Monday, April 26, 2010

PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame will induct eight more Rhode Islanders, three posthumously, in ceremonies Saturday at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, in Cranston.

Patrick T. Conley, president of the Hall of Fame’s board of directors, says the 8 who have been selected this year will join 647 other illustrious Rhode Islanders, from Roger Williams to the present, who have been honored since the hall’s creation in 1965.

The honor goes to "any individual who has brought credit to Rhode Island, brought Rhode Island into prominence and contributed to the history and heritage of the state," with a stipulation that they must have been born in Rhode Island, lived, studied or worked here for a significant time, or made their reputation in the state.

The Hall of Fame is expected to be ultimately located on the Providence waterfront at the as-yet-unopened Heritage Harbor museum.

This year’s inductees are:

•Robert D. Ballard, a world-renowned professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island and founder and president of the Institute for Exploration. He is known for the discovery of underwater hydrothermal vents and shipwrecks including the Titanic, Lusitania, Bismarck, the Yorktown and PT-109. He is an author and a television personality.

•Dr. Joseph E. Cannon, a former colonel in the Army Medical Corps who organized and led the state Department of Health for 23 years. He gained national recognition and prestigious awards for his leadership on such public health issues as immunization and statistics, and for his role in founding the Brown School of Medicine. Cannon died in 1989 and the state’s Department of Health building bears his name.

•Susan L. Farmer, of Providence, the first woman to hold statewide office when she was elected secretary of state in 1982. She was president and CEO of Rhode Island PBS for 17 years, gaining acclaim for her achievements in public television, as a director of numerous government and public service boards and commissions, and as a humanitarian.

•Malcolm J. Grear, a nationally prominent graphic designer, professor at Rhode Island School of Design and president of Malcolm Grear Designers of Providence. His clients have included the 1996 Centennial Atlanta Olympic Games, the National Gallery, the Metropolitan Opera, Hallmark Cards, Worth Publishers, Harvard University and the Veterans Administration.

•Kathleen Sullivan Connell, of Newport and Middletown, a nurse, health-care activist, educator and local government official, who was elected to three terms as secretary of state. The state director of the AARP, she is also a specialist in international relations and is a past president of several foundations including the Japan-America Society/Black Ships Festival.

•Yat K. Tow, of Providence, the late proprietor of three notable restaurants, the Port Arthur and Ming Garden in Providence and the Great House in Warwick. Tow, who died in 1990, was a recognized cultural leader of the state’s Chinese-Americans, assisting them with housing, employment, education and other challenges. He is the hall’s first Chinese-American inductee.

•George A. Wiley, of Warwick, a well-regarded research chemist by profession and a national leader in the civil-rights movement. He was a director, with James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality, and a founder of the National Welfare Rights Organization. His tragic death in a boating accident in 1993 cut short his humanitarian efforts, which are commemorated by the George Wiley Center in Pawtucket.

This year’s induction ceremony will begin with a social hour at 6 p.m. followed at 7 p.m. by dinner, entertainment and the ceremony.

Richard C. Dujardin