Honorary Degree Awardees

These exceptional individuals will receive honorary doctorate degrees at our Commencement 2025 ceremonies.

Baccalaureate Ceremony Speaker

George Nee | Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

George Nee is a longtime leader of Rhode Island’s labor movement, joining the RI AFL-CIO as executive director in 1983 and serving as president from 2009 until retiring in 2024. A native of Boston, Nee came to Rhode Island in 1971 to organize a lettuce boycott for the United Farm Workers (UFW) of America. He had previously left Boston College to work for the UFW on a nationwide grape boycott.

Nee developed a close relationship with UFW President Cesar Chavez, which lasted until his death in 1993.

He was executive director of the RI Worker’s Association, an organization advocating for the rights of unemployed workers, from 1973 to 1976. In 1976 he founded the Service Employees International Union Local 76, organizing Rhode Island’s jewelry, clerical and healthcare workers, and served as president until 1983.

Throughout his career, Nee established himself as a community leader and reliable sounding board for political leadership. He has served as a member of the Governor’s Workforce Board, Rhode Island Commerce board, Rhode Island Convention Center Authority and Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, which he has chaired since 1995.

Nee has also been chairman of the Institute for Labor Studies and Research since 2009 and a board member of the American Center for Labor Studies since 2010. He is currently on the board of the Occupational and Environmental Health Center of Rhode Island, the Providence Performing Arts Center and Justice Assistance, a nonprofit legal organization. He was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2011.

Nee graduated from Rhode Island College in 1990, and his wife of 47 years, Anne Sliney ‘87, is a fellow alumna. George and Anne have three adult children: Patrick, Katie and Brigid, and nine grandchildren. They have given generously to Rhode Island College and recently created emergency and discretionary funds for RIC’s Zvart Onanian School of Nursing.

Advanced Degree Ceremony Speaker

Princess Sirleaf Bomba | Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

Princess Sirleaf Bomba has been an advocate for social justice and education for more than 30 years. She is the director of equity, community and belonging at The Wheeler School, a coeducational independent day school in Providence.

Prior to this, Bomba was the educational services coordinator for the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, where she advocated for the right to free and appropriate education for children placed in state custody.

She began her career in higher education as an admissions professional for Rhode Island College. During her tenure at RIC, Bomba oversaw a myriad of admissions programs for nontraditional students and taught a foundational course for adult students who were transitioning to postsecondary education.

Formerly, she served on the board of trustees for The Wheeler School, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and the Rhode Island Assault on Illiteracy Project. She was also on the board of directors for Youth in Action, The Center for Reconciliation and The UCAP School, an independent public school in Providence. She served as a mentor for the Young Women’s Equity Coalition.

Bomba currently serves on the board of Our Sister’s School in New Bedford, MA, and is a fellow with the National Black Leaders Institute. She also teaches Sunday school at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Providence.

In 2022 Bomba was awarded The Wheeler School’s Trustees Award and the Adoption Rhode Island Children First and Always Award.

Bomba is a two-time Rhode Island College graduate, earning her B.A. in communications in 1989 and her M.A. in agency counseling in 1996. She lives in Rumford with her husband and two sons.

Bette Gallogly | Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

Bette Gallogly has dedicated her life and career to transforming adversity into advocacy, exemplified by her dedicated work in securing stable housing and supportive services for homeless individuals.

Becoming a mother at 16, Gallogly balanced early parenthood with education, graduating high school and marrying at 18. She began her career working tirelessly as a waitress in the evenings, showing early signs of her unwavering determination. Despite facing significant personal challenges – including overcoming obstacles related to addiction and housing instability on the streets of Providence – she courageously sought treatment in Woonsocket, marking the beginning of her remarkable journey in recovery and social service.

Driven by her experiences, Gallogly participated in employment and training programs through Family Resources Community Action of Woonsocket (FRCA), quickly progressing from intern to receptionist. She further developed her professional skills by participating in the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Grant initiative, which focused on enhancing community health and supportive services. She later secured a case management position focused on wraparound services with Tri-Hab, Inc., Thundermist Health Center, NRI Community Services, Tri-County Community Action Agency and FRCA.

Gallogly’s dedication and skill led her to specialized training in substance abuse counseling, positioning her to transition effectively into the role of permanent supportive housing case manager. She soon advanced into supervisory roles, serving first as supervisor and subsequently as manager of the Woonsocket Shelter. Currently, she serves as shelter coordinator for Community Care Alliance, where her visionary leadership has resulted in the opening of three shelters since 2021: the LGBTQ+ Shelter, the NRI Winter Shelter and the Dignity Bus, further highlighting her profound impact and commitment to the Rhode Island community.

