|
Your contributions play a vital role in supporting the College for excellence in engineering education through its innovative curriculum, state of the art campus, dedicated staff and nationally recognized faculty. We appreciate your generosity in any amount. The 100 Percent Parent Giving Campaign was a great success this year. Many thanks to the Parents’ Advisory Board (PAB) for their support, including gifts made and the letter that was sent out prior to the Parents’ Appeal. We congratulate the PAB in achieving the giving goal. Parent support more than doubled this year, reaching 60 percent. The parents of the classes of 2007 and 2009 tied at 53 percent. The senior parents reached 46 percent while the sophomore parents came in at 41 percent.
If you haven't already done so, we encourage you to join the many other families that have shown their support of the Olin experience. Olin now accepts on-line donations. Please visit the Making Your Gift Online page, if you wish to contribute via credit card. We are proud to announce the Commencement 2006 website. You will find this to be a valuable resource when making your commencement weekend plans. It includes ceremony time and location, hotel and restaurant recommendations, area attractions, directions, student information, and more. Please visit the site often for ongoing updates.
You may have already noticed that the Parents' website has recently gone through a redesign. Phase I of this redesign has been completed. All of links and documents from the previous version have transferred over; they are now organized in a way that is more aesthetically pleasing. The site has a similar look and structure to that of the rest of the Olin site. We've also made a few additions that you may find valuable including a How Are We Doing? link for you to send us your parent feedback, an announcement and calendar section to help keep you connected to the campus news and recent updates going on from the Parent and Alumni Relations office. Phase II of this redesign is now underway.
International Week ran from January 30 to February 3 and featured cultural foods (supplied by the Korean, Chinese and Japanese Student Associations), educational displays in the Campus Center, and faculty/student panels. The goal was to raise awareness for international issues and encourage students to consider Studying Away. An Interviewing and Networking Workshop was held on February 2, 2006. Richard Rodgers led an interactive session on creative job search strategies that gave tools to get the job that's right for you. Topics included assessing your professional priorities, presenting yourself effectively, and networking.
Monday through Friday stop by the Olin Center, Suite 300 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit the Olin Gear website to have a look at new (and old) Olin Gear products for your Valentine gift-giving. MasterCard and Visa are accepted. Some new items include navy beanie hats, flannel pants, crewneck sweatshirts, ladies' light pink and blue t-shirts, leather bookmark, iron-on patch, Olin mouse pad and blue poly-carbonate sports water bottle.
The Offices of Post Graduate Planning and Parent and Alumni Relations have been trying out a new way to connect students with parents who can provide introductions to potential employers and graduate programs. We're calling this the "Parent Employment Network." Our goal is to open doors for students, whether they are applying for jobs and graduate study, or looking for general information on industries and organizations.
So far, we have had a terrific response and have connected quite a few students and parents. Many thanks to the parents who have stepped forward to provide contacts within their own organizations and who have referred students to friends and family for introductions. The result of this initiative has been a number of employment-related discussions and several new internship and job postings for students.
If you would like additional information on the Parent Employment Network, please contact Lisa Frusztajer in the Office of Post Graduate Planning.
As of January 10, the Admission Office had received 776 applications from prospective students, a new record that topped the previous high of 664 by a considerable margin. Interestingly, the number of inquiries this year (around 4,500) was fewer than last year, even though the number of actual applications went up. The inquiry to application yield (number of inquiries compared to the number of applications) is 17.25 percent, which is considered quite high. “Our strategy was to generate fewer, but hard inquiries, rather than softer ones,” said VP Duncan Murdoch. “It looks like we succeeded.”
On Wednesday, January 11 representatives from various segments of the college engaged in a Table Top Crisis review program. The simulated crisis impacted all areas of the college operations and allowed representatives to review their department response plans, develop team building within a crisis setting and identify areas that would need to be addressed in the event of a campus crisis or emergency.
The Olin College Administrative Council held its first meeting toward the end of last semester. Chaired by Provost David Kerns, the purpose of this new advisory body is to improve communication among all constituencies of the college, to enhance the execution of critical tasks and to provide a forum for the discussion of emerging issues. The initial meeting, which was attended by a broadly representative group of faculty and staff, included discussions of the accreditation effort and preparing the first class for graduation. For a complete set of meeting notes, contact Joe Hunter.
Total enrollment in seventeen Co-Curricular offerings this semester is 207 to date. This brings enrollment in Co-Curriculars to 453 for this academic year. New Co-Curricular offerings this semester include: Community Service -- Action and Understanding (David Soo), Fun with the Art of the Book (Helen Donis-Keller), Latin Dance (Jose Oscar Mur-Miranda), Les Amis de Vin! (Mike Moody), March Madness -- Mud, Maple Syrup, and More (Ann Schaffner), Modern Dance, Movement and Composition (Alisha Sieminski), Olin Brass Ensemble (John Bourne), Puzzling and Trivial Phenomena (Chris Morse), The Actors' Workshop (Emily Roper), and Twenty-one Grain Bread (Allen Downey).
