reinventing residence life @ MIT : Bacow letter

reinventing residence life at MIT

Chancellor Larry Bacow:
Make the most of "reinventing..."

Dear Members of the MIT Community:

I am pleased to share with you some details of the bold and exciting new opportunity for each member of this great community to participate during IAP in a design of a new residence system at MIT.

Under the direction of the Residence System Steering Committee, chaired by William Hecht '61, Executive Vice President of the MIT Alumni Association, an IAP design contest entitled "A Community Shapes Its Future: Designing the New Residence System at MIT" will be presented throughout the third and fourth week of IAP (January 19 - 29, 1999). The focus of the two-week experience will be the creation by each participating team of a new design for the complete MIT residence system. Central to each design will be an articulation and implementation of an enhanced role of the residence system within the MIT educational experience, as called for in the Report of the Task Force on Student Life and Learning.

A few quick details:

Web Page: web.mit.edu/residence/systemdesign/

Timing: January 19-29, 1999. The first five days (January 19-23, 1:00-4:00 p.m.) will feature community discussion and information, as led and presented by key students, faculty, and staff. The next five days (January 24-28) will be reserved for team design work, and design presentations will take place January 29.

Teams: Membership should be representative of any and all dimensions of the MIT community -- students (both undergraduate and graduate), faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and Corporation members. There is no upper limit on team size, and teams need not be formed at the beginning of the design experience.

Eligible Team Participants: Anybody! Only the members of the Steering Committee, Deans Williams, Bates, and Hodges, and myself are excluded. Teams are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the expertise within the students, faculty and administration (at even the very highest levels).

Registration: No pre-registration is needed for individuals or teams. See the web page for registration details.

Participation during the two weeks: At least one member of each team will be required to participate in each element of the design experience.

Design Criteria: Submitted designs will need to address each of the criteria to be announced by the Steering Committee. Teams will address questions such as:

"How should freshmen houses be selected by incoming students?"; "What is the appropriate nature and extent of faculty/student interaction at MIT and how should it be rewarded?"; "What is the timing of dorm and/or FSILG rush?"; "How do the emerging fifth-year M. Eng. programs impact the connections between the undergraduate and graduate residence opportunities?"; "How should MIT provide interim financial support of the FSILG system?"

I encourage you to make the most of this hands-on experiment in reinventing the residence system at MIT. Together we can build a richer future for all MIT community members.



	Chancellor Larry Bacow: Make the most of "reinventing..." Dear Members of the MIT Community: I am pleased to share with you some details of the bold and exciting new opportunity for each member of this great community to participate during IAP in a design of a new residence system at MIT. Under the direction of the Residence System Steering Committee, chaired by William Hecht '61, Executive Vice President of the MIT Alumni Association, an IAP design contest entitled "A Community Shapes Its Future: Designing the New Residence System at MIT" will be presented throughout the third and fourth week of IAP (January 19 - 29, 1999). The focus of the two-week experience will be the creation by each participating team of a new design for the complete MIT residence system. Central to each design will be an articulation and implementation of an enhanced role of the residence system within the MIT educational experience, as called for in the Report of the Task Force on Student Life and Learning. A few quick details: Web Page: web.mit.edu/residence/systemdesign/ Timing: January 19-29, 1999. The first five days (January 19-23, 1:00-4:00 p.m.) will feature community discussion and information, as led and presented by key students, faculty, and staff. The next five days (January 24-28) will be reserved for team design work, and design presentations will take place January 29. Teams: Membership should be representative of any and all dimensions of the MIT community -- students (both undergraduate and graduate), faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and Corporation members. There is no upper limit on team size, and teams need not be formed at the beginning of the design experience. Eligible Team Participants: Anybody! Only the members of the Steering Committee, Deans Williams, Bates, and Hodges, and myself are excluded. Teams are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the expertise within the students, faculty and administration (at even the very highest levels). Registration: No pre-registration is needed for individuals or teams. See the web page for registration details. Participation during the two weeks: At least one member of each team will be required to participate in each element of the design experience. Design Criteria: Submitted designs will need to address each of the criteria to be announced by the Steering Committee. Teams will address questions such as: "How should freshmen houses be selected by incoming students?"; "What is the appropriate nature and extent of faculty/student interaction at MIT and how should it be rewarded?"; "What is the timing of dorm and/or FSILG rush?"; "How do the emerging fifth-year M. Eng. programs impact the connections between the undergraduate and graduate residence opportunities?"; "How should MIT provide interim financial support of the FSILG system?" I encourage you to make the most of this hands-on experiment in reinventing the residence system at MIT. Together we can build a richer future for all MIT community members.