Faculty Emeriti 2020
Barbara Anderson
Psychology
1973-2020
Barbara Anderson has been described by her department chair as the “heart and soul” of the Psychology Department. She served the department and the college for 47 years through committees, directing the graduate program, serving as assistant chair, and developing the department’s faculty mentorship program. She was the “holder of information, a truth-teller, and a person who makes one feel like the priority.” She showed great artistry in her teaching and she taught challenging research and stats courses. She has been a fine teacher, deeply appreciated by her students and recognized as a role model and mentor.
She was well known for her work in psychological testing and test-taking. She has published, presented, and consulted widely in these areas; she played a significant role in students’ acceptance into doctoral programs.
Rachel Carpenter
James P. Adams Library
1984-2020
Rachel Carpenter played an instrumental role at Rhode Island College, in particular at the James P. Adams Library, for over three decades, from 1984 until her retirement in 2020. She was appointed Reference Librarian at the rank of Assistant Professor in 1984 and tenured in 1990. She became Coordinator of the Government Documents Collection in 2003 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007. Over her career, Rachel has been recognized as an exemplary, service-oriented librarian, with superior writing skills and specialized knowledge of literature, government publications, and health sciences. She was a founding member of RIC’s Open Books Open Minds initiative, which developed, in part, from her involvement with the American Democracy Project’s common book program. Throughout her tenure at the college, Rachel demonstrated her commitment to student learning and intellectual growth through mastery of research concepts and skills, particularly in her subject areas, but also in programs such as First Year Writing and First Year Seminar.
Rachel is keen to continue to serve the college and its mission after retirement. At present and with funding from the National Network of Libraries Medicine Grant, Rachel and the Adams Library are embarking on a collaboration with Age Friendly Rhode Island. Their goal is to bring resources and tools from the National Library of Medicine, along with information from local agencies, to the public in order to build an age-friendly community. "She has motivated and inspired students," said her library colleagues in nominating her. "With equal parts collegiality and perseverance, she has served our faculty, state, and profession."
Roger Clark
Sociology
1981-2020
Roger Clark has been the consummate teacher throughout his career. He is enthusiastic, no matter the content. He infuses music and humor into the classroom, engages students in games of “Jeopardy!”, and provides mentorship and guidance to many. His department chair says that in his final semester he helped a student in the new MA in Justice Studies program complete a master’s project. He most recently won a teaching award in 2017. He has taught many courses, but felt most responsible for the research and statistics courses in the department. He conducts research and writes for publication every year, always including students in the process. He has a strong and varied record of service to the department and college.
He has been a journal editor and consultant to nonprofit organizations. He “has had a profound impact on other faculty as a mentor” and role model; others indicate that he was a “champion for his students,” always enthusiastic, creative and inspired in the classroom, generous with his time and energy.
He published a research textbook with a now-retired co-author who indicates that it “was a wonderful collaboration” and that he “was a superb and kind editor.” He will be greatly missed by his Sociology colleagues and members of the College Council, where he never hesitated to ask the difficult and complex questions.
Krisjohn Horvat
Art
1972-2012
Krisjohn Horvat had a distinguished career and he was “dedicated to two passions: being a superlative teacher and artist.” He was an extraordinary teacher who encouraged and “pushed his students both technically and conceptually.” Student reports emphasized “his passion for creating and viewing art.” He influenced the department, provided service on many departmental committees, and was a mentor to new faculty colleagues.
He traveled extensively to broaden his own views, to bring back material that he could use in his classes, and to assist him in building a body of work. His lectures were filled with slides that introduced students to a “vast array of art works… exhibited in major galleries and a diversity of subjects from around the world.”
He provided service on college committees, and chaired at least 23 of them. He receive a distinguished teaching award and a distinguished sustained scholarship and creativity award.
Macgregor Kniseley
Elementary Education
1990-2019
Macgregor Kniseley’s “record of teaching effectiveness is continuous and positive across his career.” Students noted that he has clear expectations and lets them know exactly what is needed to succeed. He is thoughtful, helpful, and very responsive. His teaching extended to the development, organization, and implementation of a job search conference every semester that demonstrated his “commitment to supporting and modeling professional competence for students.”
