Class of 2029 arrives on campus as new academic year begins
By Vicki-Ann Downing ’21G
The 1,188 students in the Class of 2029 arrived on campus on Thursday, August 28, 2025, to begin the 2025-2026 academic year.
Students come from 34 states, the District of Columbia, and 14 countries — Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. There are 677 women and 511 men. Ten percent — 126 students — are first-generation college students. Sixteen percent are students of color.
There are 106 students in the Honors Program and 100 student-athletes. Sixteen percent of students have not selected a major. Among those who have, the most popular are finance, marketing, management, nursing, health sciences, biology, psychology, and political science.
Twelve additional students will join the Class of 2029 on campus in January 2026 after choosing an international start to their education through the college’s new partnership with Verto Education. The 12 students will take a full course of study with students from Verto’s 70 other partner institutions at locations in London, Seville, and Florence.
The college also welcomed 85 transfer students, the largest number in recent history.
Volunteers from student organizations assisted with the move into the first-year residence halls — Aquinas, Meagher, McDermott, McVinney, and Raymond. Families were welcomed with refreshments provided by the Office of Alumni Relations. Complimentary breakfast and lunch were provided in Raymond Dining Hall.
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 and priests from the Dominican community.
Rev. Thomas More Garrett, O.P., executive vice president for mission and chief operating officer, was the homilist. He told students that their lives can be likened to a jigsaw puzzle, partially complete with fragments assembled over time. As they continue their studies, an ever clearer image of the final picture will begin to emerge, and they will begin to see that they are not alone.
At PC, Father Garrett said, they may meet their future spouses. They will meet classmates who will become their closest friends. They will encounter some who will be the occasion for less happy circumstances; those who will disappoint them, or even break their hearts.
“But through it all, you will always be a Friar — a Friar for life,” Father Garrett said.
Students were invited to receive a graduation tassel, a symbol of the belief the college has that they will complete their education, and a prayer book, a gift from the Dominican friars.
Sophomores, juniors, and seniors returned to campus on Monday, September 1, in time for the start of classes on Tuesday, September 2.
Watch the Mass of Welcome
Academic Convocation
The Class of 2029, transfer students, and new full-time faculty members were formally welcomed during Academic Convocation on Friday, August 29, at 3 p.m. in Peterson Recreation Center.
They were greeted by Thomas W. Smith, Ph.D., the college’s new provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. Smith said the Class of 2029 will always be special to him because students began at PC at the same time he did. He reminded students that faculty members, Dominican friars, Student Affairs partners, athletics staff, and support teams across campus are there to guide and support them.
College President Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78, ’82G reminded students that while they were being celebrated as the class, the college cares about them as individuals.
“We want you to succeed here and use PC as a springboard to great things,” Father Sicard said. “Remember: We are not only preparing you to get a good job, but to live a good life.”
The keynote speaker was Anna Bonta Moreland, Ph.D., the Anne Quinn Welsh Endowed Chair and director of the University Honors Program at Villanova University. Moreland and Smith are co-wrote The Young Adult Playbook, published in 2024, which reflects decades of listening to the challenges undergraduates face. In her address, she used a book, two pictures, and a movie to explain education as an art of seeing and as a way of paying attention.
Moreland told the students about Mark Twain’s experience as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. In focusing completely on his tasks, Twain found that he no longer saw the beauty that had once enraptured him. All the grace, beauty, and poetry was drained from the river; the only value that remained was how useful the river was in helping him learn to pilot.
“So think of your college education as a way of learning to pilot a steamboat across the Mississippi,” Moreland said. “I don’t want the same thing to happen to you that happened to Mark Twain. In a rush to get credentialed, to earn your degree, to find a job, I don’t want you lose your love for the river, to lose your love of learning. I hope instead that PC will train you to see the river clearly, to pay attention to it, and to admire its beauty.”
Gizem Zencirci, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program, and recipient of the Joseph R. Accinno Faculty Teaching Award, the college’s highest teaching honor, also addressed the students.
