LIST OF APPENDICIES
APPENDIX
13 Response to Issues Raised in the Last Review
APPENDIX
1 Periodic Review Report Committee Members Appendix 1-1
APPENDIX
2 Honoring Tradition, Changing the World: Rensselaer in the 21st Century
Appendix 2-1
APPENDIX
3 The Rensselaer Plan 7
APPENDIX
4 Organization Charts for President's Office 9
APPENDIX
5 Academic and Research Centers 1
APPENDIX
6 Performance Management Tool 3
APPENDIX
7 Constellation Ads 5
APPENDIX
8 Organization Charts for Provost's Office 7
APPENDIX
9 A History of Rensselaer at Hartford 1
APPENDIX
10 Professional and Distance Education:Degrees andCertificates 1
APPENDIX
11 Building the Rensselaer Plan 3
APPENDIX
12 Performance Planning Guidelines 5
APPENDIX
13 Response to Issues Raised in the Last Review Appendix 13-1
Appendix
13-1
APPENDIX 1 Periodic Review
Report Committee Members
Gary A. Gabriele, Chair
Vice Provost for Administration and
Dean of Undergraduate Education, Provost Office
Secretary of the Institute and
General Counsel, President's Office
Loretta Ebert
Director, Libraries and Information
Services
Gail Gere
Director, Information Technology
Director of Research Development
& Administration, Office of Vice President for Research
Jim Gordon
Director of Corporate Relations and
Marketing, Hartford
Dennis Gornic
Assistant Director, Graduate School
Mike Hanna
Associate Professor, Biology
Professor, Mathematical
Sciences
Oliver Holmes
Acting Senior Director, Campus Planning
and Facilities Design
Sharon Kunkel
Director and Registrar, Student Records
and Financial Services
Linda Layne
Associate Professor, Science and
Technology Studies
Jack Mahoney
Director of Enrollment and Institute
Research, Enrollment Management
Robert Messler
Associate Dean, School of
Engineering
Mark Mistur
Associate Dean and Associate Professor,
School of Architecture
Deborah Nazon
Assistant Provost, Institute
Diversity
Victor Rauscher
Controller, Vice President for
Finance
Robert Sands
Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Programs,
Lally School of Management and Technology
Kim Scalzo
Director of Professional and Distance
Education Programs
APPENDIX 2 Honoring Tradition,
Changing the World: Rensselaer in the 21st Century
Shirley Ann Jackson Ph.D.
Inaugural Address
Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute
Houston Field House
September 24, 1999
Thank you. Chairman Heffner,
distinguished platform guests, for your charge and your kind greetings.
Let me begin with a salute to you -- the
Rensselaer community:
I salute our students, our raison d'etre
and our future
I salute our faculty, the intellectual core of our academic
enterprise
I salute our staff, the great enablers of all that we do
I
salute our alumni, our heritage and our presence in the larger society
I especially salute my family, whose
encouragement, support and love have sustained me throughout my life and brought
me to this day
And I salute our honored guests and
friends of this great university who share our belief in Rensselaer, its
mission, its history and its promise for the future.
You, all of you, have created and
continue to transform this great institution.
As I stand before you this morning, I am
proud to accept the charge and the challenge of serving you as the 18th
President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
As you might expect of a scientist, I
believe in the power of the fundamentals. Let me share with you my
fundamentals:
Excellence is the mantra and the
metric--in all that we do.
Leadership must be claimed--in research and in
pedagogy.
Community is what we are--for there is but one Rensselaer.
With this foundation, let us reflect on
the theme for today's Inauguration: "Honoring Tradition, Changing the World:
Rensselaer in the 21st Century."
Rensselaer enjoys a storied history, 175
years of leadership in technological education and scholarship. Throughout that
time, it has remained true to our founder's mission, "the application of science
to the common purposes of life." Through the pursuit of that objective, down
through almost two centuries, Rensselaer people, in fact, have changed the
world.
We honor that tradition by extracting our
founder's values to move Rensselaer to the forefront of the world's great
technological universities.
As we approach a new millennium, an
ever-shrinking world, inexorable population growth and migration drive our
common purposes to human health and welfare, communications in all its meanings
and forms, and environmentally sustainable development.
The application of science to these
common purposes requires that we enhance our vital undergraduate program,
reinvigorate graduate education, invest in research, extend the reach of our
programs for working professionals, and foster the entrepreneurial actualization
of technological innovation.
