MIT Reports to the President 1999–2000
I am pleased to have joined MIT last October and deeply appreciate the welcome I have received from all corners of the Institute and the legacy of excellent human resources practices left by Joan Rice, my predecessor. As well as being a year of transition for HR and Medical Department staff, it was also a year of significant accomplishments, as the following reports demonstrate.
The Human Resources Leadership Team organized our work around four major goals: to increase MIT staff’s diversity and enhance recruitment capabilities; to integrate competency-based HR practices into the management of people in the Institute; to improve communications about HR both within the department and to our external clients; and to develop an approach to HR technology that supports the implementation of the HR/Payroll system. Work teams have been formed to address each of these areas, drawing on both HR staff as well as interested representatives from a variety of departments, labs, and centers.
Responding to recommendations from the HRPD report of 1998 and urging from the Senior Management Group, I appointed an interdisciplinary task force to design a Rewards and Recognition program. The task force completed its work in June. The plan is being refined and tested with various organizational groups and will be rolled out in the fall, 2000.
The Implementation Resources Team has completed its pilots, and the competency work is being integrated into daily HR practices. Barbara Peacock-Coady of this team, working with the Performance Consulting and Training group, will expand our career counseling capabilities by opening an office specifically to address employees’ development needs.
With Dr. Arnold Weinberg, Medical Director, planning his retirement in the summer of 2000, we convened a search committee chaired by Professor Henry Jacoby of the Sloan School. The committee unanimously recommended the appointment of Dr. William A. Kettyle, currently Associate Medical Director, who will be promoted to Medical Director effective August 1. Celebrations were held to honor Dr. Weinberg for his extraordinary leadership of the Medical Department. We all are grateful for his many contributions to medical excellence and teaching, overseeing a broad range of patients and staff, and linking MIT to high-level medical services throughout the greater Boston area. His exceptional work leaves a strong department in Dr. Kettyle’s capable hands.
The Working Group, with sponsorship from Human Resources, celebrated its 25th anniversary as an organization for support staff within MIT. They conducted a variety of educational and social events honoring their history and current members.
As of June 1, 2000, of the total of 44 administrative staff in HR, 9 (20%) are members of minority groups and 30 (68%) are women. (This headcount includes the Implementation Resources Team which was incorporated into HR this year and some other reorganization of accounts.) In 1999, of 32 administrative staff, 10 (31%) were minorities and 20 (63%) were women.
As of June 1, 2000, of the total of 22 support staff in HR, 9 (41 %) are members of minority groups and 19 (86 %) are women. In 1999, of 20 support staff, 6 (30%) were minorities and 16 (80%) were women.
Laura Avakian
Providing low barrier, high quality care for the MIT community remains the focus of the activities of the MIT Medical Department. In addition to providing onsite primary and specialty care, members of the Department also coordinate care for members of the community at nearby secondary and tertiary care facilities. Our relationships with local teaching hospitals provide world-class care in a coordinated, convenient, caring style. In addition, through a number of programs and intra-campus relationships, the Department provides care and advice for the MIT community on a wide variety of issues.
A number of important accomplishments and continuing initiatives marked this past year.
MIT Medical/Lexington, a point-of-service, clinical care and exercise facility on the grounds of the Lincoln Laboratory opened in the fall of 1999. Staffed by internists, pediatricians, and nurse clinicians trained in Pediatrics and Family Medicine, care is provided not only to members of the MIT community who work at Lincoln Laboratory, but also to their families and to members of the MIT community who reside in surrounding communities.
The ComMITment to Care program, our "customer service" initiative, has begun to have an impact on both the operations of the Department and on the style of care delivery. Goals and standards have been identified and implementation along several lines has progressed. The first round of ComMITment to Care awards was presented this spring.
In November, MIT Medical was surveyed by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the Department received an excellent score. A few "Type 1" recommendations were made by the surveyors; these fell into administrative areas and none focused on patient care. A follow-up report was submitted to the Commission in June documenting the corrective actions taken based on the surveyors’ recommendations.
The department’s laboratory was also inspected during the year and passed the College of American Pathologists’ survey with high marks.
A new strategic planning initiative has begun. Starting with a careful review of the services we provide, the services available in the Boston area, and the needs of the community that we serve, a process of evaluation and planning is under way. One goal is to set up a system of planning that allows a more continuous approach to this important endeavor.
Student care and health education continue to be major concerns of the Department. The Health Education section coordinates, initiates and supports a variety of student-friendly educational programs and plays a major role, when appropriate, in connecting students to clinical care. Providing support to the MIT community at the time of a campus tragedy is an import function of the Medical Department.
A computer based scheduling system has been implemented that allows for decentralized scheduling of patient visits. The system has the potential to make care more available and convenient for the community that we serve. The approach to an electronic medical record has made great progress during the year. Laboratory results are available on computer and trends and patterns of change can be displayed both in tabular and graphic form.
The appointment and arrival of Dr. Jay Afrow as Chief of the Dental Service has led to significant changes in the Dental Service with reduced queues and improved financial status.
The Environmental Medical Services has moved from the Medical Department to the Office of Environmental Programs and Risk Management in a reorganization designed to improve the provision of these important services.
The first department-wide meeting was held in October. The gathering was a great success with presentations of departmental accomplishments and plans and an opportunity for a discussion of student health issues.
