Since 2017, she has spearheaded the redesign of the Hawk, helped secure an RWU Athletics-branded team bus, and led efforts on the annual RWU Day of Giving that brought in over $45,000 in donations to support our Hawks.

“Roger Williams Athletics has experienced a tremendous evolution.

Athletics now play a big role in RWU recruitment, enrollment and school spirit, and we have great untapped potential. We’re excited to see what the future brings for our Hawks!”

KIKI JACOBS, Director of Athletics, Intramurals and Recreation

LUE B AND GOLD CLUB

Conference Championships

67 All-Americans

117 Academic All-Americans

The Blue & Gold Club is a recognition society for all RWU Athletics giving.

SUPPORT THE HAWKS TODAY! Text RWUBG20 to 41444 or visit rwu.edu/go/blue-gold-club

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Support from Alumni has helped us reach this milestone!

There are many ways to show your RWU support that make a lasting impact.

STAY CONNECTED

Join our new alumni online network, The Roger Connection, and meet alumni in your city or industry, learn how you can mentor a current student or recent alum, or simply touch base with faculty.

visit TheRogerConnection.rwu.edu MEET US ON THE ROAD

This Fall, join us at one of our Road Shows and meet President Ioannis Miaoulis, Ph.D. along with other RWU alumni in your area.

visit rwu.edu/go/Bristol50 to view the complete list of events.

OCT.

TUESDAY, OCT. 29th Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club Oyster Bay, NY

DEC.

THURSDAY, DEC. 12th Yoleni’s Providence, RI

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REFER OTHERS TO APPLY TO RWU

Share your experience at RWU and refer family and friends to apply and waive the application fee!

Tell them to use the code ALUMNI50 on The Common Application and the fee will be waived.

You can also participate in the Parent & Family Leadership Council or become an Admission Ambassador. There are a range of opportunities from small gestures to larger commitments.

STAY IN TOUCH!

Contact the alumni office anytime at (401) 254-3005 or email alumni@rwu.edu.

or visit rwu.edu/alumni

For the first decade of the Bristol campus, the campus community interested in fitness and athletics had to go off-campus for training and sports. The first recreation center opened in 1983, renovated several times into today’s premier facility. If you haven’t visited the Thomas Paolino Recreation Center in a while, you’re missing out on a 9,000-sqaure-foot fitness center boasting weight benches to Concept2 Rowers, an 8-lane, 25-yard swimming pool with 1- and 3-meter diving boards, a sauna, a hot tub, and a spectator gallery with seating for approximately 200 to cheer on your fellow Hawks!

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Engineering, finance and management were the first academic program offerings by the YMCA Institute.

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HEN

Undergraduate degrees were awarded at the first Commencement held on the Bristol campus in 1970.

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Master’s degree programs are available today, including accelerated programs and joint degrees with RWU Law.

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Students graduated in the School of Law’s first Class of 1996.

45 Different programs of undergraduate study are offered today.

1,148 Bachelor’s degrees were awarded at the 2019 Commencement ceremony.

157 Master’s degrees were conferred at the 2019 Graduate Commencement ceremony.

130 Juris Doctor and Master of Legal Studies degrees were awarded in 2019.

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RWU by the Numbers: THEN & NOW

A More Diverse Class The Class of 2023 is our most diverse group yet.

23 Home states hailed from.

8 Different countries represented from around the world.

12 to 18%

1,900

Students attended Roger Williams College’s Bristol and Providence campuses in 1969.

5,239 Undergraduate, graduate and law students are enrolled for Fall 2019.

Increase in the racial and ethnic diversity of first-year classes over the last four years.

42

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One Old Ferry Road Bristol, Rhode Island 02809-2921 (401) 253-1040 • (800) 458-7144 toll free Change Service Requested

Save the Date!

DEC.

APRIL

12

24

THURSDAY, DEC. 12th Providence Road Show Yoleni’s, Providence, RI

FRIDAY, APRIL 24th Dedication of the new SECCM Labs Building 11 a.m. to noon

MAY

MAY

15

1

MAY 1st Alumni Reception and Dinner: Construction Management Professional Advisory Board

APRIL

MAY 15th Graduate School Commencement & Law School Commencement

MAY

22

16

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22nd Community Engagement Celebration

APRIL 24

APRIL

23

THURSDAY, APRIL 23rd RWU Day of Giving

FRIDAY, APRIL 24th

Inauguration of

RWU’s 11th President, Dr. Ioannis Miaoulis

Alumni Weekend at Roger Williams University

JUNE 5th-7th

MAY 16th RWU Commencement

Your support helped us achieve this milestone. We invite you to be a part of our next chapter as we work to build the university the world needs now.

DONATE TODAY Text RWU50 to 41444 or visit rwu.edu/go/Bristol50-give