Newsmakers 1/13: Hugh Clements, Adrain

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - This week on the first half of Newsmakers: Providence Police Col. Hugh Clements.

In the wake of a scandal that forced Col. Dean Esserman to step down, Clements is taking over a department that was suffering from low morale and a penny-pinching budget. Clements says with stability and an insider at the helm (he began as a patrolman in Providence 26 years ago), morale is already on the rise. Clements says he plans on reducing the number of police districts in the city, but his first priority is getting his command staff in place.

On the second half of Newsmakers: Lorne Adrain, chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education.

Adrain talks about a proposal to combine the Board of Governors with the Board of Regents, which oversees K-12 education in the state and why that plan would probably have a negative impact. He also talks about the challenge of funding the state's three colleges when Rhode Island has a track record of spending less on higher education when compared to other states.