CCRI’s Di Pasquale is finalist for Louisiana commissioner

Posted 9/23/14

Rhode Island could be in for a flip-flop.

Last week, Community College of Rhode Island President Ray Di Pasquale disclosed to members of the CCRI Foundation that he is one of three finalists for …

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CCRI’s Di Pasquale is finalist for Louisiana commissioner

Posted

Rhode Island could be in for a flip-flop.

Last week, Community College of Rhode Island President Ray Di Pasquale disclosed to members of the CCRI Foundation that he is one of three finalists for Commissioner of Higher Education for the Louisiana Board of Regents. If he gets the job, Di Pasquale would succeed Jim Purcell, who the Rhode Island Board of Education appointed as Commissioner of Higher Education in June. Purcell served in the Louisiana post for three years before abruptly leaving the job on March 20 of this year.

In an email to CCRI Foundation Trustees Friday morning, Di Pasquale writes, “I have spoken with the [Louisiana] Board of Regents and was informed late this afternoon that I am one of three finalists for the position, which oversees 38 institutions and more than 217,000 students.”

Di Pasquale goes on to say, “While I remain committed to the Community College of Rhode Island and have a strong passion for my role as your president, I have agreed to visit in mid-October. To be considered for this position is an honor and a tribute to the good work being done at CCRI.”

In a telephone call yesterday, Di Pasquale said he had an hour-long call with the Louisiana board last Wednesday, and they called him the following day saying they wanted to consider him as a finalist for the job.

“I had a wonderful conversation with them,” Di Pasquale said. “This is a large system and very different than what I’m doing. I have got to look at it professionally.”

Later in the interview, Di Pasquale repeated that this would be an opportunity to lead a large system, and said, “I’ve got to explore it.”

According to news reports by the Associated Press, Purcell faced a rocky road in Louisiana, where the staff of Gov. Bobby Jindal sought to have him fired for the manner in which he dealt with steep budget cuts. According to the report, Purcell was faced with a $700 million cut in state funding that some legislators said had him dealing with budget cuts rather than new strategies.

Di Pasquale believes some of those differences between the regents and the governor have been ironed out.

“Hopefully they have turned the corner on this,” he said.

He sees a challenge in that Louisiana projects the need to grow its workforce, mostly in the area of petroleum, by 80,000 in the next several years. He sees the educational system as helping meet that demand.

Di Pasquale, who was recruited by former Rhode Island Commissioner of Higher Education Jack Warner was named president of CCRI on July 1, 2006. He came aboard at a difficult time, as the college faculty had taken a vote of no confidence in the college’s former president, Thomas Sepe.

Since then, under Di Pasquale’s direction, the college has added programs and courses, and he has instituted energy-saving programs and expanded career pathway programs. According to Di Pasquale’s biography, posted on the CCRI website, he spearheaded the college’s first capital campaign, which has raised more than $5 million toward improvements to the library, dental lab and theater.

Last month, Di Pasquale launched the college’s 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated with a series of events during the academic year.

Perhaps most significant in making him a candidate for the Louisiana post is that in January 2010 when Warner left the state for South Dakota – where he is the chief officer of that state’s board of regents – Di Pasquale assumed the responsibilities of commissioner while continuing in his job as college president. He held the two positions until August 2013 as the board conducted its search for a full-time commissioner. Di Pasquale feels his experience in an elective office in Massachusetts, president of a college and a “systems person” were also considerations.

In his email to trustees, Di Pasquale said, “I wanted you to hear it from me as soon as possible. This process still has a long way to go and I am still in the fact-finding stage. I will keep you apprised as the situation develops.”

According to news reports, the Louisiana board has set the commissioner’s salary at about $300,000.

The Rhode Island commissioner’s post was advertised at $135,000 to $175,000.

The Louisiana Board of Regents did not return a call, and Purcell could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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