Wikipedia

Community College of Rhode Island

The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a public community college in Rhode Island. It is the only community college in the state and the largest community college in New England. The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, with additional college buildings throughout the state.

Community College of Rhode Island
The front side of the Knight Campus in Warwick, designed in Brutalist style.
Former names
Rhode Island Junior College (1964–1980)
TypePublic community college
EstablishedSeptember 24, 1964; 60 years ago (1964-09-24)[1]
Academic affiliations
Space-grant
PresidentRosemary Costigan (interim)
Academic staff
300
Students16,007 (2022)[2]
Location
Warwick (Knight Campus), Lincoln (Flanagan Campus), Providence (Liston and Downcity Campuses), Newport (Newport County Campus), Westerly (Satellite Campus)
,
Rhode Island
,
United States
NewspaperThe Daily Squire
ColorsGreen and Yellow[3]
   
MascotCCRI Knight
Websitewww.ccri.edu

History

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It was founded as Rhode Island Junior College, "RIJC", in 1964 with 325 students studying at the Henry Barnard School in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1965, a portion of the nearby former Brown & Sharpe manufacturing facility was converted into classroom space and served as the college's primary facility until 1972. The Knight campus in Warwick, RI built on the donated Knight Estate, opened in 1972 as the school's first permanent building and flagship campus. It was followed by three additional campus and 2 satellite locations.

The Margaret M. Jacoby Observatory, located on the Knight Campus grounds, was opened in 1978. The school was renamed the Community College of Rhode Island in June 1980.

Presidents

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The following is a list of presidents of the Community College of Rhode Island.

President Life Tenure Summary
1. William F. Flanagan ?–1984 1964–1979 First president. Headed the construction of the first two campuses (Knight and Flanagan).[4]
2. Edward J. Liston 1931–2013[5] 1979–2000 Added another campus (Liston).[4]
3. Thomas D. Sepe c. 1942– 2000–2005 Record low graduation rates and terrible performance with minority students.[6]
4. Ray Di Pasquale 1950–2024[7] 2006–2016 Record highest enrollment numbers and earned accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) until 2024.[8]
5. Meghan Hughes 1966– 2016–2023[9] First female president. Led the school to its highest graduation rate in nearly two decades.[10]
- Rosemary Costigan (interim) c. 1958– 2023– First alumni president.[11]

Campuses

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Knight
 
Flanagan
 
Liston
 
Newport
 
Westerly
 
Woonsocket
class=notpageimage|
Location of Community College of Rhode Island campuses. Red dots represent satellite campuses.
 
Liston campus, in South Providence.

The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, with additional college buildings throughout the state.

  • Knight Campus (Warwick, opened in 1972)
  • Flanagan Campus (Lincoln, opened in 1976)
  • Liston Campus (Providence, opened in 1990)
  • Newport County Campus (Newport, opened in 2006)
  • Satellite Campus, Westerly Education Center (Westerly)
  • Satellite Campus, Woonsocket Education Center (Woonsocket)[12]

Architecture

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Knight campus by Perkins + Will

The college's flagship Knight building in Warwick was designed by the Chicago and New York architecture firm of Perkins & Will, in conjunction with Providence firms Harkness & Geddes and Robinson Green Beretta.[13] The campus was designed to house all academic, social, and recreational functions in a single building.[13] The building itself is an enormous concrete structure which terminates in a semicircle, and ranges in height from four to six stories.[13] The design is a notable example of Brutalist architecture, and was heavily influenced by the philosophy of Le Corbusier.[13] The building was hailed by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission as "one of the most striking and innovative contemporary structures in the state" when it opened in 1972.[13]

Over time, the Brutalist style generally lost its appeal and became seen as "drab," "hulking," and "bureaucratic," associated with large-scale mass-planning.[14] In 2019, the Knight campus building made local news after being named "eighth ugliest college campus in the United States" by a lifestyle blog.[15]

Academic profile

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The college offers the following degrees:

  • Associate in Arts (A.A.)
  • Associate in Science (A.S.)
  • Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)
  • Associate in Applied Science in Technical Studies (A.A.S.-T.S.)
  • Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.)

Several one-year certificates are also awarded.

Student life

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The school's student newspaper is The Unfiltered Lens, which began publication in 2007. It replaced the Knightly News, which had been active in the 1980s, but had become defunct several years prior to the Lens' founding.

Athletics

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The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Knights.

Notable alumni

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For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Community College of Rhode Island alumni.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jackson, Laralyn (September 24, 2024). "The Community College of Rhode Island celebrates 60 years". Providence Now. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Annual Unduplicated Headcount" (PDF). Community College of Rhode Island. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Community College of Rhode Island — Graphic Style Guide" (PDF). Community College of Rhode Island. Marketing and Communications Department. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Our History". Community College of Rhode Island. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  5. ^ Morgan, Thomas J. (August 1, 2013). "Former CCRI President Edward J. Liston dies at 82". The Providence Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Davis, Marion (December 3, 2005). "CCRI's Sepe replaced as supporters ponder future". Providence Business News. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Anderson, Patrick (April 6, 2024). "Former CCRI president and RI education commissioner Raymond Di Pasquale dies". The Providence Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Arditi, Lynn (May 20, 2015). "CCRI president to resign". The Providence Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Andrade, Kevin G. (March 17, 2023). "CCRI President Meghan Hughes announces plan to step down". Rhode Island Current. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  10. ^ "After serving 7 years, CCRI President Hughes to step down Aug. 31". Cranston Herald. March 23, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "Dr. Costigan begins tenure as CCRI's Interim President". Community College of Rhode Island. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  12. ^ "Governor McKee, Elected Officials Cut Ribbon on Woonsocket Education Center, Adding Workforce Training and Education Options for Northern Rhode Island". Office of the Governor, State of Rhode Island. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e "CCRI moves to the Knight Estate in Warwick". Warwick Digital History Project. Town of Warwick. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  14. ^ Hill, John (January 9, 2016). "Brutal Beauty: Post-war architects broke with pre-war past". The Providence Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  15. ^ "CCRI-Warwick Named 8th Ugliest College Campus in America". September 18, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "Rheal Cormier Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  17. ^ "Rebecca Haynes". WNBL. Archived from the original on September 30, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  18. ^ Jackson (October 29, 2022). "Rhode Island TikTok Star JVKE Has Viral Hit in 'Golden Hour'". FUN 107. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  19. ^ "Class of 1999". ccri.edu. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "Senator Cynthia Mendes". State of Rhode Island General Assembly. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Alex Owumi". njcaa.org. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Hadden, Douglas (May 2, 2006). "Former pro wrestler throws hat in ring for Pawtucket mayor". The Pawtucket Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
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41°52′05″N 71°23′13″W / 41.868087°N 71.386899°W / 41.868087; -71.386899

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