 |
News
Nondorf departs RPI for UChicago Yu receives Lemelson-Rensselaer Prize for G-gels Students rally at Power Shift IFC discusses campus changes
Ed/Op
Staff Editorial
Empty posts leave uncertainty Editors Corner
Be wary of ‘news’ sources Editorial Notebook
Sights, sounds of NYC amaze Top Hat
Senate wraps up Letter to the Editor
SigEp tries new program A Message from the Provost
Changes not affecting majors My View
Languages teach thought processes not found elsewhere My View
Language cuts leave large hole Ready, set, raise cash My View
Alternative suggested
Features
Who really should go watch the Watchmen? Book attempts to predict geopolitical future of world Bacchus offers average dishes, given prices Greeks make effort to go green GM Week: a story rich in beer and festivity
Sports
Stage set in Albany for ECACHL final rounds Men’s hockey dealt loss by Cornell Big Red Engineers finish runner-up in ECAC
|
|
Rensselaer in Brief
Agreement signed between RPI and South Africa
Stellenbosch University in South Africa and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute signed an agreement yesterday in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The signing ceremony formalized the teaming up of the universities to expand science and engineering capacity and to encourage young people to focus their energies on addressing the global economic crisis.
This new partnership will enable a student exchange, joint student projects on key development issues, and a summer research institute. Those collaborating on the project will also explore innovative teaching methods and will use technology to increase their reach to a larger community of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics educators.
RPI will be creating a five-year program of cross-cultural collaboration in science and engineering research, education, and development in Africa, bringing experiential learning programs to the two universities through these methods. The partnership also will enhance the Rensselaer Engineering Education Across Cultural Horizons program.
President Shirley Ann Jackson secured a gift of $1.25 million from Sean O’Sullivan ’85 to provide the initial funding for this new program to assist in building engineering and science capacity through partnerships with key universities in Africa, while promoting cross-cultural communication and cooperation. Rensselaer officials are actively seeking additional external financial support to expand the initiative. This endeavor is in keeping with the Rensselaer commitment, under the Clinton Global Initiative, to partner with African institutions for these purposes. RPI moves away from temporary faculty
In an effort to move away from clinical and adjunct faculty as well as reduce RPI’s budget, the Institute has decided not to renew contracts for 13 of its temporary faculty members. The faculty is being affected across the Institute, though most notably in the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication.
When the language department was discussed during last week’s semi-annual town meeting, President Shirley Ann Jackson stated that a department can’t be based on temporary faculty and that the Institute was moving toward hiring more tenured and tenure-track faculty in the future.
Provost Robert Palazzo stated that, “In the short term, we are working with students currently involved in the language minor to ensure proper completion of their degrees. We understand that others would like to pursue similar opportunities, and we have set up a meeting with students in early April to learn more about their interests and how we can meet their needs in the future.”
The administration is also looking into several ways to improve the language offerings available to RPI students through cooperative programs with other local colleges and universities. Molloy and Apkarian pass away
Rensselaer recently suffered two losses as Shirley Molloy and Harry Apkarian ’46 recently passed away.
Molloy came to Rensselaer from NASA, having also served there as an assistant to George M. Low ’48. In her time at RPI, she served as assistant to the president and worked in Institute Advancement, as well as spending 23 years as secretary of the Institute before her retirement in 1999. Molloy was
the first recipient of the Trustees Medal, instituted in December 1999, which recognizes outstanding, dedicated, and unique services provided by an individual to Rensselaer.
She was also inducted into Rensselaer’s Phalanx Honor Society as an honorary member. After retiring from Rensselaer, Molloy remained an active participant in the campus community. She was instrumental in the planning, design, and implementation of the George M. Low ’48 Gallery in the building that bears his name. She also served as chair-elect for the Friends of Folsom Library. A memorial service and celebration of Molloy’s life will be held on Saturday, March 14, at 11 am at Calvary United Methodist Church in Latham, N.Y.
Apkarian served as a member of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees, serving continually since 1969, as adjunct, active, and most recently, honorary trustee. He co-founded Mechanical Technology Inc. in 1961 to create and commercialize new technologies in the Capital District. Today, the company is now developing a micro fuel cell with the capacity to power small electronic devices such as PDAs and cell phones.
He also served on the task force Rensselaer formed in 1979 to explore the development of a technology park. In the course of its deliberations, he suggested that Rensselaer test the waters with a technology-driven business incubator program on campus and spawned the ideas of the incubator facility and Rensselaer Technology Park.
Apkarian was a member of the Friends of the Folsom Library, the Annual Fund Leadership Gifts Committee, the School of Engineering Advisory Board, and the Amos Eaton Society of Patroons. He was the recipient of the Rensselaer Alumni Association’s two highest awards—the Distinguished Service Award and the Albert Fox Demers Medal—and the Rensselaer Alumni Association bestowed its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, to him as well. |
|
