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The new chair of the faculty for a two-year term beginning June 15 is Stephen C. Graves, the Abraham J. Siegel Professor of Management Science and Engineering Systems..
A local boy, Graves was born and raised in Pittsfield, MA, where he spent many hours dreaming about patroling center field for the world champion Yankees. Upon the realization that this would remain a fantasy, he left his home town to attend Dartmouth College to study math and eventually earn an A. B. Not knowing what else to do, he stayed at Dartmouth for an M.B.A., which was very useful; Graves now at least knew what he did not want to do, namely go to work for a living.
With his Dartmouth degrees in hand, Graves then ventured far from home, all the way to the University of Rochester, where he studied for three years to earn his Ph.D. in operations research. Having seen enough of the rest of the world, Graves returned to New England and accepted an appointment as assistant professor in the Sloan School of Management in July1977.
As with many faculty, the early years of his career as a junior faculty member are now just a vague memory. Graves focused on his research, writing papers on arcane topics such as the optimization of warehousing systems, and modeling of production and inventory systems. One highlight during the early years was the 1978 baseball season, during which Graves, a lifelong Yankee fan, was able to observe first hand the suffering of the Red Sox and their fans.
In 1982, Graves took a leave of absence from MIT to live and work in China for 7 months. This was a once-in-the-lifetime experience to see China as it was opening its doors to the rest of the world. Graves returned to MIT once he realized that his tenure clock was still ticking, and quickly got back to work. Some time in the mid eighties he was granted tenure, although the records for this have mysteriously disappeared; presumably he is now grandfathered by some version of the Institute's statute of limitations. In 1988 Graves helped to launch the Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) program, serving as an acting co-director for the 1990 academic year and as a co-director from 1994 to June 2001. Over the past decade Steve has taught an optimization class and a supply chain elective for the LFM program; he has also focused most of his research efforts to LFM-related projects, addressing a range of industry-based problems arising in supply chains and manufacturing systems.
Graves has had trouble at times with saying no to service and administrative assignments. He served as the deputy dean at Sloan for three years, during which time he helped to redesign the core curriculum for the MBA program. And he has also done tours of duty on a wide range of committees, including the Committee on Academic Performance, the Parking and Transportation Committee, the Freshman Housing Committee, the Committee on Discipline, the Task Force on ROTC, and the Sloan Dean Search Committee. Steve has generally found these assignments to be quite rewarding, as they provide a way to engage and learn about other parts of the Institute. It has also been a good way to get exercise, given the distance between Sloan and the rest of MIT!
Steve lives in Westwood with his wife, Caroline Marten-Ellis, and two children, ages 9 and 11. Most of his time at home involves shuttling between various kids' activities, and trying to fix things that break around the house. Once summer comes, it's yard work and putting in a vegetable garden, and then waiting for the inevitable collapse by the Red Sox.
Steve is deeply honored at being asked to serve as the faculty chair. He looks forward to working with the faculty in all aspects of the faculty governance system. Steve can be reached at sgraves@mit.edu.
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