  Exchange City at the Providence Campus to Open PROVIDENCE, R.I. — April 26, 2007 — The University will mark the official opening of Exchange City with a ribbon cutting ceremony to be held on Thursday, May 3, 2007, at the Paramount Building on the University's Harborside Campus. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the ribbon-cutting and tour taking place at 11 a.m. In attendance will be Providence Campus President, Dr. Irving Schneider; Governor Donald Carcieri (invited); Providence Mayor David Cicilline; First Lady Suzanne Carcieri; other elected officials, and middle school students from the Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP) in Providence. Livanne Sandoval, who has been elected Mayor of Exchange City by her classmates at UCAP, also will participate in the ceremony. Exchange City is an innovative, interactive educational and entrepreneurial project for middle and high school students. Students at participating schools engage in a seven-week classroom experience that prepares them for their day-long, hands-on learning laboratory site at Exchange City. The Exchange City experience helps students learn and apply rigorous academic standards in math, civics, social studies, language arts and technology in real-life roles as citizens of their own community. The Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP) will be the first school to participate in the newly-constructed Exchange City at Johnson & Wales University. UCAP, located in Providence, is an independent public school, serving at-risk middle school students from Providence, Central Falls and Cranston. During the weeks of May and June, schools throughout Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut will be coming to Exchange City. In January 2006, Johnson & Wales’ Providence Campus partnered with Cody Foundation of Portsmouth, N.H., to welcome Exchange City to Rhode Island. J&W has contributed $800,000 through renovations within its historic Paramount Building located at its Harborside Campus, where Exchange City resides. The Paramount Building once housed Kaiser Shipbuilders, and is now home to the University’s world-famous Culinary Archives & Museum. Exchange City will occupy 20,000 square feet of the building’s second floor. Exchange City was created in 1980 in response to employers’ and community leaders’ concerns that students lacked the basic understanding of government, economics and skills needed for future roles in the workplace. Johnson & Wales University, founded in 1914, is a nonprofit, private institution. A recognized leader in career education, we offer accredited degrees in business, hospitality, culinary arts, technology and education. With a diverse student body of more than 16,000 graduate and undergraduate students, representing all 50 states and 89 countries, JWU prepares students for personal and professional success by integrating rigorous academics and professional skills, community leadership opportunities and our unique career education model. The university is committed to urban revitalization and thoughtful historic renovation. Through active civic participation and by offering unique learning opportunities, JWU improves the quality of life in its campus communities in Providence, R.I., North Miami, Fla., Denver, Colo., and Charlotte, N.C. For more information visit www.jwu.edu.
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