Dr. Weinberg announced his retirement, effective June 30, 2000. A search committee was established and an intensive search for a new director has begun.
The arrival of Ms. Laura Avakian as Vice President for Human Resources has had a very positive impact on the Department. Her knowledge of the health care field is a great asset for both the Medical Department and the Institute.
Dr. Afrow replaced Dr. Stoute in May, 2000, working approximately half time in patient care and the other half in administration. Dr. Afrow has decreased the queue for appointments, improved the administrative function and enhanced staff morale. Significant progress has been made both in the availability of care and in the fiscal foundation of the Dental Service.
With 12 internists, four of whom have subspecialty training or certification, care is provided on a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a week basis at three venues — the MIT Cambridge facility, the Lincoln Laboratory center, and at the Massachusetts General Hospital. During the year, Dr. David Diamond was appointed Physician Coordinator for the Lexington facility. In addition, many members of the Medical Service staff actively participate in campus activities and teach programs at Harvard Medical School, the HST program, and at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
The After Hours Service continues to provide 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, on-site physician coverage to members of the MIT community as well as visitors to MIT. Telephone advice and guidance are also available at all times. The service continues to be staffed primarily by licensed physicians who hold full-time appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, or Children’s Hospital.
Several major changes have been made over the past year in an effort to improve service to patients including: the appointment of Janice Puibello, R.N., C.S. as full-time Coordinator of Urgent Care allowing for improved coordination of follow-up care; and the installation of an automated medication dispensing machine (Pyxis) to reduce the risk of dosing errors, improve inventory monitoring, and increase the variety of available medications.
The Inpatient Unit continues to play a vital role in the care of MIT patients. From July 1999 through June 2000 there were 712 admissions of which 39% were students, 32% were Health Plan members, and 16% were Medicare recipients. The Clinical Research Center had 84 research admissions for a variety of studies.
During the year, Dr. Ruth replaced Dr. Shiang as physician overseer and Cathleen Dwyer, R.N. became nurse in charge. Physical improvements included installation of door shades for patient rooms, purchase of new solarium furniture (thanks to a patient donation), and installation of a hallway sink. We are working with an acoustical engineer to minimize noise around the nursing station.
Physical therapy services are now provided in-house by the MGH Physical Therapy Department under a contract that should decrease costs while improving restorative services.
The Department received 8,641 patient visits during the past year and performed 161 deliveries and 45 gynecologic surgeries.
In October, Dr. Susan Hellerstein replaced Dr. Finlayson after his retirement in June. There are three full-time physicians and one part-time physician, as well as two nurse practitioners and two medical assistants. Patient volume has already increased slightly and wait times for next appointments have dropped. We anticipate that this trend will continue.
All our practitioners continue to participate actively in community activities including IAP lectures, pre-med advising, MedLINK advising, participating in the HST program’s introduction to clinical medicine and the HMS Primary Care Mentorship Program, precepting MGH nurse practitioner students, and supervising residents at the Brigham and Women’s Gyn Clinic. Most of our providers also participate actively in Department committees and initiatives.
The Pediatric Service developed a plan to staff the pediatric component of the Lexington office of the Medical Department. A half-time pediatrician/cardiologist was hired, as well as a half-time pediatric nurse practitioner. Two senior pediatricians provide the remainder of the coverage. By year’s end, bookings at the Lexington site were increasing and patient satisfaction was felt to be high.
The immunization quality improvement project, coordinated by Ms. Bartels, was completed and presented at the JCAHO survey. The overall immunization rate of 2-year-old children increased significantly after identification of issues and corrective measures were put in place. A new quality improvement project was initiated during the year, which focuses on care of asthmatic children.
Efforts were increased to communicate to our international families in their native languages. Written materials in Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean were made available in several different subjects.
Educational efforts were increased in the MIT community as well as in local, regional and national audiences. Ms. Bartels served on several MIT committees to promote the care of children on campus. Ms. Lyden and Dr. Goldstein delivered presentations at the Lexington site on pediatric issues. Dr. Goldstein, as Chair of the Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Student Health and Sports Medicine, continued efforts to enlighten the public about alcohol and tobacco abuse in children and adolescents. His book, Boys Into Men: Staying Healthy Through the Teen Years, was completed during the year and will be published in the summer of 2000. Written for adolescent boys, it reviews many of the problems and issues of adolescence and has been based on many of the experiences from the patients of the Medical Department.
The Department continues to offer a warm welcome to entering freshmen. An ice cream social, coordinated by Judy DeGraan, was a huge success. Entering freshmen and Medical Department staff mingled in an informal setting shortly after the students’ arrival in August.
Meningococcal disease is a rare, but very serious infection that can cause death or serious disability to college-age individuals. After review of both the research literature and current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the MIT Medical Department became one of the first college health services to strongly recommend that all freshmen arriving in 2000 receive this vaccination. Thus far, this recommendation has been well received by incoming students and their families.
Educational and preventive measures to diminish the use of alcohol have continued on campus and these efforts have been noted in local and state publications. Dr. Goldstein was asked to present information about these actions at local medical meetings and courses, as well as at the national meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.
