The Troy campus gets a new assistant to the vice provost, Bob Conway, and says goodbye to the vice provost for Professional & Distance Education, Bill Jennings, as he leaves for retirement.

Rensselaer at Hartford is a graduate center devoted to education for the working professional.

Eckbreth most recently directed the United Technologies Corporation Fuel Cells Program at United Technologies Research Center in East Hartford. He has served as a manager and engineer with UTC for more than 34 years.

“Dr. Eckbreth brings the credentials we have been seeking in the vice president and dean for Rensselaer at Hartford,” said President Jackson.

“He is firmly committed to graduate education for the working professional and is himself an alumnus of Rensselaer at Hartford. We are very pleased to be able to draw on Dr. Eckbreth’s energy, experience, and vision.”

As Rensselaer continues their mission to develop all its capacities, Bob Conway continues to share his experience to help “change the world.”

Conway, formerly the director of the Advising and Learning Assistance Center, has stepped down from the position to assume his new role as the assistant to the vice provost. After being with the center for almost 30 years, Conway leaves the position with mixed feelings.

“It’s like leaving your home, the place you grow up, and also the people that have been with you all the time,” said Conway.

He is, however, happy with the achievement of the center under his leadership.

The center has developed a variety of new advising programs including the Faculty Intervention Program, Meet your Advisor Day, and an extensive website of advising information.

In his new role as assistant to the vice provost, Conway will continue to provide academic advising services to the athletic teams and will be working on a number of issues of importance to the Undergraduate Education Performance Plan.

“The best part of this job is when a student comes and tells you that you have changed his or her life,” continued Conway.

Another faculty member who has been here long enough to change quite a few lives is retiring.

Bill Jennings retired from his position as vice provost for professional and distance education.

“Although I have reached the point in my life where retirement is a very important option, it is with very mixed feelings that I leave PDE,” commented Jennings.

“I have seen this department grow up and it has gone through a lot of changes. The distance learning program has grown from a very small operation to a significant piece of what Rensselaer does in providing education for working professionals.”

“The technology, the support services we provide, and the level of instructional design support we provide for faculty have all changed tremendously over this period of time,” Jennings added.

He continued, “It has been a lot of fun, my many interactions with leading corporations such as IBM, UTC, General Motors, Ford, and Lockheed-Martin; and from the entire faculty who have worked so hard over the years to provide high quality education to distance-based students.”

“I will miss it greatly. However, life goes on, and at some point we must all let go of the past and address the future,” he concluded.