Vice President for Human Resources and Equal Opportunity Officer

As the following reports of Human Resources' leaders attest, this past year was a whirlwind of activity in the HR arena, with significant progress achieved toward our major objectives. Our broad purpose is to provide an array of programs and services that create a positive work environment and that support our leaders and employees in their efforts to achieve MIT's mission. Several new HR initiatives this past year contributed to that goal.

With broad-based organizational support, we launched the Rewards and Recognition Program for all parts of the Institute. Although the program is in its beginning stages, the early results are favorable. Several hundred employees have received "Infinite Mile" awards within their school, department, lab, or center. Well over 100 nominations have been received for the Institute-wide awards which will be presented in the fall. The anecdotes are inspiring, and MIT seems on its way to becoming a "praise-full zone."

We also kicked off the HR/Payroll project which will culminate with the installation of the SAP HR/Payroll system in the summer of 2002. An elaborate project involving stakeholders, HR and Payroll content experts, and systems professionals, key milestones have already been achieved and there are multiple teams in place working simultaneously on the redesign of all HR and Payroll processes. The first module of the new system-the Benefits module-will go live at the end of July 2001.

Thanks to the efforts of the Family Resource Center and the many internal MIT services with which it collaborates, MIT was recognized by Working Mother Magazine as one of the 100 best companies in America for working mothers. More accolades were received by a local parenting publication. The Council on Work and Family has also gotten underway and is planning a survey of staff this fall.

Issues of racial and cultural diversity are being addressed in many forums at MIT. Within Human Resources, a task force on staff diversity has been working under the direction of our Affirmative Action director. A report is expected this fall.

Another innovation was the creation of the Careers Planning office within Human Resources. Headed by Barbara Peacock-Coady, it instantly became a popular resource for employees seeking information on career options and development opportunities.

Responding to the organization's desire for support in recruitment of new staff, we have taken the initial steps toward creating a centralized recruitment service. A new manager for this function, David Lee, has been hired and is developing the program.

In addition to enhancing its array of educational offerings, the Organization and Employee Development staff have designed a new leadership development program called Leader to Leader, which will be kicked off this fall. They have also designed a new department head orientation process which is being greeted with enthusiasm.

Some new HR leaders have brought new capabilities to our staff. Joining us in the past year are Barbara Jablon, Director of Compensation and HR Systems, and Debra Gratto, Director of Employee Relations and Staffing. Other leadership changes include Marianne Howard's promotion to Director of HR Administration; Barbara Roberts, Manager of the Disabilities Office, taking responsbility for Workers' Compensation and hiring Sal Cortese to head that function; and Barbara Peacock-Coady's promotion to Manager of the Career Planning Office, under the direction of Margaret Ann Gray, Director of Organization and Employee Development. Marianna Pierce has just joined us as Manager of Labor Relations.

The HR staffing as of June 1, 2001, was as follows:

Of 48 administrative staff, 36 are female and 12 are male. Of these, there are five black American females, two black American males, two Asian American females, and one Asian American male. The remainder are 29 white females and nine white males.

Of 25 support staff, 19 are female and six are male. Of these, there are four black American females, one black American male, two Hispanic American females, and one Asian American female. The remainder are 12 white females and five white males.

Table 1. Staffing statistics compared with the previous year

  2000 2001
Administrative females 68% (30) 75% (36)
Administrative minorities 20% (9) 21% (10)
 
Support staff females 86% (19) 76% (19)
Support staff minorities 41% (9) 32% (8)

The report of the Medical Department reflects a year of successful activity under the leadership of Dr. William Kettyle, who was appointed Medical Director last summer, and Annette Jacobs, Executive Director. The department is currently engaged in a strategic planning process that will focus its direction in the coming years.

Other significant activities have been the Medical Department's ComMITment to Care program, a comprehensive customer service initiative, its successful review by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, its emphasis on enhancing services for students, and its participation in the review of mental health services. The Department also implemented a new patient information system.

Laura Avakian

return to top

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs Office

The Director of Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Diversity Programs Office functions in a variety of ways to support the Institute's departments, laboratories and centers (DLCs) in their efforts to increase and improve diversity within the Institute. The primary focus of the office's activities is to: develop strategies to promote and enhance understanding, sensitivity, and acceptance for diversity and the valuing of differences among students, staff and faculty at MIT; assist in recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention of underrepresented minorities and women; and direct the process to develop the annual MIT Affirmative Action Plan.

The director's primary activity during the year was continued leadership of the HR Diversity Initiative Process instituted in 2000. The diverse group of administrative staff, representative of several departments across MIT, who formed the Diversity Initiative Team, continued active involvement, beyond the culmination of Phase I. The research reported in Phase I, the Interim Report, was on the best practices within and external to MIT and MIT's relative standing among its higher education peer institutions and leading corporations. The findings of the Interim Report were presented to Administrative Council. The four Phases, beyond best practices and relative standings, involved the collection of qualitative data through numerous interviews and focus groups with faculty, staff and students. These have been completed to the point of the drafting phase, which is the final report to be delivered by September 2001.

The director continued membership on the Committee for Campus Race Relations and has remained in the role of co-chair for the Education Sub-committee. The subcommittee's project this year was to collect the information and to prepare a spreadsheet listing the video programs and other media and print material available for diversity education purposes. The information included defining the subject matter, the appropriate audiences for use, and teaching notes. A section in the 2001-2002 HR Training Manual will describe this material for use by MIT members. The CCRR took leadership as the convener for diversity discussions and the AA/EEO/Diversity Office was a key resource for students during the ATO incident. The director was a discussion presenter for the ATO meetings and provided informal advisory and counseling support to students and staff. Through a CCRR initiative, diversity awareness/education will be provided for the 2001-2002 Freshman Orientation. The director is a member of the Orientation Design Team and serves as a facilitator trainer and facilitator for the planned orientation activity.

