Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation
The vice president and secretary of the Corporation is responsible for relations and communications with internal and external constituencies and is the key interface between MIT's administration and trustees (the members of the MIT Corporation). The offices reporting to the vice president and secretary of the Corporation that comprise Public Relations Services—Conference Services, Events, and Information Center; the News Office; the Publishing Services Bureau; the Reference Publications Office; and Web Communications Services—work independently but collaboratively. The Office of the Secretary of the Corporation supports the work of the Corporation and its committees.
Public Relations Services
The offices within Public Relations Services (PRS) support the mission of the Institute by enhancing public understanding of MIT—and of higher education and research more generally—and by supporting the community life of the Institute through communications and special events.
Our memories of this year will always be defined by the terrorist attacks of September 11 and events in their wake both in the United States and overseas. The attacks demonstrated, tragically, the vital importance of mechanisms to inform and bring together the Institute community. The offices within PRS, especially the News Office and Web Communications Services (WCS), played essential roles in supporting the MIT community while also representing Institute activities to the outside world.
This year, the former Communications Office became the Reference Publications Office (RPO). Longtime director Barrie Gleason left the office to assume full-time responsibility for communications initiatives in the Graduate Student Office, to which she had already been a valued contributor. Stuart Kiang, a former managing editor at MIT's Technology Review, was appointed director; he will use his experience in scholarly publishing, electronic publishing, and information design to guide a comprehensive updating of the office's publishing technologies, together with a careful enhancement of publication design and content.
As noted in their respective reports, Publishing Services Bureau (PSB), RPO, and WCS continue to work effectively together. The many accomplishments of PSB design manager Timothy E. Blackburn were recognized with an Infinite Mile Award for outstanding customer and client relations.
The vice president and secretary of the corporation continues to convene monthly meetings of the Communications Operating Group and the Information Group, which offer ongoing opportunities for the exchange of ideas and information on issues regarding communications and public relations. Margaret L. Berkovitz joined the staff of the vice president and secretary of the corporation and soon established herself as an outstanding member of the team.
Conference Services, Events and Information Center
The mission of the center is to meet the information needs of the MIT community, visitors to the campus, and the public; to promote a sense of community within MIT; and to support conferences and events which enhance MIT's role in the broader academic community.
Events and Information Center
Serving as an information and welcome point for visitors, the Information Center is increasingly a central information source for members of the MIT community. The staff assisted faculty and administrative staff with the registration of 468 departmental events. Additionally, the staff implemented a training program for users of the online Events Calendar. Information Center staff also distributed over 45,000 pamphlets, brochures, maps, guides and catalogues; answered and redirected thousands of telephone and in-person inquiries; and served as a clearinghouse for mail addressed simply to MIT.
Terri Priest Nash trained 34 guides who conducted tours for 15,777 visitors, of whom 7,113 were prospective students, and 1,180 were international visitors. The tour guide captain was Christopher Toepel ‘02. Terri also arranged short-term visits that brought an additional 404 international guests to campus.
The director assisted with the logistics for the dedication of Gray House and the opening of the new graduate residence at 224 Albany Street. The staff also supported three Institute-wide memorial services—for Professors Michael L. Dertouzos and Kenneth L. Hale and alumnus Daniel M. Lewin (SM, 1998). Donald Ferland, assistant to the director, handled the arrangements for recruitment presentations by companies and other organizations that visit MIT under the auspices of the Office of Career Services and Preprofessional Advising.
Commencement activities began on Thursday, 6 June, with the Hooding Ceremony for 407 doctoral degree recipients. Chancellor Phillip L. Clay presided over this year's ceremony. The 136th Commencement Exercises were held Friday, 7 June, and featured an address by World Bank group president James D. Wolfensohn before 2,187 degree candidates.
Conference Services
The Conference Services staff manages the logistical coordination and registration services for conferences and meetings sponsored by MIT faculty and staff. In 2002, the office coordinated 33 events that brought more than 10,000 conferees to campus. These events included the 14th International Symposium on Olefin Metathesis, the US/Germany Joint Meeting on Nanoscale Science and Engineering, the Center for International Studies 50th Anniversary Celebration, and the12th International Cryocooler Conference. The office once again offered logistical support to Campus Preview Weekend, the MIT Vendor Fair, the Senior Congressional Staff Seminar, and, in collaboration with the Industrial Liaison Program, the MIT Series on Technology and the Corporation.
