Campus News

George Thompson Receives 2011 Betty L. Harrah Journal Manuscript of the Year Award from Association of College and University Housing Officers-International

kwalsh — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:04:24 -0700

The Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) announced George Thompson, assistant dean and director of graduate student and academic services, as the recipient of the 2011 Betty L. Harrah Journal Manuscript of the Year Award. The award will be presented at the ACUHO-I 2011 Annual Conference & Exposition in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 9 to 12.

Thompson was cited for continued contributions to the collegiate housing profession for the article "Structural Analysis of the Resident Assistant Cultural Diversity Questionnaire" in the Journal of College and University Student Housing (Volume 37, Number 2).

Thompson and Qinyi "Isabelle" Ren MS '11 at Bentley commencement ceremonies in May.

Professor Pierre Berthon Co-Editor of Business Horizons, Special “Social Media” Issue

kwalsh — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 08:57:44 -0700

Pierre Berthon, Clifford F. Youse Chair of Marketing and Strategy, is co-editor of the May-June 2011 issue of Business Horizons. The special issue (Volume 54, Issue 3) focuses on social media, including an introduction that provides a brief overview of Web 2.0, social media and creative consumers and explores the challenges and opportunities presented to managers generally, and to marketers in particular.

Among the Bentley contributors for the special issue were Bruce Weinberg, chair of the Marketing Department; Philip DesAutels, visiting scholar; and PhD student Ekin Pehlivan.

Marianne DelPo Kulow Selected as Master Teacher Finalist by the Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB)

kwalsh — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 08:56:36 -0700

Associate Professor of Law Marianne DelPo Kulow was selected as one of four Master Teacher Finalists by the Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB), the international organization of professors who teach law in business schools. Kulow will present in August at the ALSB annual conference in New Orleans.

The competition reviews proposals of classes that are taught within the "Legal Environment of Business" course required for undergraduate business majors. Kulow's proposal covers the federal statute that prohibits workplace discrimination based on physical or mental disability. The class includes a video clip from the film Philadelphia and asks students to practice using the statutory definitions on a hypothetical case of an employee with AIDS. It then shifts to mental disabilities and includes a mini-lecture building up to a small group exercise where students play the role of a manager attempting to accommodate an employee with a mental illness.

Tana Ruegamer Receives Fulbright for International Education Administrators for Summer Travel to Korea June 12 to 25

kwalsh — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:27:41 -0700

Tana Ruegamer, assistant director of the Center for International Students and Scholars, was awarded the Fulbright for International Education Administrators (IEA). She is one of eight people in the nation to receive the grant, which helps international education professionals and senior higher education officials from the United States create empowering connections with the societal, cultural and higher education systems of other countries. Ruegamer is traveling to Korea from June 12 to 25 to learn about the host country's education system and networks of U.S. and international colleagues.

New England Direct Marketing Association Presents 2011 Prodigy Award to Alexandra Proelss MS ’11, May 11

kwalsh — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:12:35 -0700

The New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA) presented the 2011 Prodigy Award to Alexandra Proelss MS '11 at the NEDMA annual conference held at Bentley on May 11.

As a retail marketing manager at Sperry Top-Sider, Proelss has been honored with the 2011 Prodigy Award for her work helping to reposition Sperry Top-Sider from a classic male brand to a fashion icon. Through multiple Corporate Immersion courses at Bentley, she worked on direct marketing projects that enabled her to use qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary research to create targeted direct marketing campaigns to launch 14 new Sperry Top-Sider retail and outlet stores from Maine to California with record breaking opening sales.

Most recently she headed a company-wide research initiative to understand the current and future potential of in-store smartphone usage and the similarities and differences between consumer needs online versus offline.

Rising Senior Chris Hughes Winner of ISACA New England Annual Essay Competition

kwalsh — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:21:30 -0700

The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) of New England announced Bentley rising senior Chris Hughes as a winner of the ISACA New England annual essay competition and a $1,500 scholarship. The essay topic for the 2011 essay competition focused on legal and regulatory frameworks in place to address data privacy of individuals, businesses and governments.

