JWU set to open downtown building, to be named after Chancellor Bowen

THE JOHN J. BOWEN CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INNOVATION is set for a Sept. 1 opening. The 71,000-square-foot building will house classrooms and offices, and is designed to encourage collaborative learning. / COURTESY JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY
THE JOHN J. BOWEN CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INNOVATION is set for a Sept. 1 opening. The 71,000-square-foot building will house classrooms and offices, and is designed to encourage collaborative learning. / COURTESY JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY

(Updated 12:42 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – Johnson & Wales University announced Thursday its new Center for Science and Innovation has been named after John J. Bowen, the school’s chancellor, in honor of the work he has done in that position.

Ryan Crowley, communications and media relations specialist at Johnson & Wales University, said the official name, The John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation, was decided on by the university’s board of trustees.

The facility is the first completed structure on the land located on the former Interstate 195 path through downtown Providence. Over the span of 18 months, since ground broke on the project in April 2015 on the corner of Friendship and Chestnut Streets, the university has spent $42 million constructing the academic building and came in on budget, according to Crowley.
The project is largely bond financed, he said.

The 71,000-square-foot, three-story building was designed by Providence-based Edward Rowse Architects and Architectural Resources Cambridge, out of Cambridge, Mass., to meet Leadership in Energy + Environmental Design certification standards. However, the building has not yet received its LEED certification.

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In addition, the building will be home to the Alan Shawn Feinstein Technology & Design Center, which features multimedia design technology that aids in website and video production. In addition, students will take on design and multimedia work from local nonprofit organizations allowing them to receive professional experience while still enrolled.

Faculty offices; labs supporting research in physics, chemistry, organic chemistry and microbiology; as well as an outdoor courtyard to facilitate collaborative learning are also features of the new building.

A ribbon cutting ceremony for The John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation, which will be open for use this academic year, will take place on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 10:00 a.m. Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza are expected to be in attendance.

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