REV. KENNETH R. SICARD, O.P. ’78, 82G TO BE INAUGURATED AS 13TH PRESIDENT OF PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021: Providence College (PC) will celebrate the inauguration of Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P., ’78, ‘82G as PC’s 13th president on Friday, October 1st in the Peterson Recreation Center on the PC campus. Father Sicard took office on July 1, 2020 but the College was unable to hold the proper ceremonies to celebrate his inauguration due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A native of Fall River, MA, Fr. Sicard served as the College’s executive vice president and treasurer for 14 years, holding a broad range of responsibility as the president’s chief of staff, and providing oversight for the College’s general counsel as well as its divisions of athletics, external affairs/marketing/board relations, mission and ministry, student affairs, human resources, and public safety. He also served as PC’s acting president during former PC President Father Brian J. Shanley, O.P.’s six-month sabbatical in 2018.
Father Sicard has served as co-chair of all three of the College’s Strategic Planning Committees, including the most recent ten-year PC 200 Strategic Plan.
Following his graduation from Providence College in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, Father Sicard was employed as an audit manager at Fleet Financial Group (then Industrial National Bank) until 1984. During that time he pursued a master of business administration degree from Providence College, graduating in 1982.
In 1984, Father Sicard entered the Dominican Order, later earning his bachelor’s degree in sacred theology and master of divinity degree from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Following his ordination as a priest in 1990, his first assignment was as chaplain at Ohio Dominican College in Columbus, OH. Father Sicard served there for seven years, also holding the position of instructor in business and theology.
In 1997, Father Sicard completed his studies for a doctoral degree in business education at The Ohio State University and was assigned to PC as the dean of residence life. In this role, he administered and supervised the College’s residence life program and was responsible for overseeing all on-campus housing. He served as dean until his appointment as executive vice president in 2005.
From 2002 through 2010, Father Sicard also served as the treasurer of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph overseeing the financial and accounting operations of the province. From 2010-2016, he served as a member of the Economic Council of the Dominican Order.
Father Sicard chairs the President’s Cabinet, and sits on various committees of the College’s Board of Trustees, including the Executive Committee, and the Audit, Board Affairs, Finance, Investment, and Strategic Planning Committees. He is a trustee of St. Sebastian School in Needham, MA, and a member of that school’s Audit and Finance Committees. He is a former trustee of Roger Williams Hospital in Providence (2008-2013).
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