Executive Vice President

Highlights

Program Review

In last year's report, the provost and I announced the initiation of a program to review central administrative areas, modeled in part on MIT's highly successful Visiting Committee approach in academic departments. In April of 2002, we completed our first pilot reviews: Information Systems and Financial Systems Services.

Trustee James Champy and director of MIT Libraries Ann Wolpert co-chaired the internal review committee comprising faculty and administrators chosen for the depth of their information-technology knowledge as well as the variety of users they would represent across MIT. James Champy also chaired an external review committee comprising many of the best university chief information officers, as well as experts from outside higher education. We are in the process of reviewing the committees' reports with the two pilot units, and will report more broadly the actions we will take in response.

The review identified areas for service improvement; the need for clearer priorities governing, and better coordination among, our information technology purveyors; areas where we lead and those where we lag current technologies and services; and the need to address economies of structure and scale. At this point, we can declare the pilot a success and will work through other areas in the coming years. Seeing ourselves as others see us is vitally important.

Financial Performance

The Audit, Budget, and Controller's Offices joined their efforts to produce quarterly financial statements for the Institute, and began pilot engagements with operating units across the campus to assess financial performance on a regular basis within fiscal years. The ability to predict issues early which may require management interventions is crucial to the financial well-being of MIT.

Capital Construction

This has been an intense year for our Capital Projects Group in Facilities. Six projects are under construction, ten in design, and many others under study. The graduate dormitory at 224 Albany was finished, and is enormously popular. From June 30, 2002 we could see our way towards opening three more projects in August: the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center, the Simmons Hall undergraduate residence, and the Sidney and Pacific graduate residence. The capital phase of the Student Life and Learning agenda is nearing completion! Phase 1 of the Dreyfus Chemistry Building renovation was completed as well.

Environmental Health and Safety

The Environmental Health and Safety Office consolidated its five programs in one location, allowing for both greater collaboration among staff and more effective delivery of services to clients. Major work has begun on the development of the EHS Management System with significant input from community members in the departments, labs, and centers. Also, Academic Council adopted an EHS policy for MIT in December 2001.

Human Resources

In other systems news, many departments under the executive vice president have been collaborating on both the Human Resources-Payroll project and Lincoln Lab's Enterprise Resource Planning/SAP project. The SAP benefits module began to be used by Benefits Office staff in July 2001, and it was extended in November to support the annual benefits open enrollment. Module by module, we are consolidating a hodge podge of home-grown software applications into one integrated enterprise product.

Research

On the regulation front, a significant development over the past year has been the increased focus of federal agencies, particularly the National Institutes of Health, on issues of compliance. There are new requirements for protecting humans as subjects, and the government also is moving toward more detailed financial disclosures for both individual and institutional conflicts.

Personnel

John DiFava, formerly the colonel/superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, joined MIT as its new chief of police.

Steve Dimond, manager of MIT's Copy Technology Centers, was one of the recipients of the 2002 Billard award for outstanding service to the community.

Personal and Professional Activities

I was appointed chairman of the board of the Forum for the Future of Higher Education, which moved its affiliation from Yale University to MIT, and also became chairman of the Trustee Finance Committee of the College Board. Educause published my article "The Organizational Challenge: IT and Revolution in Higher Education" in its anthology Web Portals and Higher Education: Technologies to Make IT Personal; the article was also featured in the March-April 2002 issue of Educause Review.

John R. Curry
Executive Vice President

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Finance

The Audit Division delivers audit services through a risk-based program of audit coverage including compliance assessments and financial, operational, and technology reviews and audits. These efforts, in coordination with the Institute's external auditors, provide assurance to management and the Auditing Committee that good business practices and policies are adhered to, adequate internal controls are maintained, and assets are properly safeguarded.

Fiscal year 2002 saw the Audit Division's transition to a fully staffed function, operating around four functional teams responsible for distinct areas of the Audit Plan: Financial and Compliance Review, Operational Audit, Information Technology Audit, and Construction Audit. Information Technology audit resources provide support to the other teams, thereby integrating systems expertise into examination of business processes. Of special note, effective this year we established a new function, Professional Standards and Strategy, promoting an experienced member of the audit staff to associate audit manager to lead it. Working with the Institute auditor and the audit manager, this new function guides the division in setting policy and direction to help us achieve our long-term goal of becoming MIT's world class audit function.

The Audit Division's scope of services is equal to the full extent of MIT's auditable activities. Allocation of audit resources across this broad spectrum is accomplished via a model for evaluating risks associated with individual units and/or operational processes, thereby determining a cycle of audit review. The resulting annual Audit Plan guides the assignment and completion of work, which is heavily biased (approximately 30 percent of audit resources, measured in available staff hours) toward assuring compliance with financial controls and requirements of research sponsors within individual academic, research, and administrative units. Audit review of capital construction projects has become an increasingly important part of the plan (approximately 10 percent), with remaining time devoted to audits and review of operational processes, uses of technology, and special projects. Time is also specifically allocated to staff development.

During the past 12 months, we evaluated the adequacy of compliance with Institute guidelines, policies, and procedures, for control over financial activity throughout the School of Engineering. Of particular interest was measuring this area's adaptation to new guidelines for financial review and control, promulgated in 2001. Isolated exceptions, correctable in the normal course of business, were addressed to individual departments, labs, or centers, and we are collaborating with the dean's office in identifying areas for targeted education and oversight. A concurrent audit effort, examination of practices in the administration of sponsored research in the School of Engineering, is nearing conclusion.

Operational controls were examined in several areas, including MIT Dental Services, the Lincoln Lab Fiscal Office, General (non-sponsored) Accounts Receivable, Resource Development, and MIT Athletics. In addition, the operations of the Institutional Review Board and the Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects were examined for the first time. Finally, of particular note, several members of the Audit Division, in collaboration with staff from the Controller's Accounting Office, assisted the MIT Press in planning and conducting a full physical inventory of approximately 1.5 million books with a value in excess of $5 million.

