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May 8, 2008

Governor's ex-deputy chief of staff has new job -- in higher ed office

John "J.R.'' Pagliarini, dimissed in February by Governor Carcieri from his job as the governor's deputy chief of staff, has landed at the state Office of Higher Education.

Jack Warner, commissioner of higher education, confirmed today that Pagliarini has a $115,000-a year state job as associate commissioner of higher education. When he worked at Carcieri's office, Pagliarini earned roughly $118,000 annually.

After his dismissal from Carcieri's staff, Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said that Pagliarini would be leaving state government.

Pagliarini has has a history dating back to the 1980s administration of former Gov. Edward DiPrete and is well-known and well-liked in in Republican circles in Rhode Island. He was a top aide to Lincoln Chafee when Chafee was mayor of Warwick, where Pagliarini served as the mayor's communications director.

After Chafee became U.S. senator, Pagliarini worked as state director of Chafee's Rhode Island office. Pagliarini has also been a private sector State House lobbyist.

Warner said he did not create a new job for Pagliarini and that Pagliarini is filling a vacant position. Warner himself is a finalist for a job as chancellor of Pennsylvania's state universities.

Pagliarini does not have extensive higher education experience, but Warner said he personally recruited Pagliarini. "Nobody ordered me to take him,'' said Warner in an interview. ``I recruited him on my own initiative.''

Warner said Pagliarini is a talented person whom he has long been impressed with.

Among the projects Pagliarini is working on are studying ways to make administrative functions at the state colleges and the Univesity of Rhode Island more efficient and working on a plan for dealing with a flu pandemic at state colleges, should one break out.

Warner said colleges have been required by the federal government to put together ``a very complex pandemic flu plan'' and thet Pagliarini is working on "coordinating this process.''

Posted by Scott MacKay  at 2:25 PM | Permalink

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