Worcester Project Center begins work

Last term, students completed the first set of projects at the Worcester Community Project Center. The focus of the new center is to do work that will help the Worcester community. These projects will be publicly presented when the center is officially opened on Monday, January 22.

The Worcester Project Center is one of the off-campus sites that are part of the Global Perspective Program. In the 2001-2002 academic year, the projects will be held during terms C and D. One difference with this center compared to the other off-campus sites is that there are no extra charges associated with completing the IQP at the center.

The center director is Assistant Provost Lance Schachterle. The center coordinator is John B. Anderson. Anderson is currently a history professor at Holy Cross, a former member of the Worcester City Council, and former mayor of Worcester.

According to Schachterle, "The objectives of the WCPC are to provide world-class project experiences in Worcester where WPI students and faculty can be of significant help to local agencies." "The Worcester Community Project Center is a great concept," says Anderson. "Bringing together academic resources and student enthusiasm, it should be particularly useful in addressing the needs and concerns of the Worcester community; it matches this city's strengths with its needs in a very positive fashion."

The first project is sponsored by the Worcester Public Schools. The project calls for students to help the Worcester Public Schools develop a pre-engineering course at Doherty High School. The purpose of this project is to help bridge the "digital divide" and expand the use of the Internet to people who do not currently have access. The sponsor of the second project is the Worcester Information Technology Project.

The third project is sponsored by the Worcester Business Development Corporation. This project's purpose is to help the WBDC in planning and redeveloping areas of the Prescott Street Gateway Park. The area is a brownfields redevelopment project here in Worcester. The goal of the fourth project is to develop a constant calendar of activity for the Worcester Commons. This project is for the City of Worcester Marketing Department and the Center City Development Council. The fifth project is sponsored by the City of Worcester Marketing Department. The purpose of this project is to find a way to effectively market the convention center at the Worcester Centrum.

The Worcester Community Project Center will hopefully be able to help the city of Worcester for many years to come.