Welcome and Congratulations to Ryan Foster!
The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island warmly welcomes Ryan Foster as the new Interim Communications, Policy, and Member Relations Assistant. The membership looks forward to his contributions to the Association’s efforts.
Prior to working at AICU Rhode Island, Ryan received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and history from Suffolk University after spending a semester studying in Madrid, Spain. Born and raised in Rhode Island and a graduate of an independent institution of higher education, Ryan is passionate about the role our sector plays in his home state and looks forward to the work ahead.
AICU Rhode Island Welcomes Delta Dental of Rhode Island as our Newest Community Partner
Delta Dental of Rhode Island is the state’s leading dental insurer for more than 60 years. Based in Providence, they administer dental benefits for nearly 660,000 members, and boast a 92% customer satisfaction rating, with 92% also satisfied with dentist availability. Delta Dental Rhode Island is a part of the Delta Dental Plans Association, a not-for-profit organization that offers dental coverage in all fifty states and serves more than 80 million Americans.
Delta Dental provides insurance for every AICU Rhode Island member and we look forward to working with them in this continued partnership. You can learn more about Delta Dental here.
Increase Student Aid For All Rhode Islanders
#Promise4All
Please join us in calling on the General Assembly to increase funding to the Rhode Island Promise 1.0 Scholarship (Promise 1.0). Promise 1.0, created in 2015, is a state aid program aimed at supporting Rhode Islanders attending college in the state. Not only does it provide financial support to full-time students, it also incentivizes talented Rhode Islanders to remain in the state, as well as provide support to the higher education sector. The program is a crucial component of the State’s higher education policy, increasing access to education and supporting the long-term health of the State’s economy.
Key Facts:
- From 2015 to 2020, independent institutions of higher education received $2 million annually. In 2020, State funding for the program was cut to $1.5 million.
- Prior to 2015, state funding for student aid was much higher, with $16 million going to students in 2008. In today’s dollars, that would be the equivalent of funding the program at $21 million annually.
- Since its inception, non-profit colleges and universities have matched state contributions dollar-for-dollar, resulting in $26 million in scholarship funds.
- Nearly 80,000 students attend Rhode Island institutions of higher education. Many of these students remain in Rhode Island after graduation, applying their expertise to the Rhode Island economy.
- Non-profit higher education is the second largest non-governmental sector in the state, after healthcare. The sector spends $4.6 billion in local communities and supports 30,000 jobs across the state.
Contact your legislators:
Please contact your legislators to voice your support for #Promise4All. Find your senator and representative HERE. For sample language in support of this increase, please click HERE.
Welcome Crystal Williams
AICU Rhode Island is delighted to welcome Crystal Williams as the new President of Rhode Island School of Design.
Williams most recently served as Boston University’s inaugural vice president and associate provost for community and inclusion since 2020. In this role, she provided vision and strategic direction for initiatives that support the development of strong communities and the promotion of diversity, inclusion, and equity on campus.
Prior to her work at Boston University, Williams held similar roles at Bates College (2013-17) and Reed College (as a faculty leader from 2000-11 and as Dean from 2011-13). It was at Reed where she began her academic career as a professor of English Professor, working with colleagues to create an infrastructure to support greater diversity, inclusion, and equity.
As a deeply collaborative leader, she has helped drive meaningful change in higher education through numerous roles, including as a member of the Oversight Committee for the Sloan Foundation-funded STEM Faculty Leadership program; the Executive Committee for the Creating Connections Consortium (C3), an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded consortium of liberal arts colleges and research universities (including Bates, Connecticut College, Middlebury, Williams, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and the University of Michigan); as co-chair of the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers; as a member of the steering committee for the Consortium for Faculty Diversity; and as a collaborator with senior members of the Mellon Northwest 5 Faculty Consortium.
Williams is also an award winning poet and essayist, with four published collections of poems. She is the recipient of several artistic fellowships, grants, and honors, including a fellowship the MacDowell Arts Colony, an appointment as the Distinguished Visiting Professor of University Writing at DePauw University, a Master Poet residency at Indiana University, the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Prize, a Literary Arts fellowship, an Oregon Arts Commission individual artist grant and a Barbara Deming/Money for Women artist grant, among others.
The AICU Rhode Island board looks forward to President Williams’ collaboration and contribution to the Association’s advocacy and consortia efforts.
College Unbound Joins AICU Rhode Island as an Affiliate Member
AICU Rhode Island is pleased to welcome College Unbound as our newest member. College Unbound (CU) founded by visionary educator Dennis Littky in 2009, received accreditation in 2021, and focuses on adult learners who have faced significant barriers to attending higher education.
We welcome College Unbound’s membership and look forward to their contributions in our consortia and advocacy work.
