"Life is not about knowing.....life is about LEARNING and once you get that as your template, you are free to never fear a new challenge or to fear something new" - Mike Wacholder
About Mike
Mike Wacholder was born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley in Landscape Architecture. A few years later, he started heading eastward first stopping in Texas where he received a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning at Texas A&M University. While at Texas A&M, he co-authored a five volume publication entitled "Guidelines for Planning in Colleges and Universities". That work led to an opportunity in New York in 1968 to help expand the State University of New York system and he began teaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1971 as an adjunct faculty member. He had a full-time association with RPI since the mid 70's and, in 1979, was asked to spearhead a study of the feasibility for a "Technology Park" to be developed by the university.
He had overseen the planning, development and management of the Park since its inception in 1981. He was also the first Director of the university's world renowned Incubator Program. University related incubators and technology parks have evolved from novel ideas in the early 1980's to well established economic development paradigms of the 21st Century and Mike is recognized as one of the pioneers of this movement. He had been continuously involved in economic development and technology transfer initiatives impacting both the university and community at large until his retirement in 2012. Just prior to his planned retirement, Mike had a devastating stroke which changed everything for him.
Following his stroke, he realized that his life had been altered and he must reinvent himself. A first step in that transition was writing the book, "WHERE'S THERE" sharing the insights of a recovering stroke survivor. He is now working on a number of other writing projects including a sequel to the book about his stroke, a memoir about the "pleasures and treasures" of raising his children, and an historical narrative about the transformation of the region in which he lives from a sleepy post-industrial community into a thriving technology hub.
He had overseen the planning, development and management of the Park since its inception in 1981. He was also the first Director of the university's world renowned Incubator Program. University related incubators and technology parks have evolved from novel ideas in the early 1980's to well established economic development paradigms of the 21st Century and Mike is recognized as one of the pioneers of this movement. He had been continuously involved in economic development and technology transfer initiatives impacting both the university and community at large until his retirement in 2012. Just prior to his planned retirement, Mike had a devastating stroke which changed everything for him.
Following his stroke, he realized that his life had been altered and he must reinvent himself. A first step in that transition was writing the book, "WHERE'S THERE" sharing the insights of a recovering stroke survivor. He is now working on a number of other writing projects including a sequel to the book about his stroke, a memoir about the "pleasures and treasures" of raising his children, and an historical narrative about the transformation of the region in which he lives from a sleepy post-industrial community into a thriving technology hub.
"I don't plan on withdrawing from the pleasures of being alive. It is time for me to inventory my strengths and interests, to sort out what is feasible, and to start experimenting with the most compelling ideas" - Mike Wacholder