August 24, 2023
Class of 2027, with first nursing and health sciences students, arrives at Providence College
The Class of 2027 made history with its arrival at Providence College on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Its 1,200 members — the largest class in college history — include the first students who will study nursing and health sciences. Land has been cleared for the new Ben Mondor Center for Nursing and Health Sciences and construction is about to begin.
Students come from 30 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 13 countries — Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Ecuador, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the Bahamas.
There are 680 women and 527 men. Fifteen percent are first-generation college students, the highest percentage in six years. There are 119 students in the Honors Program and 109 student-athletes. Sixteen percent of the students have not decided on a major. Among those who have, the most popular are finance, marketing, biology, management, and psychology, along with nursing, with 59 students, and health sciences, with 52.
Volunteers from student organizations assisted with the move into the first-year residence halls — Aquinas, Meagher, McDermott, McVinney, and Raymond — all located on the Aquinas Hall quad. Students and families were welcomed with refreshments provided by the Office of Alumni Relations.
The Welcome Mass for New Families took place at 3 p.m. in Peterson Recreation Center and was celebrated by College President Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78, ’82G. College Chaplain Rev. Justin Bolger, O.P., welcomed the Class of 2027 and invited them each to receive a graduation tassel and a holy card of St. Dominic in prayer.
Following Mass, students assembled on Hendricken Field for a class portrait, then began several days of orientation programming.
Sophomores, juniors, and seniors moved back to campus on Sunday, August 27, in time for the start of classes on Monday, August 28.
Academic Convocation opens school year
The Class of 2027, transfer students, and new faculty were formally welcomed to Providence College during Academic Convocation on Wednesday, August 30. Andrew Delbanco, Ph.D., Alexander Hamilton Professor of American Studies at Columbia University and president of the Teagle Foundation, an organization that advocates for liberal arts education, told students they were fortunate to attend “one of the most distinctive and distinguished institutions in the United States” — a college committed to the liberal arts.
Even students who major in business and STEM disciplines will study the college’s core curriculum, Delbanco said. They will encounter ideas on which people, even their own professors, disagree, and through debate and reflection will determine the truth themselves, he said.
“There are certain questions, perennial questions, that science can’t answer,” Delbanco said.
“When the next pandemic arrives, we’ll need science again. But it will never tell us how to balance individual rights and public interest in the matter of vaccines or mask mandates, or whether the schools should close, or what we owe to the essential workers who risk their lives to save us.
“Science can’t bridge the gap between people who think abortion is the work of Satan and those who think that denying a woman the right to seek an abortion is a form of abuse. It won’t help us decide whether charter schools are a violation of the public trust or the salvation of a broken school system, or whether the Second Amendment guarantees the right to own a military grade firearm, or whether the rich should be taxed more or taxed less.”
Providence College is “a rehearsal space of democracy,” Delbanco said, a place in which “truth emerges from the combination and sometimes the clash of multiple perspectives.”
“It’s a place where students, and faculty for that matter, learn to speak with civility, listen with respect, and discover that you can walk into a classroom with one point of view and walk out with another point of view, or at least with productive doubt about what you once thought was certain,” he said.
Saaid Mendoza, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and recipient of the Joseph R. Accinno Faculty Teaching Award, the college’s highest honor for excellence in teaching, talked about the importance of allyship, mentioning Mikki Hebl, Ph.D., his professor at Rice University.
“To be honest, I didn’t quite understand why someone so important would invest time in me, but I knew I was grateful for her unwavering support,” Mendoza said. “Being an ally can sound like a trendy thing, something we believe is important for us to be, but are not always sure how,” he said, describing seemingly small practices of allyship that students can embrace to great effect.
Also recognized were Ian Levy, Ph.D., professor of theology and recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award; Elizabeth Bridgham, Ph.D., and Robert Stretter, Ph.D., both associate professors of English, who received awards for innovation in teaching; Paul Melley, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of theology, who received the Teaching Excellence Award for visiting/renewable contingent faculty; and Patrick Kelly, Ph.D., professor of accountancy, who received the Faculty Service Award.
College President Father Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P., ’78, ’82G and Sean Reid, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, welcomed students and new faculty. Bryan McGinn ’24 of Breezy Point, New York, president of Student Congress, brought greetings on behalf of the student body.
