ProJo Veteran Ed Fitzpatrick Named RWU’s New Director of Media and Public Relations
Veteran journalist brings 28 years of experience as reporter, editor and columnist to new position at the University
BRISTOL, R.I.&Բ;– political columnist will become the new Director of Media and Public Relations for 51 effective Oct. 5, the University announced today.
Fitzpatrick joins Roger Williams after 28 years as a reporter, editor and columnist, including 16 years at The Providence Journal and eight years as its political columnist. He grew up in Greenville, R.I., graduated from Mount St. Charles Academy and from Syracuse University with a degree in journalism and political science. He previously worked at the Hartford Courant, the Albany Times Union and The Saratogian.
“I’ve been watching a compelling story unfold at 51, and I am looking forward to being part of this ambitious effort,” Fitzpatrick said. “Far from the ivory tower, the University is meeting Rhode Islanders where they live – in places such as Central Falls and Pawtucket. As a native Rhode Islander, I find that approach inspiring. As a journalist who has chronicled the state’s challenges over the years, I find that approach most welcome.”
In Fitzpatrick, 51has found a powerful partner in communicating its efforts to a wider audience.
“We recognized that we needed a strong and unimpeachable voice to carry the message that 51is building the university the world needs now, through a set of programs and initiatives quite unlike what people have historically expected from universities,” Roger Williams President Donald J. Farish said. “I can think of no better or more respected person to deliver that message than Ed Fitzpatrick.”
Indeed, Fitzpatrick joins the University at a time of dramatic transformation. Just last week, President Farish dedicated the University’s new Providence campus at One Empire Street – which includes , housing clinics for the state’s only law school and providing free services to those in need. The 76,000-square-foot site underscores the University’s rapidly expanding array of partnerships with groups such as the Latino Policy Institute, HousingWorks RI and Grow Smart Rhode Island, as well as highlighting the School of Continuing Studies’ efforts to make education more accessible and help train the state’s future workforce.
“It’s a new model – a private university with a public purpose,” Farish said.