The Summer Book Program Advisory Committee met on November 16 to narrow the initial list of thirty titles suggested by members of the Olin community to six for thorough consideration over the next three months:
• Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
• Impossibility: The Limits of Science and the Science of Limits, by John Barrow
• Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea, by Kathleen Broome Williams
• Longitude, by Dava Sobel
• Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: A Life of Contemporary Artist Robert Irwin by Lawrence Weschler
• The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
The Committee will meet again in mid-February to select the book to recommend to Provost David Kerns. Each current student will receive the book before leaving for the summer and each new student will receive the book by mail in June. The Convocation is scheduled for Thursday, August 31 (first day of classes), beginning at 7 p.m. in the Olin Center Auditorium.
The University of Michigan and National Science Foundation gave a grant of $64,368 to Dr. Ozgur Eris to support the “Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education Subaward” research. As a part of the Academic Pathways Study, 160 undergraduate engineering students at the University of Washington, Howard University, Colorado School of Mines and Stanford University are being studied in order to provide a comprehensive account of how people become engineers. The study relies on multiple research methods for data collection and analysis: surveys, interviews, and ethonographies.
Professor John Bourne recently earned two grants from the Sloan Foundation totaling more than $100,000. The first, a 2006 Summer ALN Workshop grant, will explore the impacts on three important segments within the ALN world -- learners, faculty and institutions. Most importantly, the focus of this grant is to make impact a part of the thinking of the Sloan-C membership such that the membership embraces impact as a core objective moving forward. The second grant will support the development of a stronger connection between an influential group of presidents and chancellors at public, four year universities capable of leading a national effort to have online education recognized as a valuable strategic tool that can be used to address a wide range of institutional challenges and opportunities.
OPEN sponsored a community-wide movie trip to see Brokeback Mountain. Forty-three faculty, staff and students attended this outing.
Olin Seminar speaker, Dr. David Feldman from the College of the Atlantic discussed, “Racial Segregation in U.S. Cities: Using Computational Models to Understand the Gap between Individual Preferences and Neighborhood Outcomes” in the Olin College Auditorium. For more information on this and future talks, visit the Olin Seminar Series website. The next Olin Seminar Series will be on February 16 and will host a discussion on "0wned -- How Hollywood Plans on Making the Future Subservient to the Past" with Mr. Cory Doctorow.
Greening Olin hosted speaker Jennie Stephens, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at Clark University. Dr. Stephens addressed the concept of "clean coal" (how to burn coal, deriving energy from it in a way that minimizes environmental damage) and the role the government plays in the development of it and other such technologies.
The Babson Dance Ensemble ( BDE) performed Dancing in the Streets at Sorenson Theater. A dollar from each ticket sale went to the Red Cross relief effort from Hurricane Katrina. Several Olin students participated in this show including Matty B, Ali, James, Lilly, Lindsay, Anita, Susan, Jessica A, Luis and Molly M.
The Social Committee Thanksgiving raffle raised $650 for the Needham Community Council, which serves 162 Needham families each month. The committee thanks everyone who participated.
Recent changes or additions to the Parents' Organization on Blackboard will be listed in this section of the newsletter. You can also find them as announcements on the home page of "Olin Parents" on Blackboard. Many of these are based on recommendations parents have provided.
Please do not hesitate to call for a walk through of Blackboard to help you become familiar with its features and benefits. If you have suggestions or need assistance, please contact Krissy Raposa, 781-292-2264.
Here are the most recent updates:
Under "Information":
- link to Development website including online giving function
- link to Commencement 06 website
This section addresses concerns that have been submitted by other parents. If you have something you would like to post here in future newsletters, please contact Krissy Raposa, 781-292-2264. You can also email topics of discussion to be posted on the "Discussion Board" of Blackboard. This will also generate parent-to-parent feedback exchange. There are no inquiries at this time.
- Christopher Lee, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
- Trudy Wilcox, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- Christina Shea, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- Paul Sabin, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Design for Manufacture
- Kathleen Ives, Event Producer for the Sloan Center
- Rita McNulty, Development Assistant
- Michael Connors, Marketing Manager for the Sloan Center
Interested in helping out at Candidates' Weekends? Every year current parents have come to campus for Candidates' Weekends to offer the “parent perspective.” If you are interested in attending on of the weekends (Friday and Saturday February 24-25 or March 3-4), please contact Emily Roper, Assistant Director of Admission at 781-292-2207 or emily.roper@olin.edu.
Just a reminder that we are still taking orders for senior photos. To place an order, please print complete and return the order form by mail to Kristina Raposa or by fax to 781-292-2260. Further ordering details including you senior's photos are on the Senior Photos website at http://seniorphotos.olin.edu. If you have any questions, please email seniorphotos@olin.edu.
The Student Accounts and Records Center (StAR) would like you to join us in welcoming Loretta Dinon as the new Manager of Student Accounts. Prior to Olin, she was employed by Suffolk University as the Managing Associate Bursar. She is a wonderful addition to the Student Life and StAR team with many years of experience higher education.
