WHAT: The University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of Communication and Media will celebrate the reopening of the program’s home, Ranger Hall, with a ribbon cutting ceremony, guided tours, and more. The 108-year-old building on the edge of the University’s tree-lined Quadrangle has undergone nearly $15 million in renovations over two phases, providing Harrington students with a dedicated learning and creative space that includes media and film labs, video editing facilities, active-learning classrooms, and computer labs. The first part of the project, completed in 2016, focused on Ranger’s first floor, with the addition of a film screening room, video editing suites with modern computers and software, computer labs, classroom space, and a living/learning room for students to gather, study, and collaborate. Completed this past August, the final phase renovated Ranger’s second, third, and fourth floors, opening an additional 23,600 square feet of usable space. The work adds seven new classrooms, including active-learning classrooms that provide students a learning environment designed for collaboration; two editing suites for visual media projects; and a Film Production Lab that serves as a teaching sound stage with a green screen. Several donors, led by Richard and Jean Harrington, along with funding from URI, made the vital work possible.
WHO: Speakers include: URI President Marc Parlange; Harrington School Director Ammina Kothari; CNN Anchor and Chief National Correspondent John King ’85, Hon. ’10; Richard Harrington ’73, Hon. ’02; Dean of Arts and Sciences Jen Riley; and Communication Studies major Katie Riedy ’24.
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Ceremony and ribbon cutting, 11 a.m. to noon; followed by guided tours of Ranger. Media will be able to conduct interviews following the ribbon cutting.
WHERE: Ranger Hall, 10 Ranger Road, Kingston Campus. Media parking will be available in Briar Lane parking lot (Lot 1). See Kingston Campus map. The event will also be livestreamed.
TO COVER THE EVENT: Members of the media must let the University know in advance if they plan to attend so accommodations can be made for parking, cameras, and seating for reporters. Please contact Tony LaRoche, URI Communications and Marketing, no later than Thursday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. Reach him at 401-874-4894; cell, 401-837-8275; or anthony_laroche@uri.edu.
NOTE: On Thursday, Oct. 20, the Harrington School will host the 15th annual Christiane Amanpour Lecture with PBS NewsHour international correspondent Jane Ferguson at 7 p.m. in Edwards Hall, 64 Upper College Road, on the Kingston Campus. Ferguson will speak on “Humanity in War Reporting: Bringing Authentic Individual Experiences of War into Conflict Journalism.” Vladimir Duthiers ’91, CBS News correspondent and anchor, will moderate the question-and-answer session. The lecture will also be livestreamed; find links for the livestream at the event webpage.