Vol. 4, No. 13 March 13, 2003
In this issue:
- Around Campus
- People
- WPI In the News
- Colloquia/Conferences/Meetings
- Publications & Presentations
- Worth Noting
Around Campus
Art Exhibit and Artist Reception
Gordon Library will feature "Prints Pushed & Pulled," non-toxic and traditional lithography by Kathleen Monahan, Jean Murphy and Vivian Wnuk from March 14 to April 7. A special reception for the artists will be held on Friday, March 14, at 6 p.m. at the library. For more information, e-mail archives@wpi.edu or call ext. 6612.
Women's History Month
WPI's Office of Diversity and Women's Programs is hosting several events in celebration of Women's History Month.
- Grand opening of the WECE REC Room, today, 4 to 6 p.m., Atwater Kent 108. The room is one legacy of Denise Nicoletti's work with Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering (WECE). Nicoletti devoted a portion of her lab for the Recreation Enlightenment and Creativity Room. The formal program, beginning at 4:30, includes special guest Barbara Broad, mother of the late Denise Nicoletti, who will share her daughter's vision for women in engineering.
- Society of Women Engineers New England Region F Annual Conference, Saturday, March 15, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Campus Center. The conference includes workshops on memory training, self defense and conflict management, along with inspiring talks on professional development topics. A career fair is also included. Register in advance at www.swe.org/SWE/RegionF/index.shtml.
- Book Discussion: I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother by Allison Pearson, Thursday, March 20, from noon to 1 p.m., Campus Center, Chairman's Room. Bring your lunch and come ready to discuss this thought-provoking novel on the life of a high-power financial analyst torn between a hectic "balance" of work and family.
- Comedienne Julie Goldman, Friday, March 21, 7 p.m., Campus Center, Lower Stage. Fresh from her appearance on "The Sopranos" and her ongoing show at Caroline's Comedy Club on Broadway, Paper magazine's "Wild Woman" Julie Goldman is not your average stand-up comedienne, Sponsored by Student Activities, the event is free and open to the public.
- The Vagina Monologues: The Movie, Monday, March 24, 6-8 p.m., Campus Center, Hagglund Room. Writer and performer Eve Ensler created this one-woman show that she began performing off-off-Broadway in 1996. Her show spoke of women's bodies, covering subjects often considered taboo, risqué and threateningly empowering. This is an intimate look at the original run of the show. A discussion will follow. This event is co-sponsored by Student Activities and the Girls Night Out committee.
- WPI Survivor: Women vs. Men, Wednesday, March 26, from 7 to 9 p.m., Harrington Auditorium. Sign up your all-women or all-men team to compete in this ultimate challenge. Compete for the title of "WPI Survivor" by conquering your opponents in tests of physical agility and intellect. Look for sign-up sheets in the Campus Center. The event is co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Women's Programs and Healthy Alternatives.
- WPI Alumna and Trustee Judith Nitsch '75, Monday, March 31, 7-8 p.m., Olin 107. Come hear about Fashion, Fun and Father Scanlon in the '70s at WPI. Nitsch was one of 32 women who started her career at WPI in 1971, and one of 19 who graduated. She is now the owner and president of the largest woman-owned civil engineering firm in the Northeast. She promises to share funny stories, pictures and truths about being a woman engineering student, and a woman engineer.
Earth Mass Concert
On Sunday March 23, at 5 p.m., the combined voices of the WPI Glee Club, Alden Voices, St. Paul's Cathedral Choir, All Saints Choruses, WPI Jazz Ensemble, the WPI African Percussion Ensemble, and professional soloists from the Worcester community will perform Paul Winter's Missa Gaia (Earth Mass) at All Saints Church, 10 Irving Street. For more information, call ext. 5051. $12 general admission.
Teaching Technology Fellows
A partnership between the Academic Affairs and Information Technology divisions, this program helps faculty foster teaching innovations, effectively use technology to augment teaching and learning, increase communication and collaboration, and recognize and reward excellence. Each academic year, the program sponsors up to six fellows who receive the support needed to redesign a course including
- bi-weekly seminars on the effective use of teaching technologies, meeting with nationally recognized speakers,
- laptop computers with pre-installed software,
- allowance for individual software selections books and supplies,
- and stipends to attend or present at a conference that focuses on teaching and learning.
The program requires a strong commitment from the faculty member for the entire academic year. Each department may nominate one full-time faculty member. The completed paperwork should be delivered to the Provost's Office by March 30. Interested faculty should see their department head for more information.
Health and Benefit Fair
The Human Resources Office will host WPI's annual Health and Benefits Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, in the Campus Center Odeum. More than 15 vendors, including representatives from WPI's current health plans and retirement plan and from local banks, will participate in this informative and fun event. Many of the vendors are providing items to be raffled off in a drawing at the end of the day.