Planning continues on how best to serve the student patients of the Medical Department. Student needs, life styles and medical problems differ from those of other members of the MIT community. For example, communication with students is much more electronically based and, as a result, procedures were put into place to utilize E-mail in medical communications. Students also tend to use medical services after regular hours and on weekends. Procedures have been modified to ensure proper follow up with students. Finally, a combination of a primary care physician connection and a walk-in clinic for episodic illness is being reviewed for student patients.
This past year saw the departure of health educators Tracy Desovich and Rosanne Guerriero, the retirement of program coordinator Sally Ciampa, and the arrival of new health educators Gina Baral and Marlisa Febbriello. In addition, a search is currently under way for a Director to serve as overall manager for the service.
Despite these staffing changes, the work of the service has been ongoing. Wellness classes (48) were held in both Cambridge and Lexington, and 53 childbirth and parenting classes were offered in Cambridge. During IAP, 51 talks were presented to 758 participants. MedSTOP, in the Student Center, continues to be a popular spot distributing pamphlets on relationships, mental health and stress, sexual health, drugs and sexual identity. The MedLINK program now includes 83 individuals who serve in 25 living groups. Logs are being kept to monitor interactions among students and MedLINKS. Campus-wide MedLINK events included AIDS awareness, KISS, eating disorders awareness, RSI, safe spring break, and de-stress for success.
In summary, the Service continues to serve its twofold mission of education to both the student population and the overall MIT community.
The Mental Health Service had one of its busiest years, partly because of the success of the new walk-in program, and partly because of an unusually high number of seriously disturbed patients. Although difficult to document, it is the impression of the veteran providers that the student patients seen this year have had a greater than usual level of pathology. This impression is shared by other directors of mental health services at eastern universities and has no obvious explanation.
In response to student concerns about waits for appointments, a walk-in service was started in October, 1999. Every weekday afternoon one clinician with a back-up colleague is available to see all comers. Within a few weeks the program was being actively used and approximately 80% of the walk-in patients have been students (many of whom are new to the service).
Two new psychiatrists joined the service. Adam Silk, M.D. is board certified in psychiatry and in substance abuse, and has a special interest in the problem of alcohol use in adolescents. Bina Patel, M.D. is trained in both adult and child psychiatry and, as an Asian-American with strong ties to the Indian culture, is interested in reaching out to students from that subcontinent. After 20 years with the Service, Eric Chivian, M.D. resigned to assume full-time leadership of a program he developed at Harvard Medical School on the impact of environmental degradation on world health. Six trainees in various disciplines participated in the activities of the Service this year. The Wives’ Group has changed its name to Spouses and Partners @ MIT. Under the leadership of Jessica Barton, LICSW, this large-scale support network for the international community at MIT continues to flourish.
Together with leaders from the Deans’ office, Drs. Reich and Ross have formed a new committee to consider the special problems of students who are having chronic difficulties adjusting to MIT. Through the ongoing review of cases, this committee hopes to help establish guidelines for the management of difficult students.
Three general surgeons and three orthopedists, together with coverage systems based at the Massachusetts General Hospital, provide round-the-clock surgical and orthopedic care and consultation. A number of minor procedures are done at the Cambridge facility, while more complicated procedures and all those requiring general anesthesia are done at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Sensitive, efficient, coordinated care for women with breast problems continues to be a major focus of the general surgical service. Sports injuries and their management remain an important function of the orthopedic service. There were no personnel changes during the year.
The Nursing Service continues to provide clinical care on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week basis. This was a year of transition and growth with four new nurses recruited and hired. These include a family and pediatric nurse practitioner to staff MIT Medical/Lexington, an occupational health nurse practitioner/infection control coordinator, and a performance improvement coordinator who will work collaboratively with all members of the Department in identifying and facilitating performance improvement initiatives. The Inpatient Unit has a new nurse manager and continues to provide quality care to patients of the MIT community.
Our outreach efforts include participation in freshman orientation, new student registration and clinical support during commencement ceremonies, flu vaccine clinics in the fall, participation in IAP activities, and collaborative outreach programs with our Health Education Department, providing information to our community of students. Several nurse practitioners precepted graduate nursing students from the MGH Institute of Health Professions and other academic institutions in the Boston area. The Nursing Continuing Education Committee organized the annual Nursing Conference Day, which focused on adolescent and student health issues.
This year, the Clinical Research Center established a more structured relationship with the Massachusetts General Hospital’s CRC and this relationship has, in fact, been highly successful. The reputations of the two CRCs are excellent and the strengths of each institution complement those of the other. The CRC continues to report to the Medical Department for medical and patient care matters, including licensure and laboratory support. Representatives from the CRC serve on the major committees of the Medical Department including the Medical Executive Committee. During this fiscal year, the CRC overnight admissions to the Medical Department totaled 84.
The MIT Medical/Lexington clinic opened on November 1, 1999 in a fully renovated Health and Wellness Center building on the grounds of Lincoln Laboratory. Its goal is to provide convenient access to the Medical Department to current and potential future members of the MIT Health Plans as well as for the employees of Lincoln Laboratory. During the first 8 months of operation, details of support systems and clinical staffing have been evolving to allow for the efficient delivery of health care at this new facility. We have seen a 20% increase in visits with approximately 500 clinical encounters in June, 2000. General internal medicine and pediatric services are now offered, as well as access to providers with expertise in cardiology, infectious diseases, environmental and occupational medicine, and endocrinology. Health Education is also involved in arranging a pediatric lecture series and supplying patient educational materials. Depending on demand and staffing support, additional clinical services in orthopedics, obstetrics and ophthalmology may be added, as well as a limited expansion of hours.
