Month: August 2018

PCSB receive re-accreditation notices

Providence College has earned re-accreditation for 10 years by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.   

The notification, announced in a letter to College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80, follows the recent re-accreditation of the Providence College School of Business by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International through 2022.    

The College’s re-accreditation by CIHE/NEASC culminated an extensive collaborative effort by more than 100 members of the College community, as well as dozens of community members who provided feedback on the initial drafts of the institution’s final self-study. The self-study, submitted to the commission in September 2017, was followed by a four-day campus visit in October 2017 by a CIHE/NEASC team led by Dr. John E. Bassett, former president of Heritage University.   

In its letter, the commission concurred with the visiting team that the College offers a “high-quality, student-centered education.” It also noted that “with an experienced and effective president and senior leadership team, an engaged and committed Board of Trustees, and dedicated faculty and staff, Providence College is poised for continued excellence as it fulfills its commitment to ‘academic excellence in pursuit of the truth, growth in virtue, and service of God and neighbor.’”  

The commission directed the College to submit a fall 2019 progress report on its success in implementing the proposed new strategic plan, PC200. The commission also requested that, in PC’s fifth-year interim report (fall 2022), the College give emphasis to its success in: 

  • continuing to assess the core curriculum, with a focus on using the results for improvement, and achieving a wider understanding among students and faculty of the goals and purposes of the core; 
  • achieving its goals with respect to diversity and inclusiveness; and 
  • implementing its school structure and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of school deans and the provost. 

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Runey to succeed Bowen as JWU chancellor

PROVIDENCE – Mim L. Runey, who has served as the Johnson & Wales University Providence campus president and chief operating officer since 2011, will step up as the school’s chancellor effective Oct. 1.

“From the strong pool of candidates that emerged, the board unanimously agreed that Mim Runey is the right leader at the right time to take Johnson & Wales to new heights,” said James H. Hance Jr., chairman of the JWU Board of Trustees and chair of the chancellor search committee, in prepared remarks.

Runey will be the school’s third chancellor in its 104-year history. She succeeds John J. Bowen, who announced his retirement in January.

Bowen will assume the role of chancellor emeritus on Oct. 1 until his retirement at the end of the calendar year.

In a statement, Runey said she is “honored to have been chosen to lead” JWU.

A top priority for her will be the implementation of the five-year FOCUS 2022strategic plan.

“Over the next five years, we will expand and design our academic programs to prepare our students for the challenges of the workplace of tomorrow. We also will be known for our pre-eminence in the study of food. I am excited to lead this new chapter in our university’s history,” said Runey in her prepared remarks.

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New England Institute of Technology to launch doctoral program in occupational therapy

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. — It seems emblematic of New England Institute of Technology’s expanding student enrollment and health-care curriculum that the school’s first doctoral program, debuting this fall, should be in the field of occupational therapy — itself a burgeoning field as the general population ages and pediatric needs rise.

“When you think about the issues of lifespan, we work with people from womb to tomb,” said Carol A. Doehler, department chair and professor for occupational therapy programs at NEIT, and the driving force behind the new effort.

NEIT already offers associate’s and master’s degrees in occupational therapy, but graduates of those programs have been “literally begging us to start a doctoral program,” Doehler told The Providence Journal. Other universities offer them, Doehler said, and two years ago, she began leading the effort for a homegrown one.

The post-professional occupational therapy doctorate, as NEIT’s new program is formally known, is designed for occupational therapists already employed in the field. That makes it distinct from research-specific doctoral programs, Doehler said, which require a dissertation. Still, in addition to taking such courses as “Wellness, Participation and Health Promotion,” enrollees will be required to complete original work.

These “capstone projects,” as Doehler describes them, will stress innovation and entrepreneurship, with benefit to not only the student but those they serve.

“They will allow these people who are practicing therapists to focus on something uniquely important to them in their field,” Doehler said. “What do they want to change? What do they want to innovate? Maybe they’re in a private practice and they feel they’ve got an idea of something that’s different, that can work with a particular population and really make a change.”

Or, said Doehler, “it could be someone who’s practicing in a hospital and they’d like to see better evidence of how they help people with neurological impairment like a stroke or a head injury. What is current? ‘Are we doing the best care?’”

And depending on the student, the project could be a new approach that would help keep older people living at home, or help children on the autism spectrum lead richer lives.

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How Daylan Torres Baked His Way to WorldSkills 2019 in Russia

This past June, JWU Providence Baking & Pastry Arts student Daylan Torres traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in a commercial baking competition that’s part of the massive annual SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference.

Daylan did not attend alone — he was there with 12 other JWU students, all of whom were gearing up for their own tests of their professional competencies. Of that group, 3 earned medals — read about their successes here — and Daylan secured his spot to represent the USA at WorldSkills 2019, which will be held in Kazan, Russia.

At JWU, SkillsUSA is just one of the many National Student Organizations (NSOs) that students can get involved in. Many students join in high school, then transition to collegiate competition. That’s the case for Daylan — he took time to tell us about the opportunities that SkillsUSA participation opened up for him, as well as how his involvement has helped build his confidence, time management skills and connection to JWU. Read on:

When did you first get involved in NSO/SkillsUSA?
I’ve been a part of SkillsUSA since my freshman year of high school. I only really started to get involved in the competition aspect during my sophomore year of high school with the commercial baking competition — that helped me to find my passion for baking. You’re obviously passionate about baking.

Stepping up to the Bakery competition for WorldSkills is a totally different ball game.”

How does competing in commercial baking sharpen your overall skillset?
The commercial baking competition where I competed last year (placing first in the country) really helped me to see the importance of not only practicing, repetition and honing my fundamentals, but of time management, rolling with the punches and keeping your cool.

Stepping up to the Bakery competition for WorldSkills is a totally different ball game. I’m focusing on refining my skills, coming up with new and exciting ideas to make my products stand out, focusing on the details, and what will take me a step up.

Besides all the technical aspects, I’m really trying to build my mental toughness. I’ll be going to another country and competing against extremely talented kids from all over the world. It’s a scary thought, to be honest, but I’m working on it! The prep for this sort of competition will tire you physically and emotionally, so by building that mentality it allows you to focus on moving forward

and persevering.Screen Shot 2018-08-08 at 10.08.29 AM

How did you prepare for the regional qualifier?
For the WorldSkills qualifiers we started out with 12 eligible candidates (Top 3 from high school and college at the national level from the past two years). The first part of the process involves filling out some paperwork and sending our resumes to our potential “expert.” Each student going to Russia in 2019 is paired with an expert in the subject they are competing in; this is the person who will help us along the way as we practice for the international competition. Once paired with our expert, we began to receive modules to complete by a certain timeframe.

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