Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state's director of adult education, Johan Uvin, is leaving Rhode Island after four years to work in Washington, D.C., with his former colleague, Brenda Dann-Messier, longtime director of the adult education center Dorcas Place, now a U.S. assistant secretary of education.

In early December, Uvin will begin a two-year assignment as a senior adviser to Dann-Messier, who reports to Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Undersecretary Martha Kanter.

"I feel honored for the state and for the Rhode Island Department of Education that Johan has been asked to contribute to the critical areas of work under the oversight of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education," state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist wrote in a letter to education department staff.

"I am confident that his work .... will greatly benefit youth and adult students across the nation and in Rhode Island."

It is unclear whether the state will hire a new adult education director.

In her letter, Gist only said she and Uvin would work closely together over the next month "to ensure that adult education will be able to maintain its elevated status in education and in the community..."

Uvin was hired in 2005, earning $105,000 a year. He held key positions in work-force development and adult literacy in Massachusetts and abroad, serving as vice president of Commonwealth Corporation, an economic development corporation in Boston, prior to coming to Rhode Island.

 Tags  adult education Brenda Dann-Messier Deborah A. Gist education Johan Uvin

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