Candidates for the Thorp College Professorship are evaluated by a college-wide committee composed of faculty from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Management, the School of Nursing, the School of Social Work and the James P. Adams Library. The appointment is made by the college president.
Funds supporting the Thorp College Professorship were provided by a generous bequest in the will of Mary Tucker Thorp and are held in the Tucker Thorp Fund, which is administered by the Rhode Island College Foundation.