History: Highlights 1994-2004

1994

First Christmas in April (community rebuilding program) sponsored by PC-300 volunteers participate.

Corporation election of Alphonsus Philip Smith, O.P., as the 11th President of Providence College.
College’s Center for Teaching Excellence conducts first workshops.
PC inaugurates the annual Textron Business Forum on Women and Minority Issues.
Women’s ice hockey team wins its second consecutive ECAC Championship.

Providence College launches its website, http://www.providence.edu
The College emphasizes scholarships based on academic achievement regardless of financial need.

PC is ranked #2 among universities in the North region by America’s Best Colleges.

PC is ranked #1 in America’s Best Colleges among regional universities in the North by U.S. News & World Report’s Annual College Guide.
PC student athletes make national headlines as two basketball players are drafted by the NBA, seven of hockey players are picked up by the NHL, Laurie Baker ’99 is named USA Hockey Women’s Player of the Year, and Todd Incantalupo ’98 is signed by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Money magazine named PC in the top 15 “best buys” among colleges and universities in the Northeast.
The Associated Press reports that PC’s endowment grew at 86.2% between 1994-1996 making it #1 in growth rate among New England colleges and universities.

United States Women’s Ice Hockey Team, which includes 2 PC students and 5 alumnae, wins the first Olympic Gold Medal in that sport.
College receives 10-year re-accreditation from NEASC.
College voluntarily complies with Title IX and strengthens women’s athletic program.

A draft strategic plan, Fashioning a New Model of Excellence for a Liberal Arts College, is unanimously adopted by the College’s Board of Trustees.

PC honors basketball coaching legend, Joe Mullaney, who coached for 18 seasons, recording nine 20-win seasons for the Friars.

The Providence College Feinstein Volunteer Corps is established.
St. Dominic Chapel and Campus Ministry Center opens.
PC is awarded a two-year $3.4M grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to establish the National High School Civic Engagement Initiative.

PC’s four-member team wins the Region One National College Bowl Tournament over a 12-team field.
Inaugural lecture by the Rev. Robert Randall, Distinguished Professor in Christian Culture, the College’s first endowed chair.

First 14 graduates of Providence Alliance for Catholic Teachers (PACT), a post-graduate service-teaching program, receive their master’s degrees in the 85th College Commencement.
Providence College launches its re-designed Web site
With an average combined SAT score exceeding 1200, the Class of 2007 enters PC with the highest scores in the College’s history. Nearly three-fours of enrolled students rank in the top 20% of their high school class academically.

The College’s Board of Trustees votes to establish a new division, the Division of Business Administration.
The Providence College touring choir performs four concerts during a two-week tour of Europe.
The College dedicates and blesses Suites Hall, a 348-bed, suite-style residence facility on the East Campus.
The Smith Center for the Arts, an $18 million state-of-the-art teaching, practice, and performance facility on the East Campus, is dedicated.
Kim Smith ’05 of Auckland, New Zealand, run to the national individual title in the NCAA Women’s Division I Cross Country Championship. She becomes the first female in school history to win the individual NCAA cross country championship, beating her nearest rival in the 6,000-meter race by 17 seconds.