Telecommunications training center opens
LINCOLN – Underwritten by a Bell Atlantic grant and supported by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a Career Training Center has opened at Davies Vocational High School to prepare students for work in the rapidly growing telecommunications industry. Students will participate in a two-year program combining classroom and work-based learning under the combined tutelage of Bell Atlantic and the IBEW. When they are seniors at Davies, students in the program combine their training at the Center with work on the job as Bell Atlantic trainees, where, as members of the IBEW they will receive union wages and full benefits.
Liston to retire as CCRI president
PROVIDENCE – Ed Liston, president of CCRI for more than 21 years, has announced that he will retire next June. Sally Dowling, chair of the Board of Governors for Higher Education, in announcing that the board is committed to a national search for Liston’s successor, said, “Ed Liston’s departure as president of CCRI is both a personal and professional loss for the higher education community in Rhode Island. Ed Liston has been a genuinely innovative leader in community college education in our state and nation.” During Liston’s tenure, CCRI (it was called Rhode Island Junior College originally) has grown from a single location to three permanent campuses — in Warwick, Lincoln and Providence, with a fourth campus being planned for Newport. It is the largest two-year college in New England.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
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Heritage Harbor announces plans
PROVIDENCE – With the deed to the former Narragansett Electric plant at South and Eddy Streets in hand, officials of the Heritage Harbor Corporation announced plans for development of the property. Narragansett Electric officials turned over the deed to the corporation Nov. 17. Construction is scheduled to begin next spring. The six-story building will be developed incrementally. Phase 1 will involve the opening of about 180,000 square feet of the building with about two dozen modules, meeting spaces and public event venues. Among the modules listed in the announcement are the Bell Atlantic Time Machine, the Textron Mind’s Eye, the Portuguese Caravel, and the Smithsonian Collections Affiliation Galleries. The land stretching to Eddy Street will be developed as an amphitheater and event space for outdoor receptions. It will be called Festival Park. In one corner will be the Irish Famine Memorial. To the north will be a full-service diner and exhibit, with parking space and a visitor drop-off area. The Heritage Harbor Corporation is raising $34 million from foundations, corporations, government grants and private individuals. To date, the organization has raised nearly $24 million, including the value of the building.
Chamber president honored by peers
PROVIDENCE – James G. Hagan, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, has been named outstanding Chamber executive of the year for 1999 by the New England Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. The award was presented at the association’s annual meeting in Ledyard, Conn. During Hagan’s tenure, membership in the Greater Providence Chamber has grown from 1,100 to 3,300 members as the city and surrounding metropolitan area has experienced extensive commercial development. Hagan is a former five-term state senator. He is chairman of the Metropolitan Rhode Island School-to-Career Partnership. Before joining the Chamber, he was a vice president of Tupperware International.
Heritage Corridor named for Chafee
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Embedded in the Congressional Budget Agreement reached a weekend ago is a provision honoring the late Sen. John H. Chafee. His name has been attached to the Heritage Corridor development he so forcefully advocated and supported during his years in the Senate. Henceforth the corridor will be named the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage corridor. Senator Chafee was an original sponsor of the legislation, which led to the establishment of the corridor in 1986. It is the largest national park in the region and recognizes the corridor’s historical and cultural importance as the source of the development of America’s industrial revolution.
GTECH extends pact with Washington
WEST GREENWICH – GTECH Corp. announced it has signed a three-year contract extension with the Washington State Lottery to provide online products and services through June 30, 2004. The company will install 1,500 Express Point self-service terminals, and will introduce a pilot test of Player Express, a supermarket in-lane, self-service lottery terminal in May 2000, with a full deployment of 2,400 in-lane terminals by June 2001. Contact terms were not released.
Textron appoints chief officer of group
PROVIDENCE – Textron, Inc. announced that Jack W. Sights is now the chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Textron Fastening Systems group. He replaces Randy P. Smith who is leaving for personal reasons. Sights will also become a member of Textron’s 13-member executive leadership team, which is responsible for the corporation’s overall strategic management. Since 1992, Sights has been president of Guardian Industries Corp.’s Automotive Products Group. .
