Rhode Island Business and Community Leader to Receive Honorary Degree

A leader in the business community, it's not uncommon to see Sollosy at the Statehouse when the legislature is in session, working with lawmakers to insure that the views of businesspeople are heard. He was instrumental in bringing labor and business together to create a state workers' compensation fund and is known as a bridge builder between people with opposing viewpoints. Many of the workers' compensation reforms he helped shape have now been copied by other states.
      As he's worked to improve the Rhode Island business climate, Sollosy has also strived to enhance the lives of the people who live in the Ocean State. He served as chairman of the board of the Providence Public Library where he helped to increase funding and expand services. He has worked with many non-profit organizations including the Jewish Home for the Aged and Big Brothers of Rhode Island.
      Sollosy says that from the time he was a child, he was taught that to be part of a community, you can't just take, you have to give. Schooled by his grandparents' example, he watched as his grandmother made sure that patrons of her neighborhood grocery store never went hungry, even if they had no money to pay for food.
      Sollosy encourages New England Tech graduates to stay involved in their communities. " If we don't have strong communities, it will have an adverse effect on everything," Sollosy says. "It's to your advantage to help your community. You'll have a better life as a result."
     Many honors and awards have been given to Sollosy for his commitment to helping others. It is a privilege for New England Institute of Technology to be the first to award him an honorary degree.