Make no mistake. Our ambitious plans will
place demands on us all. We will be challenged to maintain balance in critical
areas, to nurture and to extend our strengths, to take risks on entirely new
initiatives, and to make difficult choices about programs that have outlived
their vitality.
As you might imagine, I have done more
than a bit of reading as I have thought about today's remarks, and the
foundations of my presidency.
Many people--among them Dr. Frank Rhodes,
former president of Cornell University--have described scholarship as a public
trust -- and have pondered the balance between the creation of knowledge and the
application of it--the balance between the "basic" and applied research.
We must recognize the need to maintain
this balance. Even as we celebrate and extend our long history of technological
innovation, I believe we must embrace Dr. Rhodes' view of basic research as a
public trust and a fundamental for a great technological university. We must
nurture and support, at Rensselaer, the most basic of research--in areas where
we claim the underlying skills and capabilities, and--in areas which undergird
our technological innovations and entrepreneurial activity.
Greatness also demands balance among the
range of disciplines that comprise a fully realized technological university. To
innovate, to offer the best education, each of Rensselaer's schools must be
excellent in research and recognized in its own right.
We also must maximize the synergies that
can be achieved from a robust range of strong research programs. Today, more
than ever, we see that much of what is important and exciting lies in
interdisciplinary areas--at the interstices (as it were) of traditional
disciplines. We say that we have low walls at Rensselaer. Let us "walk that
talk," completely.
But the balance between research and
teaching also is fundamental. Great research universities have never neglected
the primacy of undergraduate education. Rensselaer has an advantage in this
regard because it is recognized--and deservedly so--as a world leader in
teaching undergraduates. We have given enormous attention to these
innovations--and will continue to do so. The challenge is: Whither to now? How
do we reach the next level of excellence in pedagogy?
My final word on balance is this:
Teaching and research are the clasped hands of the university. I quote John
Slaughter, former president of Occidental College: "Research is to teaching as
sin is to confession. If you don't participate in the former, you have very
little to say in the latter."
Just as we are challenged to maintain
balance, we are challenged to make choices. Where will Rensselaer focus to
address today's and tomorrow's societal and global priorities? Where does
Rensselaer claim leadership now? What bold new initiatives should we undertake
to assert unquestioned research preeminence?
I pose three examples for us to consider.
Each offers a distinct promise. Each offers a distinct challenge. Each
illustrates the choices that lie ahead.
Today, Rensselaer is leading a new wave
in information technology. We have established a Faculty of Information
Technology, and our undergraduate major in information technology (IT) is
drawing students in record numbers. We have a long-established and highly
respected program in microelectronics. Additional research programs cover a wide
spectrum of related disciplines. Information technology's relevance to all
fields of human endeavor is unquestioned, and Rensselaer is poised for great
opportunity. Still, we face choices of where to invest for leadership, and how
much to invest, even as we extend our presence in this arena.
Applied mathematics provides a second
example. Here we enjoy considerable strength, yet to secure genuine leadership
will require focus and new investment. Because it embodies modeling, analysis,
algorithmic development, even new mathematics, applied mathematics, as a
discipline, can be viewed as a common core which undergirds all the sciences and
engineering. It is inherently interdisciplinary. We must study this and decide
whether we can propel ourselves to a true leadership position.
Finally, I challenge you to take the bold
step of choosing for investment an area in which Rensselaer is relatively
unknown--but one that holds out great promise and great value to humanity.
Imagine that a biosensor gives you the
ability to communicate directly from the brain to the computer, to give
instructions to a machine, without the intervention and use of a keyboard. Such
a linkage between the human mind and solid state capabilities would
revolutionize communication and analysis. Further, consider this assertion: in
the 21st century, genomics, combinatorics, and their marriage with information
technology, will impact the human condition as strongly as quantum science did
in the 20th century. In fact, at the nanostructure level, they overlap. Will
such ruminations be realized? The answer lies in integrated research in the
biological sciences, engineering technology and computer simulation, in short,
in a uniquely focused biotechnology at Rensselaer. This is a field whose impact
is so great, so full of promise, so well-suited to Rensselaer, that we simply
must drive our stake into the ground of this new frontier.
Why not create a Biotechnology Institute
for Rensselaer that would encompass fundamental research, industrial
partnerships, technological innovation, and undergraduate and graduate
education?
