Arts and Sciences Alumni

Alumni Spotlights 

Alumni Service Award

Elizabeth Warburton Rochefort ’10

Elizabeth Warburton Rochefort ’10 is a principal architectural historian at the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission (RIHPHC). Her career in historic preservation began while she was a student at RIC, where she double majored in history and anthropology and received the Evelyn Walsh Prize in History and the Phi Alpha Theta Excellence in History Award. During her time as a student, Elizabeth worked as an intern at the RIHPHC and as a special collections assistant in the college archives at James P. Adams Library. After graduating from RIC, she earned a master’s degree in historic preservation from the University of Vermont. She then served as the collections manager at the Preservation Society of Newport County (Newport Mansions), where she managed the fine and decorative arts collection at ten of the country’s most beloved historic house museums. Elizabeth now serves as principal architectural historian at RIHPHC, the state agency that identifies and protects Rhode Island’s historic resources. Her accomplishments include preparing the 2021-2027 Rhode Island Statewide Historic Preservation Plan and writing nominations that resulted in hundreds of properties being listed in the National Register of Historic Places. All roads lead back to RIC: one of those nominations was based on research Elizabeth began as a student. In 2020, the State Home and School for Dependent and Neglected Children Historic District on RIC’s East Campus was listed in the National Register. Elizabeth is the president of the New England chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (NE/SAH), a trustee of Providence Preservation Society, and a former board member of the RIC Alumni Association (2017-2020). She and her husband Denis are the new owners of an old house in Pawtucket. 

Young Alumni Awards

Nick Lima '16

Nick Lima '16 is serving a third term as registrar/director of elections for the City of Cranston Board of Canvassers, where he has administered six elections since 2017. He manages the canvassing department staff, poll workers, logistics, voter registration, cybersecurity, early voting, and other related operations. A U.S. Army veteran, he earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from RIC in 2016. Along the way, Nick was active on campus as president, secretary, and speaker of Student Community Government, Inc., general manager of WXIN radio, and managing editor of The Anchor newspaper, amongst his involvement in numerous other campus organizations. He also contributed feature stories for What’s News at RIC and the Alumni Magazine. Nick also found time to meet his wife, Hillary Lima ’14, at RIC; they were officers in many of the same student clubs, and both volunteered summers for the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, where Nick was the team’s media relations director and broadcaster from 2004-2016. Growing up in Tiverton, Nick spent most of his adult life in Cranston, until he and Hillary purchased their first home together in Coventry in 2020.  

Ann Corvin '08

Ann Corvin '08 was the first in her family to earn a college degree, working full time while balancing classes and volunteer work. After graduating in 2008 with her degree in psychology from Rhode Island College, she became the Director of the Warwick Animal Shelter working to improve antiquated policies and practices within the shelter. Working alongside the Mayor of Warwick, Ann’s remarkable reputation amongst the city’s leadership and council members has provided her with platforms to work on budget reform, public education, health and safety issues within shelters, providing routine care for animals that are sick or injured, optimizing the shelter environment to reduce stress for animals, and fostering a solid working relationship with volunteer groups. Her leadership and expertise within her field has been recognized by Rhode Island Monthly, the Warwick City Council and the City of Providence, where she served as a consultant to assist in revising policies and procedures in their shelter. Ann’s work has served as a shining example for the state; the Warwick Animal Shelter was one of the first municipal shelters to implement changes to shelter operations and policies making it a more humane environment. Over the years, the Warwick Animal Shelter has also been considered to be one of the best municipal shelters in the state. Ann credits her achievements and leadership skills to her education at RIC, having applied the foundations of her course studies to animal behavior and her field, as well as her interactions with colleagues and members of the community.  Ann has made the animal shelter the high quality facility that it is today.

Joseph Pari '94

Joseph Pari '94 is a co-founder and owner of TEN31 Productions, a performing arts company specializing in event entertainment based in Pawtucket, RI. He is a visual artist and costume designer residing in Providence. Graduating from Rhode Island College in 1994 with a degree in psychology, Joe followed his interest in mental healthcare and spent nearly a decade as a social worker. In 2000, along with his business partner, he created the first iteration of “The Living Gargoyle” a performance art piece at WaterFire; it was from these early performances that an idea for a company and new career path was born. Joe currently serves as the chair and founding board member of the Roger Williams Park Conservancy, as well as advisor at the Providence Public Library for the LGBTQIA+ Collection and chair of the Special Collections Committee. As a lifelong resident of Rhode Island, he is committed to his community, historic preservation and the local arts community. Joe has also personally restored two historic properties in Providence, an 1890s three-family home on the East Side and his current residence, a former neighborhood commercial bakery from the 1910s in the North End. Currently, he is enjoying speaking engagements and guest lecturer opportunities at businesses and academic institutions and hosting tour groups to the TEN31 Studios to share his unique experience. Through his talks on the creative process, Joe hopes to encourage and inspire others in exploring various interests, as well as their own creative talents. Additionally, this past year, Joe wrote and directed a short film, Unalienable, responding to commemorative works in the United States. The film was a project of TEN31 featuring performers from the company.

Eric Auger '92

Eric Auger '92 is a mixed media artist and costume designer living and working in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Rhode Island College in 1992 with a B.F.A. in photography and a minor in graphic design. He expresses his unique style in a variety of media including acrylic paint on canvas, pastel, colored pencil, photography and electronic images. The world of commercial photography welcomed Eric after his graduation, but his strong eye for visual arts and color led him down the path to fashion and window design. After his 14-year career as a visual merchandiser for one of the country's top retailers, the show business bug bit Eric and he became a performance artist. As co-founder and creative director of TEN31 Productions for the past 21 years, Eric has traveled around the world showcasing the company’s one of a kind unique imagery, created hundreds of handcrafted costumes, manages their 8,000 square foot studio space, and edits sound and video for their YouTube page and seasonal events. He has recently returned to his first love of painting on canvas and photography. Since 2011, Eric has been a featured artist in several group exhibitions, as well as solo shows that have showcased his iPhone images. He is also the volunteer curator for the Forget-Me-Not Gallery in Pawtucket, which raises money to support the Samaritans of RI.