Hughes's essay provided a thorough and critical evaluation of the impact of legal and regulatory considerations regarding data privacy, including a proposal to develop and implement a unified set of federal data security standards, and recommendations to hold top management accountable for data security in publicly traded companies.

Hughes is an Information Systems Audit and Control major, and is spending this summer as an intern at KPMG's IT Advisory Practice. His career plans include public accounting, with goals of becoming a certified public accountant and completing CISA (certified information systems auditor) certifications.

Professor Pierre Berthon Co-Edits The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Special “Greening of IT” Issue

kwalsh — Tue, 24 May 2011 07:53:56 -0700

Pierre Berthon, Clifford F. Youse Chair of Marketing and Strategy, is co-editor of the March 2011 issue of The Journal of Strategic Information Systems. The special issue (Volume 20, Issue 1) focuses on the greening of IT. Topics deal with sustainability as it relates to IT, particularly four key aspects: issues concerned with policies and regulatory matters; technological considerations; assessment; and consequences.

Cammarata Professor of Management Sue Newell is editor of the special issue on health IT that will be published in the June issue. She previously co-edited two special issues on enterprise systems (2004 and 2005), while Amy Ray, associate professor of information and process management and trustee professor, co-edited a special issue on security and privacy that appeared in 2007.

This prominent journal, published by Elsevier, is one of just eight academic journals to be recognized by the senior scholars of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), the international Information Systems academy. The journal was founded in 1991 by Robert D. Galliers, Bentley's University Distinguished Professor, who has served as editor-in-chief throughout. Newell, along with M. Lynne Markus, John W. Poduska Sr. Professor of Information and Process Management, serve on the journal's international editorial board. Galliers was AIS President in 1999, while Professors Newell and Jane Fedorowicz, Rae D. Anderson Professor of Accounting and Information Systems, have both served as Vice Presidents of the AIS.

Bentley faculty's key contributions to the journal, and to the Information Systems academy worldwide, demonstrate the leading role that the university plays in cutting-edge research that deals with the strategic impacts of information technology on organizations, the economy, the environment, and society at large. In a recent report, Bentley was the only university to have four of its scholars listed amongst the top 100 most cited IS scholars worldwide (http://ai.eller.arizona.edu/resources/h-Index.pdf). As well as Markus, Newell and Galliers, the list included Mary J. Culnan, Slade Professor of Management and IT, who is the recipient of this year's Excellence in Scholarship Award - a university-wide award given to a single individual for life-long achievement in their field of study, and one previously awarded to Berthon and Markus.

Bentley Service-Learning Center Students Receive 2011 Sandy M. and Harry G. Adamian Community Service Awards

kwalsh — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:21:52 -0700

In a heartfelt program on May 3, Bentley Service-Learning Director Franklyn Salimbene named six student recipients of the 2011 Sandy M. and Harry G. Adamian Community Service Awards. The Adamian Award honors the memories of Sandy Adamian and her son Harry, who were committed during their lives to community service programs in Watertown, Belmont, and surrounding communities. The recipients, chosen for their outstanding commitment and dedication to service in 2011, received a plaque and a $500 citation.

"I encourage you as you continue your years of service to think of yourself as a good citizen, doing what is expected of you to live in a society that relies on each and every one of us to contribute to the greater good," Salimbene told students.

Award recipients include Morgan Diamant ('12); Gregg Grenier ('12); Bree Johnson ('12); Carla O'Connor ('12); Stephanie Ryan ('11); and Miguel Santiago ('12). Salimbene presented the awards with Denise Oldham, M.Ed., daughter of Harry Adamian, granddaughter of Sandy Adamian, and niece of former Bentley president Gregory Adamian.

" ... I am always inspired by all of you," Alden said to service-learning students. "My hope for all of you is that this won't be something that you just do in college; it is something that you will continue to do as your life expands."

The 2011 Community Partner of the Year Award was presented to the Woburn Boys and Girls Club. The newly established 2011 Director's Award was presented to Jacqueline Yen, for helping establish a Bentley minor in nonprofit organizations (recently approved); and Nicholas Darsch for his work developing and strengthening the "give a year" scholarship program offered through Bentley and City Year.