In support of MIT's minority recruitment efforts, the office has continued to provide assistance to HR and the DLCs for position openings, has expanded participation in local job fairs and special interest conferences for contact with qualified applicants, and has maintained affiliation with special-interest organizations for networking opportunities. The director will continue activity in these areas in collaboration with the HR Recruitment Manager who has recently been hired.

The office actively supported Lincoln Laboratory in its preparation to provide the documents required in response to the audit notification in April from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP). The AA Office's Administrative Assistant and the Director worked closely with LL staff, general counsel and an independent consultant to gather and compile the required information. The AA Office developed all reports requested and a complete AA Plan document for Lincoln Laboratory was constructed and delivered within the specified deadline. This work was immediately followed up by an accelerated effort to complete the 2000-2001 AA Plan for the entire Institute and to launch activity to produce the 2001-2002 AA Plan by year-end.

The director collaborates and consults with the Ombuds Office staff and continues to serve as a complaint handler and a resource for conflict disputes/resolution for support and administrative staff. For professional development and to support mediation needs within MIT, the director completed the thirty-six hours Mediation Course and was certified by the state as a professional mediator.

Regina Caines

return to top

Benefits Services

We completed a comprehensive study of the current financial funding arrangements of the health and dental plans to identify potential areas of cost savings for our employees and MIT. The study, which spanned several months and involved detailed analysis of historical claims and demographic data was undertaken because of continued concerns over rising health care costs and issues raised by instability in the health care market.

At the conclusion of the study, the Benefits Office recommended the elimination of the insured Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan (HPHC), the introduction of Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Network Blue New England Plan on a self-insured basis and self-insurance of the current Tufts Health Plan.

These changes were successfully implemented during the annual benefits open enrollment in November 2000 through a series of targeted communications and information sessions. A central tenet of the campaign was our personal commitment to one-on-one counseling of employees who needed support in order to transition ongoing health care for chronically ill family members. Approximately 2,000 employees and their families were transitioned from HPHC to other health plans.

The SAP Benefits Implementation Project was a primary focus of the Benefits Office since last December. We worked closely with the Implementation Team on the benefits process redesign, the benefits blueprint, presentations to the Policy Advisory Committee, data reporting, benefits adjustments, interactive voice response and internet enrollment applications development, business process procedures documentation, testing and training. We are looking forward to using SAP as the system of record for health and welfare benefits beginning in late July 2001.

We published a revised New Hire Kit. The kit combines Human Resources policy, benefits information and other MIT services and resources into one source. Until this publication, information on these topics had been provided through separate communications that lacked a coordinated appearance.

There were several staff changes during the year. Shawn Foley was promoted to the position of Assistant Manager of Benefits Service following Marjory Magowan's departure from MIT and Sharon Clarke was promoted to Benefits Counselor assuming the position vacated by Shawn Foley. Brenda Mahon was promoted to Benefits Administrator II.

Julienne Castro

Disabilities Services Office

The Disabilities Services Office (DSO) is responsible for providing effective services and programs for students, faculty, employees, and visitors at MIT. These services include physical and communication access, academic accommodations for students, the identification and implementation of reasonable accommodations for employees. Also included is Long Term Disability and Workers' Compensation which began reporting to Human Resources as of July 1, 2000.

Over the past year, the DSO developed a functioning integrated disability management program for the Institute. All units of Disabilities Services are identified as having a role in supporting departments, employees, and Human Resource Officers regarding accommodations, leave, and attendance issues. The program would incorporate return to work and workplace accommodation initiatives, as well as, leave and attendance management strategies and when needed, transitioning the employee to Long Term Disability. The Workers' Compensation program, which provides wage replacement and medical benefit when an employee has an injury and or illness, is developing a new program structure and establishing new reporting relations with other departments.

DSO and the Department of Facilities have made great strides in the area of physical access regarding path of travel. In the area of communication access, the Institute has made three important advancements: the revision of the Access and Accommodations for Employees and Students with Disabilities located in the MIT Policies and Procedures Manual, the development of Web Accessibility, and also Software and Guidelines Policies. We have also worked with the Libraries and the ATIC Lab in identifying appropriate technology for accessible workstations and state of the art informational access.

The MIT Handbook for Students with Disabilities was finalized. This handbook has been used in training sessions with students, staff, and faculty. As a result, departments are more actively involved in providing accommodations.

The DSO continues to coordinate accessibility for students with disabilities by determining reasonable accommodations such as note-takers, scribes, extended timed exams, books on tape, and sign language interpreting.

DSO conducts ongoing presentations to the MIT community on their responsibilities to provide necessary accommodations during the hiring process; ensure that reasonable accommodations are identified when appropriate; censure that position descriptions do not impermissibly screen-out persons with disabilities; and management strategies of leave and attendance policies.

By incorporating Workers' Compensation, Susan Pritchard and Diane Sacco joined the HR organization. Susan Pritchard resigned from the position. Salvatore Cortese was hired as Assistant Manger of Disability Services.

Barbara Roberts

Family Resource Center

The Family Resource Center coordinates a number of Institute-wide work/life initiatives and provides a broad range of work/life services to faculty, staff, students, and postdocs, including assistance with child care and children's schooling, parenting concerns, family relocation, alternative work schedules, and balancing work and family. In addition, the center spearheads and participates in a number of work/life initiatives both at the Institute and nationally, and makes available information and research on these issues.

The center managed a project to create a major new web site for the MIT community, called LifeSites. Linking over 60 human service offices and resources on campus, the site, which will go live in August, highlights and makes more accessible the range of work/life resources offered at MIT.