Community Services
The Community Services Office (CSO) is responsible for enhancing the quality of life of MIT faculty and staff on campus, at Lincoln Lab, and at off-campus affiliate locations. The CSO supports the operations of MIT's Quarter Century Club (QCC), which includes over 3,000 members. Working closely with the QCC board and its president, Professor Anthony P. French, the staff coordinated five major events that were attended by more than 1,175 members and their guests. QCC also awarded four retirees educational grants through its William R. Dickson Retiree Education Fund.
The MIT Activities Committee (MITAC), with assistance and leadership from the Lincoln Laboratory co-convener, Karen D. Shaw, and the campus co-convener, Regina Dugan, responded to an increased demand for services resulting from successful efforts promoting MITAC to the MIT community. In 2002, nearly 26,000 members of the MIT community participated in MITAC-sponsored cultural and recreational events. MITAC organized 180 special events, for more than 7,300 participants, and sold over 18,600 discounted tickets for cultural and recreational events representing a 76-percent increase in ticket sales. MITAC gross revenue from ticket sales was $330,000 in 2002. MITAC highlights this year included trips to New York City to assist with Ground Zero volunteer efforts, well-attended noontime walks and lectures, and a campus construction tour.
The Association of MIT Retirees maintained paid membership of 700 retirees. A new initiative of regional lunches began this year to bring together colleagues for social gatherings. In addition to social activities, the association sponsored an investment seminar conducted by Treasurer Emeritus Glenn P. Strehle entitled "Living with Stocks in a Down Market" that attracted 60 attendees. During the year, members and guests enjoyed two one-day local trips and a four-day trip to Ottawa, Canada. The biennial membership directory was issued with the able assistance of Valerie Ristas, graduate student intern, and Satwik Seshasai, an MIT graduate student.
The CSO continues to take a leadership role in coordinating the MIT Community Giving Campaign along with a steering committee chaired by Professor Kenneth A. Smith. The office is actively involved in the selection and training of departmental solicitors; the campaign kick-off event; campaign communications; and processing donor pledges. The 2001 Community Giving Campaign raised over $400,000 from 1,200 employee donors.
The CSO also coordinated and promoted the Ford/MIT Nobel Laureate Lecture Series, welcoming John Hume, Nobel Peace Prize winner, to campus in fall 2001 and Dr. David Baltimore, Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine, to campus in spring 2002.
Personnel
Personnel changes included Traci Swartz joining the Community Services Office as administrative staff assistant.
News Office
The MIT News Office is the Institute's central and coordinating public relations office. The mission of the News Office is to gather and provide clear information that promotes internally and externally the Institute's goals of advancing education, research, public service, and the public understanding of science and technology. It accomplishes this mission through internal communication, outreach to the news media, publications, and responding to the news media as the spokesperson for the Institute.
The watershed news events of the year, of course, were the attacks of September 11. The News Office and its web site played an important community role in the aftermath of the attacks. The News Office provided extensive coverage of teach-ins and other events related to September 11, and posted on the web a photo gallery of the community-wide event held September 12 on Killian Court.
This was also a banner year for recognition of MIT's extraordinary faculty, researchers, alumni/ae and programs:
- Eight people who have taught or studied at MIT were among the Nobel Prize winners in five fields in 2001, an unprecedented sweep of the Nobel awards by one institution's graduates and faculty. Professor Wolfgang Ketterle and two alumni, Eric A. Cornell (PhD, 1990) and Carl E. Weiman (Class of 1973), were awarded Nobel prizes in physics. Other alumni receiving Nobels were Leland H. Hartwell (PhD, 1964), medicine and physiology; George A. Akerlof (PhD, 1966) and Joseph E. Stiglitz (PhD, 1966), economics; and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan (SM, 1972), peace. Former professor K. Barry Sharpless shared the prize in chemistry.
