Warford named Woman of the Year

SUSAN WARFORD has been named Woman of the Year by the University of Rhode Island Association of Academic and Professional Women. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
SUSAN WARFORD has been named Woman of the Year by the University of Rhode Island Association of Academic and Professional Women. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Susan D.G. Warford has been named Woman of the Year by the University of Rhode Island Association of Academic and Professional Women.

Warford, of Wakefield, worked for 27 years as program director of the University of Rhode Island’s Child Development Center.

She will be honored May 6 from 3-5 p.m. at the University Club, 95 Upper College Road.

“Sue’s retirement from the Child Development Center in Kingston is a significant loss for URI and the College of Human Science and Services,” Lori E. Ciccomascolo, interim dean of the college, said in a statement. “As the director, Sue balanced the dual mission of the center, a laboratory for early development and a childcare facility with research opportunities to further the knowledge of students in early child development and education. But her managerial accomplishments pale in comparison to her kindness and compassion for her colleagues and the children at the center. There is a saying that ‘It takes a big heart to help shape little minds,’ and I think that perfectly describes Sue.”

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Warford said she is “honored” by the recognition.

As the Child Development Center’s director, Warford was an educational consultant, writer and editor for the state’s Early Learning Standards Project for the state Department of Education, was a member of several URI search committees and a member of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies Undergraduate Committee.

Her outreach included membership on the Governor’s Early Learning Council, the Rhode Island Early Learning Council Work Group, the state’s TEACH Advisory Council and the Early Childhood Professional Core Competency Workshop for the state Department of Education.

While her service and professional publications and presentations focused on the development of pre-school and kindergarten children, and university students wishing to enter the field, she said her heart was in the day-to-day work with young people.

“I think of myself as a very lucky woman who has had the opportunity to work with children, families and university students,” Warford said. “There is nothing like being around children to give you a fresh view of the world. And there is nothing like working with university students as they bring excitement and new ideas to the center.”

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