The center also managed communications regarding the September announcement of MIT's placement on the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" list, including coverage by Working Mother magazine and local news media, and coordinated the re-application process.

The center continued to be active in supporting MIT's child care expansion initiative. Kathy Simons coordinated the design process for the new Stata child care center; the feasibility study of renovation/expansion options at Eastgate and Westgate child care facilities; and the investigation of management options for Stata and possibly other child care programs, including a vendor RFQ and report to Chancellor Philip Clay's Child Care Committee.

Rae Simpson, together with Professor Claude Canizares, co-chairs the Council on Family and Work, which this year launched a special initiative to conduct a needs assessment of MIT faculty, staff and graduate students regarding quality of life issues. The study includes a comprehensive survey that will be distributed to all employee groups and to graduate students in the fall of 2001. Also, the council's task group on job flexibility drafted a set of guidelines on alternative work arrangements at MIT and presented its preliminary findings and recommendations to the council in May.

Working through a research center at the Harvard School of Public Health, Rae Simpson also prepared and disseminated a report entitled Raising Teens: A Synthesis of Research and A Foundation for Action. The report has been widely distributed to parents and human service administrators at MIT.

The center recorded a nearly 50 percent increase in client requests during the year, responding to nearly 1200 inquiries from 515 members of the MIT community (11 percent faculty, 35 percent staff, 27 percent student, 11 percent postdoc, 8 percent visiting scholar, 8 percent other). The center offered over thirty seminars and workshops on topics including adoption, job flexibility, child development, balancing work and family, multicultural family life, parenting, emergency/back-up child care, and schooling.

Sandie Woo, senior office assistant, left the center in September to attend graduate school; Delana Hirschy provided support from September through February, and Catherine Bellanti joined the center staff in February as administrative assistant. The center has always sought to maintain diversity in its staff of three, but lost minority representation through these transitions.

Kathy Simons, Rae Simpson

Retirement Programs

The Benefits Office unveiled the second phase of an expanded retirement planning and investment education service. In light of the general investment climate, the menu of presentations was expanded to reflect the need for more fundamental investor education. Total attendance at presentations was 2,100.

As a result of significant developments in both the investment climate and in federal pension legislation, the Benefits Office began a comprehensive review of the retirement plans' provisions and features.

The 401(k) Plan's variable annuity purchase process was outsourced according to plans developed during 1999-2000. Contracts were negotiated with commercial annuity companies, and retirees were informed of new and improved benefits features made available as a result of outsourcing.

Phil Lima

return to top

Compensation

During the latter part of fiscal year 2000, three out of four Compensation Office staff members left the Institute. All vacancies were filled by November 2000.

In fiscal year 2001, the Compensation Office participated in approximately 30 external salary surveys conducted by universities, associations, and consulting groups from across the country. The office conducted two major salary surveys, one for faculty and one for administrative staff, with approximately 22 participants each. These survey results provided us with a solid base for determining our market position and in developing our review allocation proposals to the MIT Corporation's Executive Committee.

Nine separate salary review allocations covering approximately 7,000 campus employees and faculty were administered. In an effort to streamline the review process for "Other Academics," a pilot for a quarterly review was created in collaboration with HRIS and representatives from academic areas.

Phase I of the redesign of the Classification and Compensation System for Administrative Staff was completed in February 2000 when administrative staff were converted to a new classification system consisting of six broad-banded levels. During FY2001, Phase II was rolled out and included the creation of universal guidelines meant to provide a foundation for more consistency when making pay decisions. Guideline objectives included development of common practices for administrative, SRS and support staff, promotion of regular dialogue between departments and Human Resources, and the use of generic titling and a common vocabulary. Additionally, a new job description template was created to simplify the evaluation process and provide a uniform approach.

Compensation conducted twenty-two Manager/AO Briefing sessions in which the details of the guidelines and job description template were explained. Approximately 400 managers attended. Compensation also began working with specific departments to review job content, identify appropriate titles, and review job grading as well as internal and external equity. The most notable of those was an Institute-wide initiative to review all IT salaries, with market adjustments made where appropriate.

Compensation collaborated with Budget to provide more comprehensive budget reporting during FY2001. Specifically, through data analysis, the number of active FTEs and a breakdown of interim increases and promotions were captured for quarterly reporting purposes.

In FY2000, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) conducted a comprehensive audit of the Institute's compensation system and related internal control policies and procedures. The audit disclosed twelve deficiencies in the areas of job analysis, job evaluation, external equity, and salary structures. The Compensation Office responded to the DCAA's recommendations and has established appropriate controls and procedures, where necessary.

In addition, Compensation was involved in discussions that resulted in approximately 150 administrative position classification or reclassification requests and 130 administrative staff promotions during FY2001.

Barbara Jablon

Human Resources Information Systems

Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) primary responsibility is to identify, plan, and implement human resources information system updates and/or changes to meet the strategic needs of the Human Resources Department. Managing the current Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), includes meeting customer and user needs; implementing changes required by users, law, or benefit plans; approving security access to human resources information systems, including the data warehouse; updating and maintaining systems tables; creating and maintaining ad hoc reports; keeping up to date on developing HRIS technology; and, managing and developing the local area network. HRIS reports to the Director of Compensation and Systems.

This fiscal year HRIS continued its effort to reduce redundancy and streamline workflow. An example of this effort is reducing the number of appointment and change letters. The office is no longer producing appointment and change letters for non-stipend appointments. This reduced the number of letters generated by HRIS by several thousand. HRIS also worked closely with several of the academic departments to streamline the salary review process of "other academic" staff. With the new process departments can reappointment the other academic staff on quarterly reports. This should reduce the number of academic appointment forms created by the departments and sent to Human Resources.