- Tim Berners-Lee of the Laboratory for Computer Science, the inventor of the World Wide Web and maintainer of its operating standards as head of the World Wide Web Consortium, won the $400,000 Japan Prize.
- Professor of Chemical Engineering Robert S. Langer (PhD, 1974) was awarded the $500,000 Draper Prize for his innovative work in transmitting the right amount of medicine directly to the site of disease in the human body.
- Three MIT professors—Robert S. Langer, biologist Robert Horvitz (Class of 1968) of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and Elizabeth S. Spelke, professor of psychology—were recognized by TIME magazine as being among "America's Best" in science and medicine.
- Professor Eric Lander, director of the Whitehead-MIT Center for Genome Research, announced in May that 96 percent of the mouse genome had been sequenced and had been deposited in a public database for scientists.
- Ann M. Graybiel (PhD, 1971), the Walter Rosenblith professor of neuroscience and an investigator in the McGovern Institute of Brain Research, was awarded the National Medal of Science for her research on brain regions implicated in the control of movement and cognition.
- The U.S. Army selected MIT to be the site for the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies, a research institute that will design the clothing and equipment for the foot soldier of the future.
- U.S. News & World Report ranked MIT's Engineering School as the best in the nation for the 14th year in a row. The Financial Times wrote favorably in a lengthy feature about the Cambridge-MIT Institute, the British government-sponsored program to increase research and education ties between two of the world's leading scientific universities.
- Michael J. Hawley (PhD, 1993) of the Media Lab gained wide media attention by winning the Van Cliburn competition for amateur pianists.
The News Office staff and a number of senior communicators at MIT participated in a seven-month strategic planning process, examining how to improve communications at MIT. The process included an analysis of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in the current operation of the News Office; a survey of the MIT community regarding the ways in which they get their information about MIT; a survey of news offices at peer institutions to identify best practices; and interviews with major stakeholders and focus groups. The strategic planning team developed a set of recommendations for creating a more strategic approach to communications and enhancing the coordination of communications within the Institute, which will be pursued in the coming year.
Tech Talk published 34 issues in its 46th year of publication. The News Office also publishes Research Digest, a monthly two-page summary of the top research stories; MIT E-News, a monthly email and web news letter summarizing the previous month's news, the current month's upcoming events, and significant news coverage MIT has received; and the MIT News web site at http://web.mit.edu/news.html. This web site summarizes and links to stories and photographs published by the News Office. In AY2002, the web site featured 533 stories, including 331 stories about the MIT community, 161 general news releases, and 41 news releases about September 11.
The News Office staff includes Denise Brehm, Darren Clarke, Donna Coveney, Myles Crowley, Lisa Damtoft, Patti Foley, Deborah Halber, Mary Anne Hansen, Patti Richards, Robert Sales, Elizabeth Thomson, Alice Waugh, and Sarah Wright.
Publishing Services Bureau
The mission of the Publishing Services Bureau is to act as a coordinated channel for publishing activities across the Institute, applying the principles of strategic planning, technological awareness, supplier consolidation, vendor partnership, cost savings, excellence in design and editorial content, continuous learning, and customer satisfaction.
PSB coordinated over 1,000 jobs, assisting MIT publishers with publication planning and vendor selection, as well as advising on design, production, printing and web publishing. PSB continues its productive partnership with Web Communications Services, assisting MIT publishers in planning over 55 electronic publishing projects. Approximately $1.1 million was processed in print in fiscal year 2002, with an additional $3.4 million channeled directly to MIT/PSB preferred print partners; $1.2 million in creative services, of which $547,000 was for web site design, was managed through PSB.
Throughout the year, PSB worked with 19 preferred print partners, testing supplier consolidation assumptions and modeling best-practice behaviors. PSB and WCS have also developed partnerships with over 29 print and web design groups. The PSB procurement staff processed, facilitated, and advised on the issuance of purchase orders and contracts for $43.7 million in creative, print, and web services on behalf of MIT publishers.
