WHO: Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee, URI President David M. Dooley, Chief Diversity Officer Naomi R. Thompson and LGBTQ Center Director Annie Russell.
WHAT: Groundbreaking for the new Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Center. The Center will be located at 19 Upper College Road, the present site of the Ruggles House.
URI is the first university nationwide to design and build a new free-standing facility designated for use as an LGBTQ Center. This project is part of President Dooley’s commitment “to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity that’s part of our community now and will be in the future.”
WHEN: Wednesday, April 16, 2014, 10 a.m.
WHERE: Speaking program will be held at the construction site, 19 Upper College Road
About the Center:
Designed to give URI’s LBGTQ community a strong identity, the single-story, stone and clapboard building will have a veranda running along the front of the center and plans call for its roof to feature ornamental plants and flowers. The Center will have a multipurpose room with a capacity of about 50, a conference room for about 20 people, a group counseling room, and a student lounge. The Center is part of URI’s Office of Community, Equity and Diversity.
TO COVER THE EVENT: Contact Dave Lavallee, URI Department of Marketing and Communications, 401-874-2116.