The Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame display. Rensselaer at Hartford Dean and Vice President John Minasian, Connecticut Congressman John Larson, and Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson at Hartford’s 50th anniversary celebration. A display celebrating Hartford’s alumni contributions to space exploration was dedicated. Photos by Rensselaer/John Marinelli

On June 2, Rensselaer at Hartford held two events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of providing working professionals throughout Connecticut and the vicinity with the opportunity to earn master’s degrees, graduate certificates, and corporate training certification, through a world-class learning experience. President Shirley Ann Jackson dedicated the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame and a “Rensselaer Alumni in Space” display at the Hartford campus. Later that evening, President Jackson hosted a gala reception at the Goodwin Hotel in downtown Hartford where Connecticut Congressman John Larson was the guest speaker. Larson also presented a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition to Rensselaer at Hartford “in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community.”

At the gala, President Jackson also recognized three leaders who contributed outstanding vision, dedication, and leadership to the creation and growth of Rensselaer at Hartford. Honored were John Cassidy ’65, a former member of the Board of Trustees of Rensselaer at Hartford and the retired senior vice president for science and technology for United Technologies Corporation; Worth Loomis, who served as trustee of the Hartford Graduate Center from 1975 through 1989, when he was appointed as its president, serving with great distinction until 1993; and Warren Stoker ’38, who was one of the founders of Rensselaer at Hartford and one of the first faculty members to relocate from Troy to Hartford. He served as director of the first site in East Windsor, Conn., and was named dean in 1957, helping to bring the facility to its current downtown Hartford location.

The anniversary was marked by several proclamations. Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell officially proclaimed June 2, 2006, as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Day in the State of Connecticut. Governor Rell’s proclamation recognized that, “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has served the State of Connecticut with great distinction and has made many significant contributions to education in the Greater Hartford area and in the State of Connecticut; and a Rensselaer education instills a passion for integrating technology with the necessary management skills of today’s global marketplace; and Rensselaer has made significant contributions to the economy and has enhanced the overall quality of life in Connecticut; and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is commemorating 50 years of educating Connecticut’s business and technical elite.”

City of Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez proclaimed June 2, 2006, as “Rensselaer Day” in the City of Hartford. The proclamation notes that “Rensselaer has conferred more than 15,000 master’s degrees in Hartford over the past 50 years, with more than 12,000 alumni living in Connecticut; and these alumni have a significant positive economic impact on the state, as captains of industry, philanthropy, and the sciences; and the collaborative partnership that Rensselaer and Connecticut continues to share, has advanced a community that fosters innovation, progress, and prosperity.”

“Rensselaer has been a fundamental part of the economic engine of this region for half a century now, and our educational investment here has paid handsome dividends,” President Jackson said in her remarks. “We fully expect that the next 50 years will be even more exciting, as we expand on partnerships between the university and the greater Hartford community. There is so much which we can accomplish together.”

Published June 19, 2006