First impressions are often lasting, and Meghan Hughes is good at making them even on the first day on the job.
The new president of the Community College of Rhode Island took a break from her packed schedule of appointments Monday about noon to meet students in the student union. It was a fast-paced visit, yet personal and up-front with the students she met.
Thao Dong was one of the few to immediately recognize her and introduce herself. Hughes didn’t wait for introductions to talk with others. And there was more to the conversations than words.
Hughes not only uses her hands but also her arms and a range of facial expressions to get across her points. She is also a listener.
Engineering student Kevin Chevalier discovered that. Hughes quickly established what he is studying and his career goals and then offered the names of faculty he should speak with, adding, “let them know I suggested you contact them.”
Moments later, she was talking with Michael Chapasko, 32, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and is a second-semester freshman. Hughes wanted to learn Chapasko’s take on the college’s handling of military veterans and again offered the names of staff he might want to contact.
Hughes started her day at 5 a.m. and was in the gym by 5:30. She was in the office on the third floor of the Knight Campus superstructure by 8 for a full day of appointments.
“Deb keeps me active,” she said of Deborah Zielinski, assistant to the president.
The president’s office was stark, with a few bottles of water and cans of soda nestled in an otherwise bare bookcase, and an easel with white pad tilted to one side. Hughes’ plan is to go for a larger white board as a tool for strategy sessions and planning.
And she offered a confession.
Noting that the CCRI building has its critics for being overbearing, colorless and plainly functional, she said she is a fan of Brutalist architecture.
“I love this building,” she said.
She added it might take her some time to learn her way around it, however.
Hughes was upbeat about a productive meeting earlier in the morning with Rosemary Costigan, dean of academic affairs, “the core, or the heart of the school.”
Her afternoon schedule included a meeting with Electric Boat, adding that “other initiatives” are forthcoming. She didn’t offer any hints to what those might be.
“There’s a lot of good energy here,” she said.
Even before arriving at her office, Hughes said she was impressed by the “diversity” of CCRI students, observing that on the elevator she met a student who is the mother of a 10-year-old and another student ”older than me.”
Last week she visited the Listen Campus in Providence and crossed paths with a student from Year Up Providence that she directed.
“It’s so great to see you. Do you have a new job yet?” she recalls the student asking. They shared a laugh when she revealed she would start as CCRI president on Feb. 1.
Hughes is the college’s fifth president since it opened 51 years ago. She succeeds Ray Di Pasquale, who will be working at URI until his contract expires in June.
Hughes earned her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a doctorate in art history at New York University. She was a faculty member at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. and assumed the directorship of the non-profit Year Up in 2009. The program provides training for low-income young adults, including skill development, college credits and corporate internships lasting a year.
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