Thursday, February 02, 2012

By Matt Boxler

NEWPORT, R.I. – Salve Regina University and the Newport office of Social Venture Partners RI (SVPRI) are teaming up to present a networking event featuring a panel of local entrepreneurs who will discuss strategies for achieving professional success in today’s “new economy.”Click here to read the story in its entirety.

Published on July 22, 2011 on the Salve Regina website

NEWPORT, R.I. – The Pell Honors Program at Salve Regina University is hosting a seven-day public seminar on the greatness of Rome from August 7-13.

Read the original posting in its entirety:

http://www.salve.edu/newsEvents/newsDetails.aspx?Channel=%2fChannels%2fSite+Wide+Content&WorkflowItemID=1a93066b-dc75-46bb-aa83-53d9c63e63b7

From the June 14, 2011 edition

By Richard C. Dujardin
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — After serving three years as the executive director of the state Emergency Management Agency, J. David Smith plans to leave the post on July 30 to become the director of the Administration of Justice graduate program at Salve Regina University in Newport.

Read the original Providence Journal article in its entirety:

http://www.projo.com/news/content/SMITH_RESIGNS_06-14-11_L2OKSC1_v14.41217.html

Read original article in its entirety at 

http://newport.patch.com/articles/salve-regina-to-award-678-degrees-during-commencement-ceremony-this-sunday

NEWPORT, R.I. – Salve Regina University’s performing arts department will present three spring concerts, all of which are open to the public. All performances, $5 for general admission and $3 for students/senior citizens, will be given in the Great Hall of Ochre Court, 100 Ochre Point Ave. Tickets will be available at the door.

On Friday, April 23 at 8 p.m., the Newport Community Band will perform music from “To Tame the Perilious Skies.” Directed by Peter Davis, the program will also include performances from the university’s Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Combo, and Jazz Ensemble. 

On Sunday, April 25 at 4 p.m., the Spring Choral Concert will be performed. The performance’s theme is “Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine” and will feature selections in the jazz and pop styles. Featured performers will include the University Chorus, Madrigals Chorus, women’s and men’s choruses and student soloists. The program is directed by Donald St. Jean.

On Sunday, May 2 at 3 p.m., the Newport County Orchestra will present its spring concert. The program, directed by Dr. Joseph Ceo, will include the music of Edvard Grieg, Nicholas Hooper, Felix Mendelssohn, Saint-Sans, William Still, and feature violin soloist Caroline Thibeault, a Salve Regina student.

Matt Boxler, 401-341-2156

boxlerm@salve.edu

NEWPORT, R.I. – His Serene Highness Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, whose family has shared a longtime friendship with the Pell family, will visit the city next week to pay respects to the late Sen. Claiborne Pell, and meet with Salve Regina University faculty and students.

Prince Alois will host a forum for Salve Regina students and faculty, and interested members of the media from 10-11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, April 21 at Bazarsky Lecture Hall, located in the O’Hare Academic Center on Ochre Point Avenue. The Prince will address Liechtenstein’s leadership role in a dynamic, rapidly changing European environment.

Members of the media are invited to the 10-11:15 a.m. forum, which will include a question and answer session at the end. Prince Alois will be available to meet with the media for their questions immediately following the forum.

Born in Zurich on June 11, 1968, Prince Alois is the eldest son of Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie von und zu Liechtenstein. He was christened Alois Philipp Maria after his great-grandfather Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. As the reigning prince’s eldest son, Prince Alois is destined under the House Statutes to succeed to the throne.

Prince Alois spent his childhood at Vaduz Castle with his parents, brothers and sister and grandparents. Like his father before him, he attended primary school in Vaduz-Ebenholz and progressed in 1979 to Liechtenstein Grammar School, leaving in spring 1987 with the advanced-level diploma.

Afterwards, he joined the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst (Gt. Britain), completing his officer training there. After being commissioned second lieutenant, he served for six months with the Coldstream Guards in Hong Kong and London.

In October 1988, he enrolled as a law student at Salzburg University. He completed his studies in spring 1993, gaining a master’s degree. From September 1993 to May 1996 he worked for an auditing firm in London. Since then, he has returned to live in Vaduz and is responsible for various sections of the assets of the Princely House.

