Renew Rensselaer Update

Dear RPI Alumni,

As most are aware, Dr. Martin A. Schmidt ’81 has been selected as RPI’s next president and will assume that position in about six months. Based on everything we have read and heard through our network of contacts, we believe Dr. Schmidt was an excellent choice. We appreciate the hard work of everyone who was involved in the search process.

We are optimistic that Dr. Schmidt will bring to RPI a commitment to transparency, shared governance, and open communication in order to best align the core constituencies of the RPI Community—students, alumni, faculty, and staff—with the goals of his administration and the trustees toward re-establishing RPI’s excellence in technological education. With such improvements in governance, we would be eager to direct our resources and support toward making the new administration and the Institute as successful as possible.

Since September, we have been quietly working on the issues and questions surrounding the RAA bylaws. Over the past two months we have been directly engaged in negotiations with the leaders of the RAA with the objective of reaching a compromise on a set of revisions to the bylaws. We are hopeful these negotiations will lead to a mutually agreeable resolution by early next year—one that recognizes the rights of alumni in the association, encourages a higher level of participation and engagement by the members, and results in processes that are fully compliant with the Charter. We continue to pursue all options available to us to uphold the rights of the RAA membership and will keep you posted on any new developments.

In the meantime, we value your continued support and wish you a joyful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Renew Rensselaer