Long-term Care Insurance Offered
WPI is offering employees the opportunity to purchase long-term care insurance from Unum Life Insurance Company of America. Long-term care is received at home or in a facility when someone needs help with the activities of daily living. Human Resources, in conjunction with Sullivan, Garrity & Donnelly Insurance, will host luncheon presentations on long-term care insurance from noon to 1 p.m. on March 11 and 20 in the Campus Center, Hagglund Room, March 25 and on April 1 in the Campus Center Odeum B. Space is limited; call ext. 5470 to reserve a seat.
People
NEATrust Scholarships Awarded
Pam Discipio and Jennifer Riddell, assistant directors of alumni relations, each recently received a $1,000 scholarship from the American Insurance Administrators and the National Education Alumni Trust (NEATrust). The scholarships, also awarded to 10 other alumni professionals across the country, may be used toward attendance at an educational conference.
Professors Awarded Fulbright Scholarships
Mikhail Dimentberg, professor of mechanical engineering, and Karen A. Lemone, associate professor of computer science, have received Fulbright Scholar grants to lecture and conduct research abroad during this academic year, according to the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Dimentberg will lecture and conduct research on nonlinear dynamics and vibrations at the University of Magedeburg, in Germany. Lemone recently lectured and conducted research on computer science and related fields at Kathmandu University in Nepal.
The professors are part of a group of approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad to more than 140 countries for the 2002-03 academic year through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program's purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.
Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their fields.
WPI in the News
The March 2 Boston Herald quotes David Lucht, director of WPI's Center for Firesafety Studies, on the Rhode Island nightclub fire in a front page article titled "Tragic mix of errors led to fire." Lucht was quoted in a Feb. 28 story in the Christian Science Monitor on culture changes and fire regulations following the Rhode Island nightclub fire.
On Feb. 25, he discussed lessons learned in the aftermath of the Rhode Island fire on WBUR radio. The same day, he was interviewed by the Associated Press and NECN/Worcester Channel 3.
Jonathan Barnett, professor of fire protection engineering, was also interviewed about the Rhode Island fire on March 1 by the Washington Post (the article was picked up by the Seattle Times) and on Feb. 26 by the Wall Street Journal (on expected changes in nightclub building codes).
The March 2 Oakland Tribune featured an article on Freemasonry, including an interview with Steven Bullock, professor of history.
The Feb. 24 Telegram & Gazette featured WPI's college physician, Dr. Chris Purington, in an article on eating disorders in college-age women.
On Feb. 12, the Chicago Tribune ran an article on Kevin Wynn, assistant director of media relations, noting how he used creativity and Krispy Kreme donuts to make sure his resume stood out from the pack during his most recent job search. The Orlando Sentinel picked up the article on Feb. 19.
HUMAN RESOURCES DEADLINES
Staff time sheets are due by noon on the Friday before the pay date. Human Resources and Payroll Office deadlines are noted below.
Thursday, March 13
Biweekly staff payroll authorizations and Flexcomp claim forms (Staff payroll paid Wednesday, March 19)
Friday, March 14
Monthly Flecomp claim forms
Tuesday, March 18
Monthly payroll authorizations
(Monthly payroll paid on Monday, March 31)
Thursday, March 20
Biweekly student payroll authorizations (Student payroll paid Thursday, March 27)
Thursday, March 27
Biweekly staff payroll authorizations and Flexcomp claim forms (Staff payroll paid Wednesday, April 2).
All forms submitted to Human Resources and Payroll must be complete and have all of the appropriate approvals to be processed. Forms submitted after these dates will be processed in the following payroll.
Employment Opportunities
(As of March 7)
BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Bioinformics (joint appointment with Computer Science)
Tenure Track Molecular Ecologist
BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Accounting Clerk III
CAMPUS POLICE
Part-time Temporary Dispatchers
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Bioinformics (joint appointment with Biology and Biotechnology)
Department Head
CONTINUING AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Administrative Secretary IV (MetroWest Campus)
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Faculty Position
Department Head
GRADUATE ADMISSIONS
Administrative Assistant
HUMANITIES AND ARTS
Director of the Center for Communication Across the Curriculum
Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Asian Studies
Adjunct Assistant Professor in Spanish
Visiting Assistant Professor or Teaching Fellow, non-tenure track, full-time in German
MANAGEMENT
Visiting Faculty Member in Entrepreneurship
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
Visiting Assistant Professorships
Coordinator, Actuarial Mathematics Program
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Tenure Track Faculty (2)
PLANT SERVICES
Custodians, temporary pool
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Assistant Director, Student Activities/Night
Campus Center Manager
UNIVERSITY MARKETING
Marketing Integration Director
For more information about these positions, visit the HR Web site at www.wpi.edu/Admin/HR/Jobs.
WPI's Human Resources Office encourages current employees to refer qualified individuals to apply for jobs at WPI. For each person you refer who is hired and who successfully completes six months of active service, you will receive a $500 bonus. The Employee Referral Bonus Program applies to all permanent non-faculty, exempt and nonexempt positions.
