The Bridge - August 2006

Alumni News

Homecoming 2006

Mark your calendars today for Homecoming 2006, Oct. 6-7. The fun begins with a Pep Rally on Friday evening, and continues all day Saturday with a Family Carnival, open houses, sporting events, and more! The football game with Union College begins at 1 p.m., followed by the traditional Rope Pull at Institute Park. The Classes of 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006 will be celebrating their Reunions! View the full Homecoming schedule.

Transformations Goes Back to School

The Fall issue of Transformations has a timely theme: "The Future of Education." President Dennis Berkey shares his vision for the future of WPI, and Dean Emeritus Bill Grogan takes a look back at 35 years of the WPI Plan. The issue also features profiles of WPI alumni whose work directly impacts the quality of science and engineering education, as well as the quality of future engineers themselves. Also included are photos from Reunion 2006, interviews with your Alumni Association leaders, and the usual Class Notes and campus updates. Watch for it in your mailbox in September. See Transformations home page.

Foxwoods Fall Bus Trip

On Saturday, Sept. 23, join GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) for a afternoon and evening at Foxwoods Casino, in Connecticut. Bus departs from Higgins House at 2 p.m. and leaves the casino at 9 p.m. Cost is $25 per person and includes $10 in Keno and $10 in food vouchers. Registrations MUST be made and paid in advance. Register by contacting the Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at 508-831-5600 or alumni-office@wpi.edu.

Light the Night

The WPI GOLD Committee invites you to join your fellow WPI alumni in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s "Light the Night" walk on Oct. 15 as part of the WPI Alumni & Friends team. The evening walk to commemorate lives touched by cancer and to raise awareness of blood cancers will be held at Assumption College, in Worcester. Anyone may participate. This is a casual walk with no fitness requirements and minimal fund-raising requirements. Friends, families, and pets (on a leash) are welcome. For more information, contact team captain Rachel Delisle ’96 at rmdelisle@charter.net. Join the WPI team.

Explore the Treasures of Greece

Join the WPI Men's Glee Club on a concert tour of Greece, March 2-10, 2007. The tour, open to the WPI community, features sightseeing in Athens, Delphi, and other cities, as well as a 5-day cruise of the islands. Touring with the chorus and attending performances offers a unique perspective on a foreign country, and a rewarding connection to WPI students. The Glee Club is 133 years old, making it the oldest student-run organization on campus, and one of the oldest men's glee clubs in America. Registration deadline is Dec. 2. For further information, contact Director of Choral Music John Delorey at 508-831-5051, or email jfd@wpi.edu. Trip brochure and registration forms are available online.

Upcoming Regional Events

Join WPI alumni for theater performances throughout New England.

"Wicked," Jan. 13, 2007, Providence Performing Arts Center
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," March 10, 2007, Opera House, Boston
"Monty Python's Spamalot," April 21, 2007, Bushnell Theatre, Hartford, Conn.

Reservations and information.

Share Your Memories of Father Scanlon

For an article on Father Peter Scanlon, Transformations seeks stories and tributes from alumni and members of the WPI community. Send your favorite "Father Pete" stories to alumni-editor@wpi.edu, mail them to WPI c/o Alumni Editor, or post them online.

WPI NEWS

A Mighty Heart

A-Term has begun for undergraduate classes, and the campus is bustling with new and returning students. President Dennis Berkey welcomed first-year students during New Student Orientation on Aug. 20 with an address that concluded with eloquent words from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Dr. Berkey charged: "Members of the Class of 2010, I hope, as in the words of Justice Holmes, you will bring to your work at WPI a mighty heart, that you will scorn nothing but indifference, and that in your study, your work in our community, and throughout your lives, your hearts will be touched with fire." Read Dr.Berkey's complete remarks.

Michael J. Dolan '75 Elected to Board of Trustees

WPI's newest trustee is ExxonMobil Chemical Company president Michael J. Dolan, who heads the corporation's global chemical business. "His extensive international responsibilities will help guide our global studies programs as well as our programs in chemical and environmental engineering," notes President Dennis Berkey. Dolan's bio.

WPI Wins Honors for Brownfields Work

The Brownfields Project of the Year Award recognizes the successful remediation and redevelopment of Gateway Park, an 11-acre life sciences-based campus WPI is developing with the Worcester Business Development Corporation, which shared the award. The WPI Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, the park's first new building, will open early next year. Read the press release.

