Get Ready East Bay...
the Newport County Campus is Almost Here
June 2005 is the anticipated date for the opening of the 65,000-square-foot Newport
County Campus, the first time RI public higher education has had a permanent presence
in the East Bay.
A key player in the revitalization of Newport’s North End, the CCRI Newport County
Campus will offer a new home to the nursing and rehabilitation services programs
currently housed at Newport Hospital. It will also offer programs in business, computer
technology and liberal arts – areas of study in which local business have expressed
a need for employee training. And, the campus will offer non-credit programs in
customized training and personal enrichment.
The Newport County Campus will join CCRI campuses in Warwick, Lincoln and Providence
to create a four-part community college system in Rhode Island – a system first
envisioned by the RI General Assembly when Rhode Island Junior College first was
launched 40 years ago.
The Shingle-Style building, designed by Newport Collaborative Architects, will
feature a student services complex, a 250-seat auditorium and a classroom/laboratory
wing. Construction for the $12.4 million campus began in October 2003, and is overseen
by DePasquale Building and Realty. Underlining the project’s potential economic
impact, CCRI President Thomas D. Sepe says, “Opening a comprehensive college campus
in the East Bay will bring education and job training to individuals who may not
otherwise have access to higher education.”
Even before the project’s roof is completed, CCRI has been preparing for the
state-of-the-art technology to link the classrooms to the 21st century. To this
end, a fundraising dream team, comprised of Newport Mayor Richard Sardella, Newport
Hospital CEO Arthur Sampson, and Raytheon Vice President Richard Buchanan, is working
to raise $1 million for the equipment needed to make the campus a high-tech showcase.
