Notables

WPI men's basketball coach Chris Bartley received the Denise Nicoletti Trustees' Award for Service to Community during the university's annual Honors Convocation. The awards honored five WPI faculty members, a staff member, and a graduate student for outstanding research, teaching, advising, and contributions to the community.

Established in 2003 in memory of WPI's first tenured female faculty member in electrical and computer engineering, it is presented to a member of the faculty or staff in recognition of passion and action in serving the needs of a community. Bartley's remarkable success as a coach is exceeded only by the impact he has had on the community as a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Mass/Metrowest and a mentor to WPI students. His example has inspired 100 students (the men's and women's basketball teams; four fraternities and sororities) to become Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Bartley recently completed his seventh season as head coach for men's basketball at WPI. His accomplishments on the court have been impressive. The team, winless the season before his arrival, has now won five consecutive NEWMAC championships and has appeared in four consecutive NCAA Division III Tournaments. Last March, WPI basketball player Ryan Cain was chosen from a national pool of finalists to receive the 2007 Jostens Trophy.