Marie Fraley, co-founder and former director of the Institute for Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rhode Island College and former managing director of the Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States, has donated $25,000 to the college to establish the Joseph George Ray Portuguese American Archives Endowed Fund. 

Administered by the Rhode Island College Foundation and named in honor of Fraley’s father, the fund is designed to support the establishment of the Rhode Island Portuguese American Archives, housed in Special Collections at Adams Library.

Specifically, the endowment will support the cataloging and preservation of the collection, sponsor internship and research opportunities for RIC students and support cultural events related to the collection.

Clark Greene, interim executive director of the RIC Foundation, states, “We are so grateful for Marie’s gift and her continued support of Portuguese studies at Rhode Island College.”

In addition to this generous donation, Fraley was the first to contribute to the archives. Among the items she’s donated are her father’s World War II medals and other insignia and his biography in book form, which embodies a legacy of Portuguese American life.

You can read more in an article at: https://www.ric.edu/news-events/news/25k-endowment-support-new-ri-portuguese-american-archives-ric