The program concluded with the presentation of an engraved gavel to Salimbene to recognize 10 years as director of the Bentley Service-Learning Center. Salimbene is stepping down as director to return to a faculty position in the Law Department.

Gesa Kirsch Accepted to National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute “Rethinking the Land Ethic: Sustainability and the Humanities”

kwalsh — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:50:27 -0700

Gesa Kirsch, professor of English and co-founder of the Women's Leadership Institute at Bentley, was accepted to the Summer Institute for College and University Faculty, sponsored by the Institute for Humanities Research at Arizona State University, and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The program, "Rethinking the Land Ethic: Sustainability and the Humanities," will be held from June 20 to July 15, 2011, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Kirsch is among a select group of college and university faculty members chosen to join Arizona State University faculty and guest speakers to investigate sustainability through study, research, discussions and field trips. The program is designed to demonstrate the important role the humanities play in helping understand a topic that is often framed in technical terms.

Kirsch is a humanities scholar with training in rhetorical and feminist studies. In 2009, she developed an experiential, place-based writing course focused on sustainability, social responsibility, and a sense of place. Through participation in the summer institute, she aims to explore new ways to help refine the course and foster future research.

Geraldine Taylor Appointed to Board of Directors Member-at-Large for the American College Health Association

kwalsh — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:52:11 -0700

Geraldine "Gerri" Taylor, assistant dean for health and wellness and director of the Center for Health and Wellness, was appointed as a 2011-2013 American College Health Association (ACHA) Board of Directors Member-at-Large, effective June 3, 2011, at the Assembly of Representatives during the 2011 ACHA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.

An active member of ACHA since 1994, Taylor has helped lead and chart the course for college health over the years. Since 2010, she has served as national chair of the Advanced Practice Clinicians section of ACHA and was instrumental in creating a listserv for members to discuss clinical and administrative issues relevant to the members. She is also a member of the ACHA Coalition on Emerging Public Health Threats and Emergency Response, working locally, regionally and nationally on Pandemic Preparedness and H1N1 response.

ACHA is a national nonprofit association that represents the interests of college health professionals and the campus communities they serve.

Affiliates from Harvard Medical School’s Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital Visit Bentley University

jhowarth — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:59:38 -0700

Professor of Psychology and Natural Sciences Helen Meldrum recently brought two experienced business leaders from Harvard Medical School's Institute of Coaching to speak to her Counseling and Coaching Methods course, bridging the gap between classroom learning and real world application. The Institute of Coaching is housed at McLean Hospital, located less than a mile from the Bentley campus, and is dedicated to advancing coaching research, education and practice. Coaching is defined as a change process that mobilizes strengths and realizes the potential of individuals and organizations.

The students in Professor Meldrum's class heard from Joan Rosenberg Ryan, J.D. an internationally-recognized expert in negotiation, conflict resolution and mediation skills as well as stress and reactivity-reduction techniques, and Dick Heller, a consultant and trainer with an emphasis on issues of management, leadership and organizational excellence.

The speakers addressed how they are working to build a global coaching research community in order to accelerate coaching research progress and disseminate best practices. Bentley students in attendance were thoroughly engaged and reported that they enjoyed seeing firsthand how principles learned in their class are applied in a real world setting. Speakers from the Institute offered the students the opportunity to do evidence-based research directly with them, if interested. Professor Meldrum looks forward to continuing a productive relationship with the Institute of Coaching so that the Bentley community can continue to benefit from the unique expertise located in its backyard.

Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren Presents College Fed Challenge Championship Trophy to Bentley Team for National Title

kwalsh — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:42:39 -0700

On April 15, Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren formally presented the national championship trophy to the Bentley team that won the national title at the seventh annual College Fed Challenge in December 2010. Bentley team members, accompanied by faculty advisers David Gulley and Aaron Jackson, accepted the award at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The trip included discussions with Rosengren on issues such as monetary policy, the path to winning the national championship, and strategy for winning next year's competition.

