2015 -- H 5115

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF JOHNSON &

WALES UNIVERSITY

     Introduced By: Representatives Serpa, Kennedy, Reilly, Fellela, and O`Grady

     Date Introduced: January 15, 2015

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, On September 14, 1914, Gertrude Irene Johnson and Mary Tiffany Wales

opened the Johnson & Wales Business School to impart to young people the knowledge and skills

needed to enter the world of business and, in the words of Miss Wales, to provide a program of

business and office education "not for its own sake, but as preparation for what lies beyond"; and

     WHEREAS, As men left to fight in World War I and women stepped in to meet the needs

of the business workforce, some sought additional training and education at the business school

founded by Miss Johnson and Miss Wales; and

     WHEREAS, The school had originally opened with one student and one typewriter in

Miss Johnson's home at 250 Hope Street on the East Side of Providence, but as the school began

to grow, it moved to larger accommodations at 222 Olney Street and, in 1926, moved downtown

to 36 Exchange Place; and

     WHEREAS, Following the Hurricane of 1938 and the end of the Great Depression, the

school continued to grow, necessitating a move in 1940 to larger facilities in the Gardner

Building at 40 Fountain Street in Providence; and

     WHEREAS, In 1947, Edward and Vilma Triangolo partnered with Morris and Audrey

Gaebe to acquire the school which had grown to 125 students, adding courses in business

management, marketing, salesmanship and accounting; and

     WHEREAS, In 1960, the school received accreditation as a junior college of business by

the Accrediting Commission of Business Schools in Washington, D.C., a certification of

excellence for non-public, career-oriented institutions; and

     WHEREAS, The school's growing enrollment and reputation necessitated a permanent

location, and Morris Gaebe and Edward Triangolo purchased Johnson & Wales' first building,

Plantations Hall in Providence in 1962, moving 300 students from rented facilities at Fountain

Street into a new home; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales Junior College of Business, a nonprofit, degree-granting,

institution, was incorporated in 1963 to take over the operations of Johnson & Wales School of

Business, Inc.; and

     WHEREAS, In 1970, with enrollment at 900 students, the institution changed its name to

Johnson & Wales College and was authorized by the State of Rhode Island to confer

baccalaureate and honorary degrees; and

     WHEREAS, In 1973, the college began transforming a former World War II Liberty Ship

shipyard located along Narragansett Bay into a school to teach culinary arts, an area that would

eventually grow to become the school's Harborside Campus; and

     WHEREAS, In 1980, the Governor and General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island

granted a legislative charter authorizing the college to award advanced degrees; and

     WHEREAS, In 1984, a regional campus was established in Charleston, South Carolina,

which offered a variety of two and four-year programs in food service, hospitality and travel-

tourism; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales opened its graduate school on the Harborside Campus in

1985, eventually growing to offer master's degrees in business, teacher education and criminal

justice, and a doctorate in educational leadership; and

     WHEREAS, The university opened a Norfolk, Virginia, campus in 1986, offering one

and two-year food service programs; and

     WHEREAS, In 1988, Johnson & Wales answered a growing need across all industries

with the establishment of a School of Technology; and

     WHEREAS, With the approval of the State of Rhode Island, in 1988, Johnson & Wales

College was renamed Johnson & Wales University to reflect its status as a full university; and

     WHEREAS, The university formally established the College of Business, The Hospitality

College, the College of Culinary Arts, the School of Technology, and the School of Arts &

Sciences in Providence in 1991 ; and

     WHEREAS, In 1992, the university opened another campus in North Miami, Florida,

offering culinary arts, business and hospitality undergraduate degree programs; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University established the first bachelor's degree program

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in culinary arts in the country in 1993; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales, earned regional accreditation through the Commission on

Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges

lnc. (NEAS&C) in 1994; and

     WHEREAS, ln September of 2000, the University opened a Denver, Colorado campus,

offering undergraduate degrees in culinary arts, hospitality, and business; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University consolidated its Norfolk, Virginia, and

Charleston, South Carolina, campuses and opened a campus in Charlotte, North Carolina in the

fall of 2004, offering undergraduate degree programs in business, culinary arts, and hospitality;

and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University invested more than $200 million in the

construction of new facilities and renovations to existing facilities on its two Providence

campuses between 2000 and 2009; and

     WHEREAS, In February of 2012, during a time of increasing economic instability in the

City of Providence, Johnson & Wales University was the first institution of higher education in

Providence to step forward and increase its payments in lieu of taxes to the city, with university

leaders stating "we cannot be a successful institution in a failing city"; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University employs 561 faculty and 1,036 staff members

for a total of 1,597 employees in Rhode Island making it among the top private employers in the

state in 2014; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University students at the Providence Campus perform

more than 150,000 hours of community service annually; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University has been named to the President's Higher

Education Community Service Honor Roll each year since it was established in 2006; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University was named one of "81 Great Schools with

Outstanding Community Involvement" by The Princeton Review's Colleges with a Conscience;

and

     WHEREAS, Since its founding Johnson & Wales University's student body has grown

from one student in its first year in Providence to a more than 16,000 undergraduate students and

984 graduate students across four states in 2014; and

     WHEREAS, Throughout its history, Johnson & Wales University has accepted many

first-generation students, opening the opportunity for a higher education to thousands of

applicants; and

     WHEREAS, Johnson & Wales University continues to produce highly qualified and

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exceptional graduates, respected as leaders in their fields and industries locally, nationally and

internationally; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby encourages and supports the efforts of Johnson & Wales

University to commemorate and celebrate the 100th Anniversary of its founding; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this House hereby conveys its collective wishes for continued

innovation in education, enduring contributions to the state and service to the community; and be

it further

     RESOLVED, That this House hereby welcomes this centennial celebration as an

opportunity to celebrate Johnson & Wales University's accomplishments, consider the Johnson &

Wales University of today, and imagine Johnson & Wales University's future in the 21st century

and beyond; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Governor, and the Chancellor and President

of Johnson & Wales University.

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