Much of PSB's work is essentially collaborative in nature. The partnership with WCS provides "one-stop shopping" for MIT customers for coordinated print and web design and implementation. PSB continues to collaborate with WCS on the main MIT home page. MIT offices and departments continued to provide challenging opportunities to explore new technology solutions to meet the more complex expectations of the online experience. In these endeavors, PSB and WCS collaborated with MIT offices including the Information Systems Usability team, the Information Technology Architecture Group (ITAG), the IT Delivery team, and Academic Media Production Services. In the year ahead, PSB and WCS will continue to evaluate opportunities for collaboration amongst MIT offices providing related services in order to ease the navigation of these services by MIT publishers.
PSB continued developing a graphic identity system for the Institute that will reflect MIT's mission and values as well as facilitate the operational handling of communications. This system will be implemented through incentives rather than mandates. In collaboration with type designer Matthew Carter, PSB design manager Tim Blackburn created several design concepts that were presented to various MIT constituents, including project sponsors Kathryn A. Willmore, John R. Curry, and William J. Mitchell, as well as the president and provost. The rich discussions led to the selection of a single design direction. Over the next several months, PSB will work with MIT publishers on the implementation of the new logo across their publications and will gather feedback regarding the use of the new logo. The feedback will assist in the development of an online and print style guide to inform MIT communicators and their design vendors of guidelines for use of the new logo, and will feature an area to access downloadable files of the logo. PSB continues to take on projects to test the design guidelines being developed; clients for this project have included the Reference Publications Office, the MIT Museum, and Resource Development.
In support of the new identity system, PSB investigated and made significant advances in the development of an online system that will allow stationery to be ordered through an electronic catalogue (ECAT). This will provide access to the new identity while providing a cost-effective and efficient way for MIT offices and departments to order business papers right from their desktop. Due to the significant advances in the electronic and print technology for such online systems, MIT is now poised to roll out this new system in the upcoming year. Using a web interface, the new ECAT stationery ordering system will provide offices with the choice of several business paper designs, including the recycled MIT bond, and will integrate with SAP.
Going forward, PSB remains committed to the promotion of strategic communications created using good publishing practices and will continue to evaluate and monitor partnerships with print, design, and creative vendors. Initiatives to promote community understanding include the development of a revised web site with additional tools for Institute publishers. PSB plans to develop an image archive, in partnership with the News Office and other Institute offices including the Archives, IS, and the Libraries.
PSB welcomed new media designer Victor Park in the summer of 2001, as well as senior support staff Ana Guevara. Print/design broker John Kramer left PSB in the spring of 2002. Promotions were awarded to Tom Pixton, electronic print broker, and to Minerva Tirado, procurement staff member.
More information about the Publishing Services Bureau can be found online at http://web.mit.edu/psb/.
Reference Publications Office
The Reference Publications Office (formerly the Communications Office) works in concert with many offices across campus to provide members of the MIT community with accurate and authoritative information about the Institute's academic and administrative programs and policies.
This year was largely a time of transition. Outgoing director Barrie Gleason, who had been seconded to the Graduate Students Office at three-quarters time, became its full-time communications director in November. Communications assistant Diana Hughes completed her one-year stint in February, moving on to become a communications coordinator in the Human Resources Department.
The remaining office staff, consisting of publications manager Jennifer Fletcher and web publications manager Lori Weldon (whose promotion to that position became permanent), worked very effectively during the year to keep office publications on schedule and previously planned projects moving forward. General oversight during this period was provided by PSB director Monica Lee and WCS director Suzana Lisanti.
With their guidance, a planned web site redesign moved into the implementation phase, as did a project to rebuild the Filemaker database used to produce the Offices and Programs section of the MIT telephone directories. When completed, in July 2002, this project will initiate the office's transition to online content management, providing contributing offices across campus with an electronic interface for updating directory and catalogue information.
In addition, successful collaboration with colleagues in the Institute Archives resulted in new content guidelines for the Reports to the President that should help to make the reports more consistent in their approach and more useful as a cumulative history of the Institute.
In December, the office gained a new name—Reference Publications Office—intended to reflect more accurately its continuing mission to produce publications of record, as distinct from the general outreach function assumed by the growing number of communications offices in MIT departments and programs. This name change also signaled the opening of a search for a new director, who was appointed in April.
