:this article is about the current institution that has used this name since 1960. for the institution that used this name from 1764 until 1804, see brown university.  rhode island college (ric) is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in providence, rhode island, usa. rhode island college is the oldest of the three public institutions of higher education that operate under the aegis of the board of governors for higher education; the two other institutions are the university of rhode island and the community college of rhode island. ==history== left|thumb|350px|rhode island normal school building, c. 1909 rhode island college was first established as the rhode island state normal school by the rhode island general assembly in 1854.about ric - history its creation can be attributed to the labors of henry barnard, the first state agent for education in rhode island who had established the rhode island teachers institute at smithville seminary in 1845, and his successor, elisha potter. rhode island state normal school was one of the nation's first normal schools (teacher preparatory schools), which grew out of the humanitarian groundswell of the mid-19th century spurred by educational missionaries like horace mann. the school attracted hard working young people who came chiefly from ordinary backgrounds, who wanted to teach and who had no other way of preparing themselves. not yet thoroughly convinced of the school's value, the general assembly curtailed its financial support in 1857 and the school was moved to bristol where it lingered until 1865 before closing. however, in 1869, the newly appointed state commissioner of education, thomas w. bicknell, began a vigorous personal campaign to revive the school.nea: luminaries, nea history, leaders his efforts were rewarded in 1871 when the general assembly unanimously voted a $10,000 appropriation for the school'
Educational_institutions_established_in_1854 New_England_Association_of_Schools_and_Colleges Rhode_Island_College Universities_and_colleges_in_Providence,_Rhode_Island