The trophy was engraved with each of the team members' names, comprised of the following Economics-Finance majors:

Maximillian Barco, Senior
Christina J. Harstad, Senior
Satyajeet Jadhavrao, Junior
Pranay Kumar Jain, Junior
Shohana Jannat, Junior
Peter Jurik, Senior
David Norrish, Senior
Victoria Lee Tran, Senior

In the highly competitive national competition, Bentley placed first among teams from Lafayette College, Northwestern University, Rutgers University at Newark, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Competing teams played the role of members of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's monetary policymaking body, including a 20-minute presentation and monetary policy recommendations or decisions. They are judged by a panel of Federal Reserve economists on economic analysis, responses to questions, teamwork, and presentation. College teams compete in their local Reserve Bank Districts, and top teams move on to the finals in Washington, D.C.

Bentley has competed in the Fed Challenge since 2007. In the first year, Bentley advanced to the second round regional competition. In 2008, the team narrowly missed advancing to the second round. The 2009 team took second place in the regional competition.

Arik Levy '96, son of Associate Professor of Accounting Elliott Levy, Gets Major Exposure for his Innovative Laundry Company

mwalsh1 — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:20:32 -0700

Arik Levy, ’96, is enjoying significant exposure for his innovative start-up, Laundry Locker®, thanks to Chase Banks’ new advertising campaign. The five-year old laundry and dry cleaning company started by this Bentley alum is featured in a series of ads promoting the Chase Ink card which is designed for unique, entrepreneurial businesses. The ads are running in the New York Times, The Economist, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, and Entrepreneur, among others.

The concept for Laundry Locker®, the first of its kind, takes the inconvenience of laundry service and revolutionizes it --pick up and drop off laundry 24/7 at convenient locations around San Francisco with next-day service.

Committed to reducing the business’s carbon footprint, Arik’s company also uses ultra efficient washers and dryers, re-usable laundry bags, a paperless office, and recycles all packaging and hangers. Laundry Locker®, also recently converted to GreenEarth, the latest in eco-friendly dry cleaning technology, which greatly reduces the use of PERC throughout the region.

The company began as a one-man operation and is now the largest laundry and dry cleaning service in the Bay area. Arik’s father, Bentley Associate Professor of Accounting Elliott Levy, couldn’t be more proud.

Research by Professor P. Thompson Davis Recognized as Most Cited Article in Quaternary Research

kwalsh — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:31:49 -0700

A paper co-written by P. Thompson Davis, professor of geology and paleoclimatology in the Natural and Applied Sciences Department, was the most cited article in Quaternary Research (Volume 65, Issue 1, 2006) between 2005 and 2010.

The research, "Preservation of Arctic landscapes Overridden by Cold-Based Ice Sheets," demonstrates that the Arctic Canadian region was covered by minimally erosive, cold-based ice during the late Wisconsinan, suggesting that surficial features commonly used to define the pattern of late Wisconsinan ice movement cannot be used on their own to constrain late Wisconsinan ice-sheet margins in Arctic regions.

The research was funded by two collaborative National Science Foundation (NSF) grants to Bentley and the University of Colorado. Between 2001 to 2003 and in 2005, Davis spent approximately 10 weeks in the field on four expeditions with University of Colorado co-principle investigator Gifford Miller and PhD student Jason Briner, along with numerous field assistants, including two Bentley undergraduate students. Five peer-reviewed journal articles related to this NSF-funded research on northern Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic have been published, three of which form a body of work that earned Davis a Bentley Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award in 2008.

Junior Jenna Cavicchia Receives $10,000 Scholarship from Liberty Mutual’s Responsible Scholars™ Scholarship Program

kwalsh — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:11:11 -0700

Bentley junior Jenna Cavicchia is one of five college undergraduates from campuses across the country to win $10,000 from the Liberty Mutual Responsible ScholarsTM Scholarship program. Cavicchia was recognized for her work with the Mmofra Trom Bead Project. She is the second student from Bentley to receive this award; in 2009 Vinay Gokaldas '10 was a Responsible Scholars Scholarship recipient.

The Liberty Mutual Responsible ScholarsTM Scholarship program awards scholarships to qualified students who initiate a service or volunteer program that directly impacts or actively engages their campus community.

