Rhode Island's Founders

Dr. Patrick T. Conley holds an AB from Providence College, an MA and PhD from the University of Notre Dame with highest honors and a JD from Suffolk University Law School. He has published eighteen books, including Catholicism in Rhode Island: The Formative Era (1976); Democracy in Decline: Rhode Island's Constitutional Development, 1775, 1841 (1977); An Album of Rhode Island History, 1636, 1986 (1986); The Constitution and the States (1988); The Bill of Rights and the States (1992), with John Kaminski; Liberty and Justice: A History of Law and Lawyers in Rhode Island, 1636, 1998 (1998); and The Rhode Island Constitution: A Reference Guide (2007), with Justice Robert G. Flanders, as well as more than a score of scholarly articles on history, law, ethnic studies, religion and political science. The youngest person ever to attain the rank of full professor at Providence College, Dr. Conley also practices law and manages a real estate development business. 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. Dr. Conley was also chairman of the Rhode Island Bicentennial (of the Constitution) Foundation and chairman of the U.S. Constitution Council. In May 1995, he was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, one of a handful of living Rhode Islanders who have been accorded that honor. Presently, he is president of the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, president of the Heritage Harbor Museum and chairman of the Rhode Island Senior Olympics. Pat, who is the father of six children and the grandfather of seven, lives in Bristol, Rhode Island, with his wife, Gail, and their dog, Bridget.