It may be the smallest state, but Rhode Island has some big names when it comes to education. Rhode Island is home to nine colleges and universities; each one unique and diverse in setting. Our state's history is dotted with the growth and expansion of education. One of the most well-known universities in our country is right here in Rhode Island, and it's one of the nation's oldest universities, too.

Being the first college in Rhode Island, Brown University has a strong and rooted history.

The eighteenth century brought with it a phenomenon new in American life: a widespread religious revival that challenged the established churches and their theologies. The so-called Great Awakening of the 1730s and '40s provided a drive for the founding of a new generation of colleges to train a new generation of ministers. Revivalist Presbyterians founded the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1746; and the Philadelphia Association of Baptists, having successfully launched a preparatory school in New Jersey in 1756, was soon ready to discuss plans for another college. Their search for a suitable backdrop led them straight to Rhode Island - the birthplace of their church - which had a large Baptist population and no college.

Rhode Island was ready to welcome them. Ezra Stiles, a distinguished Congregationalist clergyman in Newport (and later president of Yale), had been planning a college for the state when the Baptists' emissary, James Manning, landed in Newport in July 1763. Manning's plan for a "liberal and catholic" institution was readily endorsed by Rhode Island's leading citizens. (The term, 'catholic' in lower case means 'universal'.) Stiles and attorney William Ellery Jr. drew up a charter based on Manning's draft, which was then presented to the General Assembly. It divided the Corporation's power about equally among Presbyterians and Congregationalists with a few slots reserved for Quakers and Anglicans.

The charter was, and is, a distinguished document. The college's mission was one of preparing "a Succession of Men duly qualify'd for discharging the Offices of Life with usefulness and reputation" through instruction in "the Vernacular Learned Languages, and in the liberal Arts and Sciences." In providing that "Youths of all Religious Denominations shall and may be freely admitted to the Equal Advantages Emoluments & Honors of the College," and that "into this Liberal & Catholic Institution shall never be admitted any Religious Tests," the charter was not unusual for its day; other college charters had similar provisions. The charter was finally approved in March 1764.

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The new institution, officially called Rhode Island College, had no funds, no building, no students, and no faculty. So the Corporation's first order of business was to raise money, which it did by drawing up a list of sixty-nine persons around the country (including Benjamin Franklin) who were authorized to receive "subscriptions." James Manning was named the president of the institution. Manning, anticipating the appointment, had settled in Rhode Island in 1764 as pastor of the new Baptist church in Warren, where he also opened a Latin school. His residence became the first home of Rhode Island College, which he served simultaneously as president and as professor of languages. The college already had a student: William Rogers, a gifted fourteen-year-old from Newport, who had matriculated the day before Manning's appointment and who was his sole college pupil for the next nine months. The number of students increased steadily: five more enrolled in 1766, another four in 1767, eight more in 1768 and eleven in 1769. Tuition was a lofty $12 a year, a large sum in those days.

The college was still operating out of Manning's parsonage in Warren when it held its first Commencement in September 1769. That first graduating class had only seven students, but the ceremonies lasted all day and into the evening. There was great debate about where to place the permanent home of this institution. The final decision came down to Newport or Providence. Although Newport was the larger and richer of the two, Providence had powerful allies in Manning and the Brown family. The Corporation settled on Providence in February 1770. Within months, the college's president, its first tutor David Howell, and its students took up residence at various private houses in Providence. Classes were held in the brick schoolhouse at the west end of Meeting Street, amid the congestion and noise of downtown. Nicholas Brown and Company, the Brown brothers' firm, had charge of the construction, which progressed with remarkable efficiency.

The destiny of Nicholas Brown Jr. and that of Rhode Island College were so intertwined that it seems almost inconceivable in retrospect that Brown University might have been named for anyone else. Nicholas graduated from the college in 1786 at age 17, and by age 22 was already a trustee.

