The Rhode Island Senate has approved legislation to rename the Community College of Rhode Island’s Newport campus in honor of former Senate President Maria Teresa Paiva Weed, a trailblazing Portuguese-American public servant and longtime advocate for higher education.
Paiva Weed, the granddaughter of Azorean immigrants, is the daughter of Arthur J. and Marie Paiva.
First elected to the Rhode Island Senate in 1992, she served for nearly 25 years, becoming in 2009 the first woman in state history to be elected President of the Senate. During her legislative career, she also made history as Rhode Island’s first female Senate Majority Leader and the first woman to chair the Judiciary Committee in either chamber.
“Teresa is a trailblazer who has made a powerful, positive difference for our state, for her home community of Newport, and for CCRI,” said Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin (D-Dist. 1, Providence). “Naming CCRI’s Newport campus in her honor is a fitting tribute for her many years of history-making service to CCRI and to our state.”
A graduate of The Catholic University of America School of Law, Paiva Weed built a legislative record marked by a wide-ranging and lasting impact. Early in her career, she led welfare reform efforts and was instrumental in establishing a merit-based system for judicial selection.
Her landmark legislative achievements include the creation of the Family Independence Act, the establishment of a statewide property tax cap, restructuring the Victims Compensation Fund, and championing green jobs, education and workforce training initiatives, and legislation to strengthen Rhode Island’s business climate. She was also a key advocate for funding the relocation of the Newport Pell Bridge ramps.
As Senate president, Paiva Weed guided into law major initiatives addressing the opioid overdose crisis, expanding access to mental health treatment and preventive services, and reforming the state’s sentencing and probation system. Her tenure also coincided with significant investment in education, including reforms to the education funding formula and a renewed focus on CCRI’s mission statewide.
“It would be difficult to overstate just how much Teresa has done for education at all levels and for CCRI in particular, while also being instrumental in the redevelopment of Newport’s North End,” Goodwin added. “She was a strong champion for the Newport campus and the city. This is a fitting tribute to her legacy.”
In 2017, Paiva Weed resigned from the Senate to become president of the Rhode Island Hospital Association, making history once again as the first woman to hold that position.
The legislation (2023-S 0442) was cosponsored by Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, Senate President Pro Tempore Hanna M. Gallo, and Senators Dawn Euer, Ryan W. Pearson, Louis P. DiPalma, Joshua Miller, Walter S. Felag Jr., V. Susan Sosnowski, and Frank S. Lombardi.
Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), the largest public two-year, degree-granting institution in New England, is headquartered in Warwick and serves students across the state through multiple campuses, including Newport.
PAJ/ Staff
