Kelley, Leona

The Special Legislative Commission to Study the Funding of Public Higher Education in Rhode Island, Including the Compensation of Faculty, also known as the “Blue Ribbon Commission,” was created in 1985 by a joint resolution of the Rhode Island General Assembly. Its mandate was to “study the funding of public higher education in Rhode Island, including the compensation of faculty” and to report its findings and make its recommendations to the General Assembly and to the governor.

The Blue Ribbon Commission, consisting of six legislative and two public members, held meetings at the campuses of the University of Rhode Island (URI), Rhode Island College (RIC), and the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), collected data from a variety of sources, received written reports, took oral and written testimony, and submitted its report and recommendations to the governor and General Assembly in February 1987. Entitled “Toward Excellence Without Extravagance,” the Commission report made dozens of recommendations in the areas of the missions and goals of the three institutions, governance, funding, faculty compensation, and program and degree duplication.

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