URI To Close W. Alton Jones Campus

WEST GREENWICH, RI — The University of Rhode Island will close W. Alton Jones Campus, officials announced Wednesday. Both day and overnight camps will not be held this year.

"We were ready. We understood the guidelines. We had excited staff and campers ready to get back outside," W. Alton Jones leaders said on Facebook. "But, today we were informed that we did not receive university approval. We were prepared to offer both day and overnight camps this summer. Sadly, URI will not allow either to operate."

The campus will permanently close as part of "university-wide financial concerns" due to the coronavirus pandemic. Built 55 years ago, the woodsy campus is the site of overnight and day campus, group retreats, weddings and more.

"It will be difficult to know that this summer the main lodge and cabins of the Environmental Education Center will remain empty and quiet for the first time since being built in 1965," a previous statement said.

The campus functions as a business, the statement said, which like many others will end the year with a deficit because of the pandemic.

"We are hopeful that this situation will turn around so that Alton Jones can continue to connect youth with the natural world for another 55 years and beyond," the statement concluded.

In a statement, university officials said that it would be cost prohibitive to try to maintain [summer camps and events] in the current financial climate."

"We know that Whispering Pines and the EEC have been enjoyed and supported by thousands of adults and youngsters," the statement said. "The university will be examining the use of this 2300-acre preserve of forests, lakes, and farmland in West Greenwich going forward. "

The 17 employees at the campus will be relocated to other positions within the school as possible, and several maintenance workers will remain on-site for upkeep.