MIT Retiree Resource Guide

Arts at MIT

The arts are widely practiced, performed and celebrated at MIT. Between 60 and 70 percent of incoming MIT freshmen have strong interests and involvement in the arts. Hundreds of exhibitions, performances and readings enliven the campus annually. For information on arts-related events, venues, programs and activities, the arts@mit web site is the best place to start. There is also a telephone hot line, 617-253-ARTS, which lists MIT arts events in the week ahead. Both are overseen by the Office of the Arts (Rm. E15-205; 617-253-4003).

Athletics

The Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center (Bldg. W35; 617-452-3690) provides an extensive facility for swimming, tennis, squash, ice skating, jogging, weight training, sailing, rowing, etc. available to everyone in the community. MIT Athletic Cards are $375 for individuals and $540 for family and are good for a year from the date of purchase. The center also offers six-month memberships—$240 for individual and $350 for family. The card now includes sailing and rowing, but a swim test is required to use those facilities. An MIT ID Card is needed because of the card swipe access system. Physical education classes, (e.g. aerobic exercise and dance), are also open to non-students on a space-available basis.

MIT Federal Credit Union

Retirees have worked hard to build the nest egg that will help them enjoy life for many years to come, and they want to keep that nest egg safely earning money. The last thing they want is to pay a lot of bank expenses. At the MIT Federal Credit Union, funds are federally insured up to $100,000. The Credit Union offers Savings accounts, Share Plus (Money Market) accounts, Share Certificates, Share Draft (checking) accounts, ATM and Debit Cards, Visa Credit Cards as well as First Mortgages, Home Equity Loans/Lines, Personal loans and Automobile loans at favorable rates. Electronic services such as e-Branch (home banking), e-Statements, Bill Payment, Loan Express, MIT Touch Tone Teller, ACH and Direct Deposit are offered to make financial business transactions more convenient.

MIT retirees and their family/household members are eligible to enjoy the benefits of membership. Employees who were not members at the time of retirement are also eligible to join.

Office hours: 8:30am – 4:00pm
700 Tech Square
617-253-2845
Touch Tone Teller 1-800-648-4411
Loan Express 1-866-464-8328
MITFCU@mit.edu

Center for Work, Family, and Personal Life

Offering a broad range of services to assist with child-care arrangements and other family and work/life concerns, the Center for Work, Family, and Personal Life (Rm. 16-151; 617-253-1592) is available to grandparents as well as parents and other family members. It maintains a lending library and databases of child-care and child-rearing resources and can assist in directing volunteers who would like to work with children and families. The Center also sponsors many seminars on work/family and work/life related issues.

Community Services Office

The MIT Community Services Office (CSO) supports a variety of services designed to enhance MIT employees' quality of life. The CSO administers the MITAC (MIT Activities Committee) office and events; plans events that recognize career milestones such as the QCC induction ceremony and the annual MIT employees' Retirement Dinner; and provides logistical support for the Association of MIT Retirees. Additionally, the CSO conducts the annual Community Giving at MIT campaign. Retirees are welcome to drop by the CSO office (Rm. E19-432; 617-253-7914), during office hours Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.

Furniture Exchange

The Furniture Exchange (FX) is operated by volunteers from the MIT Women's League, with proceeds benefiting MIT scholarship funds. It sells used furniture and household accessories at low prices to students and others who are in the area for a short time and don't want to spend lots of money on furnishings. It accepts tax-deductible donations and buys used furniture and estates in good condition. The FX is always in need of volunteers for a couple of hours each week. It is located at 350 Brookline St., Cambridge (Bldg. WW15; 617-253-4293; fx@mit.edu) where parking is available. Its regular hours are Tuesday and Thursday, 10am-4pm and the first Saturday of each month, 10am-1pm. The manager is Judy Halloran.

Health Education

The Health Education Service in the Medical Department (Rm. E23-205; 617-253-1316) is a rich source of information and answers questions about health issues and medical care. It sponsors regular workshops open to all members of the community, often at a discount to retirees, on weight control, fitness, stress management, smoking cessation, parenting and aging. Lectures on other health topics are offered throughout the year and daily during IAP in January. Its resource center has a book and video lending library and distributes free pamphlets on many healthcare topics.

Hobby Shop

The Hobby Shop (Rm. W31-031; 617-253-4343) is a large, well-equipped metal and woodworking facility open to the community. During the school term hours are 10am-6pm Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and 10am-9pm Wednesdays and Thursdays. In January the hours are 10am-6pm daily and during the summer it is open 11am-6pm Monday and Thursday and 11am-9pm Tuesday and Wednesday. The fee for retirees is $40/term or $100/year (any three consecutive terms). Safety orientation is required of new members and director Ken Stone offers both hands-on instruction and design advice.

Information Systems Training

IS Training Services (Rm. N42-240A; 617-253-7685, istrain-reg@mit.edu) offers dozens of free and fee-bearing short courses each term, ranging from basics to sophisticated programs for both Macintosh and Windows users. (When classes are full, active employees have priority.) Free noontime Quick-Start classes, which are introductory demonstrations of popular programs, including use of the Internet, are also available. Hands-on classes are now offered at MIT's Professional Learning Center, located at 301 Vassar Street (617-258-9601). Call to receive a catalog or consult the web page.

