Panhia Lee

Treating cholera in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew

In a pair of tents on the grounds of a health center in a tiny town, Dr. Adam Levine is managing a cholera treatment unit where the staff still sees 10 to 15 new cases a day, more than a month after Hurricane Matthew.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] —Since Dr. Adam Levine arrived in Haiti in late October, he’s been managing a cholera treatment unit for International Medical Corps. Hurricane Matthew devastated the area on Oct. 4, creating conditions that foment the spread of the disease. The unit is still running near its 30-bed capacity.

The unit is a pair of tents on the grounds of a local health center in Les Anglais, said Levine, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Brown University and a physician at Rhode Island Hospital. The town sits almost at Haiti’s western tip on the southwest shore of its southern peninsula.

Levine, who directs the new Humanitarian Innovation Initiative at Brown’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, answered questions about his work providing life-saving rehydration and medicine to people who make a difficult trek to the center from surrounding villages.

Click to read more…

No Question: Meeting Prime Minister Was Highlight of RWU Internship for Rachel Wells ‘17

Senior political science major gained real-world experience with internships in London and Washington, plus work on campaigns and polling. 

BRISTOL, R.I. – Hands-on learning is a standard part of an RWU education and, like many Roger Williams University students, Rachel Wells has taken part in internships provide valuable, real-world experience in locations all across the world. But not everyone has been applauded by former British Prime Minister David Cameron.

On Oct. 26, Wells attended a presentation by political scientist Christopher H. Achen, who came to RWU as part of the President’s Distinguished Speakers Series. Before the speech, she had a chance to chat with Achen about everything from the United States’ presidential race to the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote. And attention turned to the fact that she’d been in London, as part of an RWU internship, during the 2015 elections that returned Cameron to 10 Downing Street as prime minister.

Wells, 21, a senior political science major from Woburn, Mass., worked as an intern with Cameron’s Conservative Party, handling letters from constituents between January and May 2015. During the semester, she saw Cameron from time to time, but she didn’t meet him until her last day, when he stopped by party headquarters to thank her and two other American interns.

“He clapped for me,” Wells said. “He made us feel welcomed. He said, ‘Thank you for all you have done for the party.’”

Click to read more…

Designing a School for the Arts

risd_blog_posting

Professor Jim Barnes BArch 69 encourages grad student Alice Zhen MArch 17 to be courageous in her design. | photo by Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH

The idea of launching an arts high school affiliated with RISD has been in the air for decades, so when Architecture Professor Jim Barnes BArch 69 was thinking about a theme for his advanced fall studio, he decided to resurrect it. Given the Architecture department’s ongoing interest in engaging with young people in the community – for example, its partnership with Providence’s Lincoln School for girls – and Barnes’ long-term commitment to organizations like the ACE Mentoring program for architecture, construction and engineering, it was a suitable choice.

Each of the 10 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the class is designing a sustainable two- to three-story art and design high school that could theoretically be constructed along RISD’s riverfront on South Water Street or at the intersection of Wickenden and South Main streets.

The studio aims to provide students with a deep understanding of how highly specialized programming informs the exterior form of a building along with its material character. In addition, Barnes expects each design to be net zero energy efficient and, ideally, to relate aesthetically to existing buildings in the neighborhood.

Click to read more…

Alumni authors bring their literature to life at ‘Veritas and Values’ panel

In reading excerpts as diverse as the writers themselves, four alumni related the struggles and rewards of being an author and how — without realizing it — their literary work began as Providence College undergraduates.

The Veritas and Values panel discussion, “Published and Proud: Millennial Authors and Their Stories,” took place in the Ruane Center for the Humanities. Sponsored by the Department of English, the Student Alumni Association, and the National Alumni Association, Veritas and Values facilitates interaction between alumni and students.

Moderator Epaphras C. Osondu, a novelist and a PC associate professor of English, welcomed the College audience that filled the lecture hall and introduced the panelists: Emily Benfer ‘99, clinical professor of law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law; Alison Espach ’07, assistant professor of English at Providence College; Michael Hartigan ‘04, communications director for U.S. Congresswoman Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts; and Matt Weber ‘06, director of digital communications strategy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Each began the program by reading from their books and essays and reflected on how deeply their College experience influenced their writing.

Click to read more…