His publications include one book and several articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was highly respected for his efforts in securing grants; he was awarded more than $6 million for science education grants during his career at RIC. He has had significant recognition for his work and efforts to support science education.
Robin Montvilo
Psychology
1977-2020
Robin Montvilo has been a “consistent contributor in the field… as an author, researcher, faculty member, leader within the community and activist in the field of addiction and health care.“ She has brought much passion to her work in psychology, addiction, and the care of others through nursing. She earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from RIC in 1982, while a full-time faculty member in psychology and practiced as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Women & Infants Hospital. She then “used her skills and knowledge of developmental psychology and nursing to educate and mentor her RIC students.”
Her love for teaching is widely recognized by her colleagues and her students, many of whom rate her as the best teacher at RIC. Her teaching is topical and closely tied to current events and research. During her career, she has published more than 100 articles and forums and chapters in edited volumes. She has provided extensive service to her department, serving since 2002 as program director for the Chemical Dependency and Addiction Studies program (CDAS).
She has served on many college committees and has been a commencement marshal for many years. She also has been active in the broader community as an advocate and board member and is a leader in the state in the field of addictions.
Ann Moskol
Mathematical Sciences
1974-2017
Ann Moskol “contributed to a variety of programs: general education, applied math, math education, statistics and statistics education, along with computer science and computer science education.”
She was a leader in promoting math and computer science to girls and women and a role model for staying professionally active, including attendance at summer institutes exploring such important topics as data science and new computer languages. She taught courses in math, math education, and computer science; she also developed and taught new courses.
She worked with colleagues to develop and implement two National Science Foundation grants. She worked to accept one of these grants six months earlier than expected; she prepared and organized the planning and recruitment and was successful in assuring a positive start for the project. She was viewed as an excellent organizer, taking responsibility for Math Awareness Day; she was in charge of student social events and was the driving force behind the establishment of the Rhode Island chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association.
Faculty Emerita Posthumously Awarded
Edythe Anthony
Biology
1984-2017
Edythe Anthony was a skilled and committed faculty member, caring for and mentoring her undergraduate and graduate students. Student comments recognized her skills in helping them to “think like a scientist, read like a scientist, and write as a scientist.” She could “take very complicated processes and make them easy to understand.”
She chaired the department for six years; she was a recipient of the Thorp award; and she served as associate dean of FAS for eight years and was known for “her calm, even temperament and her ability to get things done.” She provided leadership for RIC’s INBRE efforts and was a very active member of the leadership for NSF EPSCoR projects, assuring that faculty and our students had research opportunities and funding support.
She published and was known for her research, examining neuroendocrine control of reproduction and development in vertebrates. She published broadly in highly rated journals and her research was widely cited. She was held in high esteem by colleagues in her department, in FAS and in the college.
Rachel Filinson
Sociology
1988-2020
Rachel Filinson was the gerontology scholar in the Sociology Department, a generous collaborator who worked with faculty across departments, schools and institutions. She was admired and respected in the community as well. She built strong relationships with generations of students, as she taught many different courses across the curriculum. She was one of only a few faculty willing to teach a “distance course,” an early adopter of the learning management system WebCT. A former colleague says, “With her wit and fabulous work ethic, it was a joy to teach with her.” Her research was extensive. She published widely even as her illness deepened; in 2019 alone, she published three articles.
She was involved in grant work, had been an active participant in creating Age Friendly Rhode Island, and had long been involved with a URI/RIC gerontology project that included multiple partners and extensive training. A colleague wrote that “her knowledge and years of research were instrumental in guiding our strategies and providing the team with best practices from around the world.” She contributed significantly to the college’s designation as an Age-Friendly University.
She served the college and the community in many ways: she supported students’ preparation for interviews to dental and medical schools; she organized the annual gerontology conference; and she chaired the department for eight years. She was a manuscript reviewer and editorial board member of a prominent gerontological journal; she served as a subcommittee member of the Long-term Care Coordinating Council, working on expanding volunteer options for older adults in Rhode Island. A former colleague notes that she was struck by the ability Rachel had “to do everything she took on so devotedly and successfully. She juggled it all so seamlessly.”
