WPI Journal - The Magazine for WPI Alumni

WINTER 2015

The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)

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54 Winter 2015 news from HIGGINS HOUSE O ne hundred years ago, students at WPI faced a problem. While the campus had plenty of classrooms and labs where they could chal- lenge their minds, it had no central place where they could exercise their bodies. WPI alumni, remembering how much they needed an outlet after long days in the lab, decided to change that. Representatives of the class of 1886 pledged $1,000 to build new athletic facilities if 30 other classes would do the same. Efforts snowballed, eventually leading to $200,000 raised for new athletic felds in 1914, and an additional $200,000 to build Alumni Gymnasium. Alumni laid the cornerstone for the build- ing in 1915, in time for the school's 50th an- niversary. Over the years, however, the build- ing slowly deteriorated, and eventually became obsolete with the opening of the Sports and Recreation Center in 2012. As WPI's 150th anniversary approaches, university ad- ministrators have embarked on an endeavor to determine the most pressing need for to- day's and future students. After discussions with faculty, students, and current alumni, it became clear that what WPI most urgently needs is a center for its signature educational philosophy and project-based curriculum. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED The proposed Foisie Innovation Studio will serve as a hub for the Interactive Qualifying Project and Major Qualifying Project that every student must complete, as well as humanities projects and the Great Problems Seminar, and will include a robotics lab, maker space, high- tech classrooms, and a center for innovation and entrepreneurship. "It will fll a void in the WPI educational experience," says Provost Eric Overström. "We've heard stories of students gathering in garages, fraternity houses, and conference rooms in order to work on their projects. This will alleviate that need." In order to create the Foisie Innovation Stu- dio, WPI is turning to its alumni. While the current fundraising effort, if…The Campaign to Advance WPI, has raised nearly $240 million— exceeding the university's $200 million goal— much of those funds have been earmarked for scholarships, leaving a gap in funding for new building renovations. Although WPI has raised $6 million for the Foisie Innovation Studio, it still needs to raise another $12 million to complete the funding. "That's not easy, especially as we are coming to the end of our campaign in June 2015, and many of our major donors have already made their com- mitments," says Bill McAvoy, vice president for university advancement. That leaves alumni as the best hope to make the project a reality. To provide incentive to contribute, the George I. Alden Trust has of- fered a challenge grant to donate $3 million toward the cost of the Foisie Innovation Stu- dio—but only if contributors step up with the other $9 million by April 2016. "This is an op- portunity for today's alumni to galvanize around this need to construct a facility that will serve as a focal point, the heart and soul of their alma mater's project-based educational experience," says McAvoy. A LEGACY The history of the Alden Trust has been inter- twined with that of WPI since its founding by George Alden in 1912. Back then, Worcester was a booming industrial city; its captains all lived on the west side of the city and lunched together at the long dining table of the Worces- ter Club. Alden was one of the early founders of Norton Company, the corporation that built grinding wheels to cut metals and other impla- cable materials, and that for decades was Worcester's largest private employer. Over the years the Alden Trust has donated some $25 million to WPI, including endow- ments for professorships in engineering and the humanities, need-based scholarships, and renovations to such facilities as Atwater Kent Alden Trust Offers Challenge to Alumni AldenTrust

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