Troy, N.Y. — On Thursday, April 2, Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson delivered the inaugural Pauline Newman ’47 Distinguished Lecture in Science, Technology, and Society at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Her talk, titled The New Polytechnic: Addressing Global Challenges, Transforming the World, described the ways that institutions of higher learning can reanimate the idea of a liberal education, and redefine the leadership they offer, in order to address complex and interconnected global challenges.

Vassar faculty, staff, students, and community members crowded Taylor Hall for the newly established lectureship presentation, followed by a question-and-answer period.

“Today, at Rensselaer, we are guided by a modern definition of the liberal arts, which we call ‘The New Polytechnic,’” said President Jackson. “The New Polytechnic is predicated on the absolute necessity of educating our students in multidisciplinary and collaborative thinking, and linking our researchers—in the arts, architecture, the humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences—as well as in engineering and the applied sciences. Engaged in by a broad spectrum of participants, guided by societal concerns and ethics, The New Polytechnic ultimately facilitates novel and effective approaches to global challenges.”

The Distinguished Lecture in Science, Technology, and Society was endowed by the Honorable Pauline Newman, who graduated from Vassar in 1947, and who attended the inaugural lecture. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale University and an LL.B. from New York University School of Law. She became an expert in patent law and policy. Eventually, she helped to persuade the U.S. Congress to create the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and in 1984, Judge Newman was appointed to that court.

“Hers has been an extraordinary career, but one with which we are familiar at Rensselaer, where a number of our alumni and alumnae have moved from science and engineering to become prominent figures in intellectual property law,” said President Jackson. “They include the Chairman of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees, Judge Arthur Gajarsa, who received a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer in 1962, before studying economics and then the law. Judge Gajarsa served 15 years alongside Judge Newman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.”

To read the full text of the remarks delivered by Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson,  visit: http://rpi.edu/president/speeches/ps040215-vassar.html