WPI named leadership institution

On December 6th, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) named WPI one of the top 16 Leadership schools in the nation. Of the 16 awarded the title, WPI was the only tech school, putting it above other famous institutions such as CalTech, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT. Six other schools were given this honor last year, and shall join with WPI to form a Greater Expectations Leadership Consortium.

The AACU selected schools that showed innovation, cultural support of undergraduate students, and a link between liberal arts and pre-professional study. According to Richard Vaz, who will serve as liaison to the Greater Expectations Leadership Consortium, "We got this award because the AAC&U sees us as not only an outstanding technological school but also because of the strength of our liberal education. Our Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), in which students study the impact of science and technology on society, is unique to WPI. It's something no one else does. Another strong point was our global programs, which place our students in international locations to work on real-world problems."

As a member of the Greater Expectations leadership Consortium, WPI will host a series of workshops on campus meant to bring in people from other institutions in the area. At the same time, WPI will take part in a national panel that will teach other schools across the nation how to follow WPI's example. Other schools that will be working with WPI are Duke University, University of Michigan, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Said Andrea Leskes, the director of Greater Expectations, "We firmly believe your faculty and staff will contribute importantly to the work of the Greater Expectations Initiative, just as the institution will serve as a model for other colleges and universities across the country."