The Barnes & Noble Scholarship Fund at the College has been renamed the Barnes & Noble/Thomas J. Rapoza ’82 Scholarship Fund in honor of Mr. Rapoza, a much-loved employee of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc., (B&NCB), who died of cancer in 2005.

In late February, Mr. Rapoza’s family—his wife Kiersten, daughter Katie, mother Barbara, and brother John—gathered at PC with some of the senior management of B&NCB, current B&NCB employees with ties to PC, and members of the College community to celebrate the renaming of the scholarship.

During a luncheon in the Slavin Center, a $50,000 contribution to the fund by B&NCB was presented to Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78 & ’82G, College executive vice president and treasurer.

B&NCB established the original scholarship fund at the College in 1991 to provide assistance to students with financial need. The company has infused the fund with a series of contributions, including a donation of $120,000 in 1999. It recently committed to add $50,000 annually for the next 10 years.  

B&NCB has been operating PC’s bookstore since 1981. It is a privately-held sister company of Barnes & Noble, Inc. and manages more than 570 college and university bookstores across North America.

“We felt that the best way for us to demonstrate our partnership with the College was to assist students who might not otherwise be able to take advantage of a Providence College education,” said Glen Hoyle ’82, regional manager with B&NCB.

Mr. Rapoza began working at the PC Bookstore during his junior year of college. After he graduated, he worked for B&NCB at its stores at Tufts University, the University of Detroit, and Drexel University as a store manager before he became a regional manager for B&NCB in 1999 in Philadelphia, Pa.  

Hoyle said Mr. Rapoza and he were “lifelong friends” since the age of 6. They attended school together, roomed together at PC, served as best men at each other’s weddings, and began their careers with B&NCB together.  

“What distinguished Tom in our company,” said Hoyle, “was his compassion for his employees, his honesty, and his integrity. He was well liked and respected by his employees and peers at Barnes & Noble. He was a good husband and a doting father.”