RIC Assist. Professor Empowers Women through History Page Content RIC Assistant Professor of History April Kiser A graduate course in women's history served as the impetus for Rhode Island College Assistant Professor of History April Kiser's quest to explore gender equity. "I was in my first semester at the University of Buffalo, which was trying at the time to recruit more female students to its graduate programs in history," Kiser recalls. "One thing that the graduate school paid attention to was helping female students learn how to present themselves and to be more assertive. That was pretty helpful for me because I was an introverted person."