Join WPI Archives & Special Collections in celebration of the new 2025-2026 Gladwin Gallery exhibit, "Currents of Change: Electrical & Computer Engineering at WPI from the Dawn of the Electric Age to Present Day". This event will be hosted on the ground floor of George C. Gordon Library on Monday, November 3rd from 3-5pm. It is a casual drop-in/drop-out style gathering with a brief welcome and short program led by ECE faculty at the start. After the introduction, attendees will be welcome to explore the exhibit and some interactive elements on their own. Light refreshments provided. Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and guests are welcome. Registration preferred. Please email archives@wpi.edu with any additional questions. 

The Staff Council Engagement Committee has put together a fun-filled calendar of events for everyone to have opportunities for connection and engagement this academic year.  Please see below and attached calendar of events for the year! We hope you will join us for an upcoming social on Monday, October 27, 4pm at the Courtyard Marriott Bar (drinks and snacks on your own) for some conversation and connection with peers. Friday, October 31 from 12-1pm join us for a Lunch and Gather drop-in session in Innovation Studio 205.  This gathering will be an opportunity to connect with others based on hobbies, interests, likes, etc.   Lastly, we are thrilled to partner again this year with Chartwells to offer holiday pie sales at Harvest of Thanks on November 24th.  New this year is the opportunity to purchase pies through the StaffCouncil myWPI webpage.  Check it out HERE! Save the Dates for '25-'26 Staff Council Events Thank you, Matt Foster, Staff Council Engagement Committee Chair on behalf of,  Staff Council Engagement Committee  

Quick Facts: Majored in Civil Engineering and was part of SAE Fraternity and US Air Force ROTC SVP Sales & Marketing at Enigma Technologies, Inc Based in Boston, MA Favorite WPI Tradition: “I like the symbolism of crossing the bridge when you are entering the school and crossing back when you leave the school. It signifies the journey and is meaningful as all WPI graduates experience it.” Since leaving WPI… “I have lived across the US (four different states) and lived in London for four years (for school and work). Now I’m back living in Boston. Having a WPI degree helped me learn how to solve open-ended problems—something that is critical for professional success.” Staying Connected “I primarily stay connected with my Fraternity SAE serving on the alumni board and mentoring undergrads. I met Peter Thomas (previously in the Alumni office) who was a father of SAE in my chapter who nominated me to be part of the Alumni Association. As Alumni Association President, I hope to increase engagement of alumni across the US and bring more attention and celebration to our alumni who give back their time and talents.”  

For nearly nine decades, F.W. Madigan Company, Inc., has been an integral part of Worcester’s growth story with multiple WPI touchpoints along the way. Founded in 1937 by Francis W. Madigan Sr., the construction management and general contracting firm has completed countless projects throughout the campus, city, and region. The company remains family-owned — it is now in its fourth generation of leadership — and at the heart of its legacy is a deep and lasting connection to WPI. Francis W. Madigan III, a 1979 WPI civil engineering graduate and the company’s former president, represents the third generation to lead the firm, his sons being the fourth. His father, brother, siblings, and other family members are all WPI alumni, as well. “WPI provided a phenomenal education and background to run a business,” Madigan III says, calling the university “a gem” in the city of Worcester. “Our family has a long tie-in to WPI.” Helping build community at WPI and beyond F.W. Madigan has completed a long list of projects on WPI’s campus, including the renovation of Washburn Labs, the construction of Stoddard Dormitories, improvements at multiple Greek houses and upgrades to offices and classrooms. The company has also hired numerous WPI graduates, co-op students, and summer interns over the years, building a pipeline of engineering and construction talent rooted in Worcester. Beyond campus, F.W. Madigan has touched nearly every corner of Worcester’s built environment in its near-90-year history: academia, financial, commercial, healthcare, industrial, residential; even historic and religious buildings. Notably, the firm has worked with Holy Cross, Assumption, Clark University, Becker College, the Beechwood Hotel, and is now overseeing a $50 million renovation of the former Worcester Boys Club into affordable senior housing. The Madigan family has played a role in civic life, as well: Madigan Jr., who retired from the company in 1998, served on the WPI Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, while Madigan III was a long-time member of WPI's Civil & Environmental Engineering Department Industry Advisory Board, and helped establish the endowment for the university’s crew team, where he once rowed as a student. The family has supported many other WPI projects and fundraising efforts, as well. With around three dozen employees, most hailing from Worcester County, F.W. Madigan is committed to hiring local subcontractors and investing in the region’s workforce. “We’re from Worcester, we live in Worcester, and we like to reinvest in Worcester,” Madigan III says. “There are connections everywhere.”  