Why not create Bachelor's, Master's, and
Ph.D. programs with an emphasis in either engineering or the biological and life
sciences, and with projects and courses designed to immerse students at the
interface of these disciplines? With careful evaluation, focus and strategic
growth, can Rensselaer emerge as a leader in biotechnology in the next decade? I
challenge you, I challenge us to think about this -- indeed -- to do this.
Leadership, however, does not refer only
to the leading edge of scientific research, and its applications, but also to
pedagogy. We have demonstrated our skill and resourcefulness in developing the
studio classroom, in our innovative use of computer-enhanced instruction, in
redesigning large enrollment courses. We have extended our leadership through
the Rensselaer Center for Academic Transformation. We must, and we will maintain
our position on the leading edge.
But what is the next innovation? Can we
use our knowledge and understanding of other cultures and the virtual
representation of distant locations to solve real world engineering, health or
design problems--through remote interactions with another country using
information technology? Can we create a laboratory experience for our students
to do this? I do not know, but, we must be open to such ideas--in fact, we must
seek out these challenges.
If we are committed to being leaders in
research, in education, and in the marketplace, we must understand other
cultures. We must nurture all human talent and draw upon it for technological
leadership to sustain global prosperity. We must then achieve an overall
diversity at Rensselaer that reflects the role we intend to assume, and the
world we hope to serve.
One hundred and seventy-five years ago,
Amos Eaton founded his revolutionary pedagogy on what he called the
"Rensselaerean Plan." As the new century beckons, Rensselaer demands the
forceful expression of a new "Rensselaer Plan"--one that will articulate new
ideas -- new ideals -- and bold action. This Rensselaer Plan will capture our
vision and guide our choices -- in short, it will secure Rensselaer's position
as a world-class technological research university with global outlook and
global impact.
Our goal demands the rigor and discipline
that underlie all greatness. The Rensselaer Plan will require answers to five
questions. These questions are exact and exacting:
First, what defines the intellectual core
in key disciplines at Rensselaer? Is it important, and why? True excellence
requires such definition and examination.
Second, in these disciplines, are we in a
leadership position? Do we set the standard and the agenda? These areas will
serve as our foundation.
Third, if we are not in a leadership
position, do we have the underlying strengths and capabilities necessary to move
rapidly into a position of primacy with the proper focus and investment? We will
build on these areas of strength.
Fourth, are there areas that are so
vital that we must create a presence in order to stand in the community of
world-class universities? We will stake out an identity in these critical
disciplines.
And finally, what areas of current
endeavor must we be willing to transform--or to give up--in order to focus our
resources and our energies to create the impact we envision? We will make the
difficult decisions that are required by a fundamental commitment to our highest
ideals.
The realization of the Rensselaer Plan
-- the Rensselaer dream -- requires greatness from all of us, places demands on
all of us, and will elevate all of us.
As the 18th President of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, I pledge that I will give my utmost to realize this
vision. As I have said on many occasions, I will work with you, and I will work
for you.
I ask each of you for your counsel and
your full support. The goals of the Rensselaer Plan are ambitious, and our
commitment must be no less so.
Let us begin.
Thank you.
APPENDIX 3 The Rensselaer
Plan
APPENDIX 4 Organization Charts
for President's Office
APPENDIX 5 Academic and
Research Centers
The Institute currently has 23 research
centers focused on a variety of technologies:
Center for Academic Transformation
The Academy of Electronic Media
Center for Advanced Interconnect Sciences
and Technology (CAIST)
The Anderson Center for Innovation in
Undergraduate Education (CIUE)
Archer Center for Student Leadership
Center for Automation Technologies
Center Composite Materials and Structures
(CCMS)
Darrin Fresh Water Institute (DFWI)
Center for Digital Video and Media (Next
Generation Video)
Electronic Agile Manufacturing Institute
(EAMRI)
The Focus Center - New York, Rensselaer:
Interconnections for Gigascale Integration
Center for Image Processing Research
Center for Infrastructure and
Transportation Studies
Center for Pre-College Education
(CIPCE)
Center for Integrated Electronics,
Electronics Manufacturing and Electronic Media
International Center for Multimedia in
Education
Lighting Research Center
Center for Multiphase Research (CMR)
New Media Center
New York State Center for Polymer
Synthesis
New York State Center for Studies of the
Origin of Life
Scientific Computation Research Center
(SCOREC)
Severino Center for Technological
Entrepreneurship
APPENDIX 6 Performance
Management Tool
APPENDIX 7 Constellation
Ads
APPENDIX 8 Organization Charts
for Provost's Office
APPENDIX 9 A History of
Rensselaer at Hartford
In 1955, United Aircraft, now United
Technologies Corporation, approached several universities about offering a
master's degree program in engineering at a location near their operations. The
company wanted to advance the education of its employees without requiring them
to travel to an established campus. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute accepted
the invitation and established what is now Rensselaer at Hartford.
