At URI, we’re just one year away from celebrating our 125th birthday. We are proud of our traditions, and especially proud of the spirit of innovation that defines the University today.
Take a walk around our Kingston campus and everywhere you look, you’ll see the latest leading-edge facilities and technologies so essential to the future. Our Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Fascitelli Wellness Center, Pharmacy Building, and Gender and Sexuality Center are exactly the kind of state-of-the-art facilities you can be proud to call home.
Our newest building is another great example. The Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences will open in a few months, boasting more than a dozen high-tech teaching laboratories, engaging classrooms and lecture halls, and 36 research labs, all of which are supplied with top-of-the-line scientific instruments. The same goes for the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, home to the Genomics and Sequencing Center and modern labs for the study of cell and molecular biology and a wide array of other biological and environmental sciences.
I was amazed when I walked in there for the first time. It’s an eco-friendly building with plants on the roof, and there are exhibits everywhere. It’s a really cool place, and it helped me decide to study environmental science.
“I was amazed when I walked in there for the first time,” said junior Charlotte Steeves. “It’s an eco-friendly building with plants on the roof, and there are exhibits of all sorts of organisms everywhere, like jellyfish and turtles. It’s a really cool place, and it helped me decide to study environmental science.”
Our three-year-old Pharmacy Building features an outdoor medicinal plant garden, a model CVS pharmacy, a medication compounding lab, and a Good Manufacturing Practice facility where students learn best practices in the manufacture of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. The Coastal Institute and its Policy Simulation Laboratory uses interactive tools to study the consequences of proposed environmental and economic policies. And at the recently upgraded Independence Square, kinesiology and physical therapy students interact with clients at a full-service outpatient clinic.
All of these buildings—and several more—have been cited for their “green” building practices, such as super energy efficiency, partial solar heating, rain gardens, and other sustainable design features.
We’ve also built four new residence halls in the last seven years, including Hillside Hall, a living-learning community featuring a glass bridge connecting its two wings, courtyards, recreation areas, kitchens, and plenty of sustainable elements. “There are a lot of places for us to do work together, and there’s also the giant sky lounge on every floor, so that’s where everybody can come together,” said pharmacy major Joe Walter.
The transformation of historic Ranger Hall into the home of the Harrington School for Communications and Media is in the works; a new student nursing center in Providence is in the early stages of construction; and a comprehensive new building for our College of Engineering is in the planning stages.
There’s plenty of forwarding-looking thinking—and activity—on campus these days. We invite you to visit us, and see the spirit of innovation thriving today at URI.