Shortly after his arrival, a program to improve the readability of RPO publications began with a redesign of the online Reports to the President, beginning with the 2000-2001 edition. This effort will be extended to the print edition of the current reports, as well as to the print and electronic editions of the 2002-2003 telephone directories and course catalogue.
In these initiatives, RPO will actively consult with its partners PSB and WCS to ensure that its projects and goals remain aligned with the best practices and overall objectives of the Institute's Public Relations Services.
More information about the Reference Publications Office can be found on its new web site at http://web.mit.edu/referencepubs/.
Web Communications Services
Web Communications Services (WCS) maximizes the value of MIT web communications efforts by providing strategic consulting on web communications at MIT. WCS works closely with MIT clients and partners to support MIT's public relations, work processes, teaching, and research. WCS works to expand the depth and breadth of MIT's web-based services by researching and fostering new approaches to web-based communications.
Given the explosive and continuing growth in the use and impact of MIT's web pages, the current demand for web consulting continues to rise. Increasingly, our clients state that the web is integral to their work, and that it is rapidly emerging as the preeminent information medium. Approximately $2 million was purchased in web design services in fiscal year 2002. WCS advised on over 500 of these web projects. WCS continues to partner with the Publishing Services Bureau to meet the web communications needs of MIT organizations and Institute-wide initiatives. Together, WCS and PSB provide seamless support for MIT customers in the area of communications planning and coordinated web and print projects. In the past year, WCS and PSB jointly consulted to and managed over 55 web design projects and developed partnerships with over 29 web and print design groups.
WCS publishes the official MIT web site at http://web.mit.edu/, actively contributing to and supporting MIT's overall communications agenda. The MIT top level pages are viewed over 1 million times a month, providing entry to another one million pages of news, information and services. The home page aims to communicate the MIT identity within seconds, and to facilitate the process by which users find information about MIT and its achievements. Over the past year, WCS published two spotlights a day, with thought-provoking headlines and images that continue to receive praise from within and from outside MIT.
WCS assists MIT clients with projects at every stage with solutions ranging from planning to design, technical and business aspects of the web, production, troubleshooting and maintenance, as well as facilitating organizational change enabled by new technologies.
WCS engages in broad outreach and training efforts, organizing monthly meetings of the MIT Web Publishers group and providing additional classes on specialized topics. WCS also defines guidelines for effective use of the web at MIT, including usability, graphics, and accessibility guidelines. The WCS help desk answered approximately 5,000 email queries to the official MIT site this past year, contributing to MIT's public relations efforts. We answered an additional 2,000 help desk queries from the MIT community, helping clients manage their own web sites.
The WCS commitment to excellence has been recognized outside the Institute by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). WCS was selected to host the CASE New Media Awards 2002, a two-day event that brought 14 colleagues from peer institutions to MIT to judge and award medals to outstanding university web sites.
WCS continues to build relationships with Academic Media Production Services (AMPS) and the Academic Services Computing Team (ACST). The teams are working to understand each other's work and our combined services to faculty, and to improve communications to insure that faculty and other clients have a seamless and successful experience no matter which team is initially contacted. WCS continued to support the OpenCourseWare initiative, and contributed production expertise to the first courses to go online; WCS was instrumental in the web site and communications organization for the Cambridge-MIT Institute.
WCS collaborated closely with the News Office and senior officers in response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, developing and maintaining web-based systems to keep the MIT community informed of MIT events. Several of the innovations developed during this time were later incorporated into MIT's web-based Emergency Preparedness Response System.
In the coming year, WCS will continue to enhance the quality of its services, of the MIT web site, and of its communication with the MIT community. Specific projects include rolling out a redesigned MIT home page; developing systems to facilitate more information exchange and program development among communicators at MIT; and continued seamless collaboration with the PSB, the News Office, and AMPS in support of Institute web initiatives.
During 2001-2002, WCS welcomed new staff members Turi E. McKinley, Jeffrey L. Reed, and Margaret A. Wong, web consultants, and Susan F. Curran, web content editor. Timothy Griffin transitioned to the IS Help Desk. Christopher G. Sherrill moved to the position of team leader for web consulting, and Suzana Lisanti moved to the position of senior web strategist.