"Being responsible and doing the right thing often takes extra effort," says Maura Quinn, university relations program manager for Liberty Mutual Group. "Every day thousands of students make the extra effort to reach beyond themselves to make a difference in someone else's life. This scholarship recognizes and rewards students like Jenna for working hard to do the right thing."

The Mmofra Trom Bead project is an initiative designed by Bentley students that raises funds, through bracelet sales, to provide education to vulnerable children in Ghana. Sold online, through on-campus events and at local retailers, the recycled glass bead bracelets have raised enough money to provide high school funds for 22 students in Ghana. In addition to growing the business in and around Bentley, Cavicchia and her team are working with students at other universities such as North Carolina State and the University of Connecticut to establish Mmofra Trom Bead Projects on those campuses.

Joshua Boger, Founder and Former CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Speaks on Biotechnology, April 11

kwalsh — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:39:53 -0800

Joshua Boger, founder and former CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, will speak at Bentley on Monday, April 11, at 3:30 p.m.in Wilder Pavilion. Following his address, "Biotechnology in the 21st Century," a reception will be held.

Boger retired as Vertex's CEO in May 2009, after over 20 years with the company, and continues to serve on the Vertex Board. Prior to founding Vertex in 1989, he served as Senior Director of Basic Chemistry at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories in Rahway, N.J., where he headed both the departments of Biophysical Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry of Immunology & Inflammation. During his ten years at Merck, he developed an international reputation as a leader in the application of computer modeling to the chemistry of drug design and was a pioneer in the use of structure-based rational drug design as the basis for drug discovery programs.

His postdoctoral research in molecular recognition was performed in the laboratories of the Nobel-prize winning chemist, Jean-Marie Lehn in Strasbourg, France. He is the author of more than 50 scientific publications, holds 32 issued U.S. patents in pharmaceutical discovery and development, and has lectured widely in the United States, in Europe and in Asia on various aspects of drug discovery and development. He was named one of forty "Technology Pioneers" worldwide for the 2003 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

For more information, e-mail Fred Ledley.

Distinguished Speakers Series Presents Frank Piller, Professor and Director of the Technology & Innovation Management Group at RWTH Aachen University in Germany

kwalsh — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:10:27 -0800

The Distinguished Speakers Series, "Service Process Excellence: Enhancing the Customer's Experience", presents Frank Piller, chaired professor of management and director of the Technology & Innovation Management Group at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. His address, "Open Innovation and Services: Services for Open Innovation and Open Innovation for Services," will be held on Monday, February 14 from 2:10 to 3:25 p.m. in Adamian Academic Center.

While recent debates on successful innovations have focused on products, Piller will discuss the twofold relationship between services and open innovation. He will particularly examine the methods, costs, and business models regarding the emergence of a new industry of service providers. He will also discuss alternative ways in which service providers can profit from open innovation, as methods help achieve a more efficient service innovation process.

Piller is internationally known for research on the strategies of customer-centric value creation. He is an executive faculty member of the MIT Smart Customization Group at the MIT Design Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He previously taught at the MIT Sloan School of Management and at the Technology University of Munich (TUM) Business School.

To register or for additional information, please contact Mark Davis at mdavis@bentley.edu or ext. 2739.

Students Launch Bentley Give ‘N Go, The Sustainable Move-Out Project, December 2010

kwalsh — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:58:24 -0800

December 2010 marked the launch of Bentley Give 'N Go, The Sustainable Move-Out Project. Organized by a group of Bentley students, the two-week program aims to reduce the amount of useable goods that are thrown away by residential students moving out at the end of each semester.

"The program was extremely well executed by the student team and I was really impressed with their work ethic and organization," says Amanda King, Bentley manager of sustainability.

Student organizers include: MBA candidate Elaine Carroll; seniors Dominique Miles and Apoorva Goel; and juniors Hima Chilakalapudi and Charles Tiu.

"As resident assistants, we see all of the items students leave behind after move out in the fall and especially in the spring," says Carroll, who serves as vice president of the SWOP (Sustainable Move Out Project) Committee. "Dumpsters piled with clothes, couches, microwaves, fridges, and electronics - all headed for landfills - impassioned us to take action. We knew that there were several local organizations that could benefit from donations."

