The Hellenic Studies Center is currently under construction using privately donated funds at the Kingston Campus of the University of Rhode Island. However, the University is considering to abandon this project and turn the land over to private development. We need your help by signing this petition and collecting as many signatures as possible to send a strong message to the Rhode Island government to allow this project to completion. Let us make this petition viral and send it to all your email friends. Please read on the rest of this petition to appreciate the significance and urgency of this project.

The Center will be comprised of the Rodos Educational building, which is a building of classical Greek architecture, an open air ancient style Greek theater, and a small orthodox chapel. The project is spearheaded by the Rhode Island chapter of Paideia, a non-profit Greek-American organization dedicated to advancing learning about classical and modern Hellenic culture and language.

In an agreement with the University, Paideia has been given a long term lease of the land and is in the process of constructing the facilities of the complex. The Rodos educational building will showcase Byzantine architecture, art and history in an authentic venue. The building will contain classrooms, a small lecture hall, offices, a library, archival storage, the chapel, and exhibit space. A replica of the three pillars from the Acropolis of Rodos will be a prominent feature of the building. The facility will allow expanded curriculum offerings centered on Greek language, culture, and history and serve as home to the URI Humanities Center.

The theater, patterned after the open air ancient theaters of Greece, will showcase educational and cultural events and serve as a valuable resource not only to URI, but also to other universities, secondary and elementary schools in the state and the surrounding region. There will also be an outdoor Socratic corner for gatherings.