The Makers of Modern Rhode Island
Dr. Patrick T. Conley is president of both the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame and the Heritage Harbor Museum of Rhode Island History (Rhode Island's first state history museum). Dr. Conley holds an AB from Providence College, an MA and PhD from the University of Notre Dame and a JD from Suffolk University Law School. He is the author of numerous books, most of which focus directly on Rhode Island's history, as well as dozens of similarly themed scholarly articles. He has served as chairman of the Rhode Island Bicentennial Commission, chairman and founder of the Providence Heritage Commission, chairman and founder of the Rhode Island Publications Society and general editor of the Rhode Island Ethnic Heritage Pamphlet Series. In 1977, he founded the Rhode Island Heritage Commission. He was also chairman of the Rhode Island Bicentennial [of the Constitution] Foundation, chairman of the U.S. Constitution Council and founding president of the Bristol Statehouse Foundation. He is a college professor in the subjects of history and law (Providence College, Salve Regina College, Roger Williams University School of Law), frequently gives lectures, writes an editorial column for the Providence Journal and publishes book reviews for the New England Quarterly. In May 1995, Dr. Conley became one of a handful of living Rhode Islanders to be inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.