1955-1961 The Hartford Graduate Center of
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In September of 1955 the Hartford Graduate
Center (HGC) of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute began in South Windsor, Conn.,
as a division of the graduate school of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
1961-1975 Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute of Connecticut, Inc.
A 1961 change in Connecticut law allowing
nonprofit organizations to be taxed prompted a change in HGC's corporate
structure. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Connecticut, Inc. became a legal
entity in the fall of 1961 with its own Board of Trustees charged with managing
the property and business of the corporation.
In the fall of 1971, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute of Connecticut, Inc. moved to a new campus at 275 Windsor
Street in Hartford. Rensselaer at Hartford continues to occupy this site as its
primary Connecticut location.
1975-1996 The Hartford Graduate
Center, Inc
The next stage in the evolving
relationship with Rensselaer came in 1975. While the Boards of Trustees at both
Hartford and Troy saw value in a continued relationship, Rensselaer had no other
"branch" entities and asked Hartford to suggest a different identification. The
result was an affiliate status. It was agreed to:
- change the name to The Hartford
Graduate Center, Inc. (in affiliation with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute);
- continue having an independent
Board of Trustees govern the Hartford campus;
- adopt "in affiliation with
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute" as part of Hartford's legal and public
relations profile;
- have Rensselaer's faculty and
administration conduct periodic reviews of Hartford's degree programs to
assure continuity and quality;
- pay Rensselaer a program fee for
the affiliation status and degree-granting privilege;
- continue awarding to graduates of
The Hartford Graduate Center the following Rensselaer degrees: the MBA and the
M.S. in computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, engineering
science, metallurgy, and management. The Center offered, in its own right, the
Master of Science in biomedical engineering and in management (with a
concentration in health care management).
The Groton Site.
In 1977, when the University of Southern
California (USC) experienced difficulty staffing its course offerings for
personnel at the U.S. Navy's Submarine Base in Groton, Conn., USC turned its
program over to the Hartford Graduate Center. Classes were offered in Groton by
Hartford faculty for the first time in March 1977. Enrollment has grown to a
high of 225 graduate students from the Groton-New London region.
Rensselaer Learning
Institute
In 1992, an innovative and
entrepreneurial unit now known as the Rensselaer Learning Institute was created
with the support of United Technologies Corp. This Institute delivers credit and
nondegree professional development programs from multiple suppliers to students
in corporate client sites.
1997- present Rensselaer
Hartford Graduate Center, Inc.
The most recent change to the Center's
structure and relationship to Rensselaer began in 1994 when the Hartford
Graduate Center determined that its goal of achieving growth and receiving
accreditation from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business would
be advanced by a closer affiliation with Rensselaer. Hartford therefore
approached Rensselaer and ultimately demonstrated value to both campuses of a
closer tie.
The affiliate status and its conditions
remained in place until January 1, 1997, when The Hartford Graduate Center, Inc.
officially became Rensselaer Hartford Graduate Center, Inc. (Rensselaer at
Hartford) and became once again a "branch" campus. This date marked the
conclusion of two years of discussion, planning, and broad constituency
involvement, and also marked the start of expanded curricula for working
professionals.
APPENDIX 10 Professional and
Distance Education:Degrees andCertificates
All degrees and certificates available
via distance learning are thesame as those available to on-campus students, and
the degree notation on adistance studentŐs diploma is indistinguishable from
that of a campusstudent.
Distance programs have the same or
equivalent admissions standardsand requirements, the same curriculum or subset
of courses, and the same orequivalent degree completion requirements as the
equivalent on-campuscertificate and degree programs. These standards and
requirementsare set by the faculty from the department and school awarding the
degreeor certificate.
Academic programs are approved first at
the department level, then bya curriculum committee within each academic school,
and then by theInstitutewide Curriculum Committee. Oversight for all graduate
programs isalso provided by the Graduate School.
