PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island College has named Pegah Rahmanian as the new director of the college’s Unity Center.
Rahmanian, a native of Yellow Springs, Ohio, and daughter of Iranian immigrants, will coordinate, manage and lead the Unity Center and its full complement of programs – LGBTQ+ Office, Women’s Center, Interfaith Office and International Students Office. She will also advise multicultural student organizations, promote programs and training that enrich campus climate and collaborate with faculty, staff and community organizations to foster awareness of diversity and inclusion issues.
Rahmanian comes to Rhode Island College after serving four years as executive director of Youth In Action, a Providence-based grassroots nonprofit that supports young people of color in embracing their own unique identities, defining pathways to their goals and actively creating a more equitable and just society.
At Rhode Island College, Rahmanian said she looks forward to contributing to the Unity Center’s role on campus.
“We live in times where engagement around difference is fraught, and I hope the Unity Center serves as a location where we challenge some of these narratives,” Rahmanian said. “We should play an important role in building community, particularly for our students who come from communities of color, immigrant and first-generation households.”
The Unity Center falls within the college’s Division of Community, Equity and Diversity, led by Associate Vice President Anna Cano Morales.
“We are fortunate to welcome Pegah in this role as she brings a wealth of experience and competencies that will support our multicultural students and the entire campus as we all strive to promote, better understand and affirm our diversities,” Cano Morales said. “Pegah’s organizational development and vision will build much-needed capacities that will have a direct ripple effect on the Unity Center’s programs.”
Rahmanian holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in anthopology, gender and women’s studies and comparative American studies and a master’s degree from Wright State University in applied behavioral sciences and sociology. She also earned a certificate in nonprofit management from Tufts University.
Established in 1854, Rhode Island College serves approximately 8,500 undergraduate and graduate students through its five schools: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Business, the School of Nursing and the School of Social Work. For more information, visit www.ric.edu.
