Renew Rensselaer Update
Dear RPI Alumni,
It’s been an eventful year at RPI. Since the announcement that Martin A. Schmidt, PhD would be RPI’s next president, we have been encouraged by his successful tenure as Provost at MIT, his leadership style, and his team-building skills. We recently learned that Dr. Schmidt intends to drive his own car, has relinquished the presidential security detail, and asks to be called “Marty”—all signals that RPI’s recent past is no longer its future. Assuming these “good vibrations” continue, we are confident Marty will lead RPI to a markedly higher ranking as it enters its third century.
Difficult, but successful, negotiations with the RAA leadership have yielded an improved set of bylaws that were overwhelmingly approved by the members at the last RAA Annual Meeting. As a result, we are confident the RAA will operate more as a member-driven organization, as Renew Rensselaer has advocated from the start. We strongly suggest all alumni consider increased engagement with the RAA—in local chapter meetings and other worthwhile events—to support Marty’s efforts to steer RPI back to its rightful place as a premier, technological institution.
Renew Rensselaer will continue to advocate for the adoption of our Platform by the RPI Board of Trustees. We strongly believe these recommendations have merit for the long-term health of the Institute. We will also seek an opportunity to discuss them, face-to-face, with Marty at an appropriate time in the not-too-distant future.
Thank you for your continued concern and support of our alma mater.
Sincerely,
Renew Rensselaer