Bill Durgin Appointed Provost at Cal Poly

William W. Durgin, associate provost for academic affairs and vice president for research, is leaving WPI to become the provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. His service include 35 years as a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering and as a member of WPI's Academic Affairs team. His new appointment begins Aug. 31. Read more.

VOX Presents "Sweeney Todd"

VOX, WPI's musical theater group, will stage its first production in September. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, will be presented in Alden Memorial Hall on Sept. 21, 22, and 23, at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7. Kristy Chambrelli directs, with John Delorey as music director, and Thomas Collins and John Delorey as executive producers. For ticket information, call 508-831-5051.

WPI in the News

Steven C. Bullock, professor of history and an authority on the Freemasons, appeared in three nationally broadcast television documentaries in May, which aired on the National Geographic Channel, History Channel, and PBS. He was also a guest on the national NPR call-in show "Talk of the Nation," to discuss the idea of people reinventing themselves in American history. More faculty in the media.

New Volleyball, Basketball Coaches Join the Team

Director of Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics Dana Harmon, announced that Gary Patch has been hired as head women's volleyball coach. Patch replaces Nancy Vaskas, who recently retired after 26 seasons. Head women’s basketball coach Cherise Galasso announced that Kaitlyn O’Malley will join her coaching staff. O’Malley replaces Cassie Glasrud, who recently resigned after three years to accept the second assistant position at Manhattan College. More sports news.

Alumni Events

Sept. 6: GOLD Committee Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m., Mid-Century Room, Campus Center. Sponsored by WPI Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD). Call 508-831-5600 or e-mail gold@wpi.edu.

Sept. 8: 2006 WPI Hockey Alumni Golf Fund-Raiser, 2 p.m., Townsend Ridge Country Club. Cost: $100 per player; $400 per foursome (includes golf, cart, driving range, BBQ dinner, prizes, and tee gifts). Registration deadline Sept. 1, special raffle for early payment. For more information, call Mark Macaulay '89, at 508-393-8840 or e-mail macaulay@yankeescientific.

Sept. 13: Tech Old Timers: Update of WPI Marketing & Communications, 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Campus Center, Odeum. Meeting begins at 10:30, Coffee Hour begins at 9:45 a.m. Lunch is available immediately following the meeting. For more information, e-mail alumni-office@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5600.

Sept. 23: GOLD Foxwoods Casino Trip, 2-9 p.m. Cost is $25 per person; advance registrations and payment required. Contact Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at 508-831-5600 or alumni-office@wpi.edu.

Oct. 7: Homecoming 2006. Complete Homecoming schedule.

UNIVERSITY EVENTS

Aug. 29: Seminar: "Energy Situation in Ecuador and the Bio-ethanol Option," with Alfredo Barriga, PhD, WPI Visiting Scholar from ESPOL-Ecuadorposal, 11 a.m., SSPS Conference Room, Atwater Kent 128.

Sept. 6: SAS Meeting, Higgins House Library. E-mail sas@wpi.edu for more information.

Sept. 8: "Design for Trade-Offs in the Candy Industry," Prof. Micha Hofri, 11 a.m.,Fuller Labs 320. More info.

Sept. 12: WPI Venture Forum: "What's Right and Wrong with Massachusetts Business?" 6 p.m., Campus Center, Odeum.

Sept. 14: Food For Thought: "Educating Engineers for the 21st Century," 12-1 p.m., Campus Center, Hagglund Room. Sponsored by Center for Educational Development and Assessment For more information, e-mail ceda@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5195.

Sept. 15-17: WPI Parents Weekend 2006. For more info, e-mail sas@wpi.edu, call 508-831-5291. See schedule.

Sept. 15 to Oct. 31: Art Exhibit: "In the Beginning: Monotypes & Monoprints" by Jacqueline Ross, George C. Gordon Library, 3rd Floor Gallery.

Sept. 28: Graduate Studies Information Session, 6-7:30 p.m., Campus Center, Hagglund Room. Sponsored by Office of Graduate Studies & Enrollment. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information, e-mail grad_studies@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5301. Pre-register.

Dec. 9: Holiday Pops Concert, 8 p.m., Mechanics Hall, Worcester. WPI Festival Chorus, plus choruses from Clark and Worcester State. Tickets: call (508) 754-1234.

CAREERS

The Alumni Association's Career/Employment Program helps alumni in the search for new employment or with making a career change, and provides counseling and mentoring on a private, one-to-one basis. For more information, e-mail alumni-office@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5600.

Job listings are posted on an "as received" basis for the convenience of WPI alumni. Job-seekers are responsible for contacting employers and/or recruitment firms to verify particulars and request further information.