Providence College Podcast

The disasters we experienced in 2020 — and the controversy about how to address these problems — has strained even longstanding relationships with beloved family and friends. For our final episode, recorded as part of PC Campus Ministry’s Reflections for Election Season Sanity, Elise Italiano Ureneck ’06 discusses Friendship, Dialogue, and Trust: Having Differing Views with Friends. Subscribe to t...

A contentious U.S. presidential election certainly added to the stress of an already stressful 2020. For our second special episode of the Providence College Podcast recorded as part of PC Campus Ministry’s three-part series of Reflections for Election Season Sanity, Dr. Holly Taylor Coolman, chair of the Department of Theology, describes Prudence, a necessary virtue during election season. Subscr...

Enjoy three special episodes of the Providence College Podcast leading up to Election Day 2020, recorded as part of PC Campus Ministry’s Reflections for Election Season Sanity. First off, welcome back to campus Rev. Christopher Justin Brophy, O.P., once an assistant chaplain, now a faculty member in the Department of Political Science, to discuss “Being a Person of Faith in the World.” Subscribe t...

When he started writing Survivor Song, Bram Stoker award-winning author Paul Tremblay '93 had no idea how timely his suspense novel about a terrifying, rabies-like virus ripping through Massachusetts would be. Listen to his conversation about the novel with the Alumni Book Club, part of Homecoming at Home, on the Providence College Podcast. Subscribe to the Providence College Podcast on Apple Podc...

This week on the Providence College Podcast, hear about what's new with PC's School of Continuing Education, which provides an affordable, flexible way for adults to earn and complete undergraduate degrees.  Carmen Aguilar, SCE's new dean, describes what she's learned in her first two months on the job. Madeleine Metzler, associate dean, discussed how courses changed and adapted as a result of the...

If you missed watching the Friar Forum with two former presidential candidates, Friar dad Chris Christie ’23P and Friar granddad Michael Dukakis ’23GP, catch up with the Providence College Podcast. Christie and Dukakis addressed the upcoming election, shared stories of their lives in politics in a less divisive time, and encouraged students to become involved in public service. Subscribe to the Pr...

If you missed Friday's State of the College address by President Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78 & ’82G, listen to it on the Providence College Podcast. Father Sicard shared news from the College in a discussion led by Rev. James Cuddy, O.P. ’98, vice president for mission and ministry. Subscribe to the Providence College Podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , Google Play , and YouT...

"Father Manny," as he's known, got national attention in April thanks to the Kelly Clarkson Show for an idea he had to stay connected with his parishioners at St. Anne Catholic Church in Columbus, Ga. We talk with him about his path to a vocation, his time at Providence College, and his experience recovering from COVID-19. Subscribe to the Providence College Podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , S...

Margaret “Meg” Van Name, R.N. ’12 has crossed the country as a traveling nurse, but nothing compares to her experience working in New York City at the height of the coronavirus. “It was the hardest job I’d had. Things were changing so fast,” she said. The health policy and management graduate shares the emotions she felt last spring and the adventures and professional growth she experienced in her...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected so many people around the world, but some people are using enforced time at home for a good purpose. In May, John McAleavey '90 launched the Quadcast, a podcast he bills as “a 30- to 45-minute session of OT/PT for the soul!” The podcast is the culmination of an idea he had two years after he graduated, when a fall down a flight of stairs left him with a spinal co...

Catch up on the Providence College Summer Anti-Racism Series on the Providence College Podcast.    Kat Kerwin of the Providence City Council and Eugene Monteiro, executive director of the Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association and investigator for the Providence External Review Authority discussed policing, race, and the opportunity for change during their Anti-Racism Summer Series presentation in Augu...

Angus White's original summer plans — research in the biology lab of Rev. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P. — were upended by the coronavirus pandemic, but he ended up doing something just as cool. From his home in New Zealand, White worked with Father Nic on COVID-19 epidemiological research for the capital region of the Philippines. The senior biology major and cross-country runner discussed how the exper...

