KINGSTON, R.I. – Sept. 15, 2026 – The resonant sounds of trumpets, joyful show tunes, thunderous applause and the subtle, yet climatic snip of a pair of scissors inside the University of Rhode Island’s new Fine Arts Center helped ring in a monumental day on the Kingston Campus that has been years in the making.
Several hundred attendees, including elected officials; URI students, arts and theatre faculty, Board of Trustees members, and administrative leaders; and community members celebrated the comprehensive renovations and additions to the 58-year-old arts education facility on Sept. 14 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, ushering in a new era for the University’s artistic and creative endeavors. Guests were treated to on-stage performances from URI students and faculty, as well as tours of the new and updated spaces that will be the permanent home for URI’s music, fine arts and theatre departments.
“The arts bring people to our campus, and they bring people together,” URI President Marc Parlange said. “URI is home to the second-largest classical guitar and mandolin festival in the country, bringing in renowned international artists. We bring in internationally recognized artists through the theatre program. Our students are engaged in the arts across Rhode Island. And today, we celebrate the opening of a new home for the fine arts at URI. Thank you for being part of a new era of the arts at URI.”
Funded through state capital and University funds as well as a 2021 voter-approved bond issue, the $99 million project included renovation of the Fine Arts Center as well as a new 71,000-square-foot, three-story academic building that features a theater lobby and art gallery on the first floor, as well as areas for digital art and media, recording studios, and classrooms. The new building is designed to bring artists together and give them physical space to inspire creativity.
URI also expressed gratitude to leading donors Howard ’62 and Mary Frank, Virginia Stiles Kenney ’49, and the Newman Family, in memory of the late URI President Frank J. Newman and his wife, educator and scientist Lucile F. Newman, for their generous contributions toward the construction of the new Fine Arts Center. The center’s art gallery and atrium space is named after the Franks.
URI Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Wolfe thanked fellow University leaders—including former College of Arts and Sciences deans Winifred Brownell, Jen Riley and Brenton DeBoef—state officials and voters for helping the new Fine Arts Center become a reality.
“This building has been years in the making, and today we finally see it realized. For the first time, our students and faculty in these disciplines will have space that matches the caliber of their work,” Wolfe said. “This is a building where students will paint, rehearse, perform, and create the art that helps define who we are as a university and as a community.”
Pamela Swett, URI’s new College of Arts and Sciences dean, said the Fine Arts Center, which attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually, will enrich the educational experience for more than 5,000 students from across the University who will foster meaningful partnerships between the arts and other disciplines. The Fine Arts Center positions the University to further expand its public engagement, attract new audiences and strengthen its role as a cultural destination both in Rhode Island and beyond, Swett said.
“The URI Fine Arts Center will strengthen connections between the University and the public while showcasing the transformative power of the arts to inspire, educate and bring people together,” Swett said.
Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson said the ceremony was an “emotional day,” both for all involved in the project and seeing the vision realized. “The Fine Arts Center will be a cherished place for students so their creativity and self-expression can flourish,” she said.
“For generations, URI has opened new doors for opportunity for countless Rhode Islanders. URI is also an incredible resource enriching the cultural life of our community,” said state Sen. Susan Sosnowski, who represents South Kingstown. “This Fine Arts Center represents our state’s continued commitment to strengthening URI and supporting every aspect of its mission.”
With the ribbon cutting, the day of change for the Fine Arts Center has arrived, said Rhode Island state Rep. Kathleen Fogarty—a URI alumna who represents South Kingstown. “I see this reinvigorated space as a place for students to be active at all hours, hanging out, creating music and art, and that is something we all need.”
Fellow URI graduate and state Rep. Carol Hagen McEntee, who represents Narragansett and South Kingstown, added, “This new Fine Arts Center will not only allow URI’s artists to expand their creative horizons, but will also offer a wonderful space for the surrounding communities. In these current divided times, art is more important than ever to bridge the divides, disagreements and misconceptions that too often plague our daily lives. This place will serve as a space for societal healing.”
The URI Faculty Brass Quintet—featuring music faculty Adam Hanna (trombone), Gino Villarreal (trumpet), Fritz Benz (trumpet), Jacky Ho Jin Li (horn) and Adam Crowe (tuba)—and guest student Aidan McCrillis (trombone) performed noted ballet piece “La Péri (Dukas) during the ceremony. Additionally, 15 URI students and alumni performed “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, “Being Alive” from Company, “No One is Alone” from Into the Woods, and “Anything Can Happen” from the Mary Poppins Broadway production—receiving a standing ovation from the audience.
The festivities also included a formal dedication of a choral room within the Fine Arts Center named in honor of the late Rhode Island Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio—a significant advocate for higher education and economic opportunity. Ruggerio’s son, Charles, said the Fine Arts Center’s renovation was a collaborative effort between state, labor and University leaders being committed to enhancing URI as a world-class institution.
“My dad identified first as a laborer, a State Senator and possibly a close third was his time as a college student,” Ruggerio said. “If he had the opportunity, he would’ve loved to attend this University now and see the trajectory. It’s an incredible honor and I’ll always remember today.”
URI Board of Trustees Vice Chair Armand Sabitoni ’73 added that Ruggerio, who represented North Providence and Providence in the State House for 40 years until his death in 2025, would be “proud to see the transformation of this building and continued growth and success of the University.”
“Senate President Ruggerio understood that the University of Rhode Island is an engine of opportunity,” Parlange added. “His support of the Fine Arts Center project reflected a belief that the arts are essential to a well-rounded education and play a critical role in the intellectual and creative life of Rhode Island.”
URI arts students also shared their experiences taking classes elsewhere while the renovations were ongoing, and the creative journeys they hope to embark on within the new Fine Arts Center.
Kacie Doran ’26, who graduated recently with a degree in art history, said current and future URI art history students will watch their studies come to life in the new Fine Arts Center. The opportunity presents students opportunities to engage with art in a more personal manner, Doran said.
“Students from across the arts can come together, create together, and learn from one another. For art history students in particular, the work being studied will feel more tangible,” Doran said. “The new gallery spaces create curatorial and hands-on experiences, allowing students to apply what they are learning into a real-world setting.”
Sharday Johnson, a senior majoring in studio art, recalled how taking arts courses within the Pastore and Morrill halls helped her and her fellow students build camaraderie with one another. Now, URI students and faculty alike are at a crossroads of a different, exciting transition period settling into the new facility, Johnson said.
“There will be more opportunities to improve our artistic practices, connect with peers, and to be reunited with our friends in the music and theatre departments, where I imagine that seeing an art major in the Fine Arts Center while under construction was an event akin to seeing a rare bird where you least expected it,” Johnson said. “What we needed was a place that gave us a chance to achieve our full potential, and finally, it has come into fruition. Like many of us, I’m looking forward to seeing what we make of this space.”