The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/277771
42 Spring 2014 DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS, T he weather has started to turn, and green shoots are rising from the frozen ground that we've been treading over for too long here in New England. In the same spirit of renewal, I hope you'll take part in what has become a rite of spring at the WPI Annual Community Service Day and Alumni Association Meeting on April 26. The service activities are a great opportunity to connect with students and other alumni while doing some good for the Worcester community. At the annual meeting, you will hear what the Alumni Association Board of Directors is working on and how you can help. It's always an invigorating and enlightening morning. Sesquicentennial celebrations don't come along every day, and on Nov. 11— Founders Day—WPI will kick off a year-long celebration to mark the 150th year of its existence. Events celebrating this historic anniversary continue to be planned and should provide us as alumni with some great opportunities to reconnect with the university that has been nurtured and shaped by faculty, staff, alumni, students, and friends over six generations. In addition to the sesquicentennial festivities, the next year will include both the inauguration of WPI's 16th president and the culmination of if…The Campaign to Advance WPI, the university's $200 million capital campaign (with nearly 80 percent of the goal achieved to date). There's a truly exciting time ahead for the WPI community. The momentum to transform Alumni Gym continues to build, and it will be our responsibility as alumni to provide key input and contributions to make the aspiration of an innovation studio at Alumni Gym become a reality. This issue of the WPI Journal includes a special insert about Alumni Gym—the plans to transform this iconic building and how it will impact current and future WPI undergraduates. Together we can make a transformational difference in the lives of WPI students and help advance our alma mater's groundbreaking approach to STEM higher education. Alumni Weekend 2014 is right around the corner (May 29–June 1) and it will be packed with fun activities and, most important, opportunities to connect with other alumni. Whether or not you are celebrating a reunion year, I encourage you to come back to campus for this event—when the campus always looks its best, and alumni are in the spotlight. As always, please reach out to me (mwalton@alum.wpi.edu) or any of the other Alumni Association Board members with feedback on what we're doing and what we can do to improve our engagement with you. With best wishes, Myles Walton '97 Together we can make a transformational difference in the lives of WPI students... the view from the hill From the Alumni Association President news from HIGGINS HOUSE WPI_Spring14_Alumni.indd 42 3/9/14 2:14 PM