The SAP HR-Payroll project went from the discovery stage to implementation stage this fiscal year. HRIS is playing a major role in this project. Kathleen Flynn is on the SAP HR/Payroll Core team full-time and is the project manager for the SAP benefits implementation. Clayton Ward and Cindy DeSimone served as team leaders on several business redesign teams. In March Cindy was assigned to the SAP Core Team project full time. Wayne Carloni and Toan Mac have provided technical and training support to the project.

Another project that was underway this fiscal year is the redesign of the HR website. Clayton Ward is leading this effort and is working with Information Systems and Publishing Services Bureau.

All computer hardware has been upgraded and conforms to MIT standards. All software has been updated from Novell to Windows NT. The upgrade from Restrac to Webhire Enterprise began this fiscal. Webhire Enterprise is a web-based application designed to provide greater flexibility and wider use of the application.

Toan Mac who terminated from HR last fiscal year has returned. We are all delighted to have him back.

Claire Paulding

Rewards and Recognition Program

The MIT Rewards and Recognition Program was officially implemented across the Institute in January 2001, in response to the Human Resources Practices Design (HRPD) task force's findings that MIT staff perceived the Institute as a "praise-free zone." As the program becomes an integral part of MIT culture, it is meant to enhance the belief that MIT is "as excellent an employer as it is an educator." In turn, this will contribute to improved employee morale and job performance, increased quality of customer service, improved cost savings and efficiency, and better management practices.

The program provides multiple and frequent opportunities throughout the year for MIT staff to recognize one another (both individuals and teams) for exceptional contributions to their office, their department or school, or to the Institute as a whole. Recommendations of the HRPD task force guided the creation of the program in its current form, which consists of three equally important components:

A Program Administrator position was created and filled in December 2000. This has made it possible to provide assistance in the design of customized Infinite Mile and Appreciation Awards programs, the collection of data; and the creation of multiple forms of publicity, including a web site and listservs to facilitate communication and share resources among design teams and key contacts, and Tech Talk and Faculty Newsletter articles.

The Infinite Mile and Appreciation Awards

Twenty organizational groupings created and customized their own award programs. They defined specific criteria and established a nomination and selection process. All announced their awards programs via their own web sites, brochures, and/or newsletters. By June 30th, 15 had held award ceremonies. Two hundred, sixty-two MIT staff were honored for individual or team contributions in areas such as: communication and collaboration; results/outcome orientation; customer/client service; community; leadership/role model; and innovation and creativity. Recipients included individuals from administrative, support, research, and service staff.

Additionally, approximately 400 staff across the Institute received appreciation awards. These included peer-to-peer recognition, manager to employee recognition, and employee to manager recognition. The overall sentiment has been profound-enthusiasm, pride in one another's achievements, and well-attended award ceremonies.

Jacqueline Stinehart

return to top

Employment and Human Resources Services

The primary responsibility of the Employment and Human Resources Services section is to provide a full range of employee relations support to both employees and supervisors within the various organizational units. These include: conflict resolution, staffing assistance, policy interpretation, performance management and evaluation, salary administration and other HR services. This group also provides support to departments in the processing of job listings, applicant materials and employment advertising through the MIT web site, other on-line sites, and various publications.

This year the Employment and Human Resources Services area has been marked by a number of staff and organizational changes. In fall 2000, Ken Hewitt, Manager of Employment Services, took another job opportunity at MIT. This vacancy was filled by Debra Gratto. In anticipation of the development of a centralized recruitment function, one of the major initiatives highlighted on last year's report, Ms. Gratto is filling the role as Director of Staffing and Employee Relations. She is overseeing the Human Resources Officers (HRO), Human Resource Staffing Assistants (HRA), and the development of the recruitment function.

Improvement with regards to systems and processes has been a major focus this year. With the recruitment function on the horizon, an evaluation of the administrative processes and systems related to employee transactions i.e., new hires, transfers, promotions, terminations, etc. was done to determine whether or not the current infrastructure could support a quality, efficient recruitment function. Since there were numerous methods throughout the Institute for processing each particular transaction, it was determined that significant changes in processes and systems needed to occur. However, waiting for the HR/Payroll project to be complete would delay the recruitment initiative and continue to hinder the HROs and HRAs ability to deliver prompt, accurate service to their client groups. Consequently, the Employee Transaction Work Flow Team and several pilot departments, developed one method for processing many types of employee transactions across departments. It is currently being implemented throughout the Institute.

In the spirit of better customer service, the HRAs and the Human Resource Information Services (HRIS) assistants together, under the title of HRA, as a team to support the HROs. This arrangement linked HRAs more closely with a specific HRO and his/her client department. It also called for cross-training of the HRAs so that they become familiar with both the academic and non-academic sides of MIT. Current staffing includes seven HROs and seven HRAs.

A collaborative approach to work as been a major focus for HRAs and HROs alike. Working with other areas within Human Resources, Employment and HR Services, has focused on identifying inconsistencies and cumbersome processes in salary administration, disciplinary actions, and other HR practices across the institute. Once problems are identified, a process for solution is put in place. One such collaborative effort resulted in the new compensation guidelines published this year.

Other staffing changes have included Ken Hewitt's transfer to the Lab for Nuclear Science from HR, Ken Wolfe, Employment Coordinator also moved on to another role at MIT. Sue Shannon, HRO terminated her employment while Wendy Williams transferred from the HRO role to the newly established Career Services Center. Etaine Smith, Brian Chenery, and Bob Muti joined the Human Resources staff as HROs. Sarah Heany, Anita Trotta, Teresa Howell, Carol Clark were also hired in this period as Human Resource Staffing Assistants. To concentrate attention on the Recruitment function, Dave Lee was also hired as Manager of Recruitment Services.

