Raymond Di Pasquale, a former president of Rhode Island Community College and the State Board of Education, where he served as president, died Thursday, Massasoit Community College said in a statement.
Di Pasquale led CCRI for 10 years before stepping down in early 2016. He was appointed Rhode Island's commissioner of higher education in 2010 and served as interim education commissioner in 2013 when the university and K-12 oversight boards were combined.
After leaving CCRI, Mr. Di Pasquale was hired as president of Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh, New York, and in August 2021 became president of Massasoit College in Brockton, Massachusetts.
The General Assembly resolution honoring Mr. Di Pasquale noted that he added many new programs to CCRI, initiated energy cost reduction projects, and secured federal grants.
“Since Mr. Di Pasquale's arrival at CCRI, the university has experienced near-record enrollment and, in May 2012, produced its largest graduating class in history,” the resolution states. “CCRI is New England's largest community college, enrolling approximately 18,000 students each semester, and its non-credit division trains more than 30,000 Rhode Islanders each year, contributing to the state's workforce development efforts. It has become an important cog in the
Prior to coming to Rhode Island, Mr. Di Pasquale served as vice chancellor at the State University of New York at Brockport and previously worked at Springfield Technical Community College and Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts. Was.
A Massasoit news release said Mr. Di Pasquale was “committed to serving the community he calls home and working to improve the lives of others through education.”