Balanced Rock Energy Renews its Community Partnership with AICU Rhode Island
AICU Rhode Island is pleased to announce that Balanced Rock Energy has renewed its community partnership. Balanced Rock Energy provides a holistic approach to energy savings; helping customers buy energy at the best price, reduce consumption, and find rebate programs to develop an energy approach personalized to the customer.
Since the partnership began, Balanced Rock has helped the AICU Rhode Island CFOs develop requests for proposals (RFPs) for remote net metering agreements, and works directly with a number of institutions to assist with energy purchasing. For more information, please click here.
RISLA Renews its Community Partnership with AICU Rhode Island
AICU Rhode Island is pleased to announce that RISLA has renewed its community partnership. RISLA is a non-profit quasi-state authority which has been providing affordable higher education solutions since 1981.
Throughout its partnership with AICU Rhode Island, RISLA has been a leader on community partner activities, including increasing FAFSA completion rates in Rhode Island, among other accomplishments. For more information, please click here.
Rhode Island School of Design’s Chief Financial Officer David Proulx Named Interim President
AICU Rhode Island board and staff congratulate David Proulx on his selection as Interim President of the Rhode Island School of Design. Proulx brings 28 years of experience working in higher education. Most recently, he has served as Chief Financial Officer at RISD since 2018, where he has been valuable contributor at the monthly AICU Rhode Island Chief Financial Officers Committee meetings.
Before arriving at RISD, Dave served six years as Vice President of Finance and Administration, Treasurer, and special advisor to the President for revenue at Franklin & Marshall College. Prior to this, he spent 14 years at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), where he led the implementation of a complete restructuring of the University’s budget process. Dave is a native of Bedford, New Hampshire, and earned both his Bachelor’s in Business Administration and MBA from UNH. He has also completed the Management Development Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Sodexo Renews its Community Partnership with AICU Rhode Island
AICU Rhode Island is pleased to announce that Sodexo has renewed its community partnership for a third year. Sodexo is the current food services and facilities management vender for several members, including Bryant University, Providence College, and Salve Regina University. They have also supported several AICU Rhode Island events throughout the three-year partnership.
Sodexo is a global food services and facilities management provider, with operations in 64 countries and serving more than 100 million customers daily. The company works to ensure access to nutritious meals, creates health and productive environments, and contributes to the economic, social, and environment development of the communities in which they operate. For more information about Sodexo, please click here.
Barton Gilman Renews Its Community Partnership with AICU Rhode Island
AICU Rhode Island is pleased to announce that Barton Gilman has renewed its community partnership for a third year. Barton Gilman has worked with AICU Rhode Island’s Teacher Education and Leader group and assisted with regulatory review and interactions with the Department of Education on behalf of the membership. They have also provided AICU Rhode Island with a preliminary review of national accreditation opportunities for teacher education programs during this partnership.
Barton Gilman is a leading civil litigation law firm with offices in Boston, Providence, and New York. Their experienced attorneys represent a variety of clients in a wide range of matters, and their trial attorneys appear regularly in the federal and state courts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, as well as before various administrative agencies. Barton Gilman and its attorneys have received numerous awards and accolades, including Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, Best Places to Work in Rhode Island, Outstanding Philanthropic Business, and Super Lawyers, to name a few. To learn more about Barton Gilman, click here.
AICU Rhode Island Welcomes AdvocacyHub as our Newest Community Partner
AdvocacyHub is a Rhode Island legislative tracking software. Among many features, users can access two decades of bills, browse through state law, and look up detailed information on legislators. The software also allows users to track bills currently under consideration, and prepare detailed, customized reports on bills that matter to them. To learn more about AdvocacyHub, please click here.
March 2021
William A. Farrell & Associates (WAF) Renews its Community Partnership with AICU Rhode Island
William A. Farrell & Associates (WAF) is a government relations firm that has, over the years, developed a level of trust and acquired the credibility to make it one of Rhode Island’s premiere government relations consulting firms. For over thirty years, Mr. Farrell has represented individual companies, industry trade associations and non-profit entities on state and municipal issues, along with other public issues involving the Rhode Island community. His list of clients represents the leaders within the financial service and insurance industries; regional hospital systems and individual health care providers; nation Fortune 500 companies in the telecommunication, manufacturing, servicing, and technology sectors; and the gaming industry. To learn more about WAF, click here
February 2021
AICU Rhode Island Welcomes Christie Campus Health (CCH) as our Newest Community Partner
Christie Campus Health (CCH) is dedicated to improving the behavioral health and wellbeing of college students by helping colleges and universities expand the way they reach and support students in need.
Their Connect@College Platform is a comprehensive approach to meeting the mental and behavioral health needs of students, offering a range of services including an education portal, 24/7 support line, and both virtual and in-person counseling designed to wrap around existing on-campus counseling centers. To learn more about Christie Campus Health, please click here.
