Johnson & Wales University

Jacquelyn Lussier ’20 is a Media & Communications Studies major and recently landed an internship with the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Below, she recounts her experience and how it changed the course of her career and life.

Have you ever watched a documentary that changed your life?

As an intern at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, not only did I consume 100+ hours of content as a part of their official selection process, I was impacted enough by my experience to change the career track I was on.

After viewing “Chasing the Present,” directed by Mark Waters, I immediately told my site advisor, Programming Coordinator Shawn Quirk, that we needed to accept this film. I figured if it moved me to change my daily routine as much as it did, influencing me to practice meditation and yoga on a daily basis, it must have the same impact on others…Read More

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — June 17, 2019 – Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is expanding its presence and influence in the health arena by offering the first entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program in Rhode Island. The university welcomed its first student cohort to campus on June 10 to begin the full-time, 36-month program.

“As Johnson & Wales University explored a larger presence in the healthcare market, the institution heard directly from industry of the growing need for more occupational therapists,” said Ann Burkhardt, founding director, Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program, College of Health & Wellness. “With input from industry leaders, we designed a program with diversity of access to inter-professional partners, a broader view of health and wellness as it affects quality of life, and real life experiences to push the borders of practice to be more inclusive. Our graduates will have the knowledge, skills, and experience to propose, design, develop and grow practices to better meet the needs of people across the lifespan and to change care delivery for the shifting demographic of consumers of care.”

3/13/19 | On Tuesday, March 12, Johnson & Wales University entered a new era with the Chancellor Investiture Ceremony of Mim L. Runey, LP.D. Speakers, dignitaries and guests gathered to celebrate the university’s past, present and future at the historic Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC).

The formal program began with a procession that included the JWU Honor Guard, a platform party of academics, trustees and dignitaries led by Provost Lily Hsu, Ed.D, as well as student flag bearers representing all seven of JWU’s colleges.

JWU North Miami Campus President and Master of Ceremonies Larry Rice, Ed.D., ’90 opened with welcoming remarks invoking the university’s inspiring origins: “It was just weeks after the start of World War I, at a time when women did not have the right to vote, that Miss Johnson and Miss Wales decided to open a school to teach, mostly women at first, business skills. They were truly trailblazers, ahead of their time.”…Read More

11/13/18 | The combined power of two of the region’s prominent higher education institutions — one an internationally recognized food authority, one an internationally recognized design authority — and a venerable local food hub is changing the way college students eat.

Johnson & Wales University (JWU), Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Farm Fresh RI will share a 2018 New England Food Vision Prize, a $250,000 award from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, to encourage colleges and universities to increase the amount of regionally-produced food on campus menus.

The award will support a two-year collaboration to research and develop food products that will be tested and integrated into the dining services at each campus with subsequent plans for distribution through Farm Fresh RI….Click to Read More