The Gordon Library is excited to announce our 25-26 series of conversations with WPI authors, launching in B Term with two events!  Our theme this year is For a Change, featuring books that challenge us to change our beliefs and our choices.  Details on locations and programs will be announced for each event and also added here throughout the spring: On November 6 at 3:00 pm, the series will open in the Gordon Library Conference Room and on zoom, with a conversation about Cornel West Matters: Politics, Violence, Racism, and Religion in America (2024, WPI Press), between author and WPI Professor Mahamadou Lamine Sagna (SSPS), and WPI Press Editor in Chief and Head, SSPS, Prof. Rob Krueger.  Updated to reflect Cornel West’s independent candidacy in the 2024 US presidential campaign, this second edition explores West’s role as a philosopher, activist, and prominent intellectual with a singular dialectical and sometimes contradictory voice, echoing the title of West’s most influential books, Race Matters (1993) and Democracy Matters (2004).   A zoom link will also be made available here.  Please note that the Gordon Library’s elevator remains out of service; visitors who wish to avoid using the stairs are welcome to join via zoom. More event information here.   On November 20, from 3:30-5pm in Lower Perrault / Fuller, Professor John Sanbonmatsu (HUA), will lead an exploration and conversation about his 2025 book The Omnivore’s Deception: What we get wrong about meat, animals, and ourselves (NYU Press). In this widely reviewed and warmly praised book Prof. Sanbonmatsu proposes a new perspective on our relationship with animals, the food we eat, and with each other.  One reviewer (Jeffrey Moussaief Masson) writes, "You cannot read this book without changing your life. It is a work not only of immense moral significance, but a masterpiece." Prof. Sanbonmatsu will be joined in conversation by Prof. Joel Brattin and Prof. Scott Barton. Copies of The Omnivore’s Deception will be available for sale for half an hour before the event begins (3-3:30pm).  More event information here. Additional events are planned for the remainder of the 2025-2026 academic year, with dates, times and places to be announced here. Future authors and events will include:  Those Who Travail & are Heavy Laden:  Memoir of a Labor Lawyer (WPI Press, 2025), William B. Gould IV.  This WPI Press author, William B. Gould IV, Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law, Emeritus, at Stanford Law School and formerly Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board under President Bill Clinton, is a prolific scholar of labor and discrimination law and an influential voice in worker-management relations for more than fifty years. He is the recipient of five honorary doctorates for his significant contributions to the fields of labor law and labor relations.  In this remarkable memoir, Gould ties his career in labor law and civil rights to his heritage, his upbringing, and his inspirations. Those Who Travail & are Heavy Laden also carries on the tradition of his great grandfather, the first William B. Gould, whose Civil War diary telling of his daring escape from slavery and service in the Union Navy he and his father William B. Gould III ’25 discovered and published as Diary of a Contraband.   Decentering Science and Technology for Development (WPI Press, 2026), Laureen Elgert, Rob Krueger, Elizabeth Long Lingo, Mimi Sheller, Yunus Telliel.   Olive Higgins Prouty Poetry Celebration. In collaboration with Prof. Jim Cocola, the Gordon Library is planning our second annual Olive Higgins Prouty Poetry Celebration at WPI. This year’s program is being developed in partnership with the Worcester County Poetry Association and the Clemente Program in the Humanities.  Featured poet to be announced.   Please mark your calendars now for our first events, and join us in explorations and conversations that celebrate and share the powerful role of books in making change.

With WPI students, faculty, and staff making up both its customer base and workforce, Fuel Coffee and Grove Village Market illustrate how the university’s economic impact percolates directly into Worcester’s small business ecosystem. For owner Neelu Mohaghegh, that impact is felt most in the atmosphere she’s created, where coffee and community go hand in hand. “If you visit a coffee shop, you really get a feel for that city based on the people and the vibe,” said Mohaghegh. “They're about community. I think coffee shops, in general, are creative spaces.” Mohaghegh, a Worcester native and one-time barista, has always wanted to open a coffee shop — and now she has two serving the Worcester community. Notably, last year, she opened Grove Village Market, which is adjacent to WPI’s Gateway Park and just a short walk from the main campus. The shop is heavily connected to WPI, serving as a gathering place for students and faculty; Mohaghegh also employs a handful of WPI students. “I feel like an alum because of how much I've gotten to work with WPI,” she says. Not just serving coffee — providing an experience Mohaghegh opened her first coffee shop Fuel America Grove Street three years ago. When looking to expand to a second location, she immediately thought of WPI. It turned out to be a prime location: WPI undergrads, grad students, professors and admins, naturally, make up a large part of Grove Village Market’s clientele. The shop is also a popular hangout for other local college students. “I love hearing that, this is their favorite coffee, this is their favorite spot to come to,” says Mohaghegh. Further, the shop functions almost like an extension of WPI’s campus, with its conference room regularly used by faculty, staff, student organizations, and research teams — while also opening its doors to community stakeholders, making it a hub where academic life and Worcester’s broader creative energy intersect. “I hope that people from WPI feel like this shop is their home,” says Mohaghegh. “I hope they find themselves gathering here, getting their work done, coming to events, and sharing it with their friends and family.” Contributing to Worcester’s thriving economy In addition to a dedicated base of WPI customers, WPI students make up more than half of Grove Village Market’s workforce. The  college has “provided me with some of the best workers for my team,” says Mohaghegh, with many having worked at the shop throughout their college careers. “It's really allowed me to build a family here at the shop,” Mohaghegh says. “It’s such a special college, and I really love the kind of students that have come to work for me. It’s been wonderful to see how creative and smart, innovative and dedicated they are."