Community College of Rhode Island

Honored: Four employees of the college have been recognized for their commitment to the school and for their willingness to help students, faculty and staff beyond the requirements of their position.

Deborah Carr, assistant business management officer, was honored in the office services category. Her nominators called her the “go to” person for countless physical plant and security issues and said she has been known to walk students to enrollment services or financial aid to make sure their problems are resolved. Carr, of Coventry, has worked for the college for 10 years.

Christine Farrell, an accountant in the controller’s office, was honored in the professional staff category for her willingness to help with whatever task is needed, accommodating late requests even when she has other checks to process that day and taking on extra work during her co-workers’ vacations or sick days. She has worked for many years on the Dollars for Scholars Committee to benefit students and recently organized a potluck luncheon to raise money for a staff member who was in a rehabilitation facility after she was seriously injured at another job. Farrell, a resident of East Greenwich, has worked at CCRI for 37 years.

Thomas Kurowski, a college police officer at the Newport County campus, was honored in the building maintenance/security category and was called “Officer Friendly” for “leaving every campus visitor feeling good about the college,” escorting students and visitors to their destinations and helping with heavy bundles. Kurowski, a Warwick resident, has worked at the college for seven years.

Carol Ferrer, a technical staff assistant for the clinical laboratory technology program, was honored in the technical services category. Beyond preparing materials and the labs for student sessions, she has established contacts with facilities throughout the state to procure specimens for student use. She has picked up the materials and prepared them for students. She also was instrumental in helping prepare for an accreditation site visit that resulted in a full accreditation for the program for the maximum seven years. Ferrer is a resident of Cranston and has worked at the college for 27 years.

The employee-recognition program was established in 1989. A committee of six members representing the college’s four campuses reviewed nominations and chose the winners, who were honored at a recent awards luncheon. Their names will be added to a plaque in the human resources office on the Knight campus in Warwick.

Johnson & Wales University

College of Business faculty awards outstanding service award: Colleen Less, assistant professor —professional development award; Kristen Regine, associate professor — unsung hero award; Christine Ure, assistant professor — academic leadership award; Beth Cannata, assistant professor — publishing award; Ken Schneyer, professor — Rena G. Troiano adjunct teacher award; Blair Barbieri, adjunct faculty — outstanding first year teacher award; Paul Zwolenski, assistant professor — special recognition award; Pat Fisher, associate professor — Cecilia M. Ranallo teacher of the year award; Tim Howes, assistant professor.

The Hospitality College faculty awards: Kathleen Drohan, assistant professor, The Center for Sports, Entertainment and Event Management, received the Dr. Leah Powers McGarr teacher of the year award.

School of Arts & Sciences faculty awards: Matthew McConeghy, professor; Wendy Wagner, associate professor; Judy Turchetta, associate professor; Mari Dias, assistant professor; Saiyeda Khatun, associate professor; Evelina Lapierre, associate professor; Mari Dias, assistant professor; Geraldine Wagner, associate professor; Michael Fein, assistant professor; John Coupe; Terry Novak, professor; Joseph Delaney, professor; and Gretchen Guertin, associate professor.

Students remember Virginia Tech: Last year, the JWU president’s Leadership Council, a group of students with outstanding leadership skills and academic standing, started selling rubber bracelets to honor the 32 members of the Virginia Tech community who were killed last year. The fundraiser culminated this month, with a donation of $515 to the Hokie Scholarship Fund.

School of Education teacher of the year: Stacey Kite, professor.

Graduate School teacher of the year: Joanne Crossman, professor.

New England Institute of Technology

Scholarships: Christopher Bannister, chairman of the automotive technology department, has announced that scholarships are available from Valvoline to help students who want an automotive technical career. Known as the Valvoline Automotive Technical Scholarship, the program will award five $1,000 scholarships and a $10,000 grand prize scholarship.