At the conclusion, Father Sicard blessed pins featuring the seal of Providence College for new students and faculty.
Music was by PC Symphonic Winds and the Liturgical Choir. Victoria LeBlanc ’24 of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, sang the national anthem and Lindsey Arruda ’24 of Somerset, Massachusetts, sang the Alma Mater. Rev. Simon Teller, O.P., assistant chaplain, gave the invocation and College Chaplain Rev. Justin Bolger, O.P., offered the benediction.
— Michael Hagan ’15, ’19G
Thirty-five new members join faculty
Due to the large incoming class and the addition of new majors, including neuroscience, 35 tenure-track and practitioner members have joined the faculty. They will be formally welcomed, along with full-time visiting professors, at Academic Convocation on Wednesday, August 30, at 3 p.m. in Peterson Recreation Center.
The professors include Margaret Watkins, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, who is the new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Nancy L. Meedzan, DNP, professor of nursing, who is chair of the Department of Nursing.
New faculty include:
- Jessica Blum-Sorensen, Ph.D., History and Classics
- Kathleen Cavender-McCoy, M.A., Theology
- Woohee Choi, Ph.D., Management
- Charlene Collibee, Ph.D., Psychology
- Steven J. Dannemiller, Ph.D., Accountancy
- Amy E. Delaney, MSN, Nursing
- J. Columcille Dever, Ph.D., Theology
- Molly C. Driessen ’12, Ph.D., Social Work
- Brett R. Ely, Ph.D., Health Sciences
- Matthew R. Ely, Ph.D., Health Sciences
- Abby C. Emerson, Ph.D., Elementary/Special Education
- Ellen C. Feiss, Ph.D., Art and Art History
- Andra Geana, Ph.D., Psychology
- Kristi E. Miller, Ph.D., Biology
- Rhiannon N. Miller, Ph.D., Sociology and Anthropology
- Robert C. Miner, Ph.D., Philosophy
- Margaret C. Morrissey, Ph.D., Health Sciences
- Gina M. Noia, Ph.D., Theology
- Elyse C. Oakley, Ph.D., Philosophy
- Christopher T. O’Brien, Ph.D., Psychology
- Scott P. Osborne, MFA, Theatre, Dance, and Film
- Anthony Pasero-O’Malley, Ph.D., World Languages and Cultures
- Carmine Perrotti ’11, Ph.D., Public and Community Service Studies
- Emily Pittinos, MFA, English
- Ryan J. Post ’14, Ph.D., Psychology
- Thomas Ptashnik, Ph.D., Management
- Rebecca Rabino, Ph.D., Marketing
- Charlotte Frost Glennie Roberts, M.A., Sociology and Anthropology
- Judd Schiffman, MFA, Art and Art History
- Francesca Silano, Ph.D., History
- Sandra S. Silva-Enos, Ph.D., Secondary Education
- Caitlan A. Tighe, Ph.D., Psychology
- Jillian D. Waugh ’04, M.S., Nursing
Rady Roldán-Figueroa, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Theology at Boston University, is the Rev. Robert J. Randall Chair in Christian Culture for 2023-2024.
Benny Bar-Levi, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, is the inaugural scholar-in-residence in Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations.
Starting the year with service
About 170 students in the Class of 2027 began the academic year early by joining pre-orientation programs and performing service in the community.
Urban Action, founded in 1991, is designed to help students understand urban issues while learning about Providence. The 71 students and 19 leaders volunteered at local sites for three days, including preparing for the start of classes at St. Augustine and the Robert F. Kennedy schools in Providence.
About 60 students of color and first-generation students participated in the Transitions program, led by mentors known as dream coaches. In addition to learning about the college and the community, Transitions participants joined those from Urban Action in a day of service at city parks on Wednesday, August 23.
There were 40 students and 14 leaders in the FaithWorks program, which introduces students to service opportunities in the Diocese of Providence and in nearby Massachusetts.
Embrace the future of Providence College by supporting the incoming Class of 2027. Your gift of any size to The Fund for Providence College nurtures their potential, fosters their ambitions, and welcomes them into the Friar community.
