Building the Community

JWU improves the quality of life in Providence through our commitments to community service, urban revitalization and business and community affiliations.

Business & Economic Development
In 2006, JWU’s Providence Campus accounted for $260 million in economic activity in Rhode Island and directly generated $4.0 million in state and local taxes. As of 2009, that output has climbed to $327.6 million.

The university is also committed to historic renovation and urban revitalization, winning numerous historic preservation awards for its facities in providence. Through investment in construction and renovation, JWU is an active participant in economic development and revitalization efforts in the Providence area.

Our graduates and students are also strong contributors to the regional economy. The more than 7,000 JWU students working off campus represent a sizable percentage of the only 112,500 people in the workforce in the city of Providence.

Two hundred businesses in RI have been started by JWU graduates, while other alumni hold leadership positions as presidents, CEOs or other principals at another 100 businesses in the state. 

Commitment to Community Service
A priority at JWU is developing students who have the skills and training to be ethical leaders in industry and their communities. During the 2010-2011 academic year, undergraduate and graduate students from the Providence Campus performed more than 150,000 hours of community service work, as well as volunteerism on an individual basis through dorms and clubs.

Each year since its inception, the Providence Campus has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth. This year, the campus was honored "with distinction." JWU was also selected from 900 schools to be featured in the latest issue of "Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement" from The Princeton Review.

Additionally, the Providence Campus was recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for its work in the Rhode Island community. JWU joins 118 institutions of higher education throughout the country — and the only one from Rhode Island — to be selected for Carnegie’s 2008 Community Engagement Classification for Curricular Engagement and Outreach & Partnerships. 

Affiliations
JWU’s active civic participation includes a variety of community and business affiliations. Through the Feinstein Technology & Design Center, School of Technology students provide nonprofits with design, graphics, technology and marketing services.

At the RI Small Business Development Center, hosted on campus, students and faculty work with professional staff to offer counseling and training in financial management, marketing and technical assistance to minority and small business owners. 

We also provided a the six-acre waterfront parcel for the headquarters of Save The Bay, a nationally recognized and award-winning environmental organization. This project has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency and Greensource magazine as one of the nation’s top brownfields redevelopment projects.