Who: His Serene Highness Prince Alois of Liechtenstein

 What: A discussion on issues of common and global concerns presented to Salve Regina faculty and staff, and interested members of the media.

 When: Wednesday, April 21 at 10 a.m.

 Where: Bazarsky Lecture Hall, O’Hare Academic Center, Ochre Point Avenue on Salve Regina’s campus, Newport, R.I.

Contact: Matt Boxler, University Relations

Salve Regina University, 401-341-2156

boxlerm@salve.edu

For the wife of comedian Chris Rock, a lifetime commitment to community service is nothing to joke about

NEWPORT, R.I. – Malaak Compton-Rock, founder of numerous charitable entities – including The Angelrock Project, an online e-village promoting volunteerism, social responsibility, and sustainable change – will present the commencement address and be awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters during Salve Regina University’s 60^th commencement on Sunday, May 16.

Also being awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters will be longtime Newport architect Richard Grosvenor. The commencement will begin at 10 a.m. on the oceanside lawn of McAuley Hall, Ochre Point Avenue.

Compton-Rock has devoted her life to community service, working tirelessly to fulfill the principle behind her favorite Marian Wright Edelman quote: “Service is the rent we pay for living.”

Her first book, “If It Takes A Village, Build One: How I Found Meaning Through a Life of Service and 100+ Ways You Can Too” was released this month by Broadway Books, a division of Random House.

Compton-Rock founded The Anglerock Project (www.angelrockproject.com) in 2008 to serve as an umbrella organization for six of her main philanthropic causes, as well as to serve as a means to encourage others to live a life of service.

Among its many elements, The Angelrock Project includes information on how to volunteer, advice on making monetary or in-kind donations, links to life-changing non-profit organizations, information on fair trade companies whose products sustain third-world artisans, and a discussion forum and blog.

Compton-Rock champions many endeavors, but her six main causes include: “Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service,” a global volunteer exchange program for at-risk youth; “Brooklyn Services,” which aids youth in the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y. through partnerships with The Salvation Army Bushwick Community Center; “Child Abuse Awareness” and prevention through the Champions for Children Campaign she created; “Hurricane Katrina Relief” to aid families and children devastated from the storm through partnerships with The Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom School in the 9th Ward of New Orleans and Bonita House of Hope in Houston; “South Africa Programs,” which includes projects in Johannesburg (Diepsloot) and Soweto, South Africa focused on educational and micro-finance projects; and raising awareness and funds for “Triple Negative Breast Cancer” in conjunction with The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation.

Compton-Rock began her career in the entertainment industry. She worked for many years at the Terrie Williams Agency contributing to movie and record release campaigns and projects for clients including Eddie Murphy, The Essence Awards, and HBO.

Following a stint in the cosmetics industry, she found her true calling after accepting a position at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund).  During her three years with the organization, she spearheaded and oversaw the Special Events and Celebrity Relations Department, a position created for her.

Compton-Rock designed and orchestrated numerous fundraising and advocacy events geared toward increasing the organization’s visibility and promoting private sector and corporate giving.  She managed the organization’s roster of celebrity spokespersons, planning numerous international field trips for the spokespersons to witness UNICEF-assisted projects in the field, coordinated all celebrity appearances at special events and with the media, as well as created a successful television product placement campaign for UNICEF’s core fundraising campaign “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.”

During her tenure with UNICEF, Compton-Rock increased the organization’s support by cultivating and recruiting such notable celebrities as Laurence Fishburne, Tea Leoni, Sarah Jessica Parker and Claudia Schiffer. She continues to be an active supporter, having visited UNICEF-assisted projects with her family in South Africa and Kenya in 2006, 2007 and 2008. 

While still at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Compton-Rock made the life-changing decision to dedicate her life’s work to the non-profit world. With that directive in mind, she left the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to pursue her dream of starting her own a non-profit organization.

She incorporated styleWORKS, an organization that provided comprehensive grooming services, i.e., hair styling, make-up application, skincare services, clothing, accessories, and image consulting to women moving from welfare to work.  After seven years of offering direct services as a non-profit, styleWORKS now provides grooming seminars on a consultant basis only and continues to offer monthly mentoring and job retention-based services, such as the styleWORKS book club.