Debra Gratto

return to top

Labor Relations

The Office of Labor Relations is responsible for negotiating and administering the collective bargaining agreements covering approximately 1,300 MIT employees in five bargaining units. Labor Relations also represents MIT in grievance arbitrations and, in some cases, before administrative agencies in employment-related cases.

On June 13, 2001, the Institute and the Research Development and Technical Employees Union (RDTEU) agreed to a new two year agreement through June 30, 2003. The wage increases in the agreement were consistent with MIT budgetary guidelines. We continue to bargain with three other groups for successor agreements to contracts that expired June 30, 2001: the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), for the Campus Bargaining Unit; the SEIU for the Lincoln Laboratory Bargaining Unit; and the Security Officers Independent Union (SOIU). The current agreements with all three groups have been extended while we are still in negotiations.

The number of grievances reported to the Office of Labor Relations in 2000 rose slightly from the previous year, from 49 to 57. Two arbitration cases were decided, with the arbitrator ruling in favor of the Institute in both. Two cases filed to arbitration were resolved and three withdrawn before the arbitration hearing. Three grievances have been filed to arbitration and have yet to be heard.

During 2000, six cases were filed before the National Labor Relations Board. Of the cases that came before the board in this period three were withdrawn, two were dismissed in full, and one dismissed in part. Currently, there is one case still under consideration before the Board.

In addition this office provided advice and counsel to departments, laboratories, and centers on issues that involve union relations, collective bargaining, employment litigation and employment policy.

David Achenbach

return to top

Organization and Employee Development

Performance Consulting and Training reorganized in both structure and responsibilities to become Organization and Employee Development (OED). This name reflects the new mission of this function: to advance the organizational effectiveness of MIT and its departments and to promote the professional development of MIT staff. To accomplish this mission, OED provides four major client-focused services: organization development consulting, career consulting, professional development courses, and the management of the MIT Professional Learning Center.

Organization Development Services

Over the past year, the organization development (OD) consultants provided internal consulting services for approximately 150 projects for MIT and its departments, labs, and centers. In these projects the OD consultants collaborated with clients to provide services in managing change, developing teams and leaders, and planning and facilitating meetings and retreats.

Examples of internal consulting projects include:

HR-Payroll Project (SAP)

Working Group on Support Staff Issues

Dean for Undergraduate Education

Environmental Programs and Risk Management/Senior Council

Diversity Initiatives

Rewards and Recognition

Graduate Students Office

Dean of Student Life

Professional Development Programs

OED's second area of responsibility is professional development. OED held 118 courses through its open enrollment program. A total of 1033 MIT employees attended these courses. New courses included Everyday Praise for Everyday Results, Preparing for and Giving Presentations, Tips and Techniques for Time Management, Transitioning to Management, and Understanding Workplace Culture and Change.

OED also provided consulting about course development to content experts within the Institute. This includes consulting on the new financial management courses offered through its open enrollment program. OED also provided train-the-trainer programs for courses on financial management, project management, and mastering meetings.

OED doubled the number of fee-for-service courses it offered to the Boston Consortium from 10 to 20. In addition, a new service was offering OED courses to Boston-area alumni/ae.

In addition, OED laid the groundwork for an extensive leadership development initiative to be implemented soon.

Center for Career Planning at MIT

OED's third area of responsibility is Career Planning at MIT, which opened its doors in January 2001. A multi-service career center, it provides career-planning services to all of MIT's employees and their organizations. Services are specifically designed to support MIT's commitment to help employees assume responsibility for their own successful development as well as linking that development to the strategic direction of the organizations in which they work.

In the first six months of operation (January 2001-July 2001) services were developed and delivered to approximately 400 employees and more than 10 departments, labs and centers (DLCs). These include:

Employees utilize these services to enhance their careers by exploring new career directions, identifying developmental opportunities, implementing career change, and/or finding new positions.

Departments, labs, and centers utilize these services to link strategic planning needs to workforce planning. This includes assessing skills and competencies and identifying development strategies to meet future needs.

Learning Environment Services

OED's fourth area of responsibility is led by its Learning Environment Team. This team manages the MIT Professional Learning Center (W89). The mission of the center is to provide a quiet, clean, and pleasant environment to support effective training based on trainer and/or customer needs. It has six state-of-the-art computer-training rooms and two professional development/meeting rooms.

Since its inception in 1996, utilization and demand for services have increased. Utilization was 74 percent for the professional development rooms and 46 percent for the technical-training rooms. FY2001 yielded a total increase of nine percent in utilization over the previous year.

This year OED collaborated with Information Systems in bringing a Technical Coordinator on board to support customers' growing demand for customized hardware configurations. This new role also oversees all computer maintenance, coordinates changes and upgrades to remain current with the latest MIT-supported software, and supports technology-related initiatives.

The Learning Environment Team supports the various performance development courses, the overall work of OED, and the groups/individuals in the MIT community utilizing its services.

Margaret Ann Gray

return to top

MIT Medical

Meeting the medical needs of the MIT community by providing high quality medical care and health education with low barriers and easy accessibility remain the major focus of the operation of the Medical Department. The vast majority of the care needs of students, employees and Health Plan members are met within the Cambridge based facility or at the health facility at Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington. In addition, several members of the department maintain active clinical and academic relationships with local area hospitals and the Harvard Medical School. These relationships help ensure outstanding care for our patient who need hospital based or other specialized care.

Several important accomplishments and continuing initiatives have marked this past year.

Strategic planning activities continued during the year. The pace of this process has increased significantly and a report is expected in the early fall of 2001. The previous strategic planning project ended about five years ago; many of the identified projects have been completed. The current planning process has so far reaffirmed the mission and values of the department. An extensive data gathering process-both internally and externally-is underway which should inform and help shape the future directions of the department. This process is being conducted with help from two consultants and with broad representation from within the department and from the community that we serve. The process will provide us with a vision for the future. Goals will be established and implementation plans will be designed that will support the vision for our future.

