The University of Rhode Island today announced the kickoff of the \u201cVote Yes on 1\u201d campaign to promote approval of Question 1 on this year\u2019s November ballot. Passage of Question 1 will provide $100 million in bonds for much needed improvements to the University\u2019s globally known Narragansett Bay Campus, the leader of Rhode Island\u2019s ocean economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cRhode Islanders have a generational opportunity to position Rhode Island and New England as the global leader in a new Blue Economy with URI as the engine that fuels that activity,\u201d said Marc Parlange, president of URI. \u201cWith the support of this bond, URI can create a thriving, modern Bay Campus that will spur critical job creation and economic development, drive innovation, and create sustainable and equitable career opportunities for all Rhode Islanders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Dan McKee; Parlange; and business, community, and elected leaders gathered at a kick-off event on the University\u2019s Bay Campus Wednesday morning. Several speakers noted that the bond would position Rhode Island to continue as an international leader in the Blue Economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the state\u2019s flagship research institution, an investment in the University of Rhode Island is an investment in the state as a whole,\u201d said Gov. McKee. \u201cThis investment in the Narragansett Bay Campus will help us continue to be a leader in the Blue Economy, leveraging partnerships with industry leaders, advancing scientific knowledge of our oceans, and creating good paying jobs in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo let\u2019s support this bond. I will be voting yes. I will be asking everyone to follow my lead. We can afford it and it\u2019s a good investment for the state of Rhode Island,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n
The Blue Economy\u2014which includes the defense industry, tourism, marine trades, fisheries, and soon, offshore wind\u2014is a critical driver of the state\u2019s economy, generating more than $5 billion every year. By 2030, that total is projected to double to $10 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese investments are necessary to continue to position Rhode Island and URI as a leading international center of excellence for research and a hub of economic activity. The scientific discoveries and commercial applications being developed at URI are helping to address global issues including climate change and food security, support the Blue Economy and generate revenue for the state,\u201d said Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep the momentum going and to capitalize on the opportunities URI\u2019s success has generated, the state must double down and ensure that the Narragansett Bay Campus has world-class labs and academic facilities that meet the standards of other competing research institutions. Rhode Island cannot afford to fall behind at a time when others are charging full steam ahead,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n
Oscar Mejias, president and chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said that this bond would be an important investment for the Hispanic community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have 800 businesses who are members of our chamber, from construction to professional service, in food and other industries,\u201d Mejias said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur community wants to be an active part of this investment,\u201d Mejias said. \u201cYou have our commitment, and we have full confidence in this project. We want to be fully part of the Blue Economy and economic development overall. By working together, we can make big things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael F. Sabitoni, president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, started his remarks by talking about his pride in the University as an alumnus and the many family members, including his three children, who have benefitted from a URI education.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a no brainer as an investment in the marine sciences here in the Ocean State,\u201d Sabitoni said. \u201cI have been around a long time on a lot of different bond questions. I echo what the governor said. This is not just a one-off. This is a plan to continue investments that make sense. Yes, we can afford it, but we can\u2019t afford not to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the Bay Campus event, the \u201cVote Yes on 1\u201d campaign also launched its online and social media campaign. To get involved or find more information, visit URIYesOn1.com<\/a>, follow @URIYesOn1<\/a>, and use #URIYesOn1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Passage of Question 1 will provide $100 million in bonds for much needed improvements to the University\u2019s globally known Narragansett Bay Campus, the leader of Rhode Island\u2019s ocean economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2165,"featured_media":178415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[2160],"class_list":["post-178413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bay-campus-master-plan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178413"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178414,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178413\/revisions\/178414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}