Rhode Island voters recently approved $73 million in borrowing to enhance the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College. The 60% vote in favor of Question 2 underscores public confidence in the idea that education can help improve the local economy. Voters also approved $87 million for a life sciences center at URI. At Rhode Island College, the man leading the charge is Jack Warner. He is being inaugurated today as RIC’s permanent president after more than two years as interim leader. Warner takes on the role at a time when many Americans wrestle with college-related debt. And with the Trump administration vowing to eliminate the federal Department of Education, Republicans and some other critics believe colleges in America have moved too far to the left. How will these issues affect Rhode Island? Can Rhode Island College really play a bigger role in the state’s economy? And what is Jack Warner’s strategic vision for RIC? This week on Political Roundtable, I’m going in-depth with president of Rhode Island College Jack Warner.
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Donnis: Welcome to The Public’s Radio and congratulations on your inauguration today.
Warner: Well, thank you very much, Ian. It’s my pleasure to be here.
Donnis: What are your top priorities as the president of Rhode Island College?
Warner: Well, you know, at first we had to balance a budget that needed it. enrollment was declining, fairly rapidly over the course of several years.
So we’ve been able to do both, balance the budget and have a significant turnaround in enrollment. We were up over, just under 400 over last year, this fall. Two big classes, our freshman and sophomore classes are larger. So now we turn the focus toward, making our students more successful. It’s no secret that COVID took a toll on learning in high school. So we have to strengthen our support services and the way we approach our instruction in order to make some of those students who are not as well prepared as they have been in the past, more successful at this level.
Donnis: You were the interim president at RIC for two years. What explains that lengthy gap between becoming interim president and being made the permanent president?
Warner: Well, it’s interesting you should ask that. I only had permission from my wife to do it for a year, so I did that. But it was also obvious during the course of that year that there was a lot more work to be done. I knew what that work was. So I sought a second year of interim. The post secondary counsel was gracious enough to let me do that. And then during that year, I saw that we were on a good path and really wanted to concentrate on sustaining that path and keeping the institution moving, moving forward. The college also has a way of getting in your blood, and it got into mine. The mission that we have and the kinds of students we serve just deserved a lot more attention, so I decided to throw my hat in the ring when the job was posted.
Donnis: The Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College was launched one year ago this month, and last week, Rhode Island voters approved $73 million in borrowing to, I believe, build a new building for that institute. Give us an overview of what is happening at the institute and where it will go from here now that that money has been approved by voters.
Warner: Oh, it’s a great question. And just this morning, I was at the Northern Rhode Island Chamber for their eggs and issues breakfast. And the speaker was Doug Alexander, who’s the executive director of the Institute. Jim Langevin is the chair. And Doug has been brought in recently and he did a wonderful job explaining the importance of defense against cyber threats, the emergence of artificial intelligence. So the center is really designed to promote those fields of study. Computer science at RIC has over 400 majors. And we launched a cybersecurity major two years ago. That has over 100 now, plus 26 minors. Because a business graduate, for example, with a minor in cybersecurity can present a picture to an employer that’s stronger than one who has a different mix. And we also launched a program in artificial intelligence this year, which has 14 majors already. So the institute really stimulates the development of those kinds of new programs, takes a serious look at emerging technologies in addition to the traditional computer science and cyber security.
Donnis: President elect Donald Trump, has vowed to eliminate the Federal Department of Education, which deals mostly with K-12 education. We also hear a lot of criticism, mostly from Republicans, about what they see as a leftward tilt of academia. I wonder, what kind of impact do you expect for higher education in Rhode Island from the new Trump administration?
Warner: Well, I think that the threats to the U. S. Department of Education may be more difficult to do than he has experienced. But what I would expect from his administration are more in the form of block grants to states for education as opposed to the more regulatory approach that the Department of Ed has taken. It would be also politically not smart to attack Pell Grants, which our students rely on. Nearly half of our students receive Pell Grants. They’re the major reason that we have social mobility for students. Bright students from poor households really deserve a fair shake and Pell Grants allow us to give them that fair shake. So, I think, attacking those could also be perilous politically, because they have a lot of support. But there could be other mechanisms administering those Pell Grants, and, last year’s new FAFSA rollout was quite disastrous.
Donnis: FAFSA is.
Warner: That’s the financial aid form that has to be filled out and it’s submitted to the department for a needs analysis and becomes the basis for awarding, need based financial aid.
Donnis: Speaking of, speaking of financial aid, we’ve seen how student debt has skyrocketed over recent decades. What do you think could be done in a better way to address that?
