This article originally appeared in the Spring 2002 Talent Development Newsletter.
Some minor editorial changes have been made.

When one thinks of the Talent Development Program, one often of it the way it is today: the advisors, Taft Hall, the PREP and PreMat Programs. Some even remember the days when Reverend Hardge and Mr. D. directed the program and walked the campus as one. But few know how the program came to be what it is today, and even fewer know about the man who made it all possible.

Dr. Harold V. Langlois is that man. Graduating from URI in 1967 and completing his masters at the University of Indiana, the 24-year-old Dr. Langlois returned to URI in 1968 with an idea, a dream and ambition. According to Dr. Langlois, the story of how TD started is a story about leadership, anxiety, risk-taking and learning.

Without any experience and a budget of only $56,000, Dr. Langlois set out to start a six-week summer program at URI. The program, originally named Programs for Disadvantaged Students, targeted individuals ages 24-25 who wanted to pursue a college education but were in some way disadvantaged and unable to attend a college or university.

The program was undefined in what it wanted to accomplish and started as an unformed idea, Dr. Langlois said. It did not require high school transcripts and it did not have any admissions requirements. The only thing the program required was students who wanted to learn. Fifty-three students, primarily from South Providence, Fox Point and Newport, were recruited to begin the first TD summer program in 1968. “These were good, solid people who wanted to go to school but were very unprepared,” Dr. Langlois said.

The program brought great change to URI, and the experience was new to both the university and the students. “With change rises anxiety,” Dr. Langlois said. “It is important to understand the student’s anxiety about moving from inner city environments to a college campus.” To deal with the anxiety felt by the university, faculty and students, Dr. Langlois created sensitivity programs for the faculty, which included two courses, Urban Education and Building Sensitivity. The courses dealt with understanding issues of race, sex, age and socio-economic influence on culture. It was about understanding “pluralism.” Dr. Langlois said. “There was no vehicle for minorities. No minority representation in politics or higher education.”

According to Dr. Langlois, 42 of the students made it through the summer program, 13 of whom attended URI in the fall. The remaining students attended RIC or Rhode Island Junior College (now CCRI). “Each student added a unique commitment of their own, not a minority commitment, but a personal commitment to do well. The students took the program and made it really work,” Dr. Langlois said.

It was after the first summer that TD obtained the name it has today. According to Dr. Langlois, the name Programs for Disadvantaged Students was a terrible name for the program because the word “disadvantaged” seemed to be synonymous with minority groups and therefore portrayed a negative connotation. Dr. Langlois said he came up with the name Special Programs for Talent Development while walking across campus one afternoon. Ultimately, the program’s name was structured around the word “talent.” “I liked the idea of ‘talent’ and the program essentially was aimed at developing talent,” Dr. Langlois said. And so the program became SPTD – Special Programs for Talent Development.

The once unformed idea of starting a college program for minority and disadvantaged individuals was beginning to expand and take form. The second year of the program the number of students doubled, and 50 entered URI in the fall. During this time, URI experienced a bad budget crunch and was planning to cut TD funding. According to Dr. Langlois, the URI Faculty Senate stepped forward in defense of TD and stated, “Even if we do not get our raises, we want the Talent Development Program to go untouched.” As a result of the faculty’s efforts, Talent Development was able to continue. With university and federal funds, the program received a budget of $150,000.

With the program reaching new heights, Dr. Langlois brought in the services of Leo F. DiMaio, Jr. (Mr. D) and the Reverend Arthur L. Hardge. The connection between Dr. Langlois and Mr. D. dates back to their childhood when the two played basketball at the Providence Community Center. Having worked at the ACI with Dr. Langlois’ father, Dr. Langlois believed that Mr. D. had the “kind of spirit, ethic and dedication to get something done and that his skill sets would be better used for pursuing positive gains.”

Looking for someone who could take the program to the next level, Dr. Langlois introduced Reverend Hardge who was not only well known politically, but also had a strong hold on the Providence community and according to Dr. Langlois, could “represent the program in a meaningful way. A 24-year-old white male going into black communities was not effective,” Dr. Langlois said.

And so goes the story of Talent Development. “We learned from going and what we learned we implemented,” Dr. Langlois said. “TD came about as a need to produce something that needed to get done. It didn’t have to do with color, it didn’t have to do with what was right, it had to do with justice. It was a responsibility to represent the unrepresented.”

Editorial Note: The original article was written to fit the format of the newsletter. As part of converting it to web format, some words and phrases have been added and some paragraphs were combined. Additional pictures have been added.