Salve Regina University Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Dean de la Motte, front left, and Admissions Counselor Karen Varieur, front right, listens as Dean of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education Dr. Thomas Sabbagh talks about the success of the pilot program which was launched two years ago in Pawtucket.   Times Photo/Butch Adams

By VINAYA SAKSENA

PAWTUCKET — Faculty, staff and administrators from Salve Regina University were joined by Mayor James Doyle and other local officials in celebrating the success of the school’s Pawtucket facility on Tuesday.

The event, which included a blessing of the facility by the Rev. Thomas O’Neil, the school’s chaplain, was intended to recognize the success of the Pawtucket learning center, located on the second floor of the Pawtucket Visitors Center.
According to a statement from the school, the Pawtucket facility has grown at a remarkable rate since its beginnings as a pilot program two years ago.
“It’s a very pleasant place to come and teach,” said Dr. Thomas Gidley, an adjunct faculty member who teaches health law at the Pawtucket location. “At the time I started (working here), this facility was being built. We had to use classrooms on the other side of the building. The Department of Labor and Training would have people working outside.”
Gidley said he was quite happy to see how much things have progressed since then, with respect to both the state of the building and the health of the programs that operate there.
Though it primarily houses graduate-level programs, the university’s Pawtucket facility also serves a large population of older students — representing an average age of 35 —  who are working on Bachelor’s degrees, particularly registered nurses, according to Dr. Dimity Peter, associate professor of rehabilitative counseling.
Peter added that Pawtucket was a very appropriate place to have such a program, given both the need for such services and the number of facilities providing them. And these services, she said, would likely become even more in demand as injured Iraq War veterans return home.
“Pawtucket does quite well with services,” she said. “Pawtucket’s got a good (amount) of services for people with disabilities, which people should feel good about. It’s not visible unless you come (here and see) what it has to offer.”
The school’s dean, Dr. Thomas Sabbagh, said the creation of a Salve Regina facility in Pawtucket was inspired by both real demand and his own desire to contribute to the city of his birth. Originally from Pawtucket, Sabbagh now resides in Lincoln, and said he regularly spends time in the new Pawtucket location while attending to his regular duties at the school’s main campus in Newport.
After noticing that a large number of students in the rehabilitative counseling programs lived in or around Providence, Sabbagh said, he and other school officials decided to look into the possibility of opening a new location in the Blackstone Valley area, also hoping to attract students from nearby Massachusetts. He said he first contacted Mayor James E. Doyle, who referred him to Blackstone Valley Tourism Council President Robert Billington.
Billington showed Sabbagh the space in the Visitors Center, formerly occupied by the Pawtucket School Department, which proved quite suitable for the school’s purposes.
“I didn’t know it was available,” Sabbagh said. “It was set up already for classes. I think this fits in perfectly with the mission of Salve.”
Doyle said he was happy to have the school’s satellite location in the city, noting that enrollment had nearly tripled since it had opened. Faculty and staff members said they felt the location served a special purpose for area residents, particularly those who did not have access to their own transportation, which might be necessary for attending the Newport campus.
“I think we have a state of the art teaching facility here,” said Michael Budd, professor of history and director of the school’s Ph.D program. “It’s a beautiful setting. There’s just huge potential as we work with the community and (interact) with the community and see what we can do here.” 
The Graduate Studies and Continuing Education Program will hold an information session on Thursday, Oct. 30, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center second floor, rear entrance. For more information call (800) 637-0002 or visit www.salve.edu.