Laura Capone, senior associate dean in DSL, 47

July 28, 2008

Laura Capone, senior associate dean for the Division of Student Life, passed away on Friday, July 4, at Addison Gilbert Hospital after a battle with cancer. She was 47.

Capone, of Gloucester, served MIT for 19 years in a variety of roles, beginning with assistant department head for business affairs/administrative officer for DAPER and, later, as project manager for the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Life. As senior associate dean for DSL, she contributed to the development of administrative policies, programs and processes in the broad area of responsibility encompassed by the dean for student life, especially in support of strategic objectives, mission and goals of the office.

As a leader in organizational change efforts at MIT, Capone made presentations at the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and facilitated senior-level programming at the National Conference for the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). She was published in Shared Services News for her article "Non-Traditional Shared Services - A Partnership Approach." She is also a member of the 2003 class of MIT's Leader2Leader program.

Capone's colleagues knew her as an accomplished leader, a talented and strategic professional, a teacher, mentor, coach and friend.

"She generously invested her time and energy in others, rarely accepted credit for her accomplishments, always projected strength and fortitude, and led by example and influence," said Dean for Student Life Larry Benedict. "One of the most noteworthy characteristics of her personality was her ability to always see challenges as mere opportunities, and this was apparent to the end. She approached life's challenges with a positive attitude, her strong character and the spirit of a survivor."

She is survived by her husband of 25 years, Joseph Michael Capone, and by her daughter, Erica Rachel Capone.

A funeral will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 11, at Our Lady of Good Voyage Church in Gloucester, and a burial will immediately follow at the Calvary Cemetery Gloucester. Visiting hours will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 10.

A memorial service celebrating Laura Capone's life will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 31, in the MIT Chapel.

A reception will follow in the main dining room of W-11.

For additional information contact Christina English at cenglish@mit.edu or 617-253-7707.