April 24, 2018
Faces of PC: Behind the scenes with a Friar soul mate
John C. “Charlie” Clancy spends so much time at Providence College, you’d think he was an undergraduate. He sure has the enthusiasm of one.
A building mechanic with Physical Plant since 2002, Clancy fell in love with PC and its Dominican community as a child and has remained close to both. His uncle, Rev. Charles B. Quirk, O.P. ’30, a longtime economics professor and department chair for whom the College’s Quirk Institute of Industrial Relations is named, often visited the Clancy home in Riverside, R.I., for dinner. His warmth and devotion to God made young Charlie, one of nine children, think fondly of the religious order.
“I just love the Dominicans. Their dedication to the educational mission here is special,” he said, adding that PC and the Dominicans are respected throughout the region.
Largely because of Father Quirk’s charisma and his excitement over PC’s nationally prominent basketball team, it wasn’t long before Clancy began cheering on the Friars in Alumni Hall. He became a season ticket-holder in 1972 and estimates he’s attended 90 percent of Friars’ home games.
When not attending athletics contests or making repairs in campus buildings, Clancy can be found working out in the Concannon Fitness Center or chatting with colleagues about the College’s progress and the need to provide support. He is in his third year as co-chair of the Faculty and Staff Giving Committee. With the help of his leadership, the committee has worked to raise more than $250,000 each of the last three fiscal years, and participation has increased from 34% to more than 50% of the faculty and staff on campus.
Clancy, who has three children, including John P. Clancy ’06 and Kelley P. Clancy ’12 & ’14G, is thrilled with the educational and physical improvements PC has made. He attributes its increasing national profile to Dominican leadership. He said the shift began under the late Rev. Philip A. Smith, O.P. ’63, president from 1994-2005, whose emphasis on the arts and infrastructure made the College more competitive.
The momentum has continued under current College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80 and Executive Vice President and Treasurer Rev. Kenneth Sicard, O.P. ’78 & ’82G, said Clancy, who worked in the pressroom and in maintenance at Providence Gravure for 27 years before joining PC. There’s a revised core curriculum, a School of Business, a building devoted to the humanities, and the Friars won NCAA championships in women’s cross country and men’s hockey and a BIG EAST title in men’s basketball in the last five years.
“This place is vibrant,” he exclaimed. “The kids want to be here. Everything is heading in the right direction. Dominicans do things the right way.”