She created the Champions for Children Committee, a prestigious group of well-known individuals who are committed to raising awareness about the signs and prevention of child abuse.  In 2007, the group received national pro-bono exposure in magazines including People, Redbook, Essence and O, The Oprah Magazine, as well as radio exposure through a series of PSA’s heard on Clear Channel stations nationwide. In all, the campaign received over 28 million pro bono media impressions.

Along with her husband, comedian Chris Rock, she runs The Angelrock Project South Africa, a trust that provides assistance to orphaned and vulnerable children, granny-led households and people living with HIV/AIDS in Diepsloot, a poverty-stricken shanty town in Johannesburg.

The Trust offers educational and tuition assistance, food and nutritional support, and living allowance grants for those whose lives have been adversely affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty.  Through a partnership with The Food Garden Foundation, the organization has funded sustainable food gardens in Diepsloot and at a half dozen schools in Soweto to provide food for the community and for income-generating purposes. The Trust is currently coordinating a daily feeding program and is installing playground systems for the orphan population in coordination with two local non-governmental organizations.

The Rocks are also committed to The Bushwick Salvation Army Community Center in Bushwick, Brooklyn and recently open a new library and computer lab through the support of Target, (RED), Dell, and AARRIS Architects, LLP. 

Additionally, Malaak Compton-Rock is a coordinating the development of a comprehensive art program at the Center which will include a teaching partnership with Pratt Institute and The Black Alumni of Pratt Institute that will begin in January 2010. 

Recently, Compton-Rock filmed the Harpo/ABC-TV reality show “Oprah’s Big Give.”  Debuting on March 2, 2008, Compton-Rock served as a co-judge offering her insights, encouragement and critiques to contestants whose mission was to give back to society in creative and innovative ways. 

Compton-Rock is an avid public speaker who lectures on topics pertaining to philanthropic giving, finding balance in life, raising giving children in a global world, and successfully blending a family and a professional life.

She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters. She holds a B.F.A. in Arts/Production Management from Howard University and received an honorary doctorate from Fairleigh Dickinson University in May 2009.

Compton-Rock serves on the board of directors of The Children’s Defense Fund and The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation.  She is a Global Ambassador for The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Promise Fund, a member of New York Women in Communications, The Cause Marketing Forum and The Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Recently, as a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel, she helped select the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year and was chosen as one of Ebony Magazine’s 2009 “Power 150, Change Agents We Can Believe In.”

Richard Grosvenor

Grosvenor has been an artist-in-residence for well over 50 years in Newport. He has devoted his life to teaching art, sharing his talents with the local community, and providing guidance and insight into the historical aspects of architecture throughout the city.

Now retired, Grosvenor served as head of the art department at St. George’s School in Middletown, where he taught from 1953-1993. During his teaching tenure, the Grosvenor family lived on the St. George’s campus. Grosvenor often painted with his four children when they were young.  The tradition continues to this day, with his three grown children who live locally – they meet on Saturday mornings for painting sessions.

In 2002, Grosvenor published “Newport: An Artist’s Impressions of its Architecture and History.”  He both wrote and illustrated the book which is filled with his paintings and sketches of the many mansions, homes and churches of Newport.

Countless non-profit organizations have received paintings from Grosvenor over the past 50 years.  He donates his art work, estimated at 25-30 paintings a year, which are auctioned off at local fundraisers. When a Grosvenor painting is included in an auction, it is a significant boost for the individual charity. 

Grosvenor also gives his time as a community volunteer. He served as a board member and president for 10 years of the Seamen’s Church Institute.  As a member of the Newport Art Museum, he established the Wet Paint Auction held annually in August. 

He and his wife Margot have been long-time members of the Circle of Scholars at Salve Regina University. For the past five years, he has taught one of the most popular classes – a combination of walking tour and classroom lecture, on the rich variety of Newport’s architecture. The Grosvenors also attend Pell and CHP lectures on the Salve Regina campus.

Grosvenor was born to American parents in Saint Jean de Luz, France in 1928. His father had been in the cotton textile business. The family returned to the United States and lived in Newport.  Grosvenor grew up in his great-grandfather’s (Theodore Phinney) home at Ruggles Avenue and Carroll Street.  The house was originally designed by Richard Morris Hunt. He graduated from the Groton School in Massachusetts and Harvard University in 1951 with a major in fine arts. 

