RCNJ

An article in the April 20, 2006 edition of The Wall Street Journal touts Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Rensselaer Medal scholarship as an excellent merit-based award that middle and upper-income families can use to get their children good educations at a substantial discount to the Ivy League. According to the article:

At some schools that are well-regarded, though not Ivy League, the discounts can be hefty. At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, N.Y., which costs about $40,000 a year, about a quarter of last fall's freshman class of 1,250 received merit scholarships averaging about $15,000 each.

Offers such as Rensselaer's have "great appeal to the many families that are not eligible for need-based aid -- the only kind offered by Ivy League colleges -- but are squeezed by current prices."

The Rensselaer Medal has been awarded for more than 85 years to "promising secondary school juniors who have distinguished themselves in mathematics and science.... {Its goals are} to recognize the superlative academic achievement of young men and women, and to motivate students toward careers in science, engineering, and technology."

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Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Cloninger pointed out that RPIathletics.com now carries an announcement that Seth Appert has been chosen as the next men's hockey coach. According to the article "Appert is slated to become the 12th head men's hockey coach in RPI's storied hockey history."

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson said, "Rensselaer attracts the best of the best and once again we have done so with the hiring of Seth Appert. He is a proven teacher and a leader. His passion for the sport and commitment to education make him a perfect fit for the Institute and we enthusiastically welcome him into the Rensselaer family."

The article concludes by saying, "Appert has verbally agreed to, and is in the process of finalizing, a four-year contract with Rensselaer."

Update: RPI held a press conference at The Mueller Center on Friday, April 21, 2006 to introduce Seth Appert as the men's hockey head coach. The Times Union article about the press conference include quotes from Appert, his wife Jill, and RPI goaltender Mathias Lange.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A number of reports suggest that Seth Appert will be named the next head coach of the Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team at a press conference on Friday in Troy. Appert is an assistant coach for the University of Denver, a Division I hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Denver won the NCAA Division I Championship in 2004 and 2005.

Appert has also worked as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst College. He was a goaltender at Ferris State who graduated from that school in 1997. He also has a master's degree in Sports Management from the University of Denver that he was granted in 1999.

Media reports indicate that former Los Angeles Kings coach Andy Murray was offered the job and turned it down before it was offered to Appert. This is an unfortunate disclosure because no one deserves to enter a high-pressure job like this with the public knowing that he was the second choice.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Alumni Association has just announced that the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey will be awarded The Craig W. Angell '35 Chapter of the Year Award for 2005-06. The chapter will be recognized at the RAA Annual Dinner during Reunion Weekend on June 9 in Troy with formal presentation taking place in New Jersey sometime in the Fall.

This is the second time that the RCNJ has won Chapter of the Year from the RAA. The first time was in 2000-01.

More information will be added to this article as we receive it.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My friends in the RPI Greek alumni community pointed me to an article in the Albany Times Union which discusses Rensselaer's plans to overhaul aspects of fraternity and sorority house operations including things like:

• "Starting July 1, drinking will be allowed only in the rooms of students who are at least 21 years old, and forbidden in common areas."
• "In ... July 2007, RPI plans to require every fraternity and sorority to hire a house director, and impose changes in the groups' recruiting drives."

The article goes on to say that RPI says it wants "to strengthen fraternities and sororities, not wreck them, and hope de-emphasizing alcohol will help the groups focus on other principles of Greek life, such as academics and public service."

Some members of fraternities and sororities and their alumni brothers and sisters feel that this program was presented to them as a fait accompli which calls into question the terms of a previously-negotiated Relationship Statement between the Rensselaer administration, the Alumni Inter-Greek Council, the Inter-Fraternity Council, and the Panhellenic Council.

There's a lot more information about this meeting and the administration's push for changes being passed back and forth among alumni of the fraternities and sororities. If you are an alumnus of the Greek system, you may want to get back in touch with your alumni leaders for more information.

Update: Rensselaer Vice President of Student Life Eddie Ade Knowles and Acting Vice President of Institute Advancement Terry A. Cerveny wrote an open letter to Rensselaer Greek Alumni that discusses the administration's initiatives and the disciplinary actions that precipitated them.

At the time that this article was initially published, we weren't aware of the existence of the letter, otherwise we would have included it.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)