In the case of interdisciplinary
programsthat cut across multiple departments or schools, a committee of faculty
isidentified to establish the academic standards and requirements andappropriate
faculty are identified to review applications and plans ofstudy for individual
students. All degree programs must be approvedby the School awarding the degree
and all programs must meet theappropriated guidelines established by the
Graduate School.
Faculty from theappropriate academic
units across campus are responsible for thedevelopment, delivery, and oversight
of all distance programs. Thesefaculty are generally appointed by their
department/school curriculumchairs or curriculum committees according to the
same standardsapplied to on-campus degree and certificate programs.
Master's Degrees Currently Offered Via
Distance
Master of BusinessAdministration
M.S. inComputer Science
M.Eng. in Computer and Systems
Engineering
M.S. and M.Eng. in Electrical
Engineeringwith a Concentration in Microelectronics
M.S. and M.Eng. in Electric
PowerEngineering
M.S. inEngineering Science with a
Concentration in Management of Technology
M.S. in EngineeringScience with a
Concentration in Manufacturing Systems Engineering
M.S. in EngineeringScience with a
Concentration in Microelectronics ManufacturingEngineering
M.Eng. inIndustrial and Management
Engineering
M.S. in Information Technology
M.S. in Management
M.Eng. inMechanical Engineering
M.S. inTechnical Communication
Current Graduate Certificates
Bioinformatics
Computer Graphics and Data
Visualization
Computer Networks
Computer Science
Database Systems Design
E-Business
Electric PowerEngineering
Global Logistics
Graphical User Interfaces
Human-Computer Interaction
Information Technology
Management and Technology
Manufacturing SystemsEngineering
MechanicalEngineering
MicroelectronicsManufacturing
Engineering
Microelectronics Technology and
Design
Quality and Reliability
ServiceSystems
SoftwareEngineering
Supply ChainManagement
Technical ProgramManagement for
Commercial Businesses
APPENDIX 11 Building the
Rensselaer Plan
APPENDIX 12 Performance
Planning Guidelines
APPENDIX 13 Response to Issues
Raised in the Last Review
In 1996, the Middle States Evaluation Team
chaired by James Wei of Princeton University, prepared the "Report to the
Faculty, Administration, Trustees, Students of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute"
after review of Rensselaer's Self-Study Report and visiting the campus. In that
report, the evaluation team identified some "areas that require attention."
Many specific issues have been addressed
by the appropriate School or Division in the body of this Periodic Review
Report. Those that remain are discussed below.
Page 3
ˇ "Rapid changes in leadership positions
and re-focusing of mission can lead to significant constituents of RPI feeling
isolated from decision making and not adequately informed about the future....
Timely and continued dialogs between the top leaders and various constituencies
of RPI would enhance feeling of shared objectives and purposes."
Rensselaer continues to move at a very
fast pace, and although change is never easy, involvement of all constituents
has markedly improved. Input to The Rensselaer Plan came from all fronts, and
participants were literally able to see the effect of their suggestions on the
evolving document. Many sections of this reports show wide ranging participation
in and support for the current planning model. The recent gift of $360 million
is but one example of the remarkable support generated by the new vision.
Page 4
ˇ Issues related to Admissions and
financial aid are addressed in ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT.
ˇ "There is a perceived lack of campus
socialization opportunities in the surrounding geographic area."
The Capital District is seeing growth on
several fronts as new businesses take hold, area colleges and universities
develop new initiatives, and improved transportation options give the region
greater accessibility. As Rensselaer grows in stature and reputation, the
surrounding communities will certainly benefit. Increased efforts to build
"communiversity" have included programs designed to engage the city of Troy in
campus events and programs. It is expected that the new performing arts center
will have a significant impact on the cultural and intellectual vitality of the
region.
ˇ"... the number of faculty members has
decreased by approximately ten percent.... [Also of concern,] the relatively
high percent of tenure among faculty members and the need to increase the number
of faculty from underrepresented groups."
Faculty numbers are on the rise after
several years of decline. Aggressive recruiting keyed to the goals of The
Rensselaer Plan aims to add another 16 new faculty lines in the coming academic
year alone. International searches for "constellation" faculty in information
technology and biotechnology has also begun. Recruitment of underrepresented
minority faculty is an institutional priority that is seeing slow but steady
progress.
ˇ Issues related to the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences are addressed in section 2.5.
ˇ "This program [splitting tuition income
with departments] needs careful monitoring of the quality of students to avoid
downgrading the quality reputation of RPI.