The college quadrupled its enrollment in the next two decades: By 1793-94, there were eighty-three undergraduates, most of them from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. There were no electives, and no concentrations: The curriculum was the same for all. The dawn of academic specialization was still a generation or two away. Its enrollment continued to grow, but not its operating funds. In 1795 the Corporation tried a new tactic, one that had succeeded at other colleges: It voted that "any person giving to this Corporation the sum of six thousand dollars, or good security therefore, before the next annual Commencement, shall have the honor of naming this University."

No suitor came forward, so the college had to retain its maiden name for a few more years. In 1803, it was voted that a donation of $5,000 would entitle the donor to name the college. This time someone did come forward, an alumnus and old friend of the college. Nicholas Brown's gift of $5,000 carried out the wishes of his recently deceased uncle, John Brown, and was the first in a series of increasingly liberal gifts over his lifetime. In September 1804, at the same meeting in which the gift was announced, the Corporation voted to change the college's name to "Brown University in Providence in the State of Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations." The newly christened university branched out in 1811 by establishing the beginnings of a medical school. Brown University then went on then next 192 years growing and expanding. Today, Brown University is known world-wide as a distinguished and respected place of higher learning, not to mention a competitive Ivy League university.

Not far from Brown, another college was established in Providence. And this school actually got to keep the Rhode Island College name. When the college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, its goal was to provide teacher preparation to young people from Rhode Island. With the dedication of a new building in 1898, the institution began a period of steady growth, evolving first into a teachers' college, the Rhode Island College of Education. In the 1958-59 academic year the College moved to its current Mount Pleasant campus, and in 1959 was renamed Rhode Island College to reflect its new purpose as a comprehensive institution of higher education. With an enrollment predominantly from Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut, the institution historically has served as a "College of Opportunity" for first-generation college students, although RIC is still known for its prominent education program.

Back on College Hill, Brown's 1873 president, Ezekiel Gilman Robinson (class of 1838) had a new vision for Brown. He felt that areas like science and English had taken too strong of a grip on the school's curriculum. Robinson's first annual report to the Corporation showed the range of his objective: ". . . A large number of the intelligent citizens of our state are now desirous that a scientific school of high order - [with] sub-schools of Design, of Drawing, of Civil Engineering, of Architecture, of the Fine Arts, etc. - may speedily be established in Rhode Island, and if possible may be established in conjunction with, and in a sense, as a part of Brown University." Robinson, of course, was essentially describing the Rhode Island School of Design, founded four years after that report. Engineering remained part of Brown's curriculum, and architecture had its day too, but Brown could not afford to become an art school as well. However, in 1877 the Rhode Island School of Design was founded in Providence. Since then, RISD has flourished has one of the best art schools in our country, and recognized world-wide. Sharing the same section of Providence as Brown, RISD is a vibrant community of artists and designers that includes 2,200 students from around the world.

Although Brown may be the only Ivy League school in the state, Rhode Island's other colleges and universities have rich history and are highly respected today. The next college to establish in Rhode Island was founded on business principles and curriculum. Bryant College was founded in 1863 in Providence. Throughout the school's history, Bryant has been "committed to the success of our students." Over time, Bryant relocated to a new campus just 12 miles northwest of Providence in the town of Smithfield. Bryant also added more academic programs, and revolutionized their approach to education and life through technology. The most important thing, however, remains the same: Bryant was, is, and will continue to be "a student-centered college focused on excellence that prepares its graduates to achieve their personal best in life and business."

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Set in the historic village of Kingston, South Kingstown, the University of Rhode Island wasn't always the large university it is today. The University was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888, when there were "more cows than people," Scott Molloy, URI history professor says.

The Oliver Watson farm was purchased as a site for the school, and the old farmhouse, now restored, still stands on the campus. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892, and the first class of 17 members graduated two years later.

The Morrill Act of 1862 provided for the sale of public lands. Income from these sales was to be used to create at least one college in each state with the principal purpose of teaching agriculture and mechanic arts. From this grant of land comes the term "land grant," which applied to the national system of state colleges. In a later adaptation of the concept, federal funds given to colleges for marine research and extension are called "sea grants."

