By a fat margin of 19 percent, Rhode Island voters in November 2016 approved a $45.5 million measure for the University of Rhode Island, partly to continue an expansion of the College of Engineering and partly to fund an innovation campus program that aims to leverage private and public money to create new products and services.
The bond vote was a year-end victory in a series of progressive improvements at URI under the direction of its 11th president, David M. Dooley. Other highlights of 2016 included the creation of a new undergraduate major in sustainable agriculture and food systems, and openings of a new communications hub and a new Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences Center.
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The innovation campus concept – which was questioned with skepticism by some state legislators during hearings in March – follows the pattern of much discussion and action in recent years about creating synergies among the state’s universities and business creators.
Innovation campuses – underway in other universities around the country – seek proposals for research into a variety of industries that ultimately will lead to creation of new enterprises, products or services, and jobs. Proposals will include at least one business partner, and must bring private or federal funds onboard in an amount exceeding the state’s investment.
Dooley and Gov. Gina M. Raimondo have emphasized the important role of engineering education in driving the creation of high-quality companies and jobs.
Urging citizens to vote for the bond in early November, Dooley wrote, “Engineering … fosters breakthrough discoveries.” One model of the innovation campus is the International Center for Automotive Research in South Carolina, where that state funded a partnership between BMW and Clemson University that helped create thousands of jobs. •
