Nestled in the Walker Laboratory sit the new offices of a number of deans and vice provosts. With office moves still continuing, these offices were created to accommodate the academic aspects of our administration. The dean of undergraduate education, Gary Gabriele, also serves as vice provost. His office was decorated with miniature sailboats, and views of sailing. Behind his desk, across the wall was hung a neatly framed map of the Caribbean Islands. We talked briefly about the new office and then got down to the interview.
According to Gabriele, his childhood in East Hartford, Conn. was “in all honesty, like ‘Leave it to Beaver.’” His interest in engineering came from his father, who worked for Pratt and Whitney, creating a strong influence for him early in life. He built soap-box racers that “never won the race,” and he later went on to attend Norwich University. “It was almost like ‘M.A.S.H.’, a military school with people who were organizing war protests!” remarked Gabriele. After studying mechanical engineering for four years, he was allowed by the military to continue on for graduate work at Purdue University in the same field. “I felt like there was a whole lot more I wanted to get into, especially in design. The best way to do that, both then and now, is graduate school,” he advised.
Once he left graduate school he went to work for the US Army Institute for Research in Management Information and Computer Science. While working, Gabriele was able to complete his doctorate, also at Purdue. Based in Atlanta, he worked for Lockheed-Georgia, and did some part-time instructing of Fortran at Georgia Tech. “I was in a group that was looking at aircraft designs that were five to 10 years ahead,” he remembered.
Gabriele soon decided to pursue teaching full time, and was named an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in 1984. “Technically, I’m still in mechanical engineering,” he grinned. He developed courses in the department and got his first taste of curriculum work. “To me, it’s another design problem. I enjoy education, but curriculum is a design problem,” said Gabriele. After serving as associate dean of academic and student affairs in the School of Engineering, he transitioned into the provost’s office as dean of undergraduate education. “We have a history of curriculum innovation at Rensselaer, and part of my job is to encourage that. helping faculty create exciting advances in learning and technology,” he stated.
“For students in engineering, science, and management, some of the most important courses are not in your curriculum. Science and engineering goes out of date, management techniques change, but critical thinking skills, innovation, and dealing with diverse situations carry forward. It’s not all about science and technology,” he said.
“I still have nightmares about some of my engineering courses,” joked Gabriele.
“College is four years of concentrated education. But when you graduate, it really starts. It’s not over when you go across the stage,” he also offered. In his spare time he spends time with his family and coaches soccer. Gabriele is an avid sailor, and enjoys woodworking (furniture and decks). He can be reached at gabrig2@rpi.edu.