If you missed Dr. Christopher Chambers’ presentation on systemic racism, part of the College’s Anti-Racism Summer Series, catch up with this episode of the Providence College Podcast.    Chambers is an assistant professor of sociology and will be faculty-in-residence for the Center at Moore Hall this fall. In his discussion, he introduces the sociological roots of the term "systemic racism” and us...

The early teaching career circumstances of Lauren Boen ’18 in North Attleboro, Mass., couldn’t have been more unpredictable — or rewarding. The fifth-grade teacher’s first year of full-time instruction in 2019-20 was upended by the coronavirus. The former Friar cheerleader speaks appreciatively about how remote teaching broadened her mastery of technology and awareness of online teaching resources...

In February, Keri Mandell '04 completed the World Marathon Challenge — running seven marathons in seven days on seven different continents. In this episode, Mandell discusses her motivation for this endurance feat, her training, and her transition from educator to entrepreneur, when she opened emPOWER Yoga N.J. Through this event, Mandell — a cancer survivor herself — raised more than $56,000 for...

Next up on the Anti-Racism summer series, prompted by the national conversations about racial injustice, Dr. Dana Dillon leads a session titled “Anti-Racism as a Necessary Christian Virtue,” discussing virtue ethics and Catholic social tradition.    Dillon is a professor in PC's departments of theology and of public and community service studies and also serves as associate director of the Develop...

Stanley Cup-winning hockey executive and television commentator Brian Burke '77 is our guest, previewing the upcoming NHL season and telling us about his forthcoming book Burke's Law: A Life in Hockey . In a wide-ranging interview, Burke also talks about the You Can Play Project , created in honor of his late son Brendan, which works to promote respect and inclusion for all people in sports, inclu...

Dana Lowney ’21 graduated at the top of her certified nursing assistant training program in February, but never expected she would be putting her new skills to use so soon. In April, after the global coronavirus pandemic ended in-person classes and her spring cross-country season, Lowney went to work in an assisted living facility. In this episode, Lowney discusses how she balanced her courseload...

If you missed the first presentation of the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's Anti-Racism Summer Series, catch up on the Providence College Podcast. Dr. Saaid Mendoza of the Department of Psychology also serves as faculty-in-residence in the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and director of the Social Perception & Attitudes Lab. He discusses the...

Get to know Dr. Thea Riofrancos, assistant professor of political science, the recipient of two prestigious fellowships to support her research on the environmental and political impact of the global transition to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.  Riofrancos, whose book, Resource Radicals , will be published by Duke University Press this summer, discussed the increasing global dema...

Rose Jones ’06SCE, director of the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging, is bringing change and light into the lives of the state’s 55-and-over population, adults living with disabilities, and their families and caregivers every day. With an overarching goal of “empowering people to age strong,” the office serves one-third of the state’s residents. Listen in as Jones discusses her role in supporti...

Dr. Richard J. Grace ’62 & ’17Hon., professor emeritus of history, will present an in-depth look at the history of Providence College. Grace, who has been at the College since 1958, will share his personal reflections and engage participants in conversation about their historic memories of PC. Follow the Providence College Podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , Google Play , and YouT...

Jason Macaluso ’96 has had a long career in wealth management through good economies and bad. The vice president of wealth management at UBS Financial Services in New Haven, Conn., shares a message about the value of sales in all industries and careers — and especially for graduating seniors who are seeking jobs in this market. If you enjoyed this episode, check out Macaluso's latest project, the...

We have to wait a few months to hear this year’s Commencement speaker, so listen to a rebroadcast of the rousing speech by Roy Peter Clark ’70 & ’17Hon., the retired senior scholar at The Poynter Institute, a journalism school in St. Petersburg, Fla. Like the Class of 2020, the Class of 1970’s final spring semester was cut short. He celebrates the 50th anniversary of their graduation this year...

Dr. Hugh F. Lena , provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, has been a member of the PC faculty since 1974. He shares his perspective on the growth and transformation that would have been hard to imagine in those early days, along with his insights on the characteristics that have made the College distinctive over the course of his career. He tells us about the ways in which the fac...