More information about Web Communications Services can be found online at http://web.mit.edu/webhelp/.
Office of the Secretary of the Corporation
The secretary of the Corporation is one of the Institute's four corporate officers, with responsibility for administering the operations of the Corporation, MIT's board of trustees, including membership and standing committees, and, through the Office of the Secretary of the Corporation, quarterly meetings of the board, and 31 Corporation visiting committees that conduct biennial reviews of the Institute's academic and research programs. The secretary also serves as secretary of the Executive and Membership Committees, recording officer of the Corporation, and as joint signatory with the president in the awarding of academic degrees.
Corporation Meetings
Orientation Program and Annual Meeting
On October 4, 2001, an orientation program was held for new members of the Corporation. In the evening, new members and their spouses and guests were joined by members of the Executive, Membership and Auditing Committees for a reception and dinner.
At the annual meeting on October 5, 2001, seven new members and four reelected members were introduced to the membership. The Corporation approved the action of the president in the awarding of September degrees, and, as part of the report of the Membership Committee, voted to approve the list of nominated members of the visiting committees. Reports were presented by the president, the treasurer, and the vice president of resource development and the chairman of the ongoing capital campaign. The members also heard reports from the chairs of the Auditing Committee and four visiting committees: Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Libraries, and Political Science. Preceding the meeting, members gathered in the garden of the President's House for a group photograph. Following the meeting, members joined their guests at the Corporation luncheon.
December Meeting
At the meeting on December 7, 2001, the Corporation heard reports from the president and the chairs of the Membership Committee, the Corporation Joint Advisory Committee on Institute-Wide Affairs (CJAC), and visiting committees for the Humanities, Nuclear Engineering, Sponsored Research, and Whitaker College. At the conclusion of the meeting, Corporation members and their guests attended a luncheon at the Faculty Club, where the Corporation recognized two Corporation members for two extraordinary gifts: to the MIT Libraries, the Siku QuanShu, given by Marjorie M. T. Yang, and to the Institute Archives, the personal papers of Dr. Shirley M. Jackson, from her tenure as director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
March Meeting
At the quarterly meeting on March 1, 2002, the Corporation approved the action of the president in the awarding of February degrees, and heard remarks on the transfer of George N. Hatsopoulos and Charles H. Spaulding to life member emeritus. Visiting committees reports were presented on the Media Laboratory/Media Arts and Sciences Section and on the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. The Corporation voted to accept resolutions on Professor Wolfgang Ketterle, MIT's newest Nobel laureate, who gave a short presentation on his research.
Reports were presented by the president, by the chairs of the Membership Committee, the Screening Committee, the Corporation Joint Advisory Committee on Institute-Wide Affairs, and by the president of the Alumnni/ae Association. The vice president for resource development, Barbara G. Stowe, and the chairman of the capital campaign, Raymond S. Stata, presented an update on the campaign's progress. Following the meeting, members of the Corporation and their accompanying spouses and guests attended a reception and luncheon at the Faculty Club, where they were joined by new and current MacVicar Faculty Fellows and members of the family of the late Professor Margaret A. MacVicar, for whom the fellowships are named.
Commencement Meeting
The final quarterly meeting of the academic year was held on June 7, 2002, prior to Commencement exercises at which the speaker was James D. Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank. At the meeting, the Corporation approved the action of the president in the awarding of June degrees, and elected new members of the Corporation, members of the standing committees and committees of annual recurrence, chairs of the visiting committees, and members of the Corporation Development Committee. The Corporation heard remarks on the transfer of Mary Frances Wagley to life member emeritus, and resolutions were read to honor four members completing their terms of service on the Corporation. In addition, members heard reports from the president, and from the chairs of the Screening Committee and five visiting committees: Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation; Linguistics and Philosophy; Materials Science and Engineering; the Dean for Student Life; and the Dean for Undergraduate Education. Corporation members participated in the academic procession to Killian Court for Commencement exercises, for which Edward O. Vetter served as Corporation marshal. A reception and luncheon followed for Corporation members and their guests, and officials and guests of the Commencement Committee.