ID Cards

To use MIT facilities, retirees need an MIT picture ID card which is available from the Card Office. ID cards are required to borrow materials from the MIT Libraries, to use the Athletics Facilities, and permit access to buildings that are locked after hours. To obtain an MIT Retiree ID Card, your name needs to appear in the Human Resources records as a retiree. To obtain your status, please contact Human Resources at 617-253-4251. Afterwards, please visit the MIT Card Office (Student Center basement, W20-021; 617-253-3475) with one form of photo ID (driver's license, passport, etc.). The Card Office is open from 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday.

Information Center

The veteran staff in the Information Center (Rm. 7-121; 617-253-4795) knows answers to almost any question about MIT and provides campus maps and other publications to visitors and the MIT community. Campus tours with student guides leave from the Center Monday through Friday (except on legal holidays) at 10am and 2pm. Groups of 15 or more need to make tour arrangements by calling the Center in advance.

Language Lab

The Language Learning and Resource Center (LLARC) (Rm. 16-644; 617-253-9779) offers an extensive collection of audio, video and computer materials in those languages taught at MIT—Chinese, English as a Second Language, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. These materials must be used in-house, since they are regularly assigned to classes. LLARC also has an extensive collection of self-study materials in a variety of other languages (Korean, Italian, Arabic, etc.) that can be checked out for use at home. Regular hours during the term are Monday-Thursday 8:30am-10:30pm, Friday 8:30am-3pm, and Sunday 3pm-10:30 pm. Whenever LLARC is open a staff person is available to provide assistance. See LLARC's web site for searchable catalogues and further information.

Libraries

Retirees with IDs continue to have borrowing privileges in the Libraries. The MIT Library system consists of five large libraries: Rotch (architecture and planning, Rm. 7-304); Barker (engineering, Rm. 10-500); Humanities and Science (Bldg. 14), and Dewey (social sciences and management, Rm. E53-100), and several branches serving the needs of specific departments. Access to the Libraries' electronic services and resources are also available on the web. Guides to the Libraries and schedules are available at all locations.

MIT Medical

MIT Medical (Cambridge Bldg. E23; 617-253-4481 (voice/TTY); Lexington Bldg. V-110; 781-981-7080 (voice), 781-981-6600 (TTY)) is a multi-specialty group practice and a licensed, accredited hospital. It offers regular appointments in Cambridge and Lexington weekdays 8:30am-5pm, and many services in Cambridge also offer evening appointments on certain days until 7pm. Urgent medical and mental health care (617-253-1311) is available at all times. Social worker Dawn Metcalf at the Cambridge Center (Rm. E23-337; 617-253-2916) specializes in services to seniors. She is available for consultation on help for elderly parents both locally and at a distance, for discharge planning following hospitalization and for future planning for one's own needs.

MITAC

The MIT Activities Committee (Rm. E19-432; 617-253-7990) serves the MIT Community by offering discounted tickets to local cultural and recreational events and sponsors excursions and special activities throughout the year (sporting events, theatre, music, family/children's events, exhibitions, day and weekend trips & more). It publishes a monthly flyer listing major activities. MITAC is open Tuesday-Friday, 11:00am to 4:00pm at the Stata Center on Campus and Thursday and Friday, 11:00am to 4:00pm at Lincoln Lab B-210 (please note an active Lincoln Lab ID is needed to enter the facility).

On-line Directory

Listings for faculty, staff, students and organizations are available on the web at the MIT on-line directory.

Public Service Center

The MIT Public Service Center (Rm. 4-104; 617-253-0742) runs several community service outreach programs and events. It also maintains listings of volunteer opportunities ranging from one-time-only projects to ongoing commitments at more than 100 local service agencies.

Quarter Century Club (QCC)

Open to staff and faculty having completed 25 years of service with the Institute, the MIT Quarter Century Club (Rm. E19-432; 617-253-7914) is chartered with furthering the well-being of its membership through cultural and social events. With over 3,100 members, the QCC sponsors several annual events, including a summer picnic and holiday gathering. The QCC also administers the William R. Dickson Fund, which provides grants for educational study to retired members of the QCC.

Student Art Association

Despite its name, the facilities of the Student Art Association (Rm. W20-429; 617-253-7019) are open to all members of the community. Students take precedence in the classes SAA offers usually in the evenings in areas of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography and ceramics. Classes have varying fees. Use of studio space is also available at varying fees and users must assist in studio maintenance. Call for a brochure, visit the SAA or its web site.

Tech Talk

Tech Talk (Rm. 11-400; 617-253-2700), the administration's newspaper, is sent to all retirees. Change of address notices should be sent to the Benefits Office, MIT Rm. E19-411, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. The Institute Calendar in Tech Talk sometimes carries listings of particular interest to retirees. Retirees may submit classified ads to Tech Talk, MIT Rm. 11-400, at the street address above, or e-mail to ttads@mit.edu. Ads should include the retiree's MIT ID number and note that the advertiser is a retiree. Ads are not accepted by telephone or fax.

Women's League

All women in the MIT community are invited to become members of the MIT Women's League and to participate in the League's activities. These include social events, lectures and seminars on timely world and health issues, the Furniture Exchange (see listing above), and interest groups (needlework, cooking, bridge, investing, etc.) that meet regularly during the academic year. Call the League office (Rm. 10-342; 617-253-3656) or visit their web site, for an Activities Guide and further information.