Press Release

Contact: Debra Humphreys
Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
202-387-3760 ext. 422

Association of American Colleges and Universities Appoints New Senior Science Fellow

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Associate Dean Richard F. Vaz Joins AAC&U Office of Education and Quality Initiatives

Washington, DC—August 4, 2004—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announces the appointment of Dr. Richard F. Vaz, associate dean of interdisciplinary and global studies and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), as a senior science fellow. Dr. Vaz will work with staff members in AAC&U's Office of Education and Quality Initiatives to develop and implement new strategies to achieve greater expectations in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Dr. Vaz served as the liaison to the Greater Expectations Consortium on Quality Education, of which WPI was a selected institutional member.

"AAC&U is privileged to have Richard Vaz working with us to chart the next generation of our work on improving science, engineering, mathematics, and technology education," said AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider. "Dr. Vaz is a national leader in engineering education and has led groundbreaking efforts at WPI to advance more integrative, civically engaged, and global learning for WPI's undergraduate students. We are delighted that he will be sharing his expertise with our staff and bringing his insights to bear on our continuing work in this area."

Since 1987, Dr. Vaz has been on the faculty of WPI, where he has done research and worked on such issues as service and experiential learning, engineering design, and internationalizing engineering education. He helps to lead a worldwide network of twenty project centers at which more than 450 students per year complete degree-required culminating projects. He has developed and advised interdisciplinary and technical student projects in Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Thailand, and Washington, DC. Dr. Vaz has published widely and is the coauthor of the Prentice-Hall textbook, Information Engineering Inside and Out. He has received numerous teaching and advising awards, including the WPI Trustees' Awards for Outstanding Teaching and for Outstanding Advising. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a member of the American Society of Engineering Education.

For more information about AAC&U and its work on undergraduate science education, see www.aacu.org. For information about Greater Expectations, see www.aacu.org/gex.

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,150 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.

Information about AAC&U membership, programs, and publications can be found on the AAC&U Web site.