In the News

Worcester News Tonight featured the news of PracticePoint at WPI’s Gateway Park being named the site of the first so-called “sandbox” by Gov. Baker who was on campus yesterday to announce the new grant program. “It’s going to be about engineering and data science, and those are two areas where WPI is a national leader,” Gov. Baker said (8:45 mark). President Laurie Leshin added, “There’s so much innovation happening right here in the heart of the commonwealth, right here in Worcester. It’s fantastic to see the state recognizing that.”

The Telegram & Gazette interviewed President Leshin on her response to humanity getting its first glimpse of a black hole on Wednesday, “Image of Black Hole Sends Science Community Over the Moon.” “Days like yesterday really inspire all of us as space scientists to keep pursuing that giant leap in science ... whatever the next mystery is we want to solve,” she told the T&G on Thursday.

In the Telegram & Gazette editorial, President Leshin joined regional private college presidents requesting a role in the state’s new focus on private college accountability spurred by recent college closings in Mass. “We wish to share our collective wisdom and collaborate on the development of this new financial assessment tool that will enable colleges and universities to address short and long-term challenges and, of paramount importance, protect our students,” the editorial stated.

Worcester News Tonight covered WPI's celebration and presentation of the 50th anniversary of NASA sending men to the moon, which included James L. Green, NASA chief scientist, and Steven M. Rothstein, executive director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. President Laurie Leshin moderated the discussion, which covered the historical perspective of the United States’ participation in the Space Race against the Soviet Union, how Apollo 11’s legacy still lives on 50 years later, and other topics. (Clip starts at 4:04 mark)

President Laurie Leshin was featured on WGBH's The Curiosity Desk, talking about the recent advancements and successes in space science that launched 2019. She noted the extensive space science research faculty and students are conducting at WPI: "How do you keep astronauts alive for long space flight? How do you make sure our communications with them will be flawless?" she said. "It’s these kinds of foundational technologies that are being worked on at WPI." 

In an article and photo on its website, MassBio reported on President Laurie Leshin serving as a panelist at a recent discussion on women's leadership, talent management and engagement along the talent pipeline.

A photo of President Laurie Leshin and other current and former presidents of private Mass. colleges accompanied The Boston Globe article, which noted, in comparison, that nearly half of all private college presidents in Mass. are women.  

Worcester Business Journal reported on the grand opening of the Foisie Innovation Studio in the article. The building, which includes beds for 140 students and a lab space equipped with the latest technology, adds a third element - impact - to WPI's two long-term pillars, theory and practice. "It's about taking that world-changing work to another level," President Laurie Leshin said at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

WPI formally opened the Foisie Innovation Studio and Messenger Residence Hall yesterday in a celebration hosted by President Laurie Leshin and WPI board chair Jack Mollen, with state and local officials including Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Matt Beaton ’01; Assistant Secretary of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship for the Commonwealth, Damon Cox; State Senator and former Senate President Harriette Chandler; State Senator Michael Moore; Representative John Mahoney, and others. The ribbon cutting was reported by the Telegram & Gazette.

President Laurie Leshin was quoted in this Chronicle of Higher Ed article in reaction to tweets by the president dismissing as partisan a study that tallied the death toll from Hurricane Maria at nearly 3,000 in Puerto Rico.

President Laurie Leshin was quoted in this Bloomberg Businessweek article. Looking back, then-President Bill Clinton’s decision to explore Mars “cemented NASA’s commitment to search-for-life research and made it appealing in a whole new way,” said Leshin, who the article noted is also a co-investigator on CAESAR (comet astrobiology exploration sample return).

President Laurie Leshin has been named to the Worcester Business Journal’s "The Power 50," its annual list of the most powerful people in the Central Massachusetts business community. The WBJ writes “When we seek to create this list every year, we focus on the people who use their positions to have an outsized influence on the business community. We want to tell the story of a changing region and economy through the people creating that change.” The annual list section also includes a brief article on each nominee; here is a link to President Leshin’s page.

This article featured the WPI graduation story of David D’Antonio who, in 1980, was a few classes short of earning a computer science degree when he ran out of money and dropped out. “Thirty-eight years later, the Arlington resident received his long-awaited diploma as well as praise from WPI president Laurie Leshin, who noted his ‘special amount of perseverance’ in her speech honoring the 981 undergraduates at the commencement ceremony on May 12.

Calling it “a remarkable year at WPI,” this Telegram & Gazette editorial highlighted the university’s inventions and other accomplishments. The T&G referred to “an expanding focus on innovation and entrepreneurship that has been part of the college’s DNA going back to its founding but which is reaching a new level under President Laurie Leshin.” Todd Keiller, director of WPI’s Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation, told the newspaper that Leshin supports “a cycle of innovation and entrepreneurship,” benefiting both WPI and the community.

Stating that President Laurie Leshin has raised the profile of WPI “significantly,” the WBJ  published this story in its Business Leader of the Year section.  “Under Leshin, WPI has made an aggressive push into Boston's hotbed of tech companies, innovation and young talent,” the WBJ reported. “It is WPI, not Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that has a classroom and collaboration space in the Seaport.”

The Boston Business Journal reported on the opening of WPI Seaport, a multipurpose space in Boston that will further WPI’s role in the state’s innovation economy. President Laurie Leshin was joined by several state and local officials, including Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who said the new collaboration with WPI will “will bring more outstanding talent into our neighborhoods.”

President Laurie Leshin was interviewed for a segment on the importance of play and role models for getting girls interested in STEM at a young age and keeping them engaged. 

Inside Higher Ed published the article on WPI’s efforts to enroll more female students. WPI saw the female share of its incoming class go from 34 percent to 43 percent in a year, after adjusting aid policy. President Laurie Leshin, was interviewed for the article and described new changes in policies and efforts begun 10 years ago, when WPI admissions became SAT-optional. 

Kristin Tichenor,  WPI senior vice president, was quoted in the article. “The quickest way to bridge the gap between the number of people we need with computing expertise to fill jobs and those with the talent to do that work, is to encourage more women and underrepresented minority students to pursue computer degrees in college,” she said.

President Laurie Leshin was quoted in this article regarding a leaked internal memo at Google that raised questions for women looking to enter Silicon Valley tech companies or join academic STEM departments.