Matt Boxler, University Relations

Salve Regina University, 401-341-2156

boxlerm@salve.edu

NEWPORT, R.I. – In celebration of Earth Day, the community is invited to a free screening of the internationally acclaimed film, “HOME,” at the JanePickens Theater on Thursday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m.  Presented by the Aquidneck Land Trust and Salve Regina University, the film is being shown as as part of the Land Trust’s 2010 Conservation Speaker Series and as part of the university’s McKillop Library monthly programs.  Complimentary refreshments, with a focus on local foods, will be served.

Aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s “HOME” captures the earth’s most
amazing landscapes in a new and astonishing light, showcasing its
incomparable beauty and acknowledging its vulnerability to change. To make
the film, Arthus-Bertrand traveled for more than 18 months filming more than
50 countries from the air. The movie has a mission and carries a message for
humanity: “to become aware of its spoliation of the earth’s riches and
change its patterns of consumption.”

“We are pleased to team up with Salve Regina on yet another environmental
project,” said Ted Clement, executive director of the Aquidneck Land Trust.
“Together, we have protected land, monitored owls, taught students about the
environment, worked on lesson plans for the Sakonnet Greenway Trail,
provided students with work experiences in an environmental organization,
and looked after our water supplies. Our relationship with Salve is one
where we help our community think globally and act locally to address
environmental issues and protect our home.”

The Earth Day screening begins with a 6:30 p.m. welcoming reception,
followed by the movie at 7 p.m. Afterward, a brief question and answer
session will be conducted.

Matt Boxler

University Relations

Salve Regina University

100 Ochre Point Ave.

Newport, RI 02840

401-341-2156

boxlerm@salve.edu

boxlerm@salve.edu

NEWPORT, R.I. – Salve Regina University’s department of performing arts will present Sarah Ruhl’s play, Eurydice, from April 14-18 on campus in the Megley Theatre, located in Antone Academic Center, corner of Lawrence and Leroy avenues.

 Performances, open to the public, will be given Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Wednesday’s dress rehearsal is also open to the public as a pay-what-you-can performance and all proceeds will be donated to Salve Hearts for Haiti, a campus organization dedicated to raising money for Haitian earthquake victims.

 Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and Salve Regina faculty and staff, and $5 for students. On-line ticketing information can be found at the department of performing arts website under the Theatre Season link or by calling 401-341-2250.

 Just 32 years old, playwright Sarah Ruhl has already written 10 original plays, including Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone and the Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Clean House.  She has an MFA from Brown University and was a recent recipient of the MacArthur “genius grant.”

 In Eurydice, she reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. After dying on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. Ruhl wrote the play after losing her own father to cancer and the New York Times wrote that it is “an inexpressibly moving theatrical fable about love, loss and the pleasures and pains of memory.”

 Suzanne Delle, Salve Regina’s new assistant professor of theatre, directs the show. Delle came to Salve Regina in January after running her own theatre company in southern New Hampshire for seven years that specialized in contemporary thought-provoking theatre.

 During that time she was nominated three times for Best Director of a Professional Theatre production. She teaches acting classes at the university and Eurydice will be her first production at Salve Regina.

 The cast of student actors is led by Anna McConville, a senior music major from Massachusetts, as Eurydice. She is joined by Matthew Dinda, a senior theatre minor from Connecticut, as her father, and Judson Hobbs, a sophomore theatre major from Maine, as her husband Orpheus. In the underworld she meets a cast of characters including the Lord of the Underworld played by Nicole Dionne, a sophomore theatre minor from Connecticut, and a Greek-style chorus portrayed by Mary Wright, a senior theatre minor from Massachusetts, Liana Wendy Sarapas, a sophomore theatre major from Massachusetts and Alexandra Clayton, a freshman theatre major from Massachusetts.

Contact:  Suzanne Delle, 401-341-3163

Suzanne.delle@salve.edu

Matt Boxler, 401-341-2156

boxlerm@salve.edu

NEWPORT, R.I. – “Oceans of Books” is the theme for this year’s March Into Reading children’s book festival, to be held Saturday, Feb. 27 at Salve Regina University.

