November 29, 2007
Vol. 18, No. 20
In this issue:
University Begins Work on New Strategic Plan
Every plan needs to be refreshed and updated from time to time. And so it is with Carnegie Mellon's Strategic Plan, a document that has guided the university for the last decade. "This is a particularly good time to review our strategic plan," said President Jared L. Cohon. "The university will be reviewed for re-accreditation this year, as it is every 10 years. We are also preparing for the public launch of our capital campaign about a year from now, when we will need clear and compelling campaign priorities."
President Cohon said the current plan, authored in 1998, has served the university well and will be used as a starting point for the new strategic planning process, which is now under way. Provost and Senior Vice President Mark Kamlet is chair of the strategic planning steering committee that includes the academic deans. Vice President for Research Rick McCullough is the committee co-chair.
A relatively small committee made up of university community members will lead the review of each of the six priorities in the 1998 plan. Vice Provost for Education Indira Nair will head the Education and Student Life Committee; Rick McCullough will head the Research Committee; Economic Development Director Don Smith will lead the Regional Impact Committee; Heinz School Dean Mark Wessel will chair the Internationalization Committee; Trustee Linda Dickerson will head the committee on Community Success and Diversity; and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Deb Moon will lead the Infrastructure Committee. Each committee is charged with reviewing progress made since 1998 and recommending new priorities within their respective areas.
The work of the strategic planning committees will be enhanced by broad-based input from the community at periodic town hall meetings and meetings with various governing bodies, councils, advisory groups and departments. Each committee will complete a preliminary report by late January, and a draft of the new Strategic Plan should be completed by late spring. Kamlet said the plan would most likely be a topic of discussion during a Trustees retreat this summer, followed by final approval in the fall.
Engineering Students Win Prestigious Contest
Carnegie Mellon graduate engineering students
Shahzeen Attari, Ines Margarida Lima de Azevedo, Benjamin Flath and
Constantine Samaras are first-place winners in a letter-writing competition called "Tomorrow's Energy Ambassadors, Managers and Scholars." The contest, sponsored by Johnson Controls Inc., asked students to demonstrate their awareness of important energy and sustainability issues in a letter challenging the current field of presidential candidates to clarify their own positions on these topics. The students' winning letter appeared as a full-page ad in the Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., regional editions of USA Today on Nov. 20.
The Carnegie Mellon team will receive a $10,000 check for the school's scholarship fund from Johnson Controls. The team also will receive a $2,500 grant from Johnson Controls and will be guests at the 2008 Energy Efficiency Forum, June 10 -11, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
United Way Campaign Extended
This year's United Way Campaign has been extended through Friday, Dec. 7. Your donation is needed to help United Way support the many local and regional programs and social services that help people in our community, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Pa., Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, the Center for Hearing and Deaf Services, Mercy Behavioral Health, the Jewish Community Center and Three Rivers Youth, Inc. to name a few. This year's goal is for 15 percent of the campus community to participate. Faculty and staff may donate online at
http://www.unitedwaypittsburgh.org/carnegiemellon or they can complete the pledge card they received in campus mail. Last year 10 percent of the Carnegie Mellon community raised $187,512.
Universal Library Has More Than 1.5 Million Books Online
The Million Book Project, an international venture led by Carnegie Mellon, Zhejiang University in China and the Indian Institute of Science in India has completed the digitization of more than 1.5 million books which are now available free online. For the first time since the project was initiated in 2002, all of the books, which range from Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" to "The Analects of Confucius," are available through a single Web portal of the Universal Library (
www.ulib.org), said
Gloriana St. Clair, Carnegie Mellon's dean of libraries.
"Anyone who can get on the Internet now has access to a collection of books the size of a large university library," said
Raj Reddy, professor of computer science and robotics at Carnegie Mellon. "This project brings us closer to the ideal of the Universal Library: making all published works available to anyone, anytime, in any language. The economic barriers to the distribution of knowledge are falling," said Reddy, who has spearheaded the Million Book Project.
See:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/November/nov27_ulib.shtml
NREC Receives $14.4 Million To Develop Autonomous Ground Vehicle
Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Consortium (NREC) has been awarded a $14.4 million contract to develop an advanced, autonomous, unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) for the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center's Autonomous Platform Demonstrator Program. According to the contract, the NREC will build an updated version of "Crusher," a UGV that the NREC unveiled in 2006. Since then the 6.5-ton Crusher has demonstrated unparalleled toughness and mobility during extensive field trials in extremely rugged terrain.
"We're delighted that the NREC will play a key role in showing how advanced autonomous vehicles work in future combat systems settings," said NREC Director
John Bares. "Our goal will be to develop, integrate and test a high-performance UGV with the most up-to-date mobility and autonomy technologies."
News Brief
- Carnegie Mellon's Office of Government Relations has a new Web site at http://www.cmu.edu/govrel. The new site offers updated information about federal, state and local government, and community resources for staff and students. It also includes recaps from elected officials' campus visits and information about the Milton and Cynthia Friedman Summer Internships in Washington, D.C.
Personal Mention
- Tim McNulty, associate provost for strategic technology initiatives since 2003, will become Carnegie Mellon's new associate vice president for government relations, effective Jan. 1. He will direct the Office of Government Relations, which acts as an advocate for the university on the federal, state and local levels. McNulty succeeds Maureen McFalls Young, who will retire from the university on Dec. 31 after seven years of leading the university's first government relations program.
Calendar Highlights
- Nov. 29 - Dec. 8: The School of Drama presents the beloved musical "Guys and Dolls" at the Philip Chosky Theater. The musical will be guest-directed by SteveCosson, founding artistic director of The Civilians, a New York-based theater company specializing in documentary cabaret. Show times are 8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday. Tickets are $24 - $27. Discounts are available for seniors and students. For information, contact the School of Drama box office at 412-268-2407.
- Tuesday, Dec. 4: Join President Cohon in honoring the Carnegie Mellon Tartan Racing Team, winners of the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., Rangos Ballroom, University Center. Years of hard work and sustained inspiration paid off for Tartan Racing on Nov. 3, when its robotic vehicle, Boss, blew away the competition at the DARPA Urban Challenge in Victorville, Calif. Come gather round the Urban Challenge Trophy, watch some videos of Boss speeding safely through the course and honor and congratulate this ingenious team. Refreshments will be served. Boss will also be on display on the CFA lawn, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Dec. 4.
- Friday, Dec. 7: Holiday Concert. Noon, Rangos Ballroom, University Center. The Carnegie Mellon Concert Choir, Repertory Chorus and Philharmonic will perform under the direction of Robert Page. Broadcast on WQED-FM 89.3.
- Monday, Dec. 10: General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt will speak at 4:30 p.m. in Rangos I & II. This event is part of the USA Today CEO Forum and presented in partnership with the Carnegie Mellon Student Senate and the Tepper School of Business W.L. Mellon Speaker Series. It will feature an onstage interview by USA Today Senior Reporter David Lieberman, followed by questions from the audience.
