Providence College School of Arts & Sciences

Take a look at the promotional video for Chemistry & Biochemistry which rising junior Luca DeLucia, an English-Creative Writing major and Film minor, has created!

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at PC This video provides information about the Department of Chemistry a...

Dr. Ileana Soto-Reyes, assistant professor of Neuroscience, has been awarded a Medical Research Grant from the Rhode Island Foundation for her project, 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘕 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. The program provides grant support throughout Rhode Island for laboratory, clinical and population-based research.

Congratulations to Dr. Soto-Reyes!

The School of Arts & Sciences is pleased to share that Assistant Professor of Physics, Raymond Simons, has received a grant from NASA through a subaward from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScl). Dr. Simons is the lead investigator of "A Census of Galaxy Kinematics and Outflows to z~7", a collaborative research project with more than 50 partners across the United States, which also includes Associate Professor of Physics, Joseph Ribaudo.

Congratulations to Dr. Simons!

Rev. Robert Randall ’06Hon., a longtime faculty member and beloved member of the Providence College community, has died at the age of 99.

Father Randall taught in the departments of English, Theology, and Development of Western Civilization, educating and inspiring generations of Friars. His legacy continues through the Rev. Robert Randall Distinguished Professorship in Christian Culture, the college’s first endowed chair.

Read more about Father Randall: link in comments.

Congratulations to Professor R. Alexander Orquiza, Ph.D., associate professor of history, who has been chosen as the 2025–26 Joseph R. Accinno Faculty Teaching Award recipient.

The award is presented annually to the Providence College faculty member who best exhibits excellence in teaching, passion and enthusiasm for learning, and genuine concern for students’ academic and personal growth. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Sharon Murphy, Professor of History & Classics, on being chosen as the recipient of the 2026 Providence College Faculty Service Award!

This award recognizes exceptional dedication to service as essential to the mission of the college and honors a faculty member who has made a profound impact through service.

Congratulations to Seann Mulcahy, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, as he has been chosen as the 2026 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award!

This award recognizes a tenured faculty member at Providence College who demonstrates the highest standards in research, scholarship, and contributions to an academic field.

Sharon Ann Murphy, Ph.D., of the Providence College Department of History and Classics has been awarded a a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation — one of the most distinguished honors bestowed on scholars and artists in the United States and Canada.

Murphy, who also serves as director of the college’s signature Development of Western Civilization Program, was among 223 individuals selected as members of the 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows from nearly 5,000 applicants.

Murphy will use the fellowship to support her book project, Doing Business in the Public Interest, during a full‑year sabbatical in the 2027–28 academic year. The project examines early 20th‑century American corporations — particularly life insurance companies — that challenged the emerging concept of shareholder primacy by pursuing policies they believed served the broader public good. Her research traces the evolution of corporate governance and corporate responsibility. In addition to the book, Murphy plans to develop several scholarly articles related to the project.

This year, Murphy also was selected to receive the Faculty Service Award, recognizing exceptional dedication to Providence College. She serves on numerous college-wide and department committees, mentors junior faculty, and is a dedicated advisor to students, including as the primary director for senior honors theses by history majors. In the last three years, she has been president of the Business History Conference, associate editor of the peer-reviewed journal Enterprise & Society: The International Journal of Business History, and served as soccer coach for several middle and high school teams.

Her books, Banking on Slavery: Financing Southern Expansion in the Antebellum United States, Other People’s Money: How Banking Worked in the Early American Republic, and Investing in Life: Insurance in Antebellum America, have received numerous awards as well.

Read more: link in comments

Congratulations to Professor Sharon Murphy, Ph.D., professor of history, who has been awarded a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship! Dr. Murphy joins the foundation's 101st class of 223 fellows.

During her fellowship period, Murphy will work on Doing Business in the Public Interest, an examination of early twentieth century corporations—principally life insurers—who pushed back against the emerging concept of shareholder primacy and instead chose to prioritize corporate policies that they believed to be in the best interests of the public. Murphy’s research seeks to uncover how the understanding of the proper role of the corporation within American society has evolved since the nineteenth century.

Since 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has offered fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form. Congratulations to Dr. Murphy on this accomplishment!!

2026 Edition Release Party - April 21st!