To our Immigrant Students:

We write, as faculty, in support of our students of precarious legal status, namely our undocumented students, international students, students with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). These past few months and weeks have been challenging for anyone who is an immigrant or comes from an immigrant family. The rhetoric on immigration emphasized during the presidential campaign has left many wounded, scared, and uncertain about their future in the U.S. We are here to assure you that at RIC there is a future for you. Your professors will do all we can to create and maintain a hospitable space in our campus community even if the rest of the country becomes an even more hostile place. 

At RIC we will strive to continue facilitating conversations, classrooms, events, and gatherings where immigrant students feel not only accepted but also safe from the vitriol that has increasingly spread throughout the country. While the city of Providence is a sanctuary city, Rhode Island College is not a sanctuary campus and the state of Rhode Island is not a sanctuary state. Nonetheless, we are committed to you and to defending our offices and our classrooms as an extension of the sanctuary our city offers. 

Part of our mission at Rhode Island College is to “bolster the overall quality of life, both in Rhode Island and across wider society.” Without a campus community where immigrant students feel safe, accepted, and where their wellbeing is centered, we cannot accomplish this feat. To that end, the faculty listed here pledge to embrace the responsibility of protecting our students throughout the xenophobic and racist political attacks and rhetoric that have plagued our national political arena and that have reverberated throughout the country, even in our little state of Rhode Island and in our small campus community. 

Sincerely, 

Alessandra Bazo Vienrich, Ph.D., Sociology 

Robyn Linde, Ph.D., Political Science 

Anabela Resende da Maia, Ph.D., Biology 

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur, Ph.D., Sociology 

Valerie Endress, Ph.D., Communication 

Carse Ramos, J.D, Ph.D, Sociology 

Sadhana Bery, Ph.D, Africana Studies 

Jill Harrison, Ph.D. Sociology/Justice Studies 

Desirée Ciambrone, Ph.D. Sociology/Aging Studies 

Mark Motte, Ph.D., Geography 

David Ramírez, Ph.D., Modern Languages,

Brandon Hawk, Ph.D., English 

Leslie Schuster, Ph.D., History / Gender and Women’s Studies Dragan Gill, MLIS, Adams Library 

Melissa Marcotte, Ph.D., Psychology 

Anthony Galvez, Ph.D., Communication 

Tommy Ender, Ph.D., Educational Studies/History Zubeda Jalalzai, Ph.D, English and Director of RIC 100 Julie Urda, Ph.D., Management & Marketing 

Megan Sumeracki, Ph.D., Psychology 

Janet Johnson, Ph.D., Educational Studies 

Giselle Auger, Ph.D, Communications 

Beth Lewis, Ph.D., Psychology 

Emily Cook, Ph.D., Psychology 

Lindsay Houck, Ph.D., Psychology 

Janice Okoomian, Ph.D., Gender & Women’s Studies/English Rosalind Sibielski, Ph.D, English/Film Studies 

Sarah Hesson, Ph.D., Educational Studies 

Michael Michaud, Ph.D., English 

Glenn Rawson, Ph.D., Philosophy 

Erin L. Papa, Ph.D., Educational Studies 

Jesse Capece, Ph.D., Social Work 

Charlie McLaughlin Chair. Dept. Educational Studies Rudolf Kraus, Ph.D., Educational Studies 

Randi I. Kim, Ph.D., Psychology 

Victoria Restler, Ph.D., Educational Studies/ Youth Development Alia Hadid, Ph.D., Educational Studies 

Andrea Dottolo, Ph.D., Psychology 

Susan Abbotson, Ph.D., English 

Jayson J. Spas, PhD, MS, LMFT, Psychology 

Wendy Becker, PhD, Social Work 

Karl Benziger, Ph.D., History 

Traci L. Weinstein, Ph.D., Psychology 

Natalie Rogel, Ph.D, Political Science 

Thomas Malloy Ph.D., Psychology 

Thomas Schmeling, Ph.D., Political Science 

Suchandra Basu, Ph.D., Economics and Finance 

Josh Diem, PhD, Social Work 

Ricardo Quintana-Vallejo, PhD, English 

Libby Pfeiffer, Ph.D., Anthropology 

Veronica L. Denison, MLIS, Adams Library 

Jamie Towle-Weicksel, Ph.D., Physical Sciences

Daniel B. Hewins, Ph.D., Biology & Environmental Studies Sara Picard, Ph.D., Art History 

Perri Leviss, Ph.D., Political Science 

Jeremy Benson, Ph.D., Educational Studies & English Elisa Miller, Ph.D., History 

Christine Connolly, Ph.D. Health Care Administration April Kiser, Ph.D., History 

Julie Horowitz, Ph.D., Educational Studies, Middle Level Education Vilna Tejeda, DSW, MSW, LICSW