Cabinet Meeting Summary
The full text of these summaries may be read online at http://www.wpi.edu/Admin/President/Cabinet/
Feb. 11 Meeting
Doing Business Differently: Dean Paul Davis presented a detailed account of IGSD functions and accomplishments--especially the contributions to WPI's academic programs and reputation of the Global Perspective Program. He discussed efforts to enlist new faculty members as global project advisors and the financial aspects of various centers. Discussion centered on possible ways of doing business differently that might lead to budget savings without affecting quality, based on the data presented.
Marketing Campaign Update: George Flett presented information on the marketing program's impact in terms of reputation and perception within the target group (parents, teachers and guidance counselors in Boston and Hartford working with high school pupils potentially interested in our programs.) Most metrics indicated that positive responses were increasing.
FY 03 Budget: Judi Trainor reviewed this year's budget, which must be managed tightly to keep within all established budget lines to balance for the year. All managers must take steps to eliminate overruns and find savings.
FY 04 Budget: President Parrish led a discussion of next year's budget, which, on the revenue side, will be negatively impacted by the current economy. Discussion centered on strategies for a tuition increase that would yield the greatest net tuition (that is, taking financial aid into account in setting the increase) and place WPI appropriately in the price hierarchy with institutions like RPI, with which we compete most heavily for students.
Colloquia/Conferences/Meetings
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Thursday, March 20, noon, "Robust Multi-Rate Estimation," Masoud Soroush, Goddard Hall 227
Friday, March 28, noon, "Charge, Reactant and Water Transports in a Lab Scale PEMFC: Is It Still That Obvious?" Francios Lapicque, Goddard Hall 227
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Friday, March 14, 11 a.m., "Cyclone: Safe Programming at the C Level of Abstraction," Daniel Grossman, Ph.D. candidate, Cornell University, Fuller Labs 320.
CONTINUING AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Wednesday, March 19, 6:30 p.m., IT Information Session, Waltham Campus, 60 Hickory Drive (in Bear Hill Road/Second Avenue business complex, Rte. 128, exit 26). For more information, call 800-974-9717 or reserve your space online at www.ce.wpi.edu.
Thursday, March 20, 6:30 p.m., IT Information Session, MetroWest Campus, 225 Turnpike Road (Rte. 9 West), Southborough. For more information, call 800-WPI-9717 or visit www.ce.wpi.edu.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
Thursday, March 20, 1 p.m., safety training session, Higgins Labs 114. Pre-registration is not required. For more information, call David Messier at ext. 5216 or visit www.wpi.edu/Admin/Safety/.
FACULTY MEETING
Thursday, March 20, 3:15 p.m., Olin 107
GRADUATE MANAGEMENT
Wednesday, March 19, 6 p.m., "Graduate Management Information Session," Campus Center. Reserve your space online at www.mgt.wpi.edu/Graduate/infosessions.html.
Publications & Presentations
CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
Ernest Soto, John C. MacDonald, Christopher G. F. Cooper, W. Grant McGimpsey, "A Non-Covalent Strategy for the Assembly of Supramolecular Photocurrent-Generating Systems," in Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2003, 125, 2838-2839.
HUMANITIES AND ARTS
Richard Falco, director of jazz studies, was selected by the Rhode Island Music Educators Association to be a guest clinician and adjudicator for the University of Rhode Island's All-State Big Band Festival sponsored by the International Association of Jazz Educators.
Mott, Wesley T., Review of Thoreau's Ecstatic Witness, by Alan Hodder. In Religion and the Arts, 6 (4th Quarter 2002): 521-523.
PROVOST'S OFFICE
Schachterle, Lance, "Civilization and Its Discontents: Freud Meets Cooper on The Prairie," papers from the 2001 Cooper Seminar, SUNY Oneonta (2001), 82-96.
SOCIAL SCIENCE AND POLICY STUDIES
Wilkes, John, "The NASA Mindset and the Normal Accident," presented at the National Association of Science, Technology and Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Md., Feb. 22.
Worth Noting
Parrish Publishes Op-Ed on K-12 Education
"The sad truth is, despite our teachers' best intentions, the priorities given to math, science and technology in our public schools are sporadic at best... Is it any wonder that students opt-out and become disinterested in math and science? We have a responsibility to keep these doors open for them - even if they choose not to walk through them."
That's a quote from an article by WPI President Edward Alton Parrish that appeared in the March 9 edition of the Boston Sunday Globe. The op-ed piece touted the importance of K-12 math and science education to recruiting and retaining future generations of scientists and engineers.
In the article, Parrish offers a number of suggestions for how students in the state can be better prepared "to take advantage of some of Massachusetts' highest-paying and most-rewarding fields." They include bringing universities, corporations and public schools together to develop programs that motivate students and prepare math and science teachers in new educational approaches, and nurturing technology studies in the classroom, particularly at the elementary level, to show children at an early age how studies in math, science, and technology will play an essential part of their lives when they graduate.
The article appeared on page C4 in the "Business & Money" section. To view it online, go to: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/068/business/A_solid_foundation_needed_for_tech_talent+.shtml.
WPI has set up a special Web site about this issue: www.wpi.edu/Admin/K12/. You may read President Parrish's article there and offer your comments about the article and about the issues he discusses.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: July 28, 2008 13:47:42