The program is offered to students between ages 16 and 25 who are planning to attend an accredited technical institution such as New England Institute of Technology. Students can register for the scholarship at www.valvoline.com/pages/prizezone.

Scholarship entries will be accepted until Dec. 1. Drawings will be conducted monthly from July 15 through Nov. 15. The $10,000 winner will be selected in December.The scholarships are not related to financial need and will be provided to the school.

Providence College

Speaker: Motivational speaker John F. Robitaille ’70, senior adviser for communications to Governor Carcieri and a member of the President’s Council, was the featured speaker during the Tau Pi Phi National Business Administration Honor Society induction ceremony held recently on campus.

Robitaille, who before joining the governor’s staff, was president and chief executive officer of Perspective Communications Group Inc., of Middletown, told Providence College undergraduate inductees that knowledge and action are the keys to empowerment and success in the business world. He gave the students examples of nine qualities successful business people must have: belief in self; a 360-degree perspective; creativity; the willingness to manage change; good health physically, emotionally and spiritually; and the ability to take action, to manage fears, to learn from failure and to communicate effectively.

Thirty-nine members of the Class of 2008 were inducted into the Omicron Chapter of Tau Pi Phi. The students represented the fields of accountancy, finance, management and marketing. The induction ceremony was the first since the college established the School of Business in July last year.

Founded in 1931, Tau Pi Phi recognizes the academic achievements of students in several business-related disciplines. Members of the Omicron Chapter must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50 in their major and an overall GPA of 3.50 or higher. PC’s chapter is one of 15 college chapters nationally.

Rhode Island School of Design

Appointment: Jessie Shefrin, dean of graduate studies at the school since 2005, will become the provost on July 1.

The provost oversees all aspects of academics at RISD. Shefrin will work closely with President-elect John Maeda. Maeda will assume the RISD presidency on June 1.

The appointment follows Provost Jay Coogan’s announcement that he will take a sabbatical beginning on July 1. Coogan has served in several key roles at RISD, starting in 1982 as a professor in the sculpture department, as head of sculpture, in Rome as chief critic of the European honors program and for the past 14 years, in a series of leadership positions — dean of fine arts (1994-2002), associate provost for academic affairs (2002-05) and interim provost (2005-06).

University of Rhode Island

Summer Writing Conference: The university will offer its second Ocean State Summer Writing Conference. Enrollment is limited. The conference, sponsored by URI’s English department, will be held Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21. Pre-conference writing workshops will run Thursday afternoon, June 19, and Friday morning, June 20.

The featured speaker will be URI 1978 alumna Ann Hood, whose memoir Comfort was released this month and who is the author of more than 10 books, will open the conference. Poets Denise Duhamel and Nick Carbó will give a keynote address on “Poetic Inspiration” the next day.

The conference offers panel discussions featuring three or more professional writers who will give short presentations. The panelists will open the discussion to participants’ questions. Craft presenters will lead sessions about a particular aspect or approach to writing fiction, nonfiction and poetry, giving participants the opportunity to read, write and respond. Participants will be able to retreat to a special workout room this year to write or receive one-on-one feedback. Readings and book signings are also offered.

To ensure a wide choice of sessions, participants are advised to register now. For a schedule of events and online registration, go to www.uri.edu/artsci/eng/SummerWriting/08/index.html.

Hall renamed: : The university’s Independence Hall was renamed in honor of M. Beverly Swan during dedication ceremonies May 14. Swan stepped down as URI’s provost and vice president for academic affairs after serving 17 years in that post. She will return to the faculty as the Justin Smith Morrill distinguished university professor.

Her nearly four-decade association with the university began as a student. When Independence Hall opened, she took many of her classes in the building. Later, as a member of the English Department faculty, she maintained her office and taught most of her courses in writing and linguistics there. Before being named provost, Swan served as assistant vice president for academic affairs for nine years. During her years at URI, she has been an important donor to her alma mater, creating several scholarships herself and supporting many others.

mjones@projo.com