Measurable Success

Here’s a snapshot of the capital improvements completed and many of the movements that have been made through the last decade in buildings serving academic, student life, research and administrative needs.

Academically Speaking

Ballentine Hall Originally built in 1966, the College of Business Administration’s home, Ballentine Hall, has undergone a complete makeover. Only its original steel skeleton and floor slabs, its location, and its name remain the same. The rest is completely unrecognizable from its old image.

Located at the northwest corner of the Kingston Quadrangle, the 50,000 square-foot facility was stripped to its steel skeleton and expanded by 5,300 square-feet. Completed in 2003, the granite structure is now harmonious with the other historic buildings in the neighborhood.

But of course, looks aren’t everything. In addition to the three-level atrium, the building incorporates state-of-the-art wireless computer technology and houses a trading room with access to stock trades and purchases from financial markets around the globe. Its classrooms have been redesigned to capitalize on new teaching and learning technologies, and seminar and study spaces have been created to enhance faculty and student interaction. Cost: $10.9 million.

Green Hall In May 2003, Green Hall reopened its doors and welcomed the offices of the president, provost and Enrollment Services back to the heart of the Kingston campus. With the completion of a $6.25 million restoration project, the 67-year-old Green Hall has been completely restored to its former grandeur. Cost: $6.25 million.

Newman Hall The front door for potential new students and their parents, the Admissions Office, was moved the summer of 2001 to its new location just past the University entrance on Upper College Road. This move was made possible by the alumni of Theta Chi fraternity who sold their fraternity house to the University. The proceeds of the sale were donated to the URI Foundation. In 2002, the building was named for URI’s eighth president, higher education guru Frank Newman. Cost: $1.4 million

Chester H. Kirk Center for Advanced Technology Completed in July 1996, this $4.75 million project added more than 24,000 square-feet of research, laboratory, and office space to the College of Engineering. Located on Upper College Rd., the facility includes laboratories for fiber optics and thin film research, structures and materials testing, and rapid manufacturing processes. Cost: $4.75 million.

Fine Arts Center Through a concerted effort combining asset protection resources with private funds, the URI Fine Arts Center received some much-needed attention in 1998. The completely renovated recital hall, featuring new carpeting, seating, lighting system, and a recording studio, is just the beginning of the improvements that have been made over the last few years. These improvements included new heating and air conditioning systems, state-of-the-art computer laboratories for both art and music, fresh paint, and more. Cost: More than $1.5 million.

Multicultural Center The two-story, 10,000-square-foot Multicultural Center serves as the administrative, social, and educational facility for various cultural student organizations and service programs. The Center provides a substantial, hospitable environment that supports special functions, social events, meetings, and lectures promoting greater racial, ethnic/cultural understanding, interaction, and learning across the University. The center opened in September 1998. Cost: $2.1 million.

Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education, Providence In January 1996, the University’s College of Continuing Education moved from its Providence home in an old building near the State House and opened its doors in the historic Shepard Building in downtown Providence. The restored, revitalized facility has twice the space of the old location to serve the thousands of undergraduate and graduate students who attend classes there. Students now have access to 60 high-tech classrooms, a 500-seat auditorium, an expanded library, worldwide communications links, and several writing, science, and technology laboratories. The Providence Campus is also host to an on-site child care center supported by a $1 million endowment from Cranston philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein. Cost: $27 million.

Technology The University is well-wired thanks to the 1996 Higher Education Technology Initiative bond issue. The $40.6 million bond issue, which included $29 million for URI, is helping put cable underground, through buildings, and between campuses, and provided the equipment needed to bring video and data technology into the computer laboratories, classrooms, residence hall rooms, and offices on the University’s campuses. Wiring work was completed in 2002 and is continuously maintained. Cost: $29 million.