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Award-winning author Patricia Klindienst will visit Salve Regina this week to present vignettes from her book “The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans.”

Scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11 in the Bazarsky Lecture Hall, Klindienst’s presentation is co-sponsored by Aquidneck Community Table and the Aquidneck Land Trust. To RSVP, visit the Aquidneck Community Table website.

Klindienst’s book gathers stories of urban, suburban and rural gardens created by people rarely represented in American gardening books, including Native Americans, Asian and European immigrants and other ethnic groups. During the presentation, she will share photos and stories of the people she met and the places she discovered, offering a model for a truly restorative ecology.

The presentation will contribute to the ongoing conversation about growing food on Aquidneck Island in a sustainable way that also increases access to healthy food for all communities. The overall purpose is to spur discussion and action on strengthening the island’s food system through backyard gardens, community gardens and local farms.

Disruptive technology in health care will be the subject of an upcoming roundtable discussion sponsored by the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. The roundtable will be held at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, April 10 in the O’Hare Academic Building, Room 242.

Disruptive technology is a potential idea that, once implemented, has the power to change the way we do business. ATM machines were a disruptive technology in the 1980s, much like smartphone were a disruptive technology of the 2000s. Today, we could consider artificial intelligence, “smart” x-ray readers and wearable technology as current disruptors in the health care industry.

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan have announced that they will form a health alliance – one that is sure to be an industry disruptor. What would such a merger look like? How will these three giants use technology to drive health care costs down and quality up? What impact could such an alliance have on insurance as we know it?

Join moderator Dr. Myra Edelstein, associate professor in the Department of Business Studies and Economics, and be part of this fascinating and evolving conversation.

Roundtable discussions are open to Salve Regina students, faculty and staff. The Pell Center provides a free lunch. As space is limited, those interested in attending should RSVP to (401) 341-2927 or pellcenter@salve.edu.

President Jane Gerety, RSM has announced her plans to retire in June 2019. “This has been the best job in the world,” said Sister Jane, who will have served as president for a decade. “I’ve cherished my work, together with our faculty, of ensuring that every Salve graduate enters the ‘real world’ with the best chance to succeed – both personally and professionally.”

Sister Jane was inaugurated as Salve Regina’s seventh president in July 2009, and had previously served on the University’s board of trustees since 1995. The board has formed a national search committee, and during the next year Sister Jane will work closely with the University’s incoming provost and its new vice president for mission integration to ensure a seamless transition.

Under Sister Jane’s presidency, Salve Regina launched a doctorate program in nursing, a master of fine arts degree program in creative writing, expanded its programs and experiential learning opportunities in business, engaged in ground-breaking research in the sciences and established a campus in Warwick to serve the academic needs of working adults in graduate and continuing education programs.

Sister Jane oversaw the $26 million renovation of O’Hare Academic Building, which was completed in 2017. The project added 23,000 square feet to the University’s flagship academic building and provided critical updates to educational spaces, including establishing a collaborative learning environment and renovating laboratories for programs in science and nursing. The University opened a digital forensics lab and incorporated cyber education across the undergraduate curriculum.

Sister Jane led a major campaign, “Scholars and Scholarships,” to reach 100 gifted, endowed funds valued at more than $15 million to support students, faculty and research. More than $10 million was raised for the O’Hare Academic Building project, including a challenge grant to alumni that produced more than $1 million and the highest alumni participation for any building project. Campus buildings and programs were dedicated and named with philanthropic support, including the Rodgers Family Department of Nursing, the Noreen Stonor Drexel Cultural and Historic Preservation Program, and the John E. McGinty Lecture in History. In the last five years alone, more than $30 million in gift and future commitments were received. Under Sister Jane’s leadership, Salve Regina’s annual Governor’s Ball nearly doubled in support to more than $500,000 as the University’s signature event.

Sister Jane is currently leading the University’s proposal for two new residence hall construction projects that are in the review process before the city of Newport. When built, the new housing will give the University the capacity to house all freshmen, sophomores and juniors on campus to fulfill Sister Jane’s vision to create a cohesive, vibrant campus community where students interact with each other as they study, work, play and serve together.

Sister Jane’s career in health care and education spans five decades. She served as the executive board officer for Saint Joseph’s Health System in Atlanta before coming to Salve Regina. She entered the health care industry in 1992 when she joined Saint Joseph’s as senior vice president, sponsorship and corporate compliance officer.

Prior to her move to Atlanta, Gerety was the academic dean at Carlow College in Pittsburgh, where she also served as an associate professor of English, director of the Public Leadership Program and a learning skills specialist. She earned a bachelor’s degree in French from Mount Saint Agnes College, a master’s degree in French from Middlebury College and a doctorate in English from the University of Michigan. She has also taught at the junior high and high school levels.