The Good 5 Cent Cigar

Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Bridgette Blight

03/27/08 - University of Rhode Island Vice Provost Lynn Pasquerella first discovered URI when she was working on her doctorate at Brown University. After spending eight weeks in Kingston for a German language immersion program, she knew she wanted to work at URI. Twenty-three years later, she is returning to work in her home state of Connecticut, where she will serve as provost for the University of Hartford.

Pasquerella decided that she was looking for more of a leadership position, so she started applying for jobs last summer.

"The University of Hartford seemed like a good fit and an exciting opportunity for me," she said.

Pasquerella met with administrators, faculty and students during the interview process at Hartford, but next week she begins to lay down her plans for changes at the university. She will officially begin her new position on May 1.

The new position at Hartford will provide Pasquerella with responsibility and the opportunity to work at a university during a pivotal time in its development, she said. She will use skills developed during her 23 years at URI to improve the University of Hartford.

"I believe in giving back to the community," she said. "I live in the town next door to the one I grew up in … it's a great place to raise children."

Pasquerella's 17-year-old twin sons, Pierce and Spencer, will be going to college in the fall.

As an undergraduate student, Pasquerella received a full scholarship to the University of Connecticut, but she started her college career at Quinebaug Valley Community College so she could be a caregiver for her mother. She changed her mind about her major after taking her first philosophy class with an "inspirational" professor.

"I thought I wanted to go into criminology or law," she said. "I realized that my questions about justice weren't going to be answered with a law degree … I thought it was just me asking 'why are we here?' and 'what is the meaning of life?'"

After graduating from Brown in 1985, Pasquerella started her career as a URI philosophy professor. Her students practiced the philosophical principles they learned in class by participating in the community. They volunteered in many settings, including in prisons, as tutors and as HIV counselors.

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