As can be seen in the section ENROLLMENT
TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS, the quality of students has been rising over the
last 5 years. More importantly, the budgeting policy cited (splitting tuition
income with department), has been replaced by the Performance Planning and
Budging process described in BUDGETING AND
ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PLANNING.
ˇ Issues related to interactive learning
are addressed in sections See
UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE. and See SCHOOL OF
SCIENCE..
ˇ "The concept of 4x4... needs flexible
application which permits the co-existence of 1, 2, and3 credit courses."
The concept of the 4x4 curriculum did
result in a predominance of 4 credit courses. However, a number of 1, 2 and 3
credit courses still exist.
Page 5-6
ˇ Issues related to the School of
Architecture are addressed in section See SCHOOL OF
ARCHITECTURE..
ˇ Issues related to the School of
Engineering are addressed in section See SCHOOL OF
ENGINEERING..
ˇ Issues related to the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences are addressed in section See SCHOOL OF
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES..
ˇ Issues related to the School of Science
are addressed in section See SCHOOL OF
SCIENCE..
Page 6
ˇ "A stable funding for annual
replenishment of the libraries collections and academic computing hardware are
necessary..."
As described in section See LIBRARY
AND COMPUTING RESOURCES., the library is addressing this issue by
transferring a significant amount of funding from print versions to online
journals and other electronic resources. With the implementation of the laptop
requirement, which ensures that all students will have state-of-the-art hardware
and software each year, academic computing is focusing much of its attention on
providing support for Web-based curricula and supporting students and faculty
using laptops.
ˇ "...there is a need to institutionalize
assessment activities, such as surveying alumni and monitoring interactive
learning impacts on educational effectiveness."
The Provost's Office has recently
participated in The Knight Higher Education Collaborative which has sponsored
the development of a Collegiate Results Instrument (CRI). The CRI is designed to
provide colleges and universities with a portrait based on the experiences of
their alumni six years after graduation. Additionally, a 4 year longitudinal
study of interactive learning here is being concluded this summer.
ˇ "There may be a need for some updating
and consolidation of the results of these planning activities [those in place at
the time]." There is also a need "to improve the connection between the budget
cycle and long range planning issues."
With implementation of The Rensselaer
Plan, planning and budgeting are inseparable. This issue is best addressed in
sections See THE
RENSSELAER PLAN AND PERFORMANCE PLANNING. and See BUDGETING
AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PLANNING..
Page 7
ˇ "There was also some indication that not
everyone feels appropriately engaged in the strategic planning process, and that
the current processes are difficult to keep track of. There is need for better
coordination among the various activities under the general rubric of `strategic
planning,' and a better communication to the community."
A stated above, creating The Rensselaer
Plan engaged every constituency. Assessment measures are built into the
Performance Plans in such a way that everyone can clearly see progress.
Coordination among the various portfolios has been excellent, with every
portfolio required to explain its role in achieving all of the Plan's 140-plus
goals.
ˇ "Students and alumni... feel too little
sense of loyalty and support of RPI. This should be improved for RPI to achieve
the ambitious increase in annual giving it envisions."
Alumni relations has fully transitioned
from its principally social orientation to one that carries a full range of
customer relationship management responsibilities designed to serve alumni,
promote productive involvement with each other and the Institute, provide a flow
of volunteers to Institute programs, and increase alumni investment.
Additionally, new programs being developed in the Office of the First-Year
Experience are designed to create, a lasting, positive connection between
Rensselaer and its students.
ˇ "There are some concerns raised by the
gap between identified deferred maintenance needs and provisions for them, by
the short-term demands for new educational space and the absence of
comprehensive plans to provide for them; by the aggressive time frame to taking
space out of service; and by the dependence on external gifts to provide for key
elements of the computing infrastructure."
In 2000, the President and the Vice
President for Administration completed an external audit and review of our
physical plant and usage. This was fed into the Performance Planning process and
has resulted in a long range plan for addressing these issues. Significant
investment has begun in the 2001-2002 fiscal year.
ˇ "Academic support services, including
libraries, laboratories, and technical staff have experienced reductions that
some RPI faculty believe cannot continue. The issue is one that deserves
attention, and any future plans on further reductions must be weighed in the
light of reductions on the quality of the academic programs."
Academic and administrative units are
addressing this issue as part of the annual performance planning
process.
