{"id":49,"date":"2025-07-02T14:09:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T18:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/?page_id=49"},"modified":"2025-07-02T14:16:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T18:16:36","slug":"home-new","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Revitalizing our forested campus<\/h1><\/div><\/div>
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Apply site-wide<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

The University of Rhode Island will reopen the W. Alton Jones Campus to the public through a partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), chief steward of the state\u2019s natural resources and lead agency in managing forested land and water resources throughout Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2,300-acre West Greenwich forested campus has long served as a hub for environmental research, science education, and ecological preservation. The W. Alton Jones campus revitalization and the restoration of public access\u2014part of URI\u2019s comprehensive campus planning\u2014includes broad community engagement, enhancing the use of space and resources to foster an environment that supports academic, ecological, and community goals while ensuring long-term sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe W. Alton Jones Campus is a vital natural resource that holds significant value not just for URI, but for our state and for communities across Rhode Island,\u201d said URI President Marc Parlange. \u201cThis partnership reflects our dedication to revitalizing the campus, while preserving its ecological and educational value for all Rhode Islanders. Restoring public access to this natural treasure is a demonstration of our commitment to our land-grant mission and to our important role as the state\u2019s flagship university.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Campus History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

URI has maintained the W. Alton Jones Campus since 1962\u2014when it was donated to the University by Nettie Marie Jones following the death of her husband, oil executive W. Alton Jones\u2014using the campus for research, teaching, and community-oriented activities. Its facilities, including the Environmental Education Center and Whispering Pines Conference Center, have hosted students, educators, and policymakers, fostering a deeper understanding of sustainability and environmental stewardship. The campus also has played a cultural and historical role in the state, symbolizing Rhode Island\u2019s commitment to conservation and experiential learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While faculty- and student-led research has continued on the campus, the University closed public access to the property in 2020 due to the significant costs associated with forest- and natural-resource management and facility maintenance, as well as financial challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Rhode Island will reopen the W. Alton Jones Campus to the public through a partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), chief steward of the state\u2019s natural resources and lead agency in managing forested land and water resources throughout Rhode Island. The 2,300-acre West Greenwich forested campus has long […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1338,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-49","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/alton-jones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}