WHO: Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee, Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, URI President David M. Dooley, URI Vice President Robert A. Weygand, Alton Jones Campus Director Thomas H. Mitchell, along with other URI officials and guests.
WHAT: The University of Rhode Island will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its W. Alton Jones Campus with a rededication event that features trolley tours, a reception, and University officials and other dignitaries sharing favorite memories about the campus. The 2,309-acre forested campus is an award-winning site for youth camps, a popular destination for weddings, and a conference center that hosts hundreds of corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations each year. It is also an important natural environment for scientific research. During its history, the campus has hosted visits by President Dwight Eisenhower and the King of Nepal, served as a movie set for a Hollywood production starring Cybil Shepard and Wesley Snipes, and was the site where a helicopter carrying Gov. Philip Noel crashed.
WHERE: The W. Alton Jones Campus, 401 Victory Highway, West Greenwich. After entering the campus, follow signs to the Whispering Pines Conference Center.
WHEN: Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. The reception and trolley tours will begin at 5 p.m., following a speaking program.
CONTACT: For information about covering this event, please contact Todd McLeish in the URI Department of Communications & Marketing at 401-874-7892 or tmcleish@uri.edu.