The growing chorus of business, government and community leaders supporting a $125 million bond referendum is a good sign for the URI College of Engineering. It means that if Rhode Island voters also support the bond on Election Day, our engineering students and professors will get a new engineering building that will not only match the caliber of engineering instruction at URI, but will also enable the university to meet the state’s need for more highly-trained workers, offer expanded research capabilities, and provide more support to the defense, manufacturing, biomedical and other industries.

The new building would make URI significantly more competitive in attracting research opportunities, high-caliber faculty and top students.

“Engineers are innovators at the frontiers of their disciplines and a crucial part of the state’s economic revitalization,” said URI President David M. Dooley. “We’re seeking to construct a building that will dramatically elevate our teaching and research in engineering, and foster new discoveries that will be the foundation of new companies and stimulate growth in existing Rhode Island companies. We’re looking to build a talented workforce that will help drive Rhode Island’s economic engine.”

According to Raymond Wright, dean of the College of Engineering, the proposed state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories are key to fostering innovative research demanded by contemporary engineering firms. It also will allow us to accept 18 percent more students in a fast-growing field of study. And Wright said the new building would make URI significantly more competitive in attracting research opportunities, high-caliber faculty and top students. “Every dollar invested in this project will provide exponential returns to the Rhode Island economy,” he said.

The 195,000-square foot building would replace five existing engineering buildings on URI’s Kingston campus – Crawford Hall, Gilbreth Hall, Kelly Hall, Kelly Hall Annex and Wales Hall – all of which opened in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The building would be home for seven of the University’s eight engineering programs: biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial and systems, and mechanical engineering.

The College of Engineering contributes about $142 million to the Rhode Island economy each year, based on a 2013 economic impact study. More than 4,000 URI engineering alumni live in Rhode Island and work at about 750 companies in the state. The average starting salary for URI engineering graduates is from $52,000 to $83,000.

The leaders of more than 30 Rhode Island companies have publicly expressed their support for the bond referendum and the new engineering building, including those from Amgen, Amtrol, Hope Global, Electro Standards, FM Global, GTECH, Gilbane, Hasbro, Taco, Teknor Apex and Toray Plastics. We hope all Rhode Islanders will join them in voting ‘yes’ on November 4.

For more information about Question 4 and the proposed engineering building, visit engineering4ri.com.