Providing excellent health care at reasonable cost for the students, faculty and staff of the Institute continues to be the major goal of the Medical Department. Expanded hours of operation and the addition of services at the MIT Medical/Lexington site has resulted in more convenient availability of services for our community. Evening hours and weekend appointments continue to be popular with our patients. Efforts to streamline patient scheduling procedures continue in an effort to decrease waiting times and improve access to clinical care. To this end, a new information system went into operation in the fall of 1999.
Affiliations with the Partners HealthCare System and the Massachusetts General Hospital enhance access for our community to outstanding tertiary care when needed. Our quality improvement program has been reviewed and improved to make it more responsive to the needs of our patients.
Members of the Medical Department actively participate in many campus activities such as pre-med advising, MedLINK mentoring, HST teaching, and IAP program participation. And, a number of members of the Department have been involved in continuing efforts to provide education, care and advice with regard to issues surrounding the use of drugs and alcohol in our community.
A search is under way for a new Director of Finance and Health Plans following the retirement of Mary Smith in the spring. Her responsibilities have been assumed temporarily by other staff in the Department.
Enrollment, claims management and payment services have been thoroughly reviewed in preparation for the implementation of a new, more comprehensive computer system. The new system should both improve service for the patients of MIT Medical and also provide much more data for management and fiscal reporting.
In addition, the Health Plans team is working to ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This legislation deals with the integrity of data systems and the confidentiality of records housed within them, as well as paper medical and financial records. New HCFA regulations have also been the subject of significant activity and Eileen O’Keefe has been appointed Compliance Officer.
Marketing the Health Plans and the clinical care available at MIT Medical has continued. Those eligible for care who reside in the Lexington area remain an important focus of our marketing activities. We hope this site will increase our patient base during the next open enrollment period.
The administrative area is in the midst of transition in two major leadership positions–the Director of Information Systems and the Director of Finance and Health Plans. Recruitment efforts are under way with the expectation that the health plans position will be filled by early fall. Due to the economy and the job market, the search for the information systems director might take longer.
The computer system implementation continues with many administrative staff splitting their time between ongoing operational responsibilities and systems implementation activities. The next phase includes applications that affect Finance and Health Plans, patient registration, medical records and the pharmacy. To date, we have successfully implemented patient scheduling and a laboratory interface, including results reporting.
As part of the ComMITment to Care program, ongoing random patient surveys have begun. The results will help us with individual staff development plans and with general department training, due to start in the fall. Providers will be trained in provider/patient interaction; other staff will learn general customer service skill building.
MIT Medical/Lexington opened in November and we continue to work on administrative details to assure excellent support of providers and patients at that facility. This site will be a major focus of marketing activities for the Health Plans during the Open Enrollment period and the coming year.
At the suggestion of the JCAHO, we continue to improve our staff performance evaluation process and to use this activity to help inform us regarding department-wide skill building and training needs.
Afrow, Jay 05/01/00 Chief of Dental Services
Amsler, Linda 09/08/99 Triage Nurse
Baral, Gina 01/01/00 Assistant Health Educator
Egler, Leslie 09/08/99 Psychologist
Febbriello, Marlisa 10/18/99 Health Educator
Hellerstein, Susan 10/04/99 Obstetrician/Gynecologist
Hinderlie, Holly 09/08/99 Psychologist
Joseph, Jocelyn 09/01/99 Pediatrician
Lloyd, John 07/01/99 Psychiatrist
Long, Patricia 04/03/00 Performance Improvement Coordinator
Lyden, Michelle 09/21/99 Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Need, Laura 10/01/99 Pediatrician
Pasciuto, Linda 03/27/00 Inpatient Nurse
Patel, Bina 09/13/99 Psychiatrist
Puibello, Janis 09/13/99 Nurse Coordinator (Urgent Care)
Sigman, Deborah 07/12/99 Nurse Coordinator (MIT Medical/Lexington)
Silk, Adam 09/07/99 Psychiatrist
Brown, Sandra 07/01/99 Social Worker
Cabael, Felian 07/19/99 Dentist
Cantin, Monique 08/03/99 Nurse Practitioner (MIT Medical/Lexington)
Ciampa, Sally 09/30/99 Program Coordinator
Desovich, Tracy 06/16/99 Health Educator
Finlayson, William 06/30/99 Obstetrician/Gynecologist
Guerriero, Rosanne 03/28/00 Health Educator
Goldfinger, David 08/31/99 Psychologist
Lightfoot, John 03/17/00 Director, Medical Information Systems
McClean, Quinn 07/02/99 Nurse Practitioner
Mirsalimi, Hamid 08/31/99 Psychologist
Niuikian, Khadjik 02/25/00 Dentist
O’Brien, Patricia 07/23/99 Triage Nurse
Powers, Janet 07/09/99 Inpatient Nurse
Smith, Mary 05/26/00 Director, Finance and Health Plans
Dwyer, Cathleen 01/01/00 Nurse Manager, Inpatient Service (promotion)
Diamond, David 01/01/00 Physician Coordinator, MIT Medical/Lexington (Supplemental Appointment)
Important personnel changes, the opening of the Lexington satellite facility at Lincoln Laboratory, and the successful completion of the JCAHO survey marked the past year. The personnel changes offer the opportunity for new ideas and skills to be added to the Department. The Lexington center will increase the availability of services for the MIT community, and the successful JCAHO survey demonstrates that our clinical systems, organization and care delivery meet the highest standards.
