URI College of Nursing garden campaign blossoming
KINGSTON, R.I., June 1, 1999--The University of
Rhode Island College of Nursing has raised $70,000 of its $100,000 goal
to renovate and expand the Hart Garden at the southeast corner of White
Hall.
The College kicked off the public phase of the
campaign May 18 during ceremonies at White Hall, the College's home. Construction
is scheduled to begin next fall.
Dayle Joseph, of East Greenwich, interim dean of
the College, unveiled plans for the garden before numerous supporters. The
garden will include a bronze sculpture of Florence Nightingale, who is credited
with establishing the first nursing school.
"We want this to be a place of beauty,"
Joseph said. "Our program is demanding and time-consuming. This garden
will give our students a place to ponder the important work for which they
are preparing. We see this garden as a place for reflection."
The Hart Garden, named in honor of Wakefield's
Elizabeth Hart, assistant dean emerita of the College of Nursing, is located
in a quiet alcove facing the Chafee parking lot.
"Over the past two years the faculty and the
Nursing Alumni Association held planting parties that yielded a beautiful
flowering garden in the spring," Joseph said. "As people began
to spend more time in the garden, it became apparent that the garden needed
a systematic approach."
The garden serves as a private area for celebrating
important events within the College, including student receptions. "The
garden encourages people to mingle and provides an informal, warm atmosphere,"
Joseph said.
Over the past year, Nursing College officials have
worked with Associate Professor of Plant Science Will Green, from the campus
Landscape Architecture Program, to develop plans for the grounds outside
White Hall.
Green examined the grounds in relation to the University's
Master Planning efforts, which are addressing campus-wide growth and construction
issues. Plans call for a terraced sitting area, and a walkway into the alcove
where the sculpture will be located. The back door, which is really the
main entrance to White Hall, will be more clearly marked through plantings
and a canopy. Trees will be planted to the west side of the parcel to shield
the garden from the parking and traffic in the Chafee lot.
Joseph told the group that the garden will feature
many disease-resistant and low-maintenance plants, but said there is no
such thing as a maintenance free garden. The fund drive includes a plan
to establish an endowment to ensure garden maintenance on a permanent basis.
Joseph introduced artist Larry Griffis of East
Greenwich, who has been commissioned to sculpt a bronze image of Florence
Nightingale, the English nurse, hospital reformer and philanthropist, who
established sanitation codes in a barrack hospital during the Crimean War.
Griffis presented a computerized rendering of the garden. He plans to begin
work on the statue this summer.
Cynthia Sculco, originally from Westerly, and a
retired faculty member at Hunter College, honorary chair of the campaign,
graduated from URI's nursing program in 1965.
"I was helped by the University financially,
and I am now happy to return to assist the University," Sculco said.
Anyone interested in donating to the campaign should
contact Dan Barry, assistant director of development, at 874-5365.
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For Further Information: Dave Lavallee 401-874-2116 | 