Jocelyn Foye | Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

Jocelyn Foye is a community leader, activist and advocate for reproductive rights and social justice. She is executive director and co-founder of The Womxn Project, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing equity, bodily autonomy and civic engagement through public education, advocacy and community organizing using the unique tool of artivism.

Under Foye’s leadership, the Womxn Project has become a visible and influential force in Rhode Island’s political and social landscape. The organization is known for its creative public interventions, statewide campaigns and community-led initiatives that address critical issues, such as reproductive freedom, healthcare access, LGBTQIA+ protections and gender equity. One of its recent initiatives, the Empowered to Advocate Series, offers tools, workshops and resources to help individuals become effective advocates and changemakers within their communities.

Foye’s approach blends art, activism, education and public engagement. The use of these tools is rooted in her history as a Gold Award Girl Scout and M.F.A.-trained sculptor and spectacle-based artist. She studied at Trinity College (CT) for her undergraduate degree and California State University, Long Beach, for her master’s degree in fine art.

Beyond the Womxn Project, Foye has served as a lecturer and design professor, sharing her experience in behavioral psychology’s impact on design, sculpture and community building through art.

After over a decade in California, Foye relocated to Rhode Island to work as a design professor; however, civic engagement and access to the process through artistic practices became her focus. With The Womxn Project, she varies her advocacy work, lobbying for reproductive rights at the State House and using her creative efforts to inspire others to get involved inside and outside that building. Inspired by community-driven change, her career reflects a belief in the power of collective action and transparency in government to include all.

Maria Cimini | Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

The Honorable Maria Cimini, who earned both her B.A. and M.S.W. from Rhode Island College, has dedicated her professional life to promoting social justice, equity and economic security. As a third-generation Rhode Islander who loves and believes in this state, she has worked to ensure individuals and families are given every opportunity to thrive. While earning her undergraduate degree in political science as a Pell Grant student she interned in the communications office of Gov. Lincoln Almond and with the Rhode Island Organizing Project laying the foundation for a career of service.  

For over 25 years, Cimini has worked to support oppressed communities. She managed the food pantry of South Providence Neighborhood Ministries and the statewide SNAP outreach project through the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America. She also facilitated programs to remove barriers to housing at the RI Coalition to End Homelessness and was an associate director for policy at the RI Department of Human Services. 

In May 2022 the Rhode Island Senate voted to approve Gov. Daniel McKee’s nomination of Cimini to lead the RI Office of Healthy Aging. As a member of the governor’s cabinet, she works to amplify the voices of older adults, identify gaps in services and create opportunities for older adults and their caregivers.

Cimini has consistently worked to make society better for everyone by supporting emerging leaders, offering second chances and showing up for others. She was proud to serve in the Rhode Island General Assembly representing House District 7 for two terms (2011-2014). For over a decade she served as an adjunct faculty member at the RIC School of Social Work. Since earning her M.S.W., she has continued to supervise social work student interns, especially those interested in policy and advocacy.

Meghan Grady | Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

Meghan Grady joined Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island in 2019 as executive director, modernizing the organization and fostering its growth in scope and fundraising. Under her leadership, the organization has continued to provide its More-Than-A-Meal service to thousands of at-risk individuals each year and has increased daily meal delivery by 50 percent over pre-pandemic levels.  

Prior to that, she served as chief operating officer for YWCA Rhode Island from 2011 to 2019. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Roger Williams University and a bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College.  

Grady is dedicated to public service and doing all she can to ensure that Rhode Island is a better place for all its residents. She has worked tirelessly to advance the organization’s work by equitably addressing food insecurity and healthcare issues. Meals on Wheels has expanded from traditional homebound older adults to include perinatal women, school-aged rural children and, through a new partnership with RIC and AIDS Care Ocean State, individuals living with HIV/AIDS. She instituted the organization’s culturally appropriate meal initiatives, including new meal menus and monthly café programs, most recently launching a Veterans Café in partnership with the Rhode Island Office of Veterans Services.  

Grady has been recognized for her leadership and service with numerous awards, including the Rhode Island Monthly & Rhode Island Foundation Christiana Carteaux Bannister Award, which recognizes individuals working to advance equity and promote diversity in the Ocean State. She was also highlighted three times by Providence Business News, earning their C-Suite Award for Nonprofit/Social Service Agency, Nonprofit Woman to Watch recognition for social services and appearing on their 40 Under Forty List.  

Grady currently serves as chair of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Aging and the Brown University School of Public Health Community Advisory Board. She has previously served on the board of United Way of RI and the RI Food Policy Council.