A Tale of Two Mayors
In recent years, Rhode Island College alumni have increasingly emerged in political leadership positions around the state. Nowhere is this more evident than in Rhode Island’s second-largest city, where both the current and former mayors are RIC alumni. The current mayor of Cranston, Ken Hopkins, graduated in 1978, while the former mayor of Cranston, Allan Fung, graduated in 1992. Their paths are strikingly similar.
Fung served four terms as mayor of Cranston, from 2009-2021. Hopkins, then serving as citywide councilman, won the 2020 election to succeed Fung. Before he was elected mayor, Fung also served in the citywide council seat.
Both men also remember their alma mater fondly. Fung enjoyed his time as a student. He says, “RIC was an amazing educational and social experience. I was your typical RIC commuter but was still able to get involved in student government, become class treasurer, play on the tennis team and hang out with friends in the Student Union.”
Like many RIC students, he also faced challenges. “One of the biggest challenges was trying to maintain a work-life balance,” he says. “I learned to be organized. RIC had a lot of resources to help with that. Friends and networks also helped. I have the same friends in my life to this day.”
Along the way, Fung also learned crucial lessons about his future career in public service. “Helping my fellow classmates by being involved in student government really opened my eyes to the needs of others,” he says. “That experience stoked my passion for public service.”
Even though Fung graduated nearly 30 years ago, his experiences at RIC still influence him today. “RIC provided me with a solid educational foundation in political science and business,” he says. “These are lessons I still apply, whether in my former position as mayor or in my current role as a partner at a major law firm. My passion for helping others began on campus, and I carry this with me every day of my life.”
Prior to entering politics, Hopkins was a well-known figure to generations of Cranston residents. He was a teacher at Cranston High School East, the athletic director for the city’s schools and a longtime coach before being elected to the Cranston City Council in 2016. He was re-elected two years later.
Hopkins initially enrolled at RIC to play baseball as a pitcher. “I had been recruited by a number of colleges to pitch for their baseball programs. The coaches at RIC appealed to me,” he recalls. “I had some friends who were already there. I turned down scholarships from other schools to go to RIC because of my friendship with RIC coaches – Dave Stenhouse, in particular.”
College was also the place where Hopkins found love – in more ways than one. “Once I got to RIC, I fell in love with the place,” he says. “I met my future wife, too. I was actually out looking for food at about two o’clock in the morning and knocked on her door – she’s fed me for over 40 years now. Going to RIC was a good choice.”
Like his predecessor, Hopkins maintains a sense of gratitude for his time in college. His RIC experiences as both a student and a baseball player has kept him involved with RIC long after graduation.
“I coached at RIC for many years. I was the head women’s basketball coach for 13 years and head baseball coach,” he says. “It’s always been a place near and dear to my heart and I fully support the school and its mission to create the educators of the future. Education gave me a great career, and it started with that foundation at Rhode Island College.”