Our staff and leadership are dedicated to providing the highest quality care and support for the MIT community. The vital work of Annette Jacobs, Laureen Gray, Anthony Rogers, Mary Smith and Peter Reich provide the foundation for a care system that we feel well serves the needs of the MIT community.
William M. Kettyle, Arnold N. Weinberg
The Director of Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Diversity Programs functions in a variety of ways to support the Institute’s departments, laboratories and centers in these areas. The primary focus of activities is to assist in recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention of underrepresented minorities and women; and to develop strategies to promote and enhance understanding, sensitivity and acceptance for diversity and the valuing of differences among students, staff and faculty within the MIT community.
The "Intuitively Obvious" video series, developed by Clarence Williams, Special Assistant to the President, continues to be used to elicit lively discussions and increased awareness. Those who have participated have gained a deeper understanding of the source and nature of many of the issues and concerns that revolve around race, ethnicity and gender interactions at MIT. The Director has continued her partnership with the Assistant Director for the Department of Facilities to complete the delivery of Diversity Training Classes to the administrative, support and service staff of that department. This class, one of several offerings from the Facilities’ Learning and Performance Training Guide, promoted a positive awareness and acceptance of diversity within Facilities.
The Director continued membership on the Committee for Campus Race Relations and has remained in the role of co-chair for the Education Sub-committee. This sub-committee has collaborated this year with other members of CCRR to support the development of additional video materials that depict the diversity-related experiences of MIT members within our community for educational purposes. Through this collective effort, another taping of student conversations about their experiences surrounding diversity issues at the Institute and a video taping of interviews with a cross-section of white members of the community on the subject were produced. These newest videos will be used to further educate members of the community. The education focus of CCRR provided the basis for a proposal to and special funding from President Vest for seed money to develop a repository of diversity educational/training materials. Diversity educational objectives were also the focus of the sub-committee’s submission of a preliminary proposal for a Ford Foundation Grant geared to support higher educational diversity initiatives. The efforts for grant funding for support to these efforts will continue. The educational resources and materials made available through CCRR to groups within MIT are intended to support the reduction of affirmative action, equal opportunity and diversity-related misunderstandings and potential violations.
In support of MIT’s minority recruitment efforts, the office has provided assistance to DLCs for position openings, has expanded participation in local job fairs and special interest conferences for contact with qualified applicants, and has maintained affiliation with special-interest organizations for networking opportunities. These activities have increased the numbers of minority applicants on the WebHire applicant database, and together with actions taken by the Human Resources Officers, have enhanced opportunities to attract and hire underrepresented minorities. Diversity and Recruitment have been identified as one of four areas within Human Resources to be explored in depth by the HR Leadership Team. The Director is a co-leader for the investigation of the Diversity/Recruitment Initiative. The process has involved the participation of representatives from several of the departments, laboratories and centers across the Institute and two separate working teams are focused on each of these two areas. The intent of this effort is to conduct the research that will produce information and recommendations that will lead to improvements across the Institute through the application of best practices in recruitment and diversity.
The Director participated in the development of the Formal Employee Complaint Guide and continued to investigate and provide mediation support to concerns raised by employees involving gender, race or cultural issues. The 1999—2000 MIT Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) was produced and disseminated to the academic and administrative management staff of the Institute in July 2000. The upgraded system, PRI AAPlanner5 Program, has been installed and debugged and was used to develop the current Plan. The Tech Talk Supplement was also printed and distributed during July 2000. The Office continues to modify and streamline the contents of the MIT AAP to increase its functional use as a reference document to track and monitor affirmative efforts and progress toward goals.
Regina A. Caines
The Family Resource Center provides a broad range of work/life services including assistance with child care and children’s schooling, parenting concerns, family relocation, alternative work schedules, and balancing work and family. The center participates in a number of institutional and national work/life initiatives and makes available information and research on these issues.
This year the center coordinated MIT’s successful first-time application to the prestigious "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" list sponsored by Working Mother magazine, collecting and summarizing work/life data from over 40 MIT offices and departments in the process. In addition, the Center participated in a regional work/life assessment, sponsored by the Boston College Center on Work and Family and the Boston Parents’ Paper, which resulted in MIT’s being named one of the Boston area’s seven most "family friendly" employers.
The center also coordinated an initiative to create a major new web site highlighting the range of work/life resources offered by MIT departments and offices. The ground-breaking new site will provide an overview of MIT's work/life offerings and link to dozens of existing sites throughout the Institute. It is scheduled to be launched in spring 2001.
The center was also active in supporting a new MIT child care expansion initiative. Kathy Simons coordinated the committee that is planning the new child care center to be designed by Frank Gehry within the Ray and Maria Stata building. The Stata center will serve approximately 104 children and is expected to open in 2003. Kathy Simons also assisted the board of directors of MIT’s Technology Children’s Center with the recruitment and selection of its new Director, Marcy Lieberman and is working with the child care center on a renovation study for its Eastgate and Westgate facilities.
