As the associate dean of research and graduate studies, one of Kim Fortun’s primary duties is to support the work of graduate students. She assists them in locating financial assistance for their work and advocates their efforts to advance the research excellence at RPI.
“Students should not be falling out of graduate programs because of financial resources. It’s my job as an educator to support their work,” said Fortun.
Fortun faced one of the toughest challenges of that job when the new graduate tuition policy was introduced to the campus community last spring. A number of students and professors felt that the administration phased in the new policy hastily.
“I think it was valid criticism. It was a real challenge to figure out how to deal with it that late in the game,” she said. In order to work with the policy, she has gathered numerous forms of input from students, staff, and administrators because “you really do get different kinds of viewpoints,” said Fortun.
She faced a different kind of challenge in the fall of 2001 after the terrorist attacks on New York City, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. Fortun decided to organize the 9/11 Open Response Committee to plan events that would give students a chance to discuss the current world situation with knowledgeable speakers like Scott Ritter, the former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq. “I had a lot of learning experiences last year,” said Fortun.
Fortun earned her bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy at Duke University in 1986. She spent three years doing fieldwork overseas before receiving her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Rice University in 1993.
“You learn so much just being there [in another country]. I learned things at a very deep level that I really appreciate. It’s shaped my views as I’ve gotten older,” said Fortun.
After she graduated from Rice, Fortun joined the Rensselaer faculty to teach students about the environment, culture, and their relationship to modern technology. Although she has also served as administrator since 1999, she places the value of her teaching ahead of her administrative duties. “I feel very strongly that I’m an educator first,” said Fortun.
Fortun has enjoyed her time working at the Institute alongside her husband Mike, who is also a professor at RPI. As a private technological institution, RPI has given her a unique perspective on the world and its relationship to technology. Engineering and science majors have taught her lessons that she might not have learned at a liberal arts college.
“Education is at its best when you can have that [interdisciplinary] exchange. That kind of collaboration is just wonderful at a scholarly level,” said Fortun.
Fortun directs the center for ethics and complex systems, whose work focuses on the multidisciplinary exchange of ethnical issues behind the introduction of new technology into our society. The center holds seminars and round-table discussion panels to discuss scientific and technology phenomena. “There is genuine interest in that kind of exchange ... Ethical concerns happen every day, [and] collaboration is just crucial,” said Fortun.
Fortun was recently nominated for the Darren Counseling Award to recognize her contributions to RPI. In her spare time, she enjoys cross-country skiing and traveling to gain an appreciation of the experiences and perspectives of other people. Fortune is the author of Advocating Bhopal: Environmentalism, Disaster New World Orders, an examination of the health and environment damage created by the accidental release of the chemical methyl isocynate from a Union Carbide plant in 1984. She resides with her husband Mike in Valley Falls, NY with their 16-month old daughter, Kora.