Give 'N Go drop boxes were placed in the lobby of each residence hall for donations of non-perishable food, usable clothing, electronics, furniture and books. A POD located between the Student Center and the Boylston Apartments provided an opportunity for students to both drop off donations and exchange for items donated by others. A one-day "SWOP & SHOP" event was also held to display and exchange donated items.

At the conclusion of the program, remaining items were donated to local organizations:

Approximately 20 bags of clothing to Bristol Lodge Shelters
Three boxes of home appliances to the Salvation Army
One box of school and art supplies to Waltham House, a group home program designed to provide a safe and supportive living environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) youth
Fifty books to More Than Words, a nonprofit social enterprise that empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business
Eight bags of bedding, towels, and winter jackets to Father Bill's Place, an emergency shelter

"This collection far exceeded our expectations, and I could not have been more pleased with the outcome," King says. "We hope to repeat this program at the end of the spring semester."

Bentley Team Advances to 2010 National Moot Court Competition

kwalsh — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:23:29 -0800

Bentley semi-finalists Shaun Boedicker and Puja Shah

One of the four Bentley teams that competed in the Eastern Regional Moot Tournament of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association (AMCA) in November advanced to the national tournament slated for January 2010 in New Orleans. The advancing team of Bentley seniors Puja Shah and Shaun Boedicker was among 40 teams that competed in the regional competition. The Bentley team of senior Monil Kothari and junior Will Markow has been placed on a reserve list of teams at the nationals.

This is the second time in four years that a Bentley team reached the semi-finals of the regional tournament, and the third time in four years that Bentley teams have qualified for the national tournament.

The Moot Court competition requires students to simulate a legal argument before hypothetical appellate courts. At the regionals, all four Bentley teams advanced to the second day of competition. The two other Bentley teams competing were seniors Christina Harstad and Julia Brodowski; and junior Sindhu Panaliappan and sophomore Alexis Lawlor.

Will Markow was recognized as one of the top ten best orators at the regional competition. Markow and teammate Kothari were invited to participate in a moot court demonstration argument at the Annual Meeting of the Northeast Political Science Association at the Parker House Hotel in Boston in November

The Bentley team is coached by Franklyn P. Salimbene, senior lecturer in law. Judith Malone, Bentley general counsel, and Anton Sadovnikov, Bentley grad student and former moot team member, assisted by judging practice rounds of oral argument.

Other schools that participated in the competitive regional tournament included Holy Cross, Princeton, Syracuse, Bentley, College of New Jersey, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Albany, Patrick Henry College, Bridgewater State, Merrimack College, and Fitchburg State.

Bentley team members (left to right): Sindhu Palaniappan, Will Markow, Monil Kothari, Shaun Boedicker, Christina Harstad, Julia Brodowski, Puja Shah, Alexis Lawlor, and Professor Salimbene

Bentley Assistant Professor of Geology David Szymanski Elected Chair of the Geological Society of America's Geology and Public Policy Committee

kwalsh — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:11:41 -0800

Bentley Assistant Professor of Geology David Szymanski was elected chair of the Geological Society of America (GSA) Geology and Public Policy Committee for a one-year term that will begin in July 2011. The announcement was made at the GSA annual meeting recently held in Denver, CO. He is currently serving as chair-elect for 2010-2011.

In his new role as committee chair, Szymanski will set the agenda for all committee work and meetings. He will be responsible for facilitating the development of new public policy position statements on behalf of the society, and the revision of outdated and expired statements. In this capacity, he will also serve as chair of the Congressional Science Fellowship Selection Subcommittee. This subcommittee is responsible for interviewing and selecting candidates for the GSA-US Geological Survey congressional science fellowship, which sends earth scientists to Capitol Hill for one year to work as special legislative assistants in the United States Congress. The fellowship is part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Congressional Science and Engineering Fellows Program.

The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a global professional society of earth scientists with a growing membership of more than 22,000 individuals in 97 countries. The Geology and Public Policy Committee of GSA oversees development of GSA's Position Statements, which serve as the foundation for public policy actions by the society.