Message From the President
It is a deep honor to have been elected WPI's 15th president and to succeed Edward Alton Parrish. Cathy and I join the WPI community with great enthusiasm for the university and optimism about its future.
WPI is a distinguished and distinctive university of outstanding quality. Its traditional emphasis on both theory and practice, symbolized by the towers of its two original buildings, has remained consistently strong and influential over the past 139 years. That tradition is realized today in a novel curriculum taught by faculty members passionate about both their subjects and their students. For more than 30 years, that curriculum, the WPI Plan — standing on the pillars of collaborative projects and rooted in an imaginative synthesis of engineering and science with the arts, the humanities, and the larger social context — has produced graduates well prepared for important work, for leadership, and for fulfilling lives. WPI is a leading exemplar of what Alfred North Whitehead referred to as "the imaginative consideration of learning."
One of the nation's smaller research universities, WPI has developed and sustained national leadership in a number of important fields, based, in part, on its unusually rich engagements with industry and fueled by the faculty's increasing success in obtaining external funding. Sponsored research and graduate education at WPI enrich the undergraduate experience, help attract and retain outstanding teacher-scholars, and promote WPI's role in contributing to the scientific, technological, cultural and economic development of the region and the nation.
WPI will continue to benefit from, and contribute to, a highly productive relationship with the local community. Our work with local schools, teachers and students in mathematics and science education, the revitalization of Institute Park, and the development of the Gateway Research Park at WPI demonstrate our critical interdependence with the city of Worcester and the surrounding region.
Of all of WPI's many strengths, none is more important to me as I begin my presidency than the WPI community itself. This university is blessed with talented students whose curiosity, energy and passion for improving the world are truly inspiring; extraordinary faculty members deeply devoted to both teaching and the quest for new knowledge; administrators and staff who go the extra mile to make WPI an effective, efficient and caring institution; 26,000 alumni who strengthen the university with their ideas, time and financial resources, and who build its reputation through their accomplishments; and distinguished trustees whose vision and guidance are invaluable.
In teaching and research, technological innovation and artistic creation, service to the community and leadership in the professions, today's WPI is defined by people and traditions of true excellence. I look forward to working with all members of the WPI community to realize the potential of this invaluable heritage.
Sincerely,
Dennis D. Berkey
President
Last modified: July 02, 2007 09:36:45