From time to time the Audit Division takes on special reviews that are initiated at the request of senior management, or in recognition of changing circumstances or situations that pose unusual risk to the Institute. In January 2002, the executive director of the Media Lab requested an independent review to assess the financial condition and related accounting controls of the Media Lab. The ensuing review was conducted by resources retained from PricewaterhouseCoopers, under the direction of the Institute auditor, and was completed in June.

Construction audit activities have focused on multiple capital projects, representing nearly $800 million in project costs. These reviews seek to verify that all costs to the Institute are legitimate, complete, and appropriate in accordance with the final contracts and all related change orders. Reviews have identified potential recoveries and questioned costs of approximately $1.6 million, of which approximately $800,000 of cost reductions have been negotiated by management with the contractor. The construction audit process employs the services of several external audit firms, with both local and national presence. Selection of firms is based upon prior experience with the Institute and the project's construction management, in a competitive bidding process. The division's construction audit specialist consults regularly with project managers on the status of projects, and to identify areas of potential exposure that may be avoided contractually or with modifications in practices.

Our information technology specialists have been welcome additions to several endeavors on the technology front, including involvement in the SAP HR-Payroll module implementation, and the Lincoln Lab SAP Financial, Purchasing, Plant Maintenance, and HR-Payroll implementations. In addition to adding value to these development projects, this group has completed a review of controls in the Data Center, and also over local area networks employed in three labs and centers. Also, a follow-up review of compliance with the Institute's new e-commerce policy was recently conducted.

In addition, we have actively participated in the Environmental Health and Safety initiatives that are being undertaken in connection with the consent decree with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department. This commitment will continue to grow in the upcoming year, as the division's audit manager is leading the team responsible for design, development, and implementation of the audit component of the Environmental Health and Safety Management System. Involvement by Audit in this and the above systems development projects demonstrates the division's willingness to foster positive change as part of a management effort, in addition to fulfilling the traditional role of independent assessor.

Owing to considerable success in recruiting activities, the division's operations were less severely impacted, compared to prior years, by unfilled positions throughout this period. This diminished the need to draw on outside resources to fulfill the obligations of the audit plan. To gain access to expertise not available from our permanent resources, we did, with the support of executive management and the MIT Auditing Committee, selectively retain contract help to assist with work in MIT Dental Services, MIT Athletics, and the Media Lab, as well as to carry out our construction audit program. For this reason, we maintain relationships with various strategic partners who provide audit services, should the future need arise.

The division continues use of a software package enabling automation of administrative aspects of the audit process (work papers, scheduling, time tracking, and record keeping of audit findings). This not only brings the division to a peer level for automation, but it also provides the foundation for "industrial-strength" measurement, monitoring, and reporting to the MIT Auditing Committee on status and results of the Audit Division's activities.

The role of audit committees in both public and not-for-profit organizations is being better defined by members of the audit profession and others taking a strong interest in matters of institutional governance. The MIT Auditing Committee officially expanded their annual meeting schedule to three meetings, to permit additional time for topics of interest in concert with their mission. The committee also adopted a charter that will lend momentum to the Audit Division's goals for monitoring internal controls and supporting the Institute's risk management processes, as well as formalize the committee's operations and obligations.

We emphasize professional development on the part of all our staff. During the past year we are pleased to note that one of our staff, William H. Connelly, successfully passed the first of four portions of the examination necessary to becoming certified as a certified internal auditor. This marks substantial commitment to the profession of internal auditing on the part of this individual. Members of the Audit staff find opportunities for training in their discipline, and affiliate with industry peers through conferences, seminars, and group meetings. The Institute auditor is a member of the "Little 10+" association of Ivy League and other peer institutions, which meets semi-annually. The Information Technology audit team all participated in a similar program of IT audit peers. The Institute auditor was also selected to be a fellow in the pilot effort for a newly launched leadership development program, "Leader to Leader," uniquely designed for leaders in the MIT community. This ten-month program concluded in June 2002.

The Institute auditor is an active participant in several management groups. As a member of the executive vice president's Senior Management Team and the Administrative Systems and Policies Coordinating Council, the Institute auditor lends expertise in risk management and control in addition to staying abreast of new developments in broader Institute initiatives. The Institute auditor has also recently joined the Budget and Finance Steering Group, to provide an additional link between internal operations and the oversight activities of the Auditing Committee in financial affairs of the Institute.

The Institute auditor also chairs the Central Authorizer (CA) Oversight Committee, which works with the Business Liaison team in their dual capacity as the "Central Authorizer," or central clearinghouse for system authorizations maintained in the Roles Database, the central system of record for certain authorizations. The CA Oversight Committee comprises members of the CA/BLT, the Controller's Accounting Office, Information Systems, Financial Systems Services, and, recent additions, representatives of the Provost's Office and the School of Architecture. The CA Oversight Committee works with the CA to facilitate and support the ongoing use of the Roles database for maintaining authorizations, and to promote the further deployment of the Roles model for other business process system authorizations.

In May 2002, the Institute's cognizant audit agency, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), invited the Institute auditor, the director of the Office of Sponsored Programs, and the controller, along with the Institute's independent public accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to present at a workshop for DCAA field staff on OMB Circular A-133. The presentation acknowledged the innovation and efficiency achieved through a coordinated audit approach, which MIT, along with the DCAA and PwC, has uniquely employed among the institutions for which the DCAA provides governance.

The Audit Division has taken several steps to echo the executive vice president's five broad themes for MIT administration within internal operations and audit practices. First among these is client orientation. Supporting our primary client, the MIT Auditing Committee, while providing value-added audit services Institute-wide, has been a longstanding commitment of the Audit Division, one that is met through careful attention to the concerns and potential exposures that face the administrative and academic staff and the faculty, researchers, and senior Institute personnel they serve.

The second theme, collaboration, has been demonstrated particularly in our approach to construction audit; this responsibility can only be met through close involvement by the Audit team in the affairs of the Capital Projects group and project management. Our efforts in system implementation projects have also been carried out through strong collaboration, a mode which advances the needs of the auditor as well those of the overall project. Collaboration was vital to the success of the MIT Press physical inventory, where individuals representing three groups, the Controller's Accounting Office, the Press, and Audit all joined to accomplish the single goal of completing the task on schedule.