January 2021
Panone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara (PLDO) Renews its Community Partnership with AICU Rhode Island
Panon Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara (PLDO) is a leading full service law firm that is committed to bringing entrepreneurial business principles to the practice of law. Their firm’s success is rooted in its innovative, cutting edge approach to modern legal representation by a team of talented attorneys that provides superior legal services for individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that has resulted in long-lasting relationships with their clients.
The firm has offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Florida. For more information on PLDO, please click here.
January 2021
AICU Rhode Island Welcomes LinenDrops as a New Community Partner
LinenDrops is a Rhode Island-based, women-owned business providing linen rentals to a variety of customers, including colleges and universities. All linens are high quality, professionally laundered, packaged in per-person sets, and delivered in wheeled linen carts for ease of distribution and storage.
With many colleges and universities looking to quickly increase their housing capacity to create more COVID-19 isolation and quarantine space, linen rentals will play an essential role. Post COVID-19, linen rentals will continue to serve an important role during the busy summer conference and event season.
If you are interested in learning more about LinenDrops, please visit their website here.
January 2021
In Memoriam
AICU Rhode Island mourns the loss of Roger Mandle, former President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). During his tenure as RISD President from 1993-2008, Mandle worked tirelessly to transform RISD into the world-renowned art school that it is today. As a former AICU Rhode Island board member, Roger served as the AICU Rhode Island Chair from 1999 to 2003.
AICU Rhode Island remembers the life of Roger Mandle as one of dedication to the arts and to the larger Rhode Island Community as RISD President. The AICU Rhode Island board extends its deepest sympathies to his wife, Gayle; and two children, Luke and Lorna.
December 2020
AICU Rhode Island President Dan Egan to Lead New England Council’s Higher Education Committee
Dan Egan has been appointed to serve as the co-chair of the New England Council’s Higher Education Committee. He will serve alongside fellow co-chair Dr. Paula Rooney, President of Dean College.
The New England Council’s Higher Education Committee encompasses a broad spectrum of higher education advocates in the region. From large private universities to small community colleges, and from region-wide policy boards to career development centers serving individual cities, The New England Council brings together members from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
AICU Rhode Island looks forward to continued partnership with the New England Council in the years to come.
November 2020
Welcome Fr. Sicard!
The AICU Rhode Island board and staff congratulate Rev. Kenneth Sicard, O.P. on his selection as the next President of Providence College! The board looks forward to his much-anticipated contributions to the Association’s efforts.
Father Sicard currently serves as Executive Vice President and Treasurer of Providence College and will succeed Rev. Brian Shanley as the college’s thirteenth president when his term begins on July 1, 2020. He also served as interim President when Rev. Shanley took a six-month sabbatical in 2018. Rev. Sicard is a 1978 graduate of Providence College, then earning a masters in business administration from the college in 1982. Rev. Sicard was co-chair to all three recent strategic planning commissions at Providence, and his vision is welcomed in the changing world of higher education.
July 2020
Welcome Dr. Gittell!
The AICU Rhode Island board and staff congratulate Dr. Ross Gittell on his selection as the next President of Bryant University! The board looks forward to his much-anticipated contributions to the Association’s efforts.
Dr. Gittell has served as the Chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) since 2012 and will succeed Ronald Machtley as the Bryant’s ninth president when his term begins on July 1, 2020.Dr. Gittell is highly regarded in economic and policy circles for his economic analysis and forecasting. With an extensive background in university teaching, strategic planning, and management, Gittell’s focus has been on applying economic, organizational, and management theory to regional, state, and community economic development issues.
June 2020
AICU Rhode Island reminds you to mask up and stay safe!
October 2020
Welcome and congratulations to Luke Thompson!
The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island (AICU Rhode Island) warmly welcomes Luke Thompson as the new Communications, Policy, and Member Relations Assistant. He previously served as AICU Rhode Island’s inaugural Communications and Policy Summer Fellow. The membership looks forward to his continued contributions to the Association’s efforts.
Prior to working at AICU Rhode Island, Luke received a Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2017, serving as a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan upon graduation. Born and raised in Rhode Island and a graduate of two independent institutions of higher education, Luke is passionate about the role our sector plays in his home state and looks forward to the work ahead.
September 2020
About
The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island (AICU Rhode Island) is an alliance representing the eight independent institutions of higher learning within the State of Rhode Island. Designed to address common interests and concerns of independent colleges and universities within the state, the Association serves as the collective and unified voice of its member institutions.
AICU Rhode Island represents its membership on the national level through the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and is one of 38 state associations nationwide working to strengthen and address the needs of independent higher education through advocacy and public policy.
