History, Academics, and Campus Life
The university’s operations date to 1919, when Northeastern University opened a branch campus in the YMCA building in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1940, the YMCA Board of Directors took over the school and the YMCA Institute granted its first associate’s degrees in 1948. In 1956, the Institute received a state charter to become a two-year, degree-granting institution under the name of Roger Williams Junior College. During the 1960s, Roger Williams College began granting bachelor’s degrees. Needing a larger campus, the college purchased 80 acres (32 ha) of waterfront land and moved its main campus to Bristol in 1969. (RWU continues to operate a branch campus in Providence.) In 1989 new president Dr. Natale A. Sicuro initiated the Roger Williams Plan for the 90s, and became concurrently the president of the newly established Roger Williams School of Law and, in 1992, led the name change of Roger Williams College to Roger Williams University. RWU celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006.
The university enrolls approximately 3,800 undergraduate and 850 graduate students in 42 liberal arts majors and five professional schools. It is one of the few colleges in the United States to offer an undergraduate degree directly in Marine Biology, has a well-regarded school of architecture, and has the only law school in Rhode Island. Approximately 85% of students live on campus. The university is one of the few institutions offering online study in Digital Forensics and also has a program in Computer Networking and Security.
On Friday, July 2, 2010, Dr. Roy Nirschel resigned from his post as president of the university. The university announced on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 that Donald J. Farish will become its tenth president.
The university has a weekly campus newspaper, The Hawks' Herald, which publishes approximately 20 issues per academic year, and an FM radio station, WQRI 88.3. The radio station plays everything from college alternative to hip hop. The college's 20 varsity athletic teams play at the Division III level as members of the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
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Clock tower of University Library
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School of Engineering
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University Library
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Gabelli School of Business
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)