This month’s featured university

Providence College

Providence College was first established in 1917 through a joint effort of the Diocese of Providence and the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph, with the blessing of Pope Benedict XV and the consent of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island.

The driving force behind the development and formation of the School was the late Rt. Rev. Matthew Harkins, D. D., Bishop of Providence, whose dream it was to create a center of advanced learning foremost for the Catholic youth of Rhode Island. However, the College’s charter demonstrates that the founders intended that Providence college should serve members of all religious faiths as it reads: “no person shall be refused admission . . . nor shall any person be denied any of the privileges, honors, or degrees in said college on account of the religious opinion he may entertain.”

Bishop Harkins’ negotiations with the Dominicans of the Province of St. Joseph and his gifts of approximately Seventeen acres of land and $10,000 in scholarship funds helped make the College a reality. With donations coming primarily from Catholics of modest means, and a pledge from the Province of St. Joseph to provide Dominican teachers and administrators the institution broke ground for the imposing Harkins Hall in 1917. 2 years later, in Sept. 1919, it opened its doors to Seventy-one students and 9 Dominican faculty members.

Varsity athletics 1st became a part of the Providence College campus in 1929. Since that time, Providence College has been known for its successful Friar sports teams.

* Today, more than Three hundred student athletes participate in intercollegiate athletics at the College.
* All men’s and women’s varsity athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division one level.
* 15 of Providence’s Nineteen teams compete in the highly competitive BIG EAST Conference, including the men’s and women’s basketball squads.
* The men’s and women’s hockey teams are members of HOCKEY EAST Association.
* The men’s lacrosse squad competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

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