
Grant from the Pulitzer Prizes to Support Story in the Public Square
Newport, RI – The Pell Center is part of the winning team of a $45,739 grant from the Pulitzer Prize Board to the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities through Pulitzer’s Campfires Initiative for the program series What is the 21st Century Essay? An exploration of the changing nature of journalism and the humanities in the digital age, What is the 21st Century Essay? programming will thematically focus on environmental … Read More

Picks of the Week: The Dark Side of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Global Tensions Threaten to Upstage World Economic Forum in Davos | The New York Times An Open Letter to the Leaders of the World’s Governments signed by Organizations, Companies, and Individuals | Secure the Internet The ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution,’ by Klaus Schwab | The Financial Times Global leaders have gathered in Davos, Switzerland this week for the 46th annual World Economic Forum (WEF). Although recent global events—from Chinese economic slowdown to the … Read More

Spring 2016 Lecture Series Announced
The first event is a screening of “This Changes Everything” on January 26, 2016

An Extraordinary Year
It’s the Jubilee Year of Mercy – what exactly does that mean?

Surviving a Cyber Attack: Preparedness and Resiliency in Action
Newport, R.I.—Over 50 senior leaders and a small group of selected students gathered at the Pell Center on December 8, 2015 to participate in a four-hour cybersecurity tabletop exercise. The event, specifically designed for corporate executives and general counsels, was part of the Rhode Island Corporate Cybersecurity Initiative, and focused on best practices for incident response and mitigation. The exercise was led by a panel of experts, including: Ellen Giblin, … Read More

Racial tension, explosion of nativism: The 2015 Pell Center National Story of the Year
Newport, R.I. – The resurgence of racial tension across the United States and the explosion of nativism in American politics have been named the Pell Center National Story of the Year. These often-intertwined narratives dominated headlines and the public discourse during much of 2015, a year that saw the country still grappling with issues of identity, race and religion that predate the founding of the republic. From the police shooting … Read More

Picks of the Week: Protect Yourself from a Digital Grinch During the Holiday Season!
Don’t Get Grinched by Cybercrime During the Holiday Season | The New York Times Retailers Scrambling Against Latest Credit Card-Stealing Malware | Fortune Avoid Scams This Holiday Season | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement With exactly two weeks left in the holiday season, online sales—which, according to comScore, surpassed $3 billion on Cyber Monday, making it the largest online spending day in history—are expected to bring in at least $1 billion … Read More

Senior Fellow contributes to international publication on countries’ Cyber Readiness
Pell Center Senior Fellow Francesca Spidalieri provided extensive research and analysis for a new international publication on countries’ cyber readiness levels and the practical steps national leaders can take to protect their increasingly interconnected society and digital economy. Newport, R.I. – The “Cyber Readiness Index 2.0, A Plan for Cyber Readiness: A Baseline and an Index,” published by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies (PIPS), examines 125 countries and evaluates … Read More

Pell Center Names Pawsox as 2015 Rhode Island Story of the Year
NEWPORT, R.I. – The sale of the Pawtucket Red Sox and the team’s possible move from that city, potentially to another state, has been selected as the Pell Center’s Rhode Island Story of the Year. The Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Pawsox have been a Rhode Island sports and cultural institution for decades. So it was fitting that the February announcement of the sale of the team … Read More

Picks of the Week: 354 Mass Shootings in 336 Days
Rate of Mass Shootings Has Tripled Since 2011, Harvard Research Shows | Mother Jones How Often Do Mass Shootings Occur? On Average, Every Day, Records Show | New York Times “Thoughts and Prayers” Backlash After San Bernardino Shooting | NBC News At the time of this writing, we still don’t know the motive of the murderers in San Bernardino, California. But we do know their means. As in 353 other instances in the … Read More