Sustainability is the third theme. Business solutions to audit findings must, as a first priority address the noted problem; to do this in a sustainable manner is the ultimate goal. Often management accountability (the fourth theme), reinforced through ongoing measurement, monitoring and reporting processes is a necessary ingredient in a sustainable solution. Improving and supporting management accountability is a goal for audit management in the upcoming year.

Professionalism is the fifth theme. Professionalism on the part of individuals in the Audit Division, as well as within the practices for the conduct of audit work, is an assumed standard for the internal audit function of an institution such as MIT. We recruit and retain people with professional certifications, support the ongoing maintenance of such certifications, and through communication and development nurture their understanding of their obligations as MIT internal auditors. A current theme at the division's semi-annual offsite meetings is defining the "Top Ten Best Practices for MIT's World Class Audit Function," and charting our course for implementing those practices. Through the dedication and professionalism of the current team, we believe this is an achievable standard of excellence.

Finally, as the upcoming year progresses, the audit management team continues to explore and compare internal administrative practices for audit plan development, audit methodology and uses of technology to "best practice" standards, and to consider opportunities to better leverage existing resources while meeting the Institute's goals for the division.

Deborah L. Fisher
Institute Auditor

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Financial Systems Services

Financial Systems Services (FSS) coordinates the development, delivery, and maintenance of the SAP business application environment on our campus. The FSS scope is growing beyond its roots in financial systems support to include both Human Resources and some Environmental Health and Safety requirements. The themes of client orientation, collaboration, sustainability, accountability, and professionalism guide us through our work and are reflected in the synopsis of our work that follows.

The Human Resources-Payroll Project successfully completed phase one of its three phases. This first phase included the conversion to SAP Benefits for administering medical, dental, life insurance, and flexible spending plan enrollments for approximately 11,000 employees at both Lincoln Lab and campus. The phase was completed with the conclusion of benefits open enrollment in November and December. In addition 14 business process teams completed their analysis and redesigns. Each team presented their work to project sponsors, business sponsors, and a design review team before considering their task complete. The Design Review team is a project-created group that is made up of persons both from the departments, labs, and centers (DLCs) and from central administrative units. Phase two of the project is currently underway and will result in employment transactions, compensation activity, and organizational assignments to be performed in the SAP HR system. 

Lincoln Laboratory has chosen SAP for its next generation of administrative computing systems. The lab joined with campus to implement the initial phase of the Institute-wide SAP HR-Payroll project, benefits open enrollment, during the summer and fall of 2001, and will implement additional HR-Payroll phases in the future. For its own use, Lincoln Lab will also introduce SAP functionality for Purchasing, Inventory, Property, and Accounting in early 2003. A web-enabled data warehouse will provide administrative reporting for all these business areas. Financial Systems Services, the campus SAP support organization, is supporting Lincoln in these efforts.

A new tool has been developed to effectively help the Administrative Systems and Policies Coordinating Council (ASPCC) anticipate the impact and subsequently monitor and "meter" the introduction and implementation of new technologies, new functionality, and significant business and administrative process changes to the Institute's DLCs.

The document contains information related to many of the activities and initiatives that will likely affect the Institute's administrative areas. The foundation for this tool is the administrative calendar, as developed by the Administrative Advisory Council II. To show the overall impact on DLC workload, the projected schedules for implementation of information technology and changes in business processes are presented with the administrative calendar.

The Graduate Aid Simplification team, co-led by a member of the FSS Community Support team, is a business process redesign team of the HR-Payroll Project charged with recommending a clear and consistent method for making graduate student appointments, both for the short term and for the long term, where the graduate student appointment process is integrated with SAP HR-Payroll. This team is looking at the entire process from admissions through graduation, and it is considering all of the many departments that interact with graduate students.

The Graduate Aid Simplification team identified three key areas that need work: ownership of the overall graduate aid process; training and education in business policy and best practice, as well as in technical systems needed by all administrators involved in the graduate aid process; tuition for graduate research assistants needs to be taken out of the Payroll system.

Members of the FSS Community Support Team (CST) are working with staff from the Information Systems's Web Communication Services to develop a web site to facilitate administrative work at MIT. This effort responds to a client need for a consolidated point of access to information and resources. The web site will also incorporate the administrative calendar, which was initially created by FSS CST staff working with the Administrative Advisory Council II.

The FSS Buy Pay team continues to provide production and development support for the purchasing, receiving, inventory, and invoicing processes including transactional and master data information. In FY2002, we deployed some newly developed key functionality to our customers: journal voucher and verification of credit card purchases to the general community via SAP's web architecture. For the majority of the fiscal year, the Buy Pay team also was heavily involved in two of the Institute's major initiatives: Environmental Health and Safety and Lincoln Laboratory's SAP implementation.

FSS continued to work with the Technology Licensing Office (TLO) project, which began preliminary investigation in late October 2000. The objective of the project is to implement SAP functionality to support the management of intellectual property by providing the solutions for TLO functions related to accounts payable, accounts receivable, intellectual properties, and license agreements.

The Real Estate Foundation, Inc., a charitable foundation established in October 1997 and housed in the Treasurer's Office, is the newest subsidiary to be represented in SAP by going live on July 1, 2002. The foundation accepts donated real property on MIT's behalf, and transfers the proceeds from the sale of the property to the Institute. Representatives from FSS and the Treasurer's Office, with support from the Controller's Accounting Office, identified the requirements for generating a separate profit/loss statement and balance sheet for the Foundation directly from SAP, while permitting the subsidiary to be included in an Institute-level summation in the annual Treasurer's Report. This implementation extended MIT's use of the SAP Real Estate module to allow the foundation to record and report on donated real property.

Phase two of the Technology Review project involved the analysis, configuration, implementation, and rollout of SAP's Procurement, Accounts Payable, and Travel modules. This phase required tight collaboration and coordination with the Controller's Accounting Office, Technology Review, and Financial Systems Services. Sponsors, stakeholders, and business process owners were heavily engaged in this phase, which was completed on time and on budget, to the satisfaction of all involved.