Free and open to children of all ages and their families, the festival brings together several local authors and illustrators who host readings, workshops, book signings and other activities. No reservations are required to attend the event, which will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at O’Hare Academic Center on Ochre Point Avenue.

Presented by the Aquidneck Collaborative for Education and Salve Regina University, the annual reading festival brings families together to highlight the importance of reading. Local authors participating this year include:

Laura Blackman, who, along with her plucky duck Lemon, has been featured on local television stations and in local newspapers; Medal-winning Olympic sailor Carol Newman Cronin, author of Oliver’s Surprise; John T. Brennan, author of Ghosts of Newport: Spirits, Scoundrels, Legends, and Lore; Illustrator David Biedrzycki, whose art has appeared on New England Aquarium billboards and Celestial Seasonings tea boxes as well as in books; Award-winning children’s book illustrator Shennen Bersani; Author and photographer Laura Gates Galvin, who has written dozens of children’s books; and Ann Hood, an award-winning author who has recently expanded her repertoire to include fiction for middle school kids

Families attending the festival will receive the March Into Reading “Captain’s Log,” a packet that contains information and coupons to local attractions and related book titles. >From 10 a.m. to noon, Bersani, Biedrzycki and Brennan will give presentations, and from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Backman and Gates Galvin will serve as guest readers.

Hands-on exhibits will be hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard “Rescue Heroes” and the Pollution Prevention and Response team, the Norman Bird Sanctuary, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum. All the authors will also participate in book signings.

In addition to Saturday’s public activities, March Into Reading also brings the authors and illustrators into local schools during the day on Friday, Feb. 26, where they will meet with students, teachers and librarians in assemblies and in-class readings. Friday’s schedule is as follows:

• Thompson Middle – Ann Hood, 8:45 a.m.
• Sullivan – Laura Gates Galvin, 9 a.m.
• Coggeshall – Laura Backman, 9 a.m.
• Mellville – Shennen Bersani, 9 a.m.
• Bradley School – David Biedrzycki, 9 a.m.
• St. Philomena – John Brennan, 9:15 a.m.
• Gaudet Middle – Carol Newman Cronin, 9:30 a.m.
• Underwood – Laura Gates Galvin, 10 a.m.
• Pennfield – Laura Gates Galvin, 10:30 a.m.
• Elmhurst – Shennen Bersani, 10:30 a.m.
• Aquidneck School – David Biedrzycki, 10:30 a.m.
• Gaudet (Fourth Grade) – Carol Newman Cronin, 10:30 a.m.
• Cranston-Calvert – Laura Backman, 10:30 a.m.
• St. Joseph of Cluny – John Brennan, 10:45 a.m.
• All Saints Academy – Laura Backman, 1 p.m.
• St. Michael’s – John Brennan, 1:15 p.m.
• Hathaway – Shennen Bersani, 1:15 p.m.
• Portsmouth Middle – Carol Newman Cronin, 1:15 p.m.
• Forest Avenue – David Biedrzycki, 1:30 p.m

Each year, March Into Reading impacts thousands of K-5th grade students, their families, teachers and librarians by inspiring an increased interest in reading while reinforcing the importance of literacy skills.

The program is made possible this year with the support of the Hamilton Family Foundation, Target, People’s Credit Union, Rotary Club of Newport, The Newport daily News, Newport Hotel Group and Island Books.

The Aquidneck Collaborative for Education (ACE) is a unique partnership of educational institutions spearheaded and coordinated by Salve Regina’s department of education. It is a non-profit association of Aquidneck Island educational institutions that was incorporated in 1993 and includes early childhood centers, independent, parochial, private and public elementary and secondary schools, the James L. Maher Center, Salve Regina University, Newport Campus of the Community College of Rhode Island and the U.S. Naval War College.

The ACE mission is to strengthen existing relations among the educational institutions, to promote education as a community value, to provide opportunities for professional development and instructional advancement, to share facilities and resources and to foster communication among the educational institutions and within the community.

For more information, visit www.salve.edu/ace or call Kathryn Rok at 401-341-3157.

MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA are invited to report on any part of the two-day “March Into Reading” celebration, including visiting local schools on Friday, Feb. 26 and/or attending the public festival on Saturday, Feb. 27.