Wentworth News Archive

The following is Part II of our discussion with Nakisa Alborz, David Simpson, Alex Cabal, Rebecca Drossman and Aaron Carpenter. Part I and Part III are also online.

Greg Abazorius, Director, Content: Do you feel there is more accountability right now? Do you believe that having more of a spotlight on people through videos and social media, et cetera, will lead to behavioral changes?

We recently hosted a virtual call with Wentworth faculty (Nakisa Alborz, David Simpson and Aaron Carpenter) and staff (Alex Cabal and Becky Drossman) to discuss the issue of race in America and how it affects academia. Mostly, we listened and tried to absorb as much as we could.

Department of Architecture Professor Mark Pasnik spoke with Interior Design magazine about Pride Month, sharing his belief that pride is “a liberating concept connected to equality and dignity.”

He notes that his studio classes have engaged with Boston Public Schools and other organizations in an effort to respond to respond to urgent community needs.

The Cummings Foundation is supporting Wentworth Institute of Technology with a $100,000 grant to increase the university’s academic and socio-emotional support for Boston youth, while building a model that can expand to majority-minority communities struggling with college retention and completion rates.

Wentworth Institute of Technology will help provide dozens of Boston high school students a college head start through a year-long undergraduate certificate program.

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On Friday, June 19, Wentworth Institute of Technology will suspend classes and cancel administrative meetings so that all members of the community can participate in a self-directed Day of Reflection, Education and Action. This campus-wide pause coincides with Juneteenth, which commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States in 1865, nearly two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Nicole G. Price, Esq. has been appointed Wentworth Institute of Technology’s inaugural vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), effective August 3, 2020. 

During an unprecedented time, members of Wentworth’s alumni community have stepped forward to help in the fight against Covid-19. We’ve rounded up some of the stories to come out of the last several weeks.

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Founder of AET Labs, David Kempskie, MEC ’94, put the Stratasys Continuous Build 3D printer in his office to good use, helping frontline healthcare workers stay safe and be better prepared to do their jobs. With the help of a few colleagues, Kempskie began printing and assembling face shields for local hospitals.

Dear Wentworth Community members:

Second Nature—a Boston-based NGO who accelerates climate action in, and through, higher education - announced that Wentworth was among colleges and universities awarded grant funding through the Second Nature Climate Solutions Acceleration Fund (the Acceleration Fund).

You might be aware of the in-game successes many Wentworth coaches and staff members have had, but the Athletics department is providing a chance for you to get to know them better on a personal level.

Wentworth Athletics is putting some of its staff in the spotlight in a series of profiles currently running on their official website.

Featured are:

Wentworth students and faculty once again collaborated with National Office Furniture for the organization’s annual Furniture Design Competition, challenging students to design and develop furniture or accessories that would allow people to be more efficient throughout their day.

Ian Lapp, Ph.D., an experienced academic leader with a track record of building diverse teams around innovative initiatives, has been named senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Wentworth Institute of Technology, effective June 8. Lapp has held positions at Babson College, Harvard University and Columbia University, and worked on public health education programs in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Whether you were on co-op last semester or are just taking college courses for the first time, distance learning might be an adjustment at first. Luckily, Wentworth’s Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) has provided a helpful list of tips for finding success.

Jojo Jacobson, associate director for the CAE, broke the list down into four categories: productivity, study tips, resources and apps, and setting up your physical space.

To ensure a high level of production in class, she says, students should follow these tips:

By John Franklin

Major changes within the last few months could not deter the Wentworth Ragnar Relay team from smashing its fundraising goal.

A multi-disciplinary student team comprised of members from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Auburn University and Arizona State University took second place in the inaugural 2020 Datathon Competition.

Sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Computing Division, the competition took place alongside the annual 2020 Construction Research Congress (CRC 2020) Conference, which emanated from in Tempe, Arizona earlier this spring.

Forty-three members of the Department of Facilities have been on Wentworth’s campus these past few weeks to disinfect buildings and equipment, and to make a host of improvements in various areas.

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Wentworth moved to distance learning with students, faculty and most staff members evacuating all buildings including residence halls.

Wentworth’s Industrial Design faculty members have adapted to distance learning by building home classrooms, offering students remote control during Zoom classes and hosting guest lecturers, among other adjustments. Students have responded in kind, producing work that has “demonstrated their creativity and tenacity to overcome the new challenges they are facing,” said Sam Montague, chair of the Department of Industrial Design.

Summary of Wentworth’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

[For more details, updates and resources, visit the university’s COVID-19 Info Center].