A cornerstone of FSS that ensures the sustainability of our SAP environment is the quality assurance (QA) area. This QA function continues to strengthen both internally and to educate the broader community as to the importance of quality standards. This past spring, we performed risk assessment interviews with the stakeholders for each business area utilizing SAP.

During the year, FSS participated in two MIT pilots. The first of these, which also involved Information Systems, was a program review and entailed a process by which central administrative areas are periodically reviewed. The concept is an adaptation of MIT's Visiting Committee process. The particular approach employed was modeled on Northwestern University's program review process.

On its own, FSS piloted the use of the Excellence in Higher Education framework as a mechanism for conducting the self-assessment called for under the Program Review. Through that self-assessment we identified a number of "Areas for Improvement" and selected six as the most important. They were: strategic planning, stakeholder input, project management, performance management, workplace feedback, and communications. At year-end, efforts were underway in FSS to address all of these areas. We expect to complete each of these efforts early in academic year 2002–2003.

Charles A. Shaw
Director

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Office of Budget and Financial Planning

The Office of Budget and Financial Planning (OBFP) is a professional service organization within the Institute's financial administration. Its mission is to support two client groups, the departments, labs, and centers on one hand, and senior management on the other, as they pursue the most efficient allocation of financial assets consistent with the Institute's goal of continued excellence in education and research. The office is responsible for:

Administrative Themes Initiative

In the course of fiscal year 2002, the OBFP continued to focus its activities within the framework of the five key themes of client orientation, collaboration, sustainability, accountability, and professionalism outlined by the executive vice president in the 1999-2000 report. Within each of the above areas, special emphasis was placed on those activities that helped streamline the existing financial processes and align budget reporting with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as applied in the preparation of the Institute's externally audited financial statements.

The office also made good progress in integrating its operation within the larger framework of the Institute's financial administration. The most significant outcome of this focus was the joint development of a new quarterly reporting and closing process with the Controller's Accounting Office (CAO).

The following eight activities significantly assisted in making progress in this area:

As a result of these initiatives, the Institute's budgeting process is realigned to better support the use of budgets as tools to improve cost effectiveness, as outlined during last year's budget seminars. Each of the above projects is covered below in more detail as they appear, along with other significant Budget Office activities, within the framework of the five key themes.

Client Orientation

During 2002 seven members of the OBFP staff where nominated by clients or colleagues of other administrative departments, to receive a prize within the Institute's Rewards and Recognition program. Our Infinite Mile winners were nominated by the School of Engineering and CAO, and Appreciation Award winners where nominated by Information Systems (IS), OSP and CAO. This is a welcome testimonial to the efforts of the Office of Budget and Financial Planning to work with their clients as facilitators in financial matters.

The Client Partnership Program, which OBFP instituted in 2001, was significantly expanded this year. This program was inspired by the remarks of two deans about the importance of face recognition at the client's site during a recent EVP management retreat. The key points of this program are:

This program has resulted in more efficient procedures and information exchange tailored to the specific needs of our clients. A minor but significant metric is that a budget officer typically spends an average of 20 to 30 percent of his or her time at the client's site.

Collaboration

Several important collaborative projects were completed or got under way during the past year. The underlying theme for all of them is streamlining processes, improving the quality of data available to the Institute and enabling the DLCs to use their budgets as tools to better manage their financial resources. Following is a list of the key projects.

During FY2002, the Budget Office and CAO began a joint project to develop a standard quarterly GAAP reporting format. This format was then adopted for quarterly budget and financial reports, as well as for the GAAP exhibits in the FY2003 Budget Book. The result is an earlier and deeper understanding of the Institute's financial position and unit results, a more standardized closing process, and an alignment of financial information for senior management, the auditing committee, and the executive committee.

A joint OBFP and OSP project resulted in significant improvements to the quality of monthly research volume reports, in order to better fulfill the client's needs (the provost, in this case).

A joint Facilities, OBFP, and IS (Data Warehouse) project team began working in FY2002 to enable more efficient reporting and tracking of capital projects by grouping these projects within exclusive profit centers. The work of this group is expected to be complete in FY2003.

The Buildings and Space Changes team, made up of members from OBFP, CAO, Facilities, and Property Management, collaborates on a regular basis to ensure that MIT's increasing fixed assets values are accurate and auditable. With the amount of construction currently underway at the Institute, this vital and complex function is even more of a challenge than usual.

Medical department budgeting and financial reporting according to lines of business is a joint project with the Medical Department, CAO, and the Data Warehouse team. This is an ongoing effort to enable reporting of Medical Department revenue and expenses along both business lines and specialties.

Other noteworthy collaborative activities include:

Sustainability

During the past fiscal year the Office of Budget and Financial Planning has made significant progress in defining the standard format of key financial reports and in modifying its systems infrastructure to support and automate the reports' production.

The new financial statement, as published in the FY2003 Budget Book, is the culmination of a number of years of collaborative effort. This view, which was inspired by the leadership of the executive vice president, has been developed into a standard format that will be used for all future reporting. Perhaps more importantly, our systems infrastructure is being modified to produce this view automatically, rather than relying on database queries and manual assembly and editing, as in the prototype. This will result in a significant reduction of the time needed to produce it and the reduction of errors.

The ten-year financial planning model, developed within the OBFP, has become a key tool used in the development of the Institute's financial plan. To ensure its ability to sustain the plan and to improve and expand its functionality during this last year, we have reworked the existing model from an Excel-based architecture to a modular database-supported structure. The new structure is sustainable, expandable, and enables greater internal integrity of the system, better tracking of assumptions, and quicker turnaround of projections.

In response to a request from the Financial Issues discussion group, a sub-group of the executive committee, we developed a standardized "dashboard" reporting of the status of the Institute's key financial metrics. This will be used by both the executive committee and senior management as a monitoring tool. Here too, the systems have been modified to automate the production and updating of the dashboard on a monthly basis.

To ensure sustainability, our office relies heavily on information technology and systems. During the past year we have added an additional degree of sustainability to our IT infrastructure by adding a backup domain controller, doubling our office server capability, tuning the Oracle database, and upgrading our color print speed capabilities.

