August 27, 2021
Providence College welcomes Class of 2025 as new academic year begins
Providence College welcomed the Class of 2025 on Thursday, Aug. 26, for several days of orientation before the new academic year begins. The class is 1,049 members strong, with students from 27 states, Puerto Rico, and eight countries: Canada, Ecuador, Ireland, Monaco, New Zealand, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
There are 555 women and 494 men, the most even split in many years. There are 192 students with a parent who graduated from PC and 120 students whose parents never attended college. “Undeclared” remains the most popular major, followed by finance, biology, marketing, management, and psychology.
Volunteers from student organizations assisted with the move into the first-year residence halls — Meagher, McDermott, St. Joseph, McVinney, Guzman, and Raymond. Students and families were welcomed with refreshments provided by the Office of Alumni Relations. They enjoyed a free lunch at the newly renovated Raymond Dining Hall.
The Welcome Mass for New Families took place at 3 p.m. in the Peterson Recreation Center and was celebrated by College President Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78, ’82G.
Sophomores, juniors, and seniors moved to campus residence halls on Sunday, Aug. 29, in time for the start of classes on Monday, Aug. 30.
COVID-19 protocols in place
All students, faculty, and staff were required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or request an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Exemptions were granted to about 100 students, about 3 percent of the total. Unvaccinated students will undergo testing at the college twice a week.
As a precaution, even for those who are vaccinated, masks are to be worn inside college buildings but not required outdoors.
New faculty welcomed at convocation
New full-time faculty members were welcomed at Academic Convocation on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 3 p.m. in Peterson Recreation Center. There are 10 new tenure-track professors:
- Alioune Fall, assistant professor of French, Ph.D., The Ohio State University
- Mona Jabbari, assistant professor of finance, Ph.D., Bu-Ali Sina University, Iran
- Smaranda Lawrie, assistant professor of psychology, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
- Rahsaan Mahadeo, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, and assistant professor of Black studies, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
- Rebecca Moorman, assistant professor of classics, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Nea North, assistant professor of marketing, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
- Rev. Augustine Reisenauer, O.P., assistant professor of theology, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
- Aishah Scott, assistant professor of health policy and management, and assistant professor of Black studies, Ph.D., Stony Brook University
- Rev. Bruno Shah, O.P., assistant professor of theology, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
- Eva Wheeler, associate professor of foreign language studies, and associate professor of Black studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
The keynote speaker was Dr. Robin Greene, associate professor of history and recipient of the 2020-21 Joseph R. Accinno Faculty Teaching Award, the college’s highest teaching honor. A member of the faculty since 2012, Greene teaches Development of Western Civilization courses on ancient history, literature, and mythology, and all levels of Latin and Greek. She holds a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Washington.
Greene discussed how ancient Romans would be confused by our phrase, “the new normal.” Normal derived from the Latin word norma, a carpenter’s square used to ensure a 90-degree angle, so there could be only one “normal.”
“Especially in your two years of Development of Western Civilization, you’re going to be confronted again and again with the ‘new normals’ of the past, from natural disasters like the Black Death, to violent political revolutions, to the even more world-changing revolutions in how we understand our own humanity that came with such figures as Socrates, Jesus Christ, then Muhammed, and a host of contemporary civil rights leaders headlined by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr.,” Greene said.
“Often … the societies and ideologies represented in our texts feel impossibly remote. But despite this, whatever your background, whatever your personal normal, these texts or the cultures and ideas they represent have affected you in some way even if you don’t identify with or subscribe to their perspectives. In one way or another, they have contributed to the assumptions and expectations that you were raised to have or that others have which affect you.”
Following convocation, the campus community was invited to a reception on the Slavin Center lawn.
Urban Action, FaithWorks, Transitions start the year early
Some students in the Class of 2025 began the school year early with pre-orientation programs — although that early start was postponed until Tuesday due to Tropical Storm Henri.
The 45 new students in the 30th class of Urban Action went to the Robert F. Kennedy School in Providence to help teachers prepare their classrooms for the start of the school year. The group coordinates service projects with first-year service as well as during the year.
Faith Works is a service immersion program of Campus Ministry that allows students to learn about the city from the perspective of Catholic social service agencies. This year, 58 students and 14 student leaders participated in service projects such as locations such as My Brother’s Keeper, McAuley House, St. Edward Food Center, and St. Patrick Academy.
Forty students took advantage of Transitions, an opportunity for multicultural and first-generation students of color to preview campus, network with faculty and staff, and meet new friends. Activities in this year’s condensed program included a Writing for Empowerment workshop with the PC Writing Center, an alumni panel, meetings with the Office of Public Safety and the Dean of Students’ office, and social activities.
Pre-orientation social media takeovers
Celebrating 50 years of Orientation
This weekend, we’re welcoming ~1,100 new first-year and transfer students to Providence College — while also celebrating 50 years of new beginnings for undergraduates on campus. Video by Estarlyn Hiraldo ‘21, with support from Emily Gonzalez, PC Archives, alumni, and current students.
Alumni Advice 2021
Alumni shared advice for incoming first-year students at the National Alumni Association’s Forever a Friar event during Orientation.