Warner: Well, I think that public institutions in particular represent a solution for that. The high sticker price at private institutions is a deterrent for many students and families, and the high amounts of debt have caused many to question the value proposition of a college degree these days. Which I think is an unfortunate side complication to looking at higher ed. The fact is that the value proposition is better than it’s ever been. You’re going to make more money, the quality of your life is going to be much better overall, you’ll participate civically at higher levels, you’ll educate your own children to higher levels. So, on a number of indicators, yhat’s more important than ever before. However, if you face the prospect of significant debt, like six figure debt coming out of the experience, then it is a reasonable question to ask, whether that amount of debt is worth the investment. Our value proposition, I think, is much stronger. Our tuition is just over $11,000 a year, tuition and fees. And with the HOPE Scholarship, you have the possibility of getting your second two years for free. So that’s a college degree for under $25,000. And the value proposition is difficult to debate in that context when we’re that affordable.
Donnis: We’re talking here with Rhode Island College President Jack Warner, and Boston Globe columnist Dan McGowan reported earlier this year on how you wrote a very favorable reference letter for a departing executive from Rhode Island College, Anna Cano Morales, and how she was getting a payout of up to $180,000 and a generous health benefit. Both you and Cano Morales cited a severance agreement in declining to talk about what was at the root of this. Isn’t this inconsistent with RIC being a public university? Doesn’t the public have a right to know since Rhode Island College and your salary are funded by public tax dollars?
Warner: Well, I think separation agreements by their nature are confidential, and we honor the confidentiality of that. Everything is a balance, of course, but our commitment to an agreement that we signed, I think is paramount for us.
Donnis: What kind of information is available about the extent to which graduates of Rhode Island College stay in Rhode Island or, or leave the state?
Warner: We have about 47,000 alums, living and working in Rhode Island, and the last data that I saw, about 75 percent of our graduates stay living and working in the state following graduation. And that’s probably the highest among the higher education institutions.
Donnis: You’re a lifelong educator, so I’m curious about your perspective, about the funding fight playing out right now with the Providence schools. There’s a dispute between the city and the state, and we’ve heard talk for a quarter century about the need to improve Providence schools. It seems like little has changed. From your perspective, what needs to be done differently to make more progress?
Warner: Well, we like to think we could be part of the solution there, so we have an active partnership with Mount Pleasant High School, which conveniently is right around the corner from us. And this year, about 23 of their seniors will be taking courses on our campus. It’s a pilot program at this point. But I think that colleges and universities partnering with K-12 schools can really offer the opportunity to enhance the quality of instruction and better prepare students for what comes after high school.
Donnis: When you get students who come through the Providence Public Schools, how well prepared are they for an education at Rhode Island College?
Warner: Well, some better prepared than others. That’s always been the case. COVID learning loss is also a real thing. If you were a student who didn’t pay as close attention on your Zoom sessions during COVID, you lost a lot. And it’s easy for students to tune out of those kinds of sessions and do other things. And so we are seeing the need for stronger work that students need to do in their writing skills and also in their mathematical skills. So we have a mathematics tutoring program and a math lab, and also a writing lab that’s designed to help students through that. We could do more, I think, in that and need to.
Donnis: You are a lifelong New Englander, but you did spend a little time in South Dakota where you crossed paths with Kristi Noem, now President-elect Trump’s nominee to be director of Homeland Security and John Thune, the newly elected Senate Majority Leader. What were your impressions of them?
Warner: Well, Ian, it’s a great question. I had very favorable and positive relationships with both of them. Kristi Noem was more moderate as a state legislator. We did a number of things together. She was in a leadership position. There were bills of mine that she supported. And, so we were able to work very collaboratively in that role. And John Thune is somebody I’ve admired for a very long time. He’s a stand up guy. He’s a straight shooter. You’ll know what he’s thinking. He’s honest, hardworking. I have a lot, enormous respect for him. And I was very pleased to see him emerge as Senate Majority Leader.
Donnis: We’ve got to leave it there. President of Rhode Island College, Jack Warner, thank you so much for joining us.
Warner: My pleasure, Ian. Thank you for inviting me.
+ + + +
Speculation is growing about what’s next for former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo. Her time as U.S. Commerce secretary is drawing to a close due to Donald Trump’s victory last week. While Raimondo’s next move is unclear, her tenure as governor offers some takeaways that remain pertinent. You can read more about that in my weekly TGIF column posting around 4 this afternoon on Blue Sky, Threads, Facebook and what we used to call Twitter and at the publics radio.org.
That’s it for our show. Political Roundtable is a production of The Public’s Radio. Our producer is James Baumgartner. I’m Ian Donnis, and I’ll see you on the radio.