Accountability

Accountability is a key theme for us. Our office is composed of a small group of highly skilled professionals who are personally committed to fulfilling their obligations and responsibilities. The group works as a team. Each person's contribution is often dependent on the work of others in the office and is critical to the team's collective added value. Just as we are committed to individual accountability, our office is also committed to improving the accountability of the budgeting process. This past year we were involved in three such activities:

Professionalism

Professionalism tempered with courtesy is the cornerstone on which quality service to our clients is based. We constantly seek to maintain and improve our level of expertise, both in areas relevant to the mission of our office and in terms of individual knowledge and qualifications. During the past year OBFP staff have been involved in the following activities:

In addition, we actively encourage individual staff members to enroll in credit courses for professional development. Two of our staff members are currently working towards MBAs from Suffolk University. One staff member has attained a certificate in Oracle database administration from Northeastern University. One staff member has just completed the Massachusetts CPA exam and is awaiting results. In addition, most of the staff has participated in individual development classes primarily in the areas of technology use and finance.

In the coming year, we will continue our efforts to keep all five key administrative themes operational. Our office has set its own goals on working smarter by developing sustainable, simple processes that can support our role in encouraging greater effectiveness in the allocation of financial resources within the Institute's budget process.

Stefano Falconi
Director of Finance

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Office of the Controller

The Office of the Controller comprises the following groups:

Fiscal year 2002 was a busy and fulfilling year for the Office of the Controller. We were able to support the Institute's needs and increase our level of service. The year's excellent results are due to all the Controller's Office employees who worked together to accomplish our goals. The follow sections describe some of the year's highlights.

Systems

The pace of work on two major extensions to the SAP system—SAP Human Resources/Payroll and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)/SAP project—increased substantially in FY2002. At the same time improvements continued to be made to the core SAP financial system, while only necessary system changes were made on a priority basis to Lincoln Laboratory's legacy systems, as emphasis has shifted to SAP development. In addition, work continued on e-commerce technology on both the buy and sell sides to permit MIT departments, labs, centers, and affiliated groups the ability to accept payment for goods and services by credit card via the web, as well as improvements in Business to Business (B2B) functionality.

Some Controller's Office staff worked full time on SAP Human Resources/Payroll, and others participated in the Design Review Committee and various short-term project teams. The SAP Benefits module began to be used by Benefits Office staff in July 2001, and was extended in November to support the annual benefits open enrollment. In the payroll area, management reports containing detailed analyses of pension payroll requirements were completed.

MIT's Lincoln Laboratory has embarked on a significant effort over the next several years to partner with campus in the implementation of SAP as the Laboratory's ERP solution, starting with accounting and finance and property functions. In FY2002, accounting and technical staff from the Lincoln Fiscal Office continued to participate in the Lincoln Laboratory ERP/SAP development effort.

The Controller's Office collaborated extensively with other central units and department, lab, and center staff in two significant updates to the SAP financial accounting system during FY2002. In November 2001, a series of enhancements were added to the ability to use the web for SAP functions, including web journal documents, web verification of credit card charges, and a web interface for the annual benefits open enrollment, and in April 2002, a series of SAP updates were made to keep the SAP system current and to support future functions in SAP, such as Human Resources. These updates, with specific enhancements too numerous to list, increased the overall utility of SAP to the MIT community as well as its sustainability for future growth. Using the multiple enterprise structure added last year, we completed the first year of operations with a separate SAP company code for the Technology Review, and the infrastructure is in place to add the Real Estate Foundation and the MIT Retirement Plan (Defined Benefit) as separate company codes in fiscal year 2003. Also this year, the SAP asset module was expanded to include all costs associated with capital software.

In October 2001, an enhancement to SAP that permitted the MIT community to view images of vendor invoices posted by Accounts Payable in SAP was put into production, to an overwhelmingly positive response from the community. The new imaging technology has reduced the need to call Accounts Payable for an explanation of charges, and decreased the need to send paper backup via campus mail. In future, imaging will decrease the need for archiving and storing paper invoices.

Controller's Office staff continued their collaboration with Information Systems to develop a secure credit card server for MIT. The project is now being piloted for both web and back-office credit card processing. The program will provide secure credit card processing for the web without the processing fees charged by third party vendors. For back-office credit card processing, the program offers significant improvements in security surrounding the issuing of credits to credit cards.

Reporting

The new quarterly reporting process, a collaboration between the Controller's Office and the Office of Budget and Financial Management begun in FY2001, continued to be refined in FY2002, with measurable improvements in timeliness and accuracy each quarter. The goal was to show the quarterly operating results in a way that reflects both the way the Institute's general budgeted monies are managed and accounted for, and the way operations, including general, designated, and research funds, are reported in the Institute's published financial statements. The first quarterly 2002 report was favorably received by the auditing committee and senior management. The result is an earlier and deeper understanding of the Institute's financial position and results, a more standardized closing process, and an alignment of financial information for senior management, the auditing committee, and the Corporation. The table below shows improvements in the time required to close the fiscal year, before SAP implementation in 1995 and this year.

Year End Closing Comparisons

 
FY1995 FY2002
# of Closing Periods
5
2
# Days to see output
from journal documents
3-4 business days
Immediate (without EB*)
Next day (with EB)
Final closing date for departments
August 2
July 17
Final closing date
August 22
July 25
* EB is the calculation of overhead for Employee Benefits.

Also in the reporting area, the Controller's Office led an effort to consolidate and improve internal and external debt accounting for the Office of Budget and Financial Management, the Controller's Office, and the Treasurer's Office, and developed a financial statement format and financial statements for the internal and external review committees for Information Systems and Financial Systems Services.

This was the second year that the Report of Sponsored Research Activities for the Fiscal Year (Brown Book) was available on the web. This year the Research Expenditures by Sponsors schedule was made available for download in Excel spreadsheet format, a feature that was well received by users of the report.