The ComMITment to Care (C to C) program, our customer service initiative, continues to provide a systematic mechanism to improve our services. The process involves identifying areas of need, designing and implementing approaches to the issues and measuring progress. Work continues on mechanisms that allow C to C values and imperatives to be reflected in the performance reviews of members of the Medical Department.

In October of 2000 the Medical Department was the object of an unannounced survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Surprise visits are now part of the JCAHO's repertoire of evaluative services that help ensure consistent adherence to standards of excellence in patient care, administration and maintenance of a safe, effective facility for the delivery of care. The unannounced survey resulted in one "type one" recommendation-an administrative issue not directly related to patient care. This has been corrected to the satisfaction of the Commission.

The MIT Medical/Lexington facility continues to provide care for employees at Lincoln Laboratory and other eligible individuals. This site provides an off campus venue in the western suburbs that is available to all those who are eligible for care by the MIT Medical Department.

Dr. William M. Kettyle replaced Dr. Arnold N. Weinberg as Medical Director in August of 2000. With the support of the entire department the transition has been relatively smooth. Several management retreats were held during the year that has led to the development of some new administrative initiatives.

Shifting administrative responsibilities closer to the points of care should help improve service across the department. The service chiefs will play increasing roles in the hiring of personnel, making decisions about compensation and work expectations and in developing a system of clinician evaluation. Infrastructure support for these changes is under development.

A new position, Clinical Director for Campus Life, was created in a fashion analogous to the structural changes underway in the office of the Dean for Student Life, a new position has been created that is intended to foster enhanced connectivity between students and the Medical Department. Working more closely with other helping services on campus-dean's office, housemasters, campus police, etc.-the occupant of this position will be able to continually assess the medical and health education needs of the student community and be able to connect resources with need.

At the close of this academic year the report of the Task Force on Mental Health was being generated. In draft form the report of this widely representative group called for some specific changes in the provision of mental health services and for greater out-reach and support for the community in the realm of mental health issues. Initiatives to meet some of the suggestions of the Task Force are already in development and the Medical Department will actively participate in analyzing prioritizing and implementing needed changes.

Further progress has been made on implementation of information management systems. This process should improve scheduling, clinical results reporting and resource utilization. For those computer comfortable clinicians, a virtual electronic medical record is evolving.

A patient satisfaction surveying process has begun. Using a mailed in instrument randomly selected patients are asked to rate their recent visit from several points of view. Although the process is still very new, it should allow us to identify areas in need of improvement and also to identify best practices in areas in which our performance is high.

Medical Care Activities

Dental Service, Jay Afrow, D.M.D., M.H.A., Chief

During the past year the MIT Dental Service has undergone a significant transition and upgrading of its facilities. We have added two new general dentists and one hygienist to our staff. These individuals have allowed the MIT Dental Service to increase its ability to provide care to more members of the community. Recently the service renovated its waiting area and is in the process of upgrading the sterilization area to meet current JCAHO requirements. The X-ray equipment and film have been replaced with low exposure radiographic technology. This allows us to provide high quality dental X-rays with 67 percent less radiation exposure compared to the previous equipment. Air abrasion technology has also been added. This technology allows the treatment of small cavities without drilling.

The MIT Dental Service has worked to be more active and visible in the MIT community. Lectures on dental issues have been offered as part of the IAP program, at Lincoln Laboratory, and at departmental meetings. A program has been developed in conjunction with the MIT Pediatric Service to provide dental care to handicapped children who have been unsuccessful obtaining care in the general community. As the reputation and visibility of the MIT Dental Service continues to grow, so does the patient demand for services.

Medical Service, David V. Diamond, M.D., Chief

Personnel changes included the appointment of a new Chief of Medicine, the departure of a long-term staff member, and the arrival of a new Primary Care Physician. Our clinical management system continues to evolve toward a full electronic medical record with the addition of on-line clinical notes and radiology reports.

Visit rate overall was stable, but more patients are taking advantage of our Lexington clinic site which is now in it's second year of operation. Members of the department continue their involvement in various Institute committees such as COUHES, Committee on Biosafety, Animal Care Committee, and Ergonomic Committee. The Practice Management Team, organized as a result of recommendations of our on-going ComMITment to Care program, has addressed operational issues, including appointment availability, patient communications, staffing levels, and continues to coordinate innovations in patient centered services.

Health Education Service,
Gina Baral, MPH, LCSW, Health Educator for Students, Health Education Service
Marlisa Febbriello, MPH, Health Educator, Health Education Service

Health Education at MIT Medical remains committed to serving the needs of the MIT community through effective programming, education, and outreach. The professional health educators continually strive to reach students and other members of the MIT community and MIT Health Plan with information and active health promoting programs. New initiatives in student health education have included collaborative programs such as Residence-Based Advising, MedLIBRARYs in the FSILGs, and the campus-wide "Relationship, Responsibility, and Respect Week"; expanded activity during Orientation, including the Wellness Fair and GRT training; outreach activity, including the Student-Medical Mixer and residential programming; increased MedLINK activity, including additional group programming requirements and mandatory continuing education sessions and participation on Institute committees such as the Campus Alcohol Advisory Board, the Alcohol Education Working Group, and the Mental Health Task Force. MedSTOP, in the Student Center, continues to be a popular spot where pamphlets on relationships, mental health and stress, sexual health, drugs, sexual identity and other topics are available. The MedLINK program now includes 106 individuals who serve in 26 living groups (all undergraduate residence halls, one graduate dorm, and 15 FSILGs). Logs are being kept to monitor interactions among students and MedLINKS.

