April 20, 2016

Excitement builds for the centennial

Harkins Hall, 1921Celebration kicks off on Aug. 31

Providence College is treating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1917 as … well, a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

The year-plus observance of the centennial will be packed with presentations by celebrity figures, events that build on the College’s traditions and Catholic and Dominican heritage, and memorabilia that honors the institution’s rich history. To that end, the centennial reflects the theme used for the 75th anniversary: Values That Endure.

Centennial planning began five years ago and continues under a 24-member committee comprised of alumni, faculty, staff, and students.

“Everyone is so excited. The pace has really picked up the last year and a half. It’s a one-time thing for all of us,” said Rev. Kenneth Sicard, O.P. ’78 & ’82G, College executive vice president and treasurer. He chairs the committee with Ann Manchester-Molak ’75, assistant to the president and executive vice president in the Office of the President.

PrintFather Sicard said the celebration will underscore qualities for which PC is known, including academic excellence, a family-like culture, alumni success, the generosity of the College community, and a commitment to outstanding facilities.

The celebration also will serve to inform the post-centennial Strategic Plan and act as a springboard for the College’s next 100 years, said Father Sicard. With sustained vocations to the Dominican religious life, he expressed confidence that PC’s Dominican influence will be assured throughout the next century.

The centennial celebration will kick off this year on Wednesday, Aug. 31, with a full day of programs that coincide with Academic Convocation. There will be a centennial Mass, several academic presentations, and convocation itself — headlined by a keynote address by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times. Classes will be canceled that day, allowing students and faculty to attend all of the events.

The celebration will unfold steadily through June 2017. Multiple events are scheduled every month, with many festivities tied into traditional programs such as St. Dominic Weekend, the Theological Exchange between Catholics and Jews, Alumni & Family Weekend, and Commencement Weekend.

There are also several dedicated programs. Highlights include:

  • an address and master class with Msgr. Timothy Verdon, internationally acclaimed art historian and author;
  • a conference on Bartolomé de las Casas;
  • keynote addresses by author/biographer and political commentator Doris Kearns Goodwin and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York;
  • and a spring social for students.

The centennial will be prominent in other ways, too. There will be a historical walkway, banners and signage throughout campus, a coffee table book, an anniversary video, and more.

Father Sicard and Manchester-Molak emphasized the centennial should be enjoyed by all segments of the College community, friends of PC, the citizens of Providence, and the community at large.

“This is a great opportunity to galvanize and celebrate,” said Manchester-Molak. “We want to tell PC’s story in different ways. Everybody is a piece of this.”