VOLUME 13, NO. 1     DEC 1999

Plan ahead for a visionary season

Alumni, parents and friends from the Cape Cod region and from the Boston area came together at separate events in August and September. Nearly 100 people gathered at Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, Mass., where 37 meticulously restored vintage automobiles are on display in a replica of the Round Barn in Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass. One month later, about 85 grads and guests enjoyed a special evening among the exhibits in the Blue Wing of the Boston Museum of Science.

Different as they are, each museum formed the perfect backdrop for one of the highlights of the evening, a three-part video presentation that took viewers from the achievements of WPI graduates during its first century, to the work of its faculty and students today on campus and around the world, to the University's plans for the decade ahead. In his opening remarks, President Edward Alton Parrish described his vision for WPI's future. He said it is "firmly rooted in our heritage of innovation and educational excellence and places us at the threshold of a new era." Each evening concluded with a light supper.

More recent programs have been held in Detroit and Denver. During the next several months, the Alumni Relations and Development and University Relations offices have scheduled special events in several other cities across the country (see below, right).