The Privilege of Leading

by Dean Subra Suresh

"I am grateful for the privilege to serve as the dean of this premier School of Engineering, and very much look forward to working with the highly talented MIT faculty, staff and students to take the School to new heights."
     —Subra Suresh, Dean of Engineering and Ford Professor of Engineering
 

I am very pleased to have this opportunity to communicate with you through this e-newsletter.

I assumed the position of dean of the School of Engineering in July 2007. It is a singular honor and privilege to be invited to lead this School that symbolizes excellence in education, research, innovation and societal impact on both national and international scales.

Among the significant honors that the School and faculty have received, I'd like to highlight a short selection from recent weeks:

• MIT President Emeritus and Professor of Mechanical Engineering Charles M. Vest began his six-year term as president of the National Academy of Engineering on July 1.
• Professor Vest and Robert S. Langer, an Institute Professor with appointments in Chemical Engineering and Biological Engineering, received the National Medal of Technology and National Medal of Science, respectively, at the White House on July 27.
• A few weeks ago, the U.S. News & World Report ranked the School first in overall undergraduate engineering rankings for the seventh consecutive year.
• In late July, the Gordon Foundation announced its intention to give $20 million to launch a major program to prepare MIT students for engineering leadership.

Also worth noting, Technology Review recently named several faculty and alumni to its TR35 list of top young innovators. Congratulations to all!

You can well imagine how privileged I am as the new dean to work with MIT's extraordinary faculty members, alumni, staff, and students. Their energy, vision, enthusiasm and dedication not only lead to ground-breaking scientific discoveries, technological developments, and novel initiatives that transform education but also provide leadership in public service.

I would like to thank my predecessor Professor Thomas L. Magnanti, who served with distinction as dean for the past eight and a half years. I wish Tom a well-deserved break from major administrative duties as he returns to his professorial activities. I also thank Professor Dick Yue for his eight years of distinguished and dedicated service as associate dean; Dick will continue his tenure in that position into December to help facilitate a smooth transition of the new leadership team which includes our new Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor Cynthia Barnhart.

I very much look forward to working with colleagues both within and outside MIT as we formulate major new initiatives in the coming years. It is my hope that you, the alumni and friends of the School, will keep engaged in this exciting journey and maintain your contacts and connections with us. I hope to meet many of you and benefit from your ideas, input, and constructive criticisms. If you have the opportunity to visit Boston or New England, please consider visiting us.
 

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