Insurance

The biggest challenge faced by the Office of Insurance in FY2002 has been grappling with the dynamics of a hard insurance market, triggered by a host of factors, but most significantly, the losses caused by the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. Multi-year policies, with renewals in FY2003 or beyond, have insulated the Institute from experiencing exorbitant increases across many lines of coverage, including general liability, excess, and directors and officers policies, fine arts and business travel accident insurance. Staggering increases in premiums have resulted upon the renewals of the Institute's umbrella, aviation, and blanket property policies. Fewer viable insurers willing to quote, offering lower limits of coverage, only upon submission of substantial underwriting information, has become the standard. These trends will continue in FY2003 as insurance companies cancel policies, reduce coverage, and increase premiums.

Collaboration and communication with many departments, on an ongoing basis, has been a key initiative in addressing concerns regarding insurance coverages, liability issues, and proactive risk management strategies. The Insurance Office will continue to take a proactive role in this process.

Audits

Controller's Office staff both on campus and at Lincoln Laboratory participated in the FY2001 A-133 government audit, which consists of two main parts: an audit of the basic financial statements and an audit of the entity's major federal award programs—research and financial aid. The audit concentrated on review and testing of internal controls. Controller's Office staff continued to support the Defense Contract Audit Agency's (DCAA) ongoing audits by providing information and reports. There has been an increased effort to provide separate audit information on classified projects, so in essence, each request made during DCAA's annual A-133 audit had two components to it and had to be acted on separately.

The Department of Labor concluded its review of MIT's basic retirement plan for period 1996 through 1999, with no exceptions identified. The property system was approved with no audit findings or recommendations, after a property system survey conducted by the Office of Naval Research. The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) reviewed and approved the property control system at Lincoln Laboratory.

The following sections highlight selected new and existing efforts within the Controller's Office to implement the five themes established by the Executive Vice President's Office.

Client Orientation

Through its wide range of services, the Controller's Office serves virtually everyone at MIT—faculty, students, staff, and retirees. We listen to our clients daily through a variety of formal and informal mechanisms—face-to-face, telephone, issue-oriented electronic mail lists, and meetings. We disseminate information our clients need to know using vehicles such as the controller's message on the monthly financial statements, announcements to a financial administrators' electronic mail list, our web pages, periodic administrative officer meetings, presentations to individual departments, year end closing meetings, vendor fairs sponsored by Procurement and the Travel Office, and training sessions such as the VIPcard class.

We also assist departments, labs, and centers on business issues, processes, accounting practices, and financial reporting. This year we expanded our support for specific client projects, assisting with service center and product family reporting for Information Systems, revenue recognition reporting for the Center for Advanced Educational Services, payroll reporting from the Data Warehouse, Athletics financial processes, and development of a standard set of monthly financial statements encompassing all of the dean for student life's areas. In addition, with the Audit Division, we supported the MIT Press physical inventory and made recommendations to improve their inventory and consolidation accounting. We also worked with the Media Laboratory to develop better reporting for consortia, and partnered with them on business process and accounting issues.

Collaboration

As the central organization that processes and consolidates MIT's financial transactions, the Controller's Office collaborates with other units on a daily, ongoing basis as an essential part of our work. The Controller's Office participates in all financial-related project teams, which last year included numerous SAP teams, e-commerce sales, Environmental Health and Safety, daycare, the health and fitness center, Information Systems processes and standards, and Lincoln Laboratory property. We work with the Safety Office, Environmental Medical Services, Risk Management, the Audit Division, and Facilities to address loss control issues. A Building and Space Changes team with staff from Facilities, the Controller's Office, and the Office of Budget and Financial Planning collaborates on a regular basis to ensure that MIT's fixed assets are accurate and auditable. We selected e-commerce vendors in partnership with Information Systems and community representatives. Other significant collaborative efforts in FY2002 include working with the Benefits Office to perform an administrative assessment of the basic retirement plan benefits and record keeping and with the Benefits Office and a third party administrator to provide retirees who have variable annuities with a one-time option to transfer to a fixed annuity. We also worked with the Office of Cost Analysis to conduct the annual indirect cost study for the equipment and building pools, which resulted in a recovery of over $25 million.

Sustainability

The systems work described previously enhances the sustainability of our business processes and systems. Below are several other examples of efforts last year that also contribute to sustainability.

Partnerships with preferred vendors for commodities and travel are part of our strategy for sustainable procurement, and have been successful in enabling MIT to use its aggregate buying power to obtain favorable prices. This year we added partner vendors for maintenance, repair, and operating supplies and bottled water (a joint partnership with Harvard). We renewed the contract with our office supplies partner, replaced our partner for computers and related equipment, selected a new office furniture distributor, and established a list of four recommended vendors for copiers and other office machines. To support the change in computer equipment partners, we worked with those vendors to develop an electronic catalog for our ECAT (MIT Electronic Catalog) system, so that members of the community would have the same convenience of web shopping and purchasing with the new vendors that they had with the old. The computer vendor switch was made in the spring, and has been well received by the community. Electronic catalogs for other new partner vendors are currently under development.

In the area of benefits, administration of the Flexible Spending Accounts benefits program was outsourced to a third party administrator commencing with the 2002 benefits plan year, and oversight responsibility was transferred to the Benefits Office. The transition went smoothly.

In Sponsored Accounting, which is responsible for the funding and financial reporting for all sponsored research contracts and grants, improvements to the SAP billing system have reduced time spent on monthly bills, permitting staff to spend more time on financial reporting. The results have been significant, with a reduction in the backlog of outstanding Industrial audits from over 1,900 to just under 1,000 within the last year.

Accountability

Responsibilities and roles are clearly defined in the Controller's Office areas. This information is published for the community on our web pages, beginning with the directory of CAO Offices on http://web.mit.edu/cao/www/offices.htm, which includes the names of supervisors of operating units. A variety of operational measurements are compiled and reviewed by the different units, and summary operational dollar and transaction volume metrics are collected monthly. For example, the Controller's Office continues to monitor and log all issues sent to the accounting-issues@mit.edu electronic mail list and review purchasing transactions for compliance with MIT and federal policies. Also in the area of compliance, this year we worked with Dun and Bradstreet to improve our vendor database to more accurately report socioeconomic procurement data required by the government.

Representative Metrics

The following selection of metrics gives an idea of the volume of FY2002 transactions in various operational units in the Controller's Office.