Rae Simpson, together with Professor Claude Canizares, was named Co-Chair of the Council on Family and Work. In preparation for restructuring the Council after four years of inactivity, the Co-Chairs engaged in a series of formal and informal planning meetings with members of the senior administration and constituencies throughout the Institute, drafted an action plan, and created two special task groups on job flexibility and on faculty issues.
The center responded to approximately 800 client inquiries and offered over thirty seminars and workshops on topics including adoption, job flexibility, child development, balancing work and family, multicultural family life, parenting, emergency/back-up child care, and schooling.
The two part-time co-administrators of the Center, Kathy Simons and Rae Simpson, will increase to full-time as of July 1, and Sandie Woo continues as full-time senior office assistant. The center has maintained 33% minority representation on its staff.
Kathy Simons, A. Rae Simpson
Faculty Staff and Information Services (FASIS) reorganized to include the technical staff from the Benefits Office. It was renamed Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS). HRIS will continue to have the responsibility to acquire, maintain, and provide employment information about faculty, staff, and other persons affiliated with MIT and to ensure the currency, privacy, and accuracy of this information. With the addition of the Benefits technical staff, HRIS will be better positioned to provide high quality information services to the Human Resources Department and the MIT community.
Over the past several years there has been a significant effort to reduce duplication of effort within the Human Resources Department. The office continues to provide administrative support related to the Executive Committee Appointment Approvals, tenure tables, and faculty reappointments.
Development continued on the Salary Automation Review System for the administrative, faculty, senior researchers, sponsored research staff, and support staff reviews. Production for these reviews is scheduled to begin in the next fiscal year.
The new compensation system supporting the reclassification of administrative positions went into production this fiscal year. Under the direction of Steve Scarano, Assistant to the Vice President for Human Resources for Information Systems, HRIS provided the required in-house technical support for this effort. This included the assigning of new job codes and the conversion of all administrative staff records to the new code.
The preparation of approximately one million employment and benefit related documents were scanned into the Optix Electronic Image system by the beginning of this fiscal year. This has been a very successful project. Record information is now accessible by the desktop. It has eliminated the need for storage of paper files and allows multiple access to records.
A major effort was spent in planning technical support for the renovation and relocation of the Human Resource space. The move involved relocating the Benefits Office from the 4th floor to the 2nd floor space which was previously occupied by the Bursar’s Office, the renovation of the main HR Department located on the 2nd floor, and moving the Implementation Resource Team from building N52 to E19, 2nd floor. We were able to move and setup all desktops, printers, and servers with minimal disruption. Also included in the planning of the move was converting from Novell to NT.
The Benefits system team continued their efforts to improve business process by streamlining transaction processing. Some of the results of their efforts include the ability to electronically collect dependent information for dental.
A major portion of the year was spent preparing for Y2K. I am pleased to report that all major systems were in operation on January 1, 2000. I would like to thank Kathleen Flynn and Clayton Ward for their good work on this project.
A new Institute initiative this fiscal year was the HR-Payroll Discovery project. This project was launched in July 1999. The scope of the project focused on MIT’s high-level business requirements, technical capabilities of the SAP HR-Payroll module, and organizational and policy issues necessary to ensure successful system implementation.
HR-Payroll is an exciting and important initiative for MIT. The results of this effort will be services that make a real difference for our people and for the Institute. The integration of new business practices and new technology will support a broader scope of activities and focus emphasis on services to faculty, staff, and students.
Several of the HRIS staff participated on SAP HR/Payroll Discovery project. Kathleen Flynn has been appointed full-time to the SAP core team. This project will continue over the next eighteen months and will involve input and participation from the HR Department.
Other accomplishments included the following: the design and development of the HR Bulletin, which now serves as a communications tool for the Human Resources Department; working with members of the PSALM’s team in an effort to move the generation of mailing labels from HRIS to Mail Services; and providing data for the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in collaboration with the Family Resource Center and Employment Services.
Toan Mac who provided technical support for the Benefits Office left the Institute after five years of service. Barbara Gilligan transferred to our department from Leadership for Manufacturing.
Claire Paulding
The Disabilities Services Office (DSO) is responsible for providing effective disability services and programs for students, faculty, employees, and visitors at MIT. These services include physical and communication access, academic accommodations for students, and the identification and implementation of reasonable accommodations for employees.
Over the past year, the DSO continued to work on Institute policies and procedures to provide accurate guidelines for students and faculty requesting/receiving services. These policies have unified the entities providing academic access at MIT by defining a more efficient and consistent system for obtaining services. Two important advancements in policy have been the revision of the Access and Accommodations for Employees and Students with Disabilities in the MIT Policies and Procedures Manual, and the Web Accessibility Policy. This policy ensures all Web pages associated with administration and services, courses of instruction, departmental programs, and institute sponsored activities, will conform to the Web accessibility principles guidelines set forth by the DSO, Adaptive Technology for Information and Computing (ATIC) Lab, and Information Systems.
The MIT Handbook for Students with Disabilities was published in December of 1999. This manual will continue to be used in training sessions with students, staff, and faculty. We have also worked with the Libraries and ATIC Lab in identifying appropriate technology for accessible workstations and state of the art informational access. The DSO continues to coordinate accessibility for students with disabilities by determining reasonable accommodations such as notetakers, scribes, extended timed exams, books on tape, sign language interpreters, and video taped classes. Our student response has been overwhelmingly positive as evidenced by an article about the DSO in the July-August issue of MIT’s Technology Review magazine.