In 1909 the name of the college was changed to Rhode Island State College, and the program of study was revised and expanded. In 1951 the college became the University of Rhode Island by an act of the General Assembly. The Board of Governors for Higher Education appointed by the governor became the governing body of the University in 1981. URI has distinguished itself over the years and is now revitalizing its Kingston campus grounds and buildings. It has advanced beyond an agricultural school, well-known for its engineering, nursing, pharmacy and marine biology programs, among others. However, agriculture-based concentrations are still offered - seeing as Kingston is amidst acres of turf farms.

Far from Kingston's perfectly green grass (well, "far" in Rhode Islander terms), two very well-known colleges were established in the urban setting of Providence: Johnson & Wales University and Providence College.

Johnson & Wales University was founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales. From its origins as a school devoted to business education, Johnson & Wales grew first to a junior college, then to a senior college, and ultimately to university status.

The University became well established because of its strong commitment to specialized business education and the high ideals of its founders. In 1973, a new career emphasis was introduced at J&W when the University announced the opening of what is now known as the College of Culinary Arts, and the addition of a new associate degree program in that field. This proves to be one of the most far-reaching changes in the educational expansion of the University, leading to additional two- and four-year degree programs in the hospitality and foodservice fields. Well-known for its prestigious culinary degrees, J&W has expanded beyond the borders of our beloved state. Today, there are J&W campuses in Charleston, N.C., Norfolk, Va., North Miami, Fla., Vail and Denver, Colo., and beginning enrollment in September 2004, Charlotte, N.C.

Providence College was founded in 1917 through a joint effort of the Diocese of Providence and the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph. It was established 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 of the college was the late Rt. Rev. Mathew Harkins, D. D., Bishop of Providence, whose dream it was to create a center of advanced learning primarily for the Catholic youth of Rhode Island. However, the College's charter demonstrates that the founders intended PC to 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 17 acres of land and $10,000 in scholarship funds helped make Providence College a reality. With donations coming primarily from Catholics of modest means, and a pledge from the Province of St. Joseph to provide Dominican administrators and teachers, Providence College broke ground for the imposing Harkins Hall in 1917. Two year later, in September 1919, it opened its doors to 71 students and nine Dominican faculty members.

The next college founded was established in Newport, among the unique and beautiful mansions that have defined and established Newport for centuries. Salve Regina College was chartered by the State of Rhode Island in 1934. Founded under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Mercy, Salve Regina was established as an independent institution in the Catholic tradition of education, providing higher education to women and men. In 1947 the university acquired Ochre Court and welcomed its first class of 58 students. By a 1991 amendment to the Charter, the name was changed to Salve Regina University.

As it celebrates 70 years, Salve Regina University has grown to encompass over 60 acres and more than two dozen buildings, yet Ochre Court remains its heart. Ochre Court is the first of a group of spectacular houses in the Grand Manner designed by Richard Morris Hunt, America's foremost architect of the late nineteenth century.

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The last Rhode Island university that was established is Roger Williams University. A bit ironic in that Roger Williams established Rhode Island. But needless to say, Roger Williams University is a modern institution and home to Rhode Island's first and only School of Law. Accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and founded in 1956, Roger Williams University is an independent, coeducational university offering liberal arts and selected professional programs. The main campus, overlooking Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, opened in 1969 and features modern academic and recreational facilities, including a waterfront Natural and Marine Sciences Building.

Some of these schools were founded centuries ago, and the others, well, their beginnings date back, too. However, each year a new beginning emerges as thousands of graduates begin a new life. Many may look upon graduation as an end in itself, and in one sense it may be, but in a larger sense when we leave college, we'll be assuming new and greater responsibilities. Commencement is very much a true beginning. So, to my fellow graduates of 2004, let us throw our caps up in celebration of an end and beginning all in one. It is time for us to commence own personal path of life. And to my fellow URI grads and alumni, "Go Go Rhode Island, Island!"

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