Volume of Payments During FY2002 (# in thousands)

 
Non-PO Invoices
PO Invoices
VIP Credit Card
Travel Vouchers
Payroll Payments
Pension Payroll
(excl. lump sums) 
 
#
$M
#
$M
#
$M
#
$M
#
$M
#
$M
Campus
91
$253
199
$751
118
$23
29
$32
282
$529
66
$100
Lincoln
--
--
82
$142
--
--
7
$2
59
$176
--
--
Total
91
$253
281
$893
118
$23
36
$34
341
$705
66
$100

During FY2002, the number of active cost objects in SAP grew 14 percent to 40,792 by year end, comprised of 5,403 cost centers, 29,053 internal orders, and 6,336 WBS elements. Approximately 35,000 financial transfers were done via SAP journal voucher, totaling almost individual 340,000 line items. Over 17,000 items of equipment were tagged by the campus and Lincoln Laboratory Property offices. This year, for the first time, the number of VIP procurement card transactions exceeded the combined number of procurement transactions by other methods—electronic and paper requisition. (See graph below.)

procurement transactions

In addition, data entry in Accounts Payable has been significantly reduced by the development of electronic invoice feeds from internal organizations such as Medical and the Libraries. This year, approximately 39,000 non-purchase order invoices were electronically entered into SAP, avoiding almost 300 days of data entry effort. (See graph below.)

electronically entered invoices

Professionalism

MIT is the leader in e-commerce technology in higher education, with its VIPcard, partner electronic catalogs, and merchant services programs. This year representatives from the Procurement Office worked with the National Association of Educational Buyers to host a national conference on electronic commerce, with MIT's ECAT electronic catalog a highlight of the event. The Controller's Office staff makes significant contributions to industry groups such as the Boston Consortium, Masco, the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium, the American Payroll Association, and the National Property Management Association. In addition, the Lincoln Fiscal Office participated in a business services benchmarking analysis, comparing key indicators of Lincoln Laboratory with those of three peer organizations, two other Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and one University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). The objective of this annual effort is to understand the factors that influence the way a business function is performed and contribute to the practices, complexity, and cost of the function.

In the area of professional development, Controller's Office staff participated in this year's pilot of the Leader to Leader development program. We also completed pilot testing of a new course, Fundamentals of Financial Management, developed in collaboration with Financial Systems Services and three fiscal officers from MIT research labs and academic departments. This course for fiscal officers in departments, laboratories, and centers is now offered monthly.

James L. Morgan
Controller

More information about the Office of the Controller can be found at these locations on the web: http://web.mit.edu/cao/www/, http://web.mit.edu/purchasing/, http://web.mit.edu/property/www/, and http://web.mit.edu/ila/.

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Office of Sponsored Programs

The Office of Sponsored Programs' mission is to conduct the centrally organized administrative, business, and financial functions related to grant and contract administration and to assist faculty, principal investigators, and their administrators in the identification of resources for and the management of individual sponsored projects consistent both with MIT's academic and research policies and with the stewardship requirements of and obligations to external sponsors.

Research Volume

For fiscal year 2002 the total volume of sponsored research performed on campus was $454,495,000. This increase of $47,100 million represents an increase of 11.6 percent in total volume compared with the FY2001 volume of $407,423,000. The breakdown by sponsor is shown in the table below.

Campus Research Volume by Sponsor — 1993–2002
(in thousands of dollars)

1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
FEDERAL
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DHHS
64,882
60,192
61,066
58,211
57,215
58,938
58,246
65,905
69,539
74,806
DOE
57,325
63,180
67,114
69,588
70,753
70,281
63,138
57,000
57,780
59,658
DOD
66,769
61,601
55,866
59,997
67,858
64,776
65,718
65,686
60,971
60,117
NSF
38,008
39,574
38,564
35,837
36,347
36,264
35,352
35,669
37,520
44,878
NASA
32,324
37,449
41,291
39,190
36,947
30,227
27,301
22,734
18,592
25,119
Other
8,899
8,722
9,641
8,721
7,232
9,115
7,409
6,753
6,777
11,562
Subtotal
268,207
270,718
273,542
271,544
276,352
269,601
257,164
253,747
251,179
276,140
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NON- FEDERAL
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Industry
62,068
59,117
56,120
67,164
75,194
74,062
74,325
73,609
92,036
106,572
Nonprofit
25,593
23,666
26,430
25,926
28,952
36,197
42,214
50,970
55,588
63,638
Other
5,487
6,173
5,597
5,649
7,382
6,495
2,344
5,662
8,620
8,145
Subtotal
93,148
88,956
88,147
98,739
111,528
116,754
118,883
130,241
156,244
178,355
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TOTAL
361,355
359,674
361,689
370,283
387,880
386,355
376,047
383,988
407,423
454,495

Compliance Issues

The most significant development over the past year has been the increased focus of federal agencies (particularly NIH) on the issue of compliance. New requirements have been implemented designed to protect humans as subjects, particularly requirements concerning the disclosure of certain financial information in human subjects Informed Consent forms. The government now also requires federal wide assurance (FWA) with respect to human subjects and is moving toward more detailed financial disclosures for both individual and institutional conflicts. Issuance of Responsible Conduct of Research guidelines, delayed after the events of September 2001, is anticipated this coming fiscal year.

By September 2001 in a cooperative effort between the Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects committee chair, OSP, and personnel from Information Systems, MIT deployed a secure web-based training program for the use of humans as subjects that is replacing the paper-based training course that had previously been used.

Costing Issues

The Institute addressed a variety of costing issues during the past fiscal year, ranging from cost sharing and effort reporting policies and issues to negotiation of Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rates for future years. Items of particular interest are described below.

Cost Sharing and Effort Reporting

MIT has continued efforts toward streamlining its collection and reporting of cost sharing and effort reporting data. Some advantage accrued to all universities as a result of the clarification memo issued in January 2001 by the Office of Management and Budget. Since in many ways the MIT policies and procedures preceded the final policy changes by the government but anticipated the federal changes, MIT did not need to make major changes to its procedures to implement the regulations. However, through an FDP task force co-chaired by Julie Norris, Pat Fitzgerald, and Charles Paoletti (from ONR, Office of Naval Research), we are in the process of identifying other administrative areas where changes in the regulations would provide for streamlining and the elimination of non-value added activities.