Loretta will be starting on February 13 and her phone number will be 781-292-2346. She replaces Katherine O'Keefe who resigned effective December 7 to become Coordinator of Scholarships and Grants at Georgetown University.
The Office of Student Life would like you join us in welcoming Alison J. Black as Assistant Dean of Student Life effective March 3. She replaces Ellen Cooney who resigned to assume a teaching and counseling position at Colorado State University. Alison is currently Dean of Students at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. She has held student life administrative positions at Daniel Webster College, Gettsburg College, Wright State University, and Kenyon College. She received her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in Psychology from Kenyon College and her Master of Education in Student Personnel Services from Ohio University.
In addition to his duties as Hall Director and Study Away Coordinator, David Soo is now the College's first immigration officer. He is being trained on the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and preparing himself to process requests for I-20 forms -- the Immigration & Customs Enforcement document which allows an international student to apply for a visa.
A juried exhibition of work created by artists from Needham, Wellesley and the Olin, Babson and Wellesley College Communities will be held 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 23 in the Olin Art Gallery of Olin Center. Admission is free and all are welcome. Please RSVP to Cara Szeghy, 781-292-2252 by February 13th.
On February 9, the Olin College library will host a discussion with John Martino, a creative photographer who enjoys making small-format, black & white “street” images that challenge the visual and mental expectations of the viewer. His work is currently on display in the library. A complete resume, as well as samples of John's work, can be found on his “Moment's Notice” webpage at www.johnmartinophoto.com.
On February 14 in the Olin Center Auditorium, the Olin Honor Code Values and Ethics Speaker Series will host Dr. Sheila Widnall, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems at MIT, retired secretary of the Air Force, vice president of the National Academy of Engineering, member of the Columbia accident investigation board, master pilot, and prolific writer.
This speaker series is intended to provide an opportunity for students to hear the words, stories and expertise of nationally known speakers and philosophers as well as faculty, staff, parents and alumni who have taken the time and energy to engage in the tough work of defining one of the Honor Code's core values, and who understand the implications of ‘doing something' when one believes in one or more of those values.
In an effort to promote community, the Resident Resources have created a new bulletin board in the Dining Hall which includes student birthdays for the week, the three-day weather forecast, and a puzzle for students, faculty and staff.
Thirty prizes were awarded to science and engineering students for outstanding research presentations Nov. 4-5 at the 2005 Sigma Xi Student Research Conference in Seattle. Senior Clara Cho received a first place award of $175 for an engineering research presentation titled "Fabrication and Characterization of Nanoscale InN Electrochemical Sensors." Students were recognized at an awards session with a certificate and an invitation to join Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.
The new Olin College video, “Leading the Way,” has won a bronze award in the CASE District I communication awards program. The video, which takes a student's-eye view of the college, was co-produced by Tom Kochem, '06, and Joe Hunter, director of communication.
The video may be viewed at: http://students.olin.edu/tkochem/Leading_The_Way.wmv.
Provost David Kerns recently received the 2005 IEEE Educational Activities Board Major Educational Innovation Award. The award, which recognizes Olin's academic program, honors Olin's development of "best practices in undergraduate engineering education in the USA and worldwide." The award was established by the IEEE to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves for outstanding educational innovation in a field of interest. This award brings honor to Dave and the College.
The library may be able to provide access to the full text of news articles featured in this section. Contact Emily Cullen, 781-292-2387.
"Building a Better Engineer," By David Wessel, The Wall Street Journal, December 20, 2006
"Nine Colleges Join Billionaire Club," Associated Press, January 23, 2006
"Admissions Sine Qua Non," The New York Times, January 8, 2006
"Does the US Face an Engineering Gap?" By Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor, December 20, 2005
"OPINION: A Visit to Olin College, a New College, in Needham, Massachusetts," By John E. Bierwirth, Superintendent of Herricks Public Schools, Illustrated News, December 16, 2005
EXCERPT: "Last week I had the privilege of visiting an extraordinary new college located just outside of Boston in Needham, MA. The college is the F.W. Olin College of Engineering. Olin only opened its doors to its first group of students in September 2002 but it has already attracted considerable notice from the engineering community as well as from college guides such as the Princeton Review, which give it extremely high ratings in many areas in its current guidebook."
"America's High-Tech Quandary," Design News, By Charles Murray, December 5, 2005
EXCEPRT: "The psychology of the times was one of imminent annihilation," notes Sherra Kerns, vice president of innovation and research at Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts. 'People were building bomb shelters. There was a tight association between technological supremacy and survival. Being a member of that generation, I remember having a sense of responsibility to learn science.'"
"Engineering a Business," By Amy Wyeth, Needham Times, November 24, 2005
Excerpt: "Learning by doing is the mantra at Olin College of Engineering - at least in the Foundations of Business and Entrepreneurship class..."
|
Welcome 
