Click here to view the November 2025 Benefits Newsletter. 

  This B-Term, nearly 325 students are participating in Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQP) or Major Qualifying Projects (MQP) with WPI’s Global Projects Program. Students participate in a term-long immersive research experience that sharpens their skills and brings a new way of looking at the world. This fall, the Syros, Greece, project center is gearing up for its sophomore year with a 12-student cohort. Robert Hersh, Syros advisor and director, says the small island located 80 miles southeast of Athens supports students with an enthusiastic community, challenging projects, and a working relationship with the University of the Aegean.  Hersh, an adjunct teaching professor in The Global School, is familiar with the area, having directed the Thessaloniki, Greece, project center for many years. Opening the Syros project center was serendipity, he says, after a chance visit with a colleague from the University of the Aegean. The colleague’s son is a WPI alumnus, and the conversation turned to how students could use their skills to work with the Syros community. In 2024, the project center hosted its first students. Elizabeth Jordan ’26, who is double majoring in environmental engineering and environmental and sustainability studies, was part of the first Syros cohort and said the Greek island appealed to her because it was unfamiliar. “I was really interested to explore a place I didn’t know much about,” she says. Being part of an inaugural project center was not without hurdles. The lack of previous projects or examples to reference was daunting at first, Jordan says. “But as we settled into the work, we realized it was actually a blessing in disguise. Being the first group at the Syros project center meant we had the freedom to set our own standards and shape the foundation for future teams.” Hersh says he expects student projects to be intellectually stimulating, and he also expects the experience to hold deeper meaning where students can explore their creativity and build cross-cultural understanding. Jordan’s team project exemplified how that all comes together in a project center. Her team, which focused on the challenges of recycling on the island, realized there was much more to the project than just a municipal process. “Once we arrived on Syros, we quickly realized how difficult it was to access reliable information, and our data collection became more limited than expected,” she says. “This challenge ultimately became an important part of our project, helping us understand the underlying reasons behind residents’ hesitations toward recycling and their complex relationship with the local government.” While the projects illuminate difficult questions, the community partnerships that develop reveal why and how answers aren’t so clear-cut. As students learn about the island residents’ way of life and the government structure, they understand why a solution that worked on paper back on the WPI campus isn’t easy to implement on Syros, Hersh says.  Students may leave a project center with excellent professional skills—and, he says, they also acquire something even more important. “They realize that it’s a complicated world.”    In B-Term 2025, the Global Projects Program is hosting projects in these locations:  IQP  Cape Town, South Africa, with project advisors Gbetonmasse Somasse (Social Science & Policy Studies) and Alejandro Manga (contingent) Hangzhou, China, with project advisors Hansong Pu (adjunct) and Gu Wang (Mathematical Sciences)  Honolulu, Hawaii, with project advisors Zoë Eddy (Department of Integrative and Global Studies) and Jed Lindholm (adjunct) Kathmandu, Nepal, with project advisors Brigitte Servatius (MA) and Herman Servatius (MA) Kyoto, Japan, with project advisors Melissa Belz (DIGS) and Alex Sphar (DIGS) Melbourne, Australia, with project advisors Uma Kumar (Chemistry & Biochemistry) and Joe Sarkis (The Business School) Nantucket, Mass., with project advisors Dominic Golding (DIGS) and Seth Tuler (DIGS) Prague, Czech Republic, with project advisors Fred Looft (adjunct) and Linda Looft (adjunct) Santa Fe, N.M., with project advisors Laureen Elgert (DIGS) and Phil Hultquist (adjunct) Syros, Greece, with project advisor Robert Hersh (adjunct) Tirana, Albania, with project advisors Michele Femc-Bagwell (adjunct) and Mallory Bagwell (adjunct) Venice, Italy, with project advisors Judy Nitsch (adjunct) and Luis Vidali (Biology) Washington, D.C., with project advisors Melissa Butler (DIGS) and Tsitsi Masvawure (DIGS)   MQP  FinTech (formerly Wall Street), with center directors Adrienne Hall-Phillips (TBS) and Kwamie Dunbar (TBS) Kyoto, Japan, with center director Adam Powell (Mechanical and Materials Engineering) Silicon Valley, Calif., with center director Mark Claypool (Computer Science) Tokyo, Japan, with center director Adam Powell (ME)   

MIEA Intro to Mindfulness is a four-week evidence-based mindfulness curriculum the Center for Well-Being is offering to WPI employees and graduate students at no cost.  Registration is now open for the in-person program that runs Tuesdays, 4:00 to 5:15 PM, Nov 11 to Dec 2. Register here

Chief Stephen Marsh is pleased to announce that a team of assessors from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission is scheduled to arrive on campus Nov. 17, 2025, to begin examining various aspects of the WPI Police Department’s policies, procedures, operations, and facilities toward reaccreditation.  WPI police first became accredited in 2017, and this will be the third reaccreditation assessment to verify that the department continues to meet the commission’s standards for accreditation.   Accreditation is a voluntary process that involves police departments meeting and maintaining over 325 operational standards and best practices.     Achieving accreditation is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence. Anyone interested in learning more about this program is invited to speak with the department’s accreditation manager, Capt. Brendan Green, or with Chief Stephen Marsh at the WPI Police Department located in Founders Hall.    

Staff Council is hosting its annual staff social, Harvest of Thanks: A Staff Gratitude Gathering, on Monday, November 24th from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Campus Center Odeum. Join us to connect with colleagues, enjoy fall treats, and participate in festive activities before Thanksgiving break. We'll have amazing raffle prizes including: Gift cards from local retailers and restaurants Thanksgiving turkeys And more! We're also supporting holiday pie sales through Chartwells—pre-ordered pies will be available for pick-up at the event. Plus, we're collecting non-perishable food for WooFridge donation. This is a drop-in event with raffle drawings throughout (must be present to win). Stop by, stay as long as you can, and enjoy time with colleagues! Thank you for your dedication to WPI. We look forward to seeing you on November 24! Staff Council: Adrienne Boertjens, Elizabeth Chirico, Amy Curran, Jaime Dillon, Matt Foster, Tyler Gibbs, Mike Hamilton (Chair), Stacey Happy (PR Chair), Stanley Horton, Elizabeth Jacoby, Doug Leonardi, Lauren Martunas (Treasurer), Sarah Miles (Vice Chair), Shawn Needham, Caitlin Neer (Secretary), Jessica Sabourin, Theona Scola and Carrie West

Tuesday, November 18, 2025 12 pm - 1 pm CC: Mid-Century Room In this workshop, participants will review several styles of written commentary, considering how the type, placement, and quantity of comments on student drafts can affect their revision and learning. Participants will learn and practice with a “reader-based” approach that has the potential to: 1) Reduce the time you spend marking student papers 2) Model for your students how to better anticipate and respond to a reader's needs 3) Help your students become less dependent on your editing and directive feedback This workshop is one component of our Project Advising 101 program for faculty new to IQP and MQP advising. The workshop is equally helpful to faculty teaching writing-intensive courses in any discipline, as well as faculty working with graduate students on theses and journal articles. All are welcome to attend! Please register by Tuesday, November 11th, so we can finalize the headcount for lunch.