URI alum pledges $2.5M for construction of new URI chemical and forensic sciences building

RICHARD BEAUPRE, founder and CEO of Lincoln-based ChemArt, joins Winifred Brownell, dean of the University of Rhode Island's College of Arts and Sciences, outside the newly named Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION/JOE GIBLIN
RICHARD BEAUPRE, founder and CEO of Lincoln-based ChemArt, joins Winifred Brownell, dean of the University of Rhode Island's College of Arts and Sciences, outside the newly named Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION/JOE GIBLIN

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Richard Beaupre, founder and CEO of Lincoln-based ChemArt and a University of Rhode Island alumnus, has pledged $2.5 million for construction of URI’s new chemical and forensic sciences building.
Funded largely by a $61 million bond issue approved by voters in 2010, the new Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016. The total cost is $68 million. Construction started in December 2013.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo signed a House bill in May officially approving the university’s request to name the building after Beaupre. The Senate also passed a version of the bill.
“The governor has indicated that she sees value in finding ways to keep college graduates from Rhode Island here in the state to help spur and support economic growth,” Beaupre said in a statement. “As a URI graduate, that is just what I did. I worked hard and created a manufacturing business that provides jobs to close to 150 full-time workers. I am very proud of that.”
Beaupre, a Cumberland resident, graduated from URI in 1962 with a degree in chemistry after serving two years of active duty with the Navy. The research chemist invented the formula and process for a light-sensitive dry film, revolutionizing the process of photo-etching on metal and printed circuit boards, according to the university. His firm, ChemArt, is known for this technology.
URI President David M. Dooley thanked Beaupre, saying his gift is a sign that he understands the connection between the university and its economic impact in the city and state.
“He clearly understands that to move Rhode Island forward, we need the latest in scientific facilities to prepare our students, to provide faculty with the very best research tools and to lay a foundation for economic development in Rhode Island,” Dooley said.
The new, 135,000-square-foot center will complete URI’s health and life sciences district on the northern part of the Kingston campus. The nearby Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences and the College of Pharmacy building have recently been completed there.

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