Pell Center announces spring 2026 events series
We invite you to join us for our lecture series this spring. These events are free and open to the public. Learn more about each lecture and register using the links provided below!
America 250
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in Bazarsky Lecture Hall
This year, America celebrates 250 years of independence; 250 years of Enlightenment ideals; 250 years of the rhetoric of republican virtue and government, even if our history is more complicated than that. This panel featuring Salve scholars from the Departments of History and Political Science, as well as the University’s Nationhood Lab will examine the history of America’s founding, the legacy of events 250 years ago, and the challenges to those enduring ideals, today.
“Best Laid Plans: The Quest for Community Development Strategies that Make a Lasting Difference”
Friday, March 27, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. in the Young Building Ballroom
On April 8, 2026, RENEWport and Salve Regina will co-host Zita Cobb, a visionary leader in community development, most well-known for the transformational impact of her Shorefast Foundation in restoring the economic and community wellbeing of Fogo Island in Newfoundland.
Cobb's inspiring story is part of a larger narrative about community development models—those that work and those that don’t. To prepare our Newport audience for Cobb’s visit, Newport resident Jere Wells will present a framing lecture: "Best Laid Plans." Formally the director of the Glenn Institute for Service Learning and Philanthropic Education in Atlanta and, later, the director of the Educational Leadership and Ministry program at Yale, Wells will provide historical background, theoretical context, and useful vocabulary for understanding why some efforts at community development fail and some succeed, and what research teaches about the difference between the two.
A Framework for Community Economic Stewardship: Learnings from Fogo Island
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in Bazarsky Lecture Hall
What is the role of communities in shaping a new economic order? In our increasingly complex and increasingly digital world, Zita Cobb argues that communities of place are indeed the units of design for ensuring a more prosperous, dignified and resilient future. Building on the story of her island home, she will demonstrate that engaged residents, working together across organizations and sectors can and should be powerful stewards of their communities starting with the economies that underpin them.
This event is in collaboration with RENEWport.
In Conversation with Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. in Bazarsky Lecture Hall
Rhode Island Center for the Book and the Pell Center present an evening with Dolen Perkins-Valdez, the author of Happy Land, the 2026 selection for Reading Across Rhode Island's all-state read. Dolen Perkins-Valdez will be in conversation with Jim Ludes, the Executive Director of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy.
This event is in collaboration with Rhode Island Center for the Book.