In late 1762, a group of Baptist leaders met in Philadelphia, among them Morgan Edwards, who made a motion for the establishment of a Baptist college in New England. Rhode Island, one of the few colonies without a college, and a growing population with at least 22,000 Baptists, eighty percent of the total in New England. In July 1763, a young James Manning was sent to gauge the interest of Rhode Island’s leaders and found an overwhelmingly positive response.

“Whereas Institutions for liberal Education are highly beneficial to Society, by forming the rising Generation to Virtue Knowledge & useful Literature & thus preserving in the Community a Succession of Men duly qualify’d for discharging the Offices of Life with usefulness and reputation...”

— Charter of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1764

The charter was approved by the Rhode Island legislature in the Spring of 1764. The new “Rhode Island College” was the third college in New England and only the seventh in America. In keeping with the spirit of religious freedom brought to the colony by Roger Williams, the document, drafted by Ezra Stiles, stated: “That into this liberal and catholic institution shall never be admitted any religious tests; but, on the contrary, all the members hereof shall forever enjoy full, free, absolute, and uninterrupted liberty of conscience.”

At the first meeting of the Corporation that would run the new college, members were sworn in and the business of fundraising rose to the fore. Among the organization’s members were Nicholas Brown, one of four Brown brothers and father of future college namesake Nicholas Brown, Jr. At the meeting, Rhode Island Governor Stephen Hopkins (who would be a signer of the Declaration of Independence) was elected Chancellor. The selection of a college president would not be addressed until their second meeting.

Baptist James Manning was instrumental in the founding of Rhode Island College and a fitting choice to be its first leader. He was the first (and initially only) professor and oversaw many of the College’s early accomplishments, including the first commencement and the move from Warren to its permanent home in Providence, as well as the trials of the Revolutionary War, and the return to business after the war. A gregarious and devoted leader, he died in office in 1791.

At their second meeting, the Corporation ordered the creation of a seal for the College. The design features the motto (at the time), Amor et deliciae humani generis (“love and delight of the human race”) and name in Latin, with profiles of the English king and queen, George III and Charlotte, at the center.

The College’s first student was its only student. For the first year, 14-year-old William Rogers studied alone with James Manning in the parsonage of the Baptist Church in Warren. After graduating from the College in 1769, he went on to serve as a chaplain in the Continental Army and as the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

Tasked with raising funds for the College, Baptist minister Morgan Edwards journeyed to England and Ireland. There, he found supporters of education in general and particularly of the College’s approach as both “liberal and catholic,” meaning that it would educate on a comprehensive range of topics. He recorded the names and pledges in this record book. The signature of one the more well known supporters, Benjamin Franklin, can be seen at the bottom of the page.

As the debate raged about the best permanent location for the College, a proof of interest and knowledge of science in Providence was about to take place. Future college Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy Benjamin West used a telescope purchased by Joseph Brown to observe the passage of the planet Venus across the sun. The data collected during this rare event was to be joined with that of other observers around the globe to advance the world’s understanding of the dimensions of the solar system. In addition to swaying the Newport-Providence contest, the event also left a legacy on the city of Providence, with the naming of both "Transit" and "Planet" streets.

After receiving his diploma along with the first graduating class, William Williams went on to open an academy in Wrentham, Massachusetts, which sent nearly 80 students to Rhode Island College in the years to follow.

At the first commencement, held at the Baptist Church in Warren, seven students were awarded degrees. Initiating a tradition of commencement debates, students presented arguments on both sides of the statement: “The Americans, in their present Circumstances, cannot, consistent with good Policy, affect to become an independent State.” A preliminary declaration at the event that the College planned to make its permanent home in Bristol County, Warren’s location, initiated a spirited competition among rival locations, including Newport and Providence.