Corporation Membership
Completed service effective June 30, 2002: Gregory K. Arenson, Osie V. Combs, Jr., Lissa A. Martinez, Elisabeth A. Stock.
Elected to a five-year term effective July 1, 2002: Mark R. Epstein, Paul J. Ferri, Jennifer A. Frank, Norman E. Gaut, L. Robert Johnson, Jorge E. Rodriguez, Alan G. Spoon, Susan E. Whitehead, Robert E. Wilhelm.
Elected for three years to fill an unexpired term effective July 1, 2002: James H. Simons.
Elected for a one-year term to fill an unexpired term effective July 1, 2002: Theresa M. Stone.
Elected life member effective July 1, 2002: Arthur Gelb, Ronald A. Kurtz.
Ex officio member for a one-year term effective July 1, 2002: James A. Lash, 2002-2003 president of the Association of Alumni and Alumnae of MIT.
Transferred to life member emeritus: George N. Hatsopoulos (January 2002), Charles H. Spaulding (March 2002), and Mary Frances Wagley (May 2002).
Corporation Committees
Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility
The Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility did not meet as a group in 2001-2002. The treasurer monitors votes in accordance with guidelines previously established by the committee and is charged with convening the committee if new issues arise during the year.
Auditing Committee
Meetings of the Auditing Committee were held on October 4, 2001; February 28, 2002; and June 6, 2002. In attendance were the Auditing Committee members, representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers, personnel from the MIT Audit Division, various MIT financial staff members, and invited members of the MIT administration.
The October meeting included a report from Allan S. Bufferd, MIT treasurer, on the Fiscal Year 2001 financial statements and the Institute's gifts and investments. John Mattie of PricewaterhouseCoopers presented their report, which contained an unqualified opinion, comments addressing control issues in the MIT Press, and updates on the Institute's risk management and capital construction initiatives. Deborah L. Fisher, the Institute auditor, reported on internal and external audit activities. The committee unanimously approved adoption of a MIT Auditing Committee Charter and approved management's recommendation to appoint the firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditors for Fiscal Year 2002.
The February meeting included opening remarks by President Vest requesting the committee to remain vigilant particularly in the post-Enron environment. Ms. Fisher presented the audit plan for 2002, noting the division was fully staffed. A report on quarterly financial results for the second fiscal quarter was provided and reviewed. This included an update of the financial condition of the Media Laboratory, and discussion of the current joint audit review of PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Audit Division. Julie T. Norris, director of Sponsored Programs, and Jamie Lewis Keith, director for Environmental Programs and Risk Management and senior counsel, presented recent developments subsequent to the terrorist attacks of September 11, including the new USA Patriot Act, which restricts certain activities by certain individuals involved in research.
The June meeting included a presentation by Ms. Fisher of a new Audit Committee Minutes Tracking Report, which will ensure the committee's requests are adequately and timely responded to by management. Mr. Mattie and Ms. Fisher presented the preliminary results of the review of the Media Lab's financial condition and the committee discussed with management and the auditors the status of corrective actions. The financial results for the third quarter were presented by Controller James L. Morgan. The committee also received several reports on matters raised at previous meetings, including the status of how certain service costs are recovered, the current and future deployment of the SAP management information system, and a summary of international initiatives. The committee reviewed a draft policy on the use of the Institute's independent accounting firm for non-audit services.
Corporation Joint Advisory Committee on Institute-Wide Affairs
The Corporation Joint Advisory Committee on Institute-Wide Affairs (CJAC) held meetings during the year in conjunction with the quarterly meetings of the Corporation in October, December, and March. A special meeting was also held in January 2002. Discussions focused on the need for improved communication between decision-makers and the major constituent segments of the MIT community, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, alumni/ae, and staff. Dinners to bring Corporation members together with students and faculty for informal conversation followed each of the CJAC meetings. The October meeting, held jointly with the Screening Committee, also focused on the process of nomination and election to the Corporation. The chair of CJAC, Linda C. Sharpe, presented reports of the committee's activities to the Corporation at the December and March meetings.
