Multifunction facility to serve as a home for top ranked sailing team and a resource for STEM education

Patricio, Melissa A.

English

DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger10-19-2015Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing andEducation Center 'Puts RWU On the Map'Melissa A. PatricioRoger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationPatricio, Melissa A., "Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center 'Puts RWU On the Map'" (2015). FeaturedNews Story. 537.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/537Home News News Archive Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center 'Puts RWU On the Map'Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center 'PutsRWU On the Map'Multifunction facility to serve as a home for top ranked sailingteam and a resource for STEM educationOctober 19, 2015 Melissa A. PatricioBRISTOL, R.I. – Sunny skies prevailed over sparkling waters Friday when the Roger Williams University communitygathered with the Board of Trustees and the U.S. Congressional Delegation of Rhode Island to o cially dedicate theRichard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center – a completely donor-funded waterfront facility thatwill serve as home to the national powerhouse RWU sailing team and an educational facility for students of all ages fromacross campus and the Ocean State.“In many ways, the Mount Hope Bay is both our unfair advantage and our responsibility,” said Vice President forInstitutional Advancement Lisa Raiola. “Its beauty is o en the thing that attracts students and others to our campus, andits proximity reminds us every day that we need to take care of it. With the new Richard L. Bready Mount Hope BaySailing and Education Center, we have created access to the bay for competition, recreation and conservation.”  The Bready Center’s proximity to the bay is telling, noted University President Donald J. Farish, as is the fact that thefacility in no way increases the indebtedness of the state.“This is all part of augmenting our new vision of this University as a place that is deeply embedded and committed tostrengthening our society and to serving the community as best we can,” Farish said. “And we designed this building insuch a way that it will be accessible to others – it’s not just the home of the sailing team. There is a large multifunctionalclassroom here; it is connected all but physically to the Learning Platform where lots of marine biology work is beingdone; and this provides yet another opportunity to connect our marine biology programs with the bay itself.”Still, there is no denying that the sailing team’s success on a national level was the impetus for the project, which – inaddition to Chairman Bready’s $1 million leadership gi  – was largely funded by sailing team families, alumni, friendsand even some team members. Other schools put themselves on the map with championship basketball or footballteams, Farish said, but only those with water – like RWU – can do sailing.“We’re putting ourselves on the national map through sailing. Before we had the Sailing Center we had nationalchampions. We’re always in the Top 5 it seems, and this year again they competed in the  nals.”Echoing President Farish’s sentiments, U.S. Senator Jack Reed acknowledged the importance of the team’s freshfacilities, and how the Sailing and Education Center will impact the entire state, particularly the aquaculture and shell shrestoration e orts that Roger Williams researchers have been leading for decades.“It will provide additional stimulus to our economy and a rapidly growing  eld where Roger Williams is a leader not justlocally but nationally,” Reed said. “And it will also be a place where elementary and secondary school students cancome and be exposed to the Bay and to issues of biology and marine biology. In fact it will be an important part of STEMeducation, and we’ve been working very hard to make the experience of going out a part of the curriculum across thecountry, so children can learn by doing.”U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Congressmen David Cicilline and Jim Langevin each spoke about theUniversity’s growing reputation and contributions to communities across Rhode Island, as well as Chairman Bready’sleadership and generosity throughout the state.“This generosity will help generations of students here enjoy the special connection between Rhode Island and the sea,and between this university and sailing,” Cicilline said. “If you look at the things that have happened at this universityover the last  ve to seven years, there’s a lot to be proud of, and the trustees and the donors and sta  here have done aremarkable job.”Connection was a running theme throughout the dedication, and Sailing Head Coach Amanda Callahan – herself achampion sailor and the driving force behind the campaign – wrapped up the dedication ceremony by commentingthat the Bready Center has rallied the sailing community in ways she has yet to witness throughout her career.“The way this has brought people together has been amazing. It’s a dream come true for us.”

Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center \u27Puts RWU On the Map\u27

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Richard L. Bready Mount Hope Bay Sailing and Education Center \u27Puts RWU On the Map\u27

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