Health Education efforts at the MIT community level have also continued to grow. Collaboration with the MIT Family Resource Center has led to increased participation rates in programs, and widened the variety of services available to parents and parents-to-be. New classes and class times have been added to meet the needs of the community. Employees, students, MIT Health Plan members, and retirees attended classes throughout the year. Wellness classes (49 classes with a total of 511 participants) were held in both Cambridge and Lexington. 125 childbirth and parenting classes were offered in Cambridge. A total of 745 parents and parents-to-be attended these classes. During IAP 2001, 47 health-related talks were presented to 1150 participants.

The service continues to serve its twofold mission of education to both the student population and the overall MIT community.

After Hours Service, Howard M. Heller, M.D.

In order to provide 24 hour a day, seven days a week care year round, a staff of physicians has been assembled. These individuals are all licensed physicians and most are fully trained in Internal Medicine or Pediatrics. Many are receiving advanced, sub-specialty training at local area hospitals. In addition, a dedicated staff of Nurse Clinicians provides urgent care services.

Inpatient Medical Services, William A. Ruth, M.D.

The 18-bed JCAHO accredited hospital facility located in Building E23 continues to provide sub-acute level care for members of the MIT community. In addition to management of acute, non-life threatening, illnesses, like gastroenteritis and viral syndromes, this facility also provides post-operative care for patients under going orthopedic, gynecologic and general surgical procedures. Increasingly, the unit is called on to provide end of life services for members of the MIT Community.

Admissions during the year totaled 560. Students accounted for 157 (28 percent) and Medicare eligible patients comprised 146 (26 percent) of the admissions. The remainder were Health Plan members. In addition there were 71 transient-short stay (< 6 hours)—admissions for patients undergoing diagnostic testing or treatment.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Service, Lori A. Wroble, M.D., Chief

Four full-time and one part-time physician, together with two nurse clinicians provide OB/GYN care of the MIT community.

Table 2. Statistics for July 1, 1999–June 30, 2000

Patient Visits 8,722
Patients Seen 3,676
Obstetrical Services:  
Deliveries 171
Cesarean Section Rate 18%
Primary 13%
Secondary 5%
GYN Surgeries 59
Major 19
Minor 30
Missed Ab 10

Dr. Delli-Bovi, a part-time provider at MIT for 20 years, left as of June 30, 2001. We are now close to the end of a search for a replacement. Dr. Liau and Dr. Wroble closed their practices to new GYN patients in an attempt to decrease the wait time for appointments. All our practitioners continue to participate in community activities, including IAP lectures, pre-med advising, MEDLINKS advising, participating in the HST Program's introduction to clinical medicine, Harvard Medical School Primary Care Mentorship Program, precepting MGH Nurse Practitioner students and supervising residents at the Brigham and Women's GYN Clinic. Our providers also participate actively on departmental committees and initiatives as well as various Brigham and Women's Hospital committees.

Pediatrics, Mark A. Goldstein, M.D., Chief

A continuous quality care improvement project focused on asthma care for pediatric patients has been successfully implemented. Although asthma is a frequent diagnosis for MIT pediatric patients, this project is designed to reduce hospitalization for asthma. A similar program is being developed to guide the care of jaundiced newborns.

Local, regional and national efforts were made to educate our patients and other professionals about issues of importance in medical care. Staff participated in IAP, developed programs for the Massachusetts Medical Society and presented a program at the Society for Adolescent Medicine on issues important to teens. Dr. Goldstein is coauthor of Controversies in the Practice of Medicine, a book that describes a number of issues important in current medical practice and aimed at an adolescent readership.

Student Health, Mark A. Goldstein, M.D., Chief

The Medical Department continually strives to better serve the medical needs of MIT students. Access to health care at times convenient for students has received considerable attention. Plans are being formulated to institute a walk-in clinic for students four days a week in the afternoon and early evening.

In collaboration with two undergraduate students, the Vivo Project has been initiated. This web-based information system will make a wealth of resources available to the students. Confidentiality policy issues have been reviewed with students, parents and members of the Dean's office. Work has almost been completed on a clear and comprehensive document that outlines our policy and will be made available to students and parents.

For those students purchasing the MIT supplemental medical care policy, the mental health benefit has been increased. Students may have unlimited outside mental health visits on referral to participating mental health professionals.

Mental Health Service, Peter A. Reich, M.D., Chief

During the year a walk-in service was established and utilization has increased markedly with community awareness of the program. Although this service is geared toward the needs of students, it is available to all eligible members of the community. Monthly utilization rose to a high of 95 patient visits in May. Forty-five percent of the patients were new to the Mental Health Service and 75 percent of the walk-in patients were students. An overall rise in new patients among the students population suggests that outreach and publicity efforts have been successful.

An internal review process aimed at improving operations and planning for future needs has been undertaken. Preliminary recommendations include increasing the size of the staff, grouping providers into three teams, creating the position of Associate Chief, improving the flow of information regarding the care of high-risk patients, and evolving standards for patient evaluation and record keeping.

During the year a Mental Health Task Force was created and charged with the goal of assessing the status of Mental Health care on campus and making suggestions for improvement. It was co-chaired by Kristine Girard, M.D. and David Mellis, '02, and included undergraduates, graduate students, and representatives from the Office of Student Life, CSS, and housing, faculty, Health Education, Mental Health, and Medical Department administration. The Task Force reviewed mental health programs in other schools, studied the operations of the Mental Health Service, and surveyed student opinion and experience with mental health care at MIT. The Task Force report (in draft form) recommends increasing outreach and education, increasing the clinical staff, improving communication with housemasters, deans and faculty, and considering a satellite mental health office at the west end of campus.

