Ashaway Free Library

Fran Cohen is the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Ashaway Free Library and has served on the Library Board for six years. She worked at the University of Rhode Island for 37 years, retiring as Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs. Responsibilities of that position included community standards and discipline, substance abuse prevention, disability services, women’s center, commuter affairs, Greek affairs, multicultural student services, international students and scholars. She has served as Principal Investigator for projects funded by the US Department of Education, the National Institute of Health and other agencies and foundations.

Nathaniel Mitkowski is a member of the Ashaway Free Library Building Committee and the chair of the Department of Plant Sciences and Entomology at the University of Rhode Island, where his research and teaching focuses on turfgrass management.  He has also conducted research on the potential effects of climate change on native plant populations in the Northeast.  He has been very active in Ashaway Scouting, serving as the Cubmaster of Pack 1 Ashaway for the past 6 years and Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 21 Ashaway for the last two years.