PROVIDENCE – Roger Williams University on Monday showcased future community-centric opportunities available for students and organizations operating out of its new satellite campus, One Empire Plaza, which is under construction.
Emphasizing their growing connection to, and work with, the Providence community, RWU President Donald J. Farish said: “This will be the home for all the work we do in Providence … One Empire Plaza represents more than $10 million in investment from Roger Williams and our further investment in Providence and urban Rhode Island.”
In a 12-year lease with the building’s owner, Berkeley Investments, RWU will occupy 75,000 square feet, on the first through fifth floors, of the office building. This acquisition doubles RWU’s Providence footprint.
Scattered throughout the space will be 18 multi-use classrooms, teacher stations, shared conference spaces, administrative offices, a grab-and-go deli, as well as a mobile Barnes & Noble book store kiosk.
The second floor of the building will house the RWU School of Continuing Education where a one gigabyte fiber optic infrastructure links students in the classroom with those tuning in remotely from other parts of Rhode Island, or on Navy vessels, or from foreign Department of Defense projects. The goal, said School of Continuing Education Dean Jamie Scurry, is to have every student experience the same lecture as those students who are sitting in the classroom with the professor.
“This is a place for intentional collisions for people cutting across academic disciplines. It’s a space to create deep dives in learning not just for existing students, but for existing brains in Rhode Island,” as well, said Scurry.
The RWU School of Law, on the fourth floor, will be a “manifestation of [the university’s] educational philosophy,” said Dean of the School of Law Michael Yelnosky. In addition to a classroom that morphs into a courtroom the fourth floor, it will be home to RWU’s Center for Justice and pro bono law clinic.
Law students will be able to work one-on-one with clients and complete externship programs for what Yelnosky estimated as a 25,000 working hours per year.
“Everyone should have experiential education and this will be the hub of that work … Students will work with real Rhode Islanders and that work will have a real impact on their lives and a tremendous impact on the students,” Yelnosky said.
One Empire Plaza will also house GrowSmart RI, Latino Policy Institute at RWU, American Institute of Architects RI and HousingWorks RI – all community outreach organizations.
The building is slated to open in May and will be fully operational by the commencement of the fall semester.