Corporation Development Committee
Activities of the Corporation Development Committee are covered in the annual report of the vice president for resource development, under the Office of Individual Giving.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee met ten times during the academic year 2001-2002. The committee continued to devote substantial time to management issues including long-range planning, resource development, financial operations, and capital projects. Other topics of discussion included the impact on MIT specifically and higher education and research generally of the events of September 11; government-university relations; innovative programs of teaching and research; and initiatives in student life and learning.
Investment Committee
The Investment Committee held three regularly scheduled meetings during the 2001-2002 academic year under the leadership of Michael M. Koerner, a member of the committee for many years who was named to the position of chairperson effective July 1, 2001.
The Wellington Management Company of Boston remained the primary investment manager and advisor for publicly traded securities, both domestic and international, an appointment that they have held for more than twenty years. The Institute continued its program, managed by three other investment management firms, of equity investments in smaller capitalization companies and through four other investment management firms of investments in international equities. The program for domestic and international alternative investments to publicly traded securities was further expanded during the past year, especially in hedge strategies. In addition, the Institute increased its investments in real estate, especially in commercial properties in the Cambridge area. The alternative investments are managed primarily through pooled investment funds by a diverse group of managers. These investments include the areas of private equity, non-Cambridge real estate, arbitrage, and distressed debt.
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee held three meetings during the academic year to discuss matters concerning membership on the Corporation, and to nominate new members of the Corporation and of various Corporation standing committees and committees of annual recurrence.
Corporation Screening Committee for Nomination of Recent Graduates
The Screening Committee for Nomination of Recent Graduates, in collaboration with CJAC, held a joint dinner meeting for students on October 4, 2001, in part to explain the nomination and election process for membership on the Corporation. The committee met via two teleconferences, in January and February 2002, to review all nominee applications. From a group of 43 candidates, the committee selected six for the ballot. The nomination process was conducted under the auspices of the Alumni Association using an electronic ballot over the Internet. Ms. Jennifer A. Frank ‘00 received the nomination and was elected in June to serve a five-year term on the Corporation.
Corporation Visiting Committees
Sixteen Corporation visiting committees convened for regular two-day meetings during the academic year 2001-02: Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation; Biological Engineering; Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; Humanities; Linguistics and Philosophy; Materials Science and Engineering; Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering; Media Laboratory/Media Arts and Sciences, Nuclear Engineering; Sloan School of Management; Sponsored Research; Dean for Student Life; Dean for Undergraduate Education; Urban Studies and Planning; and Whitaker College.
In 2001-2002, the Institute's 31 visiting committees were composed of 416 persons filling 537 membership positions: 61 Corporation members filled 159 slots; 194 presidential nominees filled 202 slots; 170 alumni nominees filled 176 slots. Nine people filled both a presidential nominee slot and an alumni nominee slot. Of these nine, two also each filled one additional alumni slot.
Women made up 21 percent of the visiting committee membership, and minorities 17 percent. Thirty-five percent of the members were affiliated with academia, 54 percent with business and industry, 6 percent with government and law, and 5 percent with other organizations, including nonprofit enterprises.
Office Activities and Personnel
Under the direction of Susan A. Lester, associate secretary of the Corporation, the staff of the Corporation Office managed the quarterly meetings of the Corporation and 16 visiting committee meetings, in addition to overseeing the annual renewal of committee memberships and producing such publications as the visiting committee roster and the Corporation picture directory. Special mention should be made of the flexibility of the staff of the Corporation Office in accommodating changes in the visiting committee calendar as a result of the tumultuous and tragic events of September 11. Moving one meeting from the fall of 2001 to the spring of 2002 resulted in an unprecedented eleven meetings during the spring term, all of which were carried out with cooperation and good will between the Corporation Office and each of the departments visited. Melanie McCue's efforts in this regard were particularly noteworthy. Michelle D. Hinkle continued her competent and efficient service to the members of the Corporation, and we all benefited from the energy, interest and enthusiasm of our student helper, Basilia Huang, who graduated from MIT, and the Corporation Office, in June.
More information about the MIT Corporation can be found online at http://web.mit.edu/corporation/.