The DSO works with the personnel officers, departments heads, immediate supervisors, and outside agencies as well as conducts ongoing presentations to the MIT community on their responsibilities to: provide necessary accommodations during the hiring process; ensure that reasonable accommodations are identified when appropriate; and ensure that position descriptions do not impermissibly screen-out persons with disabilities.
Our goal for more accurate and timely responses to the needs of employees with disabilities and supervisors, remains a major focus for the DSO. To address this goal, we have formed DART (Disability and Assessment Review Team). This is a working group between the DSO and representatives from worker’s compensation, benefits, long term disability, and ADA compliance at both the main and Lincoln campus. There are two goals for DART: one is to provide assistance to this group on handling complex disability cases; the other is to develop red flags within each process where it would be appropriate to bring in one of the other departments for consultation. Through this working group we have found that communication between our offices has greatly improved.
Barbara Roberts
The final phases of outsourcing Supplemental 401(k) Plan services to Fidelity Investments were completed. The expanded servicing capacity resulting from outsourcing made possible the introduction of new Supplemental 401(k) Plan features. Among the more popular of these new features were online access to account information and transactions, a loan provision, and flexible withdrawal options. The 401(k) Plan Oversight Committee assumed responsibility for oversight of investment of 401(k) Plan assets, and met regularly to review investment activity and performance.
The Benefits Office unveiled the first phase of an expanded retirement planning and investment education service. A menu of presentations, supplemented by individual consultations, was developed and offered to the MIT community. Total attendance at presentations was 4,029.
Plans to outsource the 401(k) Plan’s retirement annuity purchase process were developed. These plans included the selection of commercial insurance companies to offer annuity products to future retirees and contract negotiations with these insurance companies.
The Benefits Office continued work with software vendor Lynchval Systems on the development and delivery of a pension calculation system to replace the current, obsolete PenCalc system. Delivery of the first release of the system is anticipated early July 2000.
Phil Lima
We introduced a long-term care insurance plan for eligible employees, retirees, and their spouses, parents, and grandparents. The objective of this plan is to offer the opportunity to purchase coverage that provides meaningful benefits for most long-term care expenses at group rates. We conducted 12 informational presentations on campus and at Lincoln Laboratory that were attended by over 350 people. The plan was well received with over 356 enrollments.
The Benefits Office, the Parking and Transportation Office and the Controller’s Payroll Office worked together to implement a Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Plan to allow employees to pay for qualified parking on a pre-tax basis. The plan was announced to Parking Coordinators in August at a meeting hosted by the Parking and Transportation Office.
Following a study of income replacement under the Long-Term Disability (LTD) Plan, we announced an ad hoc cost-of-living adjustment for individuals whose benefit from that plan began prior to July 1993. This adjustment resulted in benefit increases between 7% and 75% and restored purchasing power to the group who has received this benefit over the longest period.
As part of our ongoing effort to streamline administrative procedures, we mapped, analyzed and modified several internal business practices.
There were several staff changes during the year. Marjory Magowan replaced Mary Markel as Supervisor of Benefits Services, while Mary assumed her new role as Human Resources Officer. Shawn Foley was promoted to Benefits Counselor, administering the Long Term Disability Plan. Marianna DiMarco assumed Shawn Foley’s prior responsibilities as a Benefits Administrator. Ellen Cushman joined the staff as a Retirement Counselor. Roslyn Allen relocated to New York and was hired by the TIAA/CREF Institute.
Inasmuch as this was an exciting year, during which we made plans for the office relocation and welcome new staff members, it was also a very difficult year. Eda Barsoum went on disability leave.
We mourned the loss of our beloved friend and colleague, Andrea Surette, who died of ovarian cancer on July 26.
Marianne Howard
In the 1999-2000 fiscal year, the Compensation Office participated in 41 external salary surveys conducted by universities, associations, and consulting groups from across the country, and responded to over 100 email or phone requests for position-specific salary data. As in previous years, the Office conducted two major surveys with approximately 22 participants in each. These MIT survey results continue to provide us with a solid basis in determining our market position, and in developing our review allocation proposals to the MIT Corporation's Executive Committee. In addition to using our own surveys to determine market position for the
Administrative and Support Staff, we incorporated several external salary surveys to assist us in
preparing the allocation proposals.
Nine salary reviews covering approximately 6,158 Campus employees were conducted. Testing of a new web-based automated review system began this fiscal year, and was conducted during the Faculty, Sponsored Research, Support Staff and Administrative Staff reviews. Feedback from the testing departments was favorable, and we strive to have the web-based automated system ready for departments to use during the coming fiscal year’s review cycle.
The Compensation Office continued the work begun in May 1998 to redesign the Classification and Compensation System for Administrative Staff. In February 2000 Administrative Staff were converted over to the new classification system that consists of six very broad-banded levels.
Managers were provided with informational packets along with individualized letters to inform their Administrative Staff about the details of the new system and their individual classification levels.
Compensation project teams worked with an outside vendor to build an online tool (the eValuation System). This tool simplifies and automates the job classification process and the writing of new Administrative job descriptions. The tool is still being refined and a formal permanent training program will be designed and implemented.