Three long-term staff members left during the year: Ron Fleming became director of a substance abuse program in Hartford, Howard Ramseur moved to San Francisco, and David Henderson left to devote more time to research and academic activities. Three new providers joined the staff: Jack Lloyd, M.D., Suze Prudent, Ph.D., and Araceli Isenia, LICSW. Trainees with the Service included Fabiana Wallis, Ph.D., Lorraine Gray, Ph.D., Timothy Kelly, M.D., Kathleen Petruska, M.D., and two senior students from Simmons School of Social Work, Laura Moellentine and Peter Salgo. Jennifer Recklet was promoted to Program Coordinator, a staff position with responsibility for Spouses and Partners at MIT

Paulette Wood won the Medical Department's Lifetime Achievement Award. Bina Patel replaced David Henderson as one of the two Mental Health ex officio members of the CAP. Dr. Reich announced he would be stepping down as Chief of Mental Health as of June 30, 2002. He plans to remain on the clinical staff.

Surgical Services, Lawrence T. Geoghegan., M.D., Chief

General Surgery

The general surgical service continued to be very active at the Massachusetts General hospital and at the Mount Auburn Hospital. The service provides five-day a week on site clinical coverage and 24-hour daily and weekend coverage. State of the art care for a number of conditions is provided by members of the general surgical staff. An important, on going performance improved initiative focused on the care of abdominal pain has led to significant reduction in the number of complications associated with appendicitis. The service is in the final stage of producing a guide pamphlet for evaluation of abdominal pain. In the past year, approximately 170 major operative cases were performed at our affiliated hospitals.

Orthopedics

The service also provides five-day week clinic coverage and, during the school year, offers sports medicine clinics at the athletic facility. In addition, there is 24 hours/seven days a week emergency coverage. A full range of services is provided using a combination of facilities on campus and at the Mount Auburn and Massachusetts General Hospitals.

Otolaryngology

A full range of otolaryngologic and head and neck surgical services are provided for adults and children. The division offers, in addition to traditional head and neck surgery, state of the art endoscopic sinus surgery, including image guided technology, and radio-frequency ablation for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Urology

Two urologists provide onsite care and emergency coverage for a wide variety of urologic problems. Our patients have access to state of the art treatment for prostate cancer, stone disease and other urology problems.

Nursing Service, Laureen K. Gray, R.N., C.S., Chief

Members of the Nursing Service continue to provide clinical care throughout the MIT Medical Department, including Urgent Care, Internal Medicine, MIT Medical-Lexington, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Mental Health, OB/GYN, Occupational Health, and in our 18-bed Inpatient Unit. The service consists of nurse practitioners, registered nurses, a physician assistant, and clinical assistants.

The nursing service participates in a number of outreach efforts, including freshman orientation, new student registration, flu vaccine clinics in the fall, and IAP activities. Nursing has worked collaboratively with our Health Education Service, providing health information to our community of students in a variety of programs on campus, frequently in living units.

Several MIT nurse practitioners and registered nurses provide supervision for graduate and undergraduate nursing students from the major colleges and universities in the Boston area. The Nursing Continuing Education Committee organized the Annual Nursing Conference Day, which focused on Pain Assessment and Management.

Several performance improvement initiatives have been designed and implemented by members of the nursing service in collaboration with other clinical and support staff. Our initiatives for this year have focused on patient education and pain assessment and management.

Administration, Operations, Health Plans, and Financial Management
Annette Jacobs, Executive Director; Michael Glover, Communications Manager; Shelagh Joyce, Director, Information Systems; Ellen Offner, Director, Health Plans and Finance; Anthony Rogers, Director, Operations

The senior clinical and administrative leadership of the department has been meeting in a series of retreats to increase collaboration, and to establish goals and a plan for improving coordination and communication within the department to help support the new Medical Director. There have also been changes in leadership in the administrative areas of the department. Both Shelagh Joyce and Ellen Offner joined the administrative team as Director of Information Systems and Director of Health Plans and Finances, respectively, in October 2000. They co-led a cross-functional team for an extremely successful implementation of Phase II of our computer system. This phase affects all areas of the department and includes greater and more sophisticated automated business functions, including complex interfaces with MIT systems. We also began automation of clinical functions. There is increasing collaboration with the clinical leadership of the department to move toward an electronic medical record. We are also beginning to plan for the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Within clinical operations, we have completed a process in development for several years-each clinical service now has a clinical coordinator who works closely with the chief of the service to manage the clinical operations. The clinical coordinators, some of whom are clinically trained and others of whom are administratively trained, are led by Laureen Gray, Director of Nursing, and Anthony Rogers, Director of Operations.

Our ComMITment to Care program continues. We now have a full-time manager for this program and are beginning to use the first year of data from our patient satisfaction surveys to set goals for the coming year.

We continue to balance fiscal responsibility with meeting the health needs of the community. In response to the needs of both students and employees for enhanced coverage for outpatient psychotherapy, both the MIT Health Plans and the Extended Student Hospitalization Plan have increased outpatient mental health benefits.

Members of the administrative staff have been key participants in the provision and assessment of financial, statistical, and trend information for the Department's strategic planning process. With the finalizing of the Plan this Fall, all administrative staff will be involved in implementation of the identified initiatives. This effort is already underway through participation in working groups around five major areas identified as priorities for the Plan.

The Marketing and Communications staff has been increased which has allowed a redesign of the department's internal electronic newsletter. In addition, both the print and web version of health@mit, one of our major sources for communication of health related information within the MIT community have been reformatted. As part of a student outreach effort, our staff is working collaboratively with students on VIVO@MIT. The goals are to:

Table 3. Appointments and Terminations:
June 1, 2000 through May 31, 2001

Appointments

Terminations

Changes

William M. Kettyle, M.D.

return to top
Table of Contents