| R 286 |
| 2023 -- S 0971 Enacted 05/04/2023 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| PROCLAIMING MAY 4TH OF 2023, TO BE "COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND DAY" |
Introduced By: Senators Cano, Gallo, Burke, Raptakis, Tikoian, F. Lombardi, Felag, DiMario, Sosnowski, and Britto |
| Date Introduced: May 04, 2023 |
| WHEREAS The United States' Community Colleges, often called Junior Colleges, are |
| usually two-year programs that prepare students to either enter the workforce or continue their |
| education at a four-year college or university; and |
| WHEREAS, The Community College Of Rhode Island (CCRI) was founded in 1964 as |
| the Rhode Island Junior College. Its first class consisted of 325 students who attended the Henry |
| Barnard School in Providence. In 1965, a section of the old Brown & Sharpe building was used |
| for classroom space and as the primary facility until 1972; and |
| WHEREAS, In 1972, the Knight Campus in Warwick, donated by the Knight Estate, |
| became CCRI's flagship campus and first permanent building. In the ensuing years, new |
| campuses were opened in Lincoln, Providence, Newport, and Westerly; and |
| WHEREAS, CCRI is the largest Community College in New England, serving more than |
| 40,000 Rhode Islanders each year and has more than 80,000 alumni. Thanks to the outstanding |
| leadership provided by President, Dr. Meghan Hughes, and Dr. Rosemary Costigan, Vice |
| President of Academic Affairs, CCRI had its highest graduation rates in more than twenty years, |
| outpacing national junior college two- and three-year graduation rates. CCRI is also working |
| fervently and tirelessly to close the equity performance gap. In recognition of this success, in |
| 2019, CCRI was named the two-year college of the year by Education Dive magazine; and |
| WHEREAS, President Hughes advocated tirelessly in support of a free tuition program at |
| CCRI, and this program has become a model for other initiatives across the nation. In merely |
| three years, the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program has resulted in a 15 percent increase |
| in the college student rate in Rhode Island with an attendant 146 percent increase in students of |
| color and a 71 percent increase in the enrollment of low-income students; and |
| WHEREAS, Thanks to President Hughes's leadership, CCRI recently attained its first- |
| ever million-dollar donation to create Program Plus and CCRI also attained a 1.7 million-dollar |
| federal Title III grant to support its "Promoting Pathways to Progress" program to improve degree |
| completion; and |
| WHEREAS, In her duties as the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Rosemary |
| Costigan is the Chief Academic Officer of CCRI and is responsible for advancing the institution's |
| educational initiatives and goals, and for providing leadership, support and vision regarding |
| faculty development, educational policy, program review and institutional planning. To further |
| CCRI's mission, Dr. Costigan works closely with and has forged close relationships with |
| administrators, academic deans, members of the faculty and all CCRI stakeholders to ensure that |
| it offers the best possible education and community support to all of its students; now, therefore |
| be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby proclaims May 4th of |
| 2023, to be "Community College of Rhode Island Day" in the State of Rhode Island; and be it |
| further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Dr. Meghan Hughes, President, Community |
| College of Rhode Island and Dr. Rosemary Costigan. |
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