Approximately 55 administrative positions have been classified or re-classified since the February 2000 conversion this fiscal year (the total number of active classification positions that currently exist in the Institute's Administrative Staff Classification System is 800.)
During the year Nora Costa, Manager of Compensation, left the Institute.
Shirley Snyder Day, Judy Raymond
The Office of Labor Relations is responsible for negotiating and administering the collective bargaining agreements covering approximately 1,300 MIT employees in five bargaining units. Labor Relations also represents MIT in grievance arbitrations and, in some cases, before administrative agencies in employment-related cases.
On July 28, 1999, the Institute signed a one year extension to the current agreement with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), for the Campus Bargaining Unit. The extended agreement will expire June 30, 2001. On December 8, 1999, the Institute signed a one year extension to the current agreement with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), for the Lincoln Laboratory Bargaining Unit. The extended agreement will expire June 30, 2001. On December 17, 1999, the Institute signed a two year agreement with the Research Development and Technical Employees Union. The agreement with the RDTEU will expire June 30, 2001. On March 14, 2000, the Institute signed a six year agreement with the MIT Campus Police Association (MITCPA). The agreement with the MITCPA will expire June 30, 2003. The wage increases in the agreements were consistent with MIT budgetary guidelines.
The number of grievances fell slightly from the previous year. Five arbitration cases were decided, with the arbitrator ruling in favor of the Institute in four of them. In another case, the Arbitrator issued an award confirming the Institute’s position on the remedy in a prior case in which a split award (for the union on some issues and for the Institute on others) was issued. Six cases filed to arbitration were resolved and two withdrawn before the arbitration hearing. Four grievances have been filed to arbitration and have yet to be heard.
During the year, two cases were filed before the National Labor Relations Board. These cases were in addition to four cases that were pending before Board. All have been resolved.
In addition this Office provided advice and counsel to departments, centers and laboratories on issues that impact collective bargaining.
In June, Carol A Clark joined the Labor Relations section as an Administrative Assistant. Carol was previously an Administrative Assistant with the Department of Political Science. Carol replaces James Russell who left the Institute after fourteen years of service.
David B. Achenbach
The primary responsibility of the Employment and Human Resources Services section is to provide a full range of employee relations support to both employees and supervisors within the various organizational units. These include: staffing assistance, job counseling, policy interpretation, performance evaluation, salary administration and conflict resolution. This group consists of seven Human Resource Officers, one Employment Officer and three full time and one half time staff assistants.
This group also provides support in the processing of job listings, applicant materials, employment advertising and unemployment claims for campus employees. Services and Employment was also involved in the upgrading of the applicant tracking software, Web Hire.
We continue to partner with departments to improve MIT’s presence on the web as an employer by listing job opportunities with careers.boston.com, the Boston Globe’s on line job listing, and enabling prospective applicants to apply for MIT jobs on-line.
A number of staffing changes took place during this period of time. James H. McCarthy retired and Valerie Chu Stone terminated her employment with MIT. Wendy Williams and Susan Shannon, both newcomers to MIT, joined the group as Human Resource Officers. Also Mary Markel transferred from the benefits office to employment and services as a Human Resource Officer. Of the twelve people in the group, 90% are female and 20% are of a minority group.
A major initiative underway by the employment and services group is the development of a recruitment and diversity program, which will enhance the Institute’s ability to attract and retain the best qualified applicants, which include minorities and women.
Kenneth Hewitt
In April of 1999 recommendations from the Human Resource Practices Development Team for the implementation of an integrated system of competency-based human resource practices were approved by the Executive Vice President. The Implementation Resource Team was formed to begin this implementation process. The team became fully active in October of 1999. Members of the team included Barbara Peacock-Coady, Alyce Johnson, Mark Cason-Snow, Anastasia Frangos and Kimberly Nyce.
During the period October 1999 through June 2000 the team worked on the following projects:
Barbara Peacock Coady
The mission of the Performance Consulting and Training Team is to work with MIT and its departments, laboratories, centers, and offices to enhance their abilities to achieve business goals. Services include organization development, needs assessment, process improvement, team development, meeting facilitation, and custom-designed training.
In the spirit of this mission, PC&T was involved in a number of internal consulting projects throughout the year. Some clients include:
Executive Vice President’s Office
Committee for Undergraduate Programs
New Faculty Orientation
Working Group on Support Staff Issues
Central Accounting Office
Director for Environmental Programs and Risk Management/Senior Counsel
Human Resources
A special project this year was co-leading the development of a new rewards and recognition process; implementation is planned for next year. A second special project was implementing programs for MIT to increase its capacity for effective meetings, including meeting facilitation.
In addition to internal consulting, PC&T offered professional development courses for MIT employees. Approximately 1500 employees enrolled in over 50 different titles. New courses included Collaborative Leadership, Learning Styles Inventory, and Exercising Influence. This year, HR joined with Information Systems in publishing a joint catalog of courses to better serve MIT employees.
PC&T’s Learning Environment Team operated the MIT Professional Learning Center (W89). LET surveyed customers to upgrade services. In partnership with IS, computers for training were updated. The demand for use of the various classrooms increased once again.
Margaret Ann Gray
MIT Reports to the President 1999–2000