Zencirci spoke about the value of being uncomfortable. Part of a professor’s job is to make students uncomfortable; to give them the skills to learn, grow, and develop while not seeking easy answers or closure on questions that require additional thought, she said.
“We hope to instill in students the self understanding that they can learn even when the material is challenging or the conversations are uncomfortable,” Zencirci said. “We do not grow as human beings unless we figure out how to learn from, and sit with, situations, encounters, and dialogues that are making us uncomfortable.”
Jack T. Brodin ’26, from Boston, is president of Student Congress and a double major in finance and quantitative economics. His sister, Kate Brodin ’29, was among the new students.
“Over the course of the shortest four years of your life, little habits add up — like that awkward conversation you have with the neighbors on your floor that leads you to meeting your best friends, or going to a table at a club fair that just so happens to help you find your passion,” Brodin said. “Showing up, giving effort, and treating others like the version of yourself you want to be, has never once let me down. The magic of this place is real, and it’s an honor to welcome you into it.”
Providence College Symphonic Winds performed The National Anthem and Providence College Alma Mater. Maya Rezendes ’28, from Amston, Connecticut, was the vocalist.
Watch Academic Convocation
Twenty-two professors join faculty
Twenty-two full-time, tenure-track and instructional professors joined the faculty for the new academic year. They were welcomed at Academic Convocation, along with full-time visiting and adjunct professors, and again at the Fall Faculty Dinner on Tuesday, September 2.
New faculty are:
- Marwan Abdelatti, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics and computer science
- Tabitha N. Addy, Ph.D., assistant professor of health sciences
- Thomas M. Bolin, Ph.D., theology scholar in residence
- Allanah S. Caisey, Ph.D., assistant professor of Black studies
- Justin Caouette, Ph.D., assistant instructional professor of philosophy
- Yae In Cho, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry
- Meredith Dove, Ph.D., assistant instructional professor of psychology
- David Gahan, MSF, assistant professor of practice in finance
- Maria R. Gonzalez Ramirez, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance
- Richard G. Greenleaf, Ph.D., assistant instructional professor of sociology
- Danny F. Hill, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance
- Khara A. James, Ph.D., assistant professor of health sciences
- Dahianna Lopez, Ph.D., assistant professor of nursing
- Sarah McHale, Ph.D., assistant professor of engineering and physics
- Elsa Novoa-Ortega, Ph.D., assistant instructional professor of chemistry
- Paulo Padrao, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics and computer science
- Elizabeth G. Palazzolo, Ph.D., assistant professor of history and classics
- Emily Pollina, Ph.D., assistant instructional professor of biology
- Kritika Sen Chakraborty, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics
- Allison Sonia, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology
- Daniel Tobiansky, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology
- Rev. Albert Trudel, O.P., assistant instructional professor of English
Celia Cussen, Ph.D., is the Rev. Robert J. Randall Distinguished Professor in Christian Culture for the 2025-2026 academic year. She teaches history at the University of Chile in Santiago and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Black Saint of the Americas: The Life and Afterlife of St. Martin de Porres.
Starting early with service
More than 200 students in the Class of 2029 chose to begin the year early by joining pre-orientation programs.
Urban Action, a tradition since 1991, drew 83 first-year students for three days of service in and around Providence under the direction of 23 leaders and three coordinators.
FaithWorks, a program that introduces students to service in the Diocese of Providence, drew 53 first-year students and 22 student leaders for faith, service, and fellowship.
Transitions is a program for students of color and first-generation students. Forty first-year students, led by 10 older students in the role of dream coaches, learned about the college and the community through tours, community service, and networking.
Two additional pre-orientation programs were offered for the first time this year.
Rec Connect introduced 25 students to campus life through instruction in group fitness, wellness, recreational sports, and outdoor adventure. Team-building exercises fostered friendships, built confidence, and offered community outreach opportunities. FRAME introduced 25 students to the arts on campus and in the city of Providence.
Welcome the Class of 2029 by making a gift through The Fund for Providence College. Your generosity today helps students thrive academically, spiritually, and personally, while deepening their sense of belonging in the Friar family.
