Biden to Visit Salve Regina

Vice President Joe Biden will visit Salve Regina University next month to honor Nuala Pell for her lifetime of humanitarian service and leadership.

The event, hosted by the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Ochre Court on Aug. 22, will feature the announcement of the Nuala Pell Leadership Program in Public Service. Nuala Pell is the wife of former RI Sen. Claiborne Pell.

“An opportunity to celebrate the life work of Nuala Pell is something we knew would inspire an outpouring of enthusiastic support,” said Sister Jane Gerety, RSM, president of Salve Regina. “We’re honored that Vice President Biden expects to join the celebration as well.”

All four members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation, instrumental in arranging the Vice President’s participation, spoke highly of Pell in expressing their support of the leadership program named in her honor.

“Nuala Pell is a treasure,” said Sen. Jack Reed. “I can think of no better way to honor her life of graceful service than to create a program to prepare the next generation of leaders. Salve Regina University, the state of Rhode Island, and the country will be better for this kind of effort, and I am proud to support it.”

“Nuala and Claiborne Pell have left their mark on our Ocean State in so many ways,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said. “This program will inspire a new generation of Rhode Island leaders, and is a fitting tribute to Nuala’s legacy of service. I’m looking forward to this special event.”

“The Pell name has long been synonymous with public service, locally, nationally and internationally,” Rep. Jim Langevin said. “Over the 20 years I have been fortunate enough to know Nuala Pell, she has lived up to that reputation, selflessly serving her state and advocating on issues most important to her community. I am proud to call her a friend. She is a role model to me, and I am so glad that our state’s future leaders will also benefit from the example she has set.”

“I am looking forward to welcoming Vice President Biden to Rhode Island later this summer for a celebration of Nuala Pell’s lifelong commitment to public service, as well as the establishment of the Nuala Pell Leadership Program in Public Service at Salve Regina University,” said Rep. David Cicilline. “Mrs. Pell has devoted her life to our state and its people, and I am honored to join my colleagues in paying tribute to her extensive accomplishments.” 

The Nuala Pell Leadership Program in Public Service will support leadership development opportunities for students at Salve Regina University, a deep interest of Pell’s as a trustee of the university and an advocate for the Pell Center. The program will invest students with leadership skills and experience, exposure to important public issues, and opportunities to participate in seminars and programs featuring prominent policymakers and scholars shaping the public debate. In preparing future leaders in public service, the university will inaugurate a sustainable legacy for the values closest to Pell’s heart.

From her 1944 marriage to Claiborne Pell, Nuala O’Donnell Pell was known for her advocacy for progressive causes, including the well-being of the elderly, women’s health care issues and the arts and humanities in America.