Speaker selected
The keynote speaker for this year’s commencement ceremony has been selected. Benjamin S. Carson has been a world-renowned neurosurgeon since he successfully separated two conjoined twins that were connected at the cranium, the first surgery of its kind. In addition to giving the address, an honorary doctorate of science will be conferred upon him.
Honorary degrees will also be given to Nobel Prize winners Robert Solow and Richard Smalley, philanthropist Morris “Marty” Silverman, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
Commencement will be held this year on Saturday, May 17, at Harkness Field beginning at 9:30 am. It will be followed by a celebration picnic on the ’86 Field.
Ratings released
U.S. News and World Report ranked RPI’s electronic arts MFA program eighth in the specialty category of Multimedia/Visual Communications, tying the school with the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. The graduates of this unique electronic arts program, established in 1991, have gained fame for themselves and the school with works on permanent display in such venues as the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The 2002 rankings for applied math were also republished, with RPI’s department tying with other schools such as Harvard, Rutgers, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado-Boulder, and SUNY-Stony Brook for 21st place. Both these rankings appeared in the 2004 issue of the magazine, which was released on Monday.
Judge investigated
Troy City Judge Henry Bauer is being investigated by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct after allegations that he mistreated at least 50 criminal defendants and engage in “a pattern of disregarding basic fundamental rights.” He has been accused of offenses ranging from coercing guilty pleas from defendants without lawyers to imposing illegally severe sentences and setting excessively high bail for nonviolent offenses.
Bauer has taken legal action against the Commission, claiming that it is motivated by political agendas and that the Commission does not have the authority to discipline him. Investigations of judges are normally kept secret until the final decision is rendered, but Bauer revealed the charges himself when he filed his suit.
Bauer filed his suit after, in another case, parts of the state’s judicial codes were ruled to be too vaguely worded and restricted the judges’ freedom of speech. This differs from the earlier case, the commission says, because this time the investigation concerns behavior on the bench, not outside the courtroom.
