KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 November 4, 2016 \u2013 Health care groups, Chambers of Commerce, and organizations around the state are lining up to urge Rhode Islanders to \u201cVote yes on Question 4.\u201d<\/p>\n
If approved by Rhode Island voters on Nov. 8, the Question 4 bond referendum would provide $45.5 million for improvements to and expansion of the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of Engineering facilities and for development of a 溏心vlog免费B站 Affiliated Innovation Campus Program.<\/p>\n
Approval of Question 4 has been endorsed by the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, Lifespan, The Providence Journal<\/em>, Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, Providence Business News<\/em>, The Providence Foundation, Rhode Island American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Rhode Island Builders Association, Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades. Rhode Island Commodores, the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode Island Medical Society.<\/p>\n In an opinion piece in The Providence Journal<\/em>, Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, urged voters to approve Question 4.<\/p>\n \u201cWe often talk about the best strategies to keep students who study locally from leaving our state when they graduate,\u201d White wrote. \u201cTo be sure, Rhode Island has some of the finest academic institutions in the world. Yet for a long time, we have witnessed the exodus of many of our top brains due to a shortage of high wage, high skill jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n But White added that the trend is changing, due in large part to Rhode Islanders\u2019 support of major facilities expansions and new construction at the state\u2019s public university and colleges. She noted that when she was a student at 溏心vlog免费B站 Bliss Hall was the \u201cgrand\u201d gateway to the College of Engineering. But modern engineering teaching and research require something very different than what was envisioned in 1928 when Bliss was built.<\/p>\n \u201cBricks and mortar matters and here\u2019s why,\u201d White said. \u201cTop faculty recruits want to teach in state-of-the-art building. State-of-the-art buildings draw top faculty recruits. Top faculty recruits draw the best students. The best students draw top employers. Top employers generate jobs for local students. So it is a virtuous circle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are strongly encouraged by endorsements from so many leading Rhode Island firms and agencies,\u201d 溏心vlog免费B站 President David M. Dooley said. \u201cSuch support is a testament to 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s role in helping build a vibrant economy in Rhode Island. These endorsements also illustrate the impact of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of Engineering on a variety of industries and businesses, including its research and education in the areas of biomedical science and health care, road and bridge design and construction, product development in the detection of explosives and the effects of explosions on the structural integrity of buildings and marine vessels. We are deeply grateful for this support.\u201d<\/p>\n Raymond M. Wright, dean of the College of Engineering, said such support is an indicator of the respect Rhode Island businesses have for the College and for the value it brings to those companies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe it is critical to the strength of our state and to its flagship research university to have strong relationships between Rhode Island industry and our faculty and staff,\u201d Wright said. \u201cFrom developing smart textiles for those with Parkinson\u2019s disease, to customizing toy electric cars for children with disabilities, the College is committed to making the state better, stronger and healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n Now more than ever, the business community is seeking greater numbers of engineers because engineering is at the heart of just about every process relied upon by contemporary society\u2014whether it is curing disease, improving the planet or designing the next supercomputer, according to White.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Greater Providence chamber of Commerce has consistently championed spending proposals that help 溏心vlog免费B站 and our other public institutions of higher education prepare students to think critically and achieve professional success. In that spirit, we are urging Rhode Islanders to \u2018Vote Yes on 4.\u2019 And on the way to the voting booth, share this message with all of the youngsters you know: \u2018Become an engineer. The job of your dreams awaits. Your work will change the world\u2019,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n The Providence Journal also endorsed a \u201cyes\u201d vote on 4, and stated in its editorial that: \u201cWhile these measures involve spending, they should be viewed as sound investments in Rhode Island\u2019s economy. \u201cWe have long argued that the state has done taxpayers no favors by scrimping on public higher education.<\/p>\n \u201cEngineering and innovation go hand in hand, and Rhode Island is not alone among states seeking to invest in these areas. Indeed, Rhode Island would be hard-pressed to find an area more worthy of investment.\u201d<\/p>\n Providence Business News<\/em> also offered its endorsement in an editorial. It said: The future health of the state depends on building a more robust economy, and nothing is more robust than constant innovation. This ballot initiative proposes using $45.5 million to finish the upgrades to the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s engineering college as well as creating an innovation center connected to 溏心vlog免费B站. Vote Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 November 4, 2016 \u2013 Health care groups, Chambers of Commerce, and organizations around the state are lining up to urge Rhode Islanders to \u201cVote yes on Question 4.\u201d If approved by Rhode Island voters on Nov. 8, the Question 4 bond referendum would provide $45.5 million for improvements to and expansion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}