Negotiation of Facilities and Administrative (F&A) and Employee Benefit (EB) Rates

MIT successfully completed negotiations with our cognizant agencies, DCAA and ONR, to establish F&A rates on a fixed with carryforward basis for FY2003 at 63.0 percent modified total direct cost. Employee benefit rates were negotiated for FY2002 at the same rates as for FY2001.

Other Costing Activities

The audit conducted annually as required by OMB Circular A-133 was successfully completed in March 2002 with an unqualified opinion, no identified material weaknesses, and a determination as a low-risk entity. In addition, OSP continues to work with the Controller's Accounting Office and the Facilities Department to identify, review, and compile costs for the construction of the Stata complex in accordance with the recent changes in OMB Circular A-21.

Administrative Theme Initiatives

Client Orientation

OSP has continued its training program, which it offers each semester to the Institute community. This program covers a range of general federal topics (policies and procedures, applicable circulars, F&A and EB costs) as well as a cradle-to-grave summary of how to manage a research award. We have added additional basic guidance on proposal preparation and review as well as post award sponsored program administration to the OSP web site. In addition, we have begun regular meetings with clients to supplement the sporadic visits and presentations made in the past. Implementation of the web-based human subjects training course with its automated recording in the Warehouse of persons who have successfully completed the training has expedited the processing of NIH research proposals. We are beginning to initiate a secure web-based financial conflict of interest reporting system. In another area, the Cost Analysis Office has been working with the appropriate units to review the allocation account process and set annual allocation rates for each unit subject to review by ONR.

Collaboration

Many of the training courses are being taught in collaboration with personnel from academic units. In other areas, OSP personnel have worked with academic units to use SAP in new ways to track and record research activities. In this past year, numerous staff members have continued their roles on the Provost Office's team for development and implementation of improvements to cost sharing management. In support of these activities, we have held training classes and added additional guidance and training materials to the OSP web site. Personnel from academic units have served as reviewers and collaborators as the MIT electronic proposal initiative has reached roll-out stage. During FY2002 OSP has held a series of sessions to show academic administrators how the COEUS screens can be utilized for simple but sophisticated reporting. These sessions (originally scheduled to be held three times) have been offered more than a dozen times so far this year. Administratively, OSP has begun a collaborative activity with the Office of Budget and Financial Planning to develop more detailed quarterly research volume analysis reporting.

Sustainability

One key element for MIT is the growth in volume of its research endeavors. The metrics above show how the research enterprise has grown this past year, and its gradual growth over the past decade. OSP has developed, in conjunction with certain federal agencies, mechanisms for electronic receipt of awards (called TS 840's) and streamlined loading of the terms and conditions into COEUS. Along with this growth has come major financial and administrative compliance requirements and, primarily through the efforts of cost analysis, MIT has continued to integrate these requirements without disallowed costs or questioned systems.

Accountability

OSP is continuing participation in designing administrative processes that apply the MIT control environment, which sponsors and auditors expect, to new relationships and activities that require unique business approaches. For example, the move of the Research Subawards Office to OSP has been a step toward clarifying roles and responsibilities. Academic units no longer need to work both with OSP and with Procurement in the development and issuance of research subawards. The successful completion of audit reviews, F&A negotiations, and the establishment of rates underscores this.

Professionalism

OSP is a national leader in electronic research administration. We were the first institution to receive electronic awards in a standardized format from ONR and we will be the first to be able to submit NSF FastLane proposals in an EDI format (coming in fall 2002). Participation at a senior level in policy initiatives of the federal government, authoring books and book chapters, serving on national panels, and on the Council on Governmental Relations, testify to the professionalism of the staff and their involvement in the important research administration issues being addressed across the country. OSP representatives continue to accept requests for meetings and presentations on our processes and tools. As one example, OSP is actively participating with the Boston Consortium in developing programs to cooperatively meet training needs throughout the Boston area.

Julie Norris
Director

More information about the Office of Sponsored Programs can be found on the web at http://web.mit.edu/osp/www/.

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Operations

Audio Visual Services

Audio Visual Services' central mission is to provide presentation technology support for all types of Institute activities. The fulfillment of this goal brings the department to the heart of the Institute's educational endeavors, providing daily service to faculty, students, and staff in classrooms and lecture halls. Through the use of audio, video, and computer display and amplification technologies, department staff provided service for classes, conferences, seminars, and cultural programs, totaling over 12,700 events during 2001-2002. Total revenue for the year was more than $1.6 million. Major accomplishments of the past year are presented below.

Customer Feedback Survey Development

In keeping with the department goal to improve service, a customer survey was developed during the fall semester. By accessing a database through a web interface, professors and other presenters in major lecture halls were polled on their experiences in using Audio Visual's services and installed equipment. A total of 65 people were surveyed and 14 responded, a 21.5 percent response rate. A five-position measurement scale was developed to measure satisfaction with several service-related areas including technician assistance, installed equipment performance and order placement procedures. The scale ranged from 0 – 4, poor to excellent. On questions related to technical assistance and customer service, respondents replied with an average score of 3.93 and 3.64, respectively. On questions related to installed equipment performance, respondents replied with an average score of 2.93. This survey will be further developed in the upcoming year to gauge customer feedback, improve service levels, and as a way to develop new services. The survey can be found online at http://avwebserver.mit.edu:591/room-survey.htm/.

Service Agreements for Presentation Technology Systems

To provide the Institute community with reliable presentation technology installations in classrooms, the department developed a service agreement for systems maintenance with the Registrar's Office. More than 60 classrooms were scheduled for periodic maintenance on all systems, enabling users to have confidence that systems would be operational for classes and special events. Service agreements will continue to be a growing area of activity for the upcoming years as other departments install presentation systems that will need maintenance. The department will provide agreements for any department whose installations need attention.

Staff Changes

An additional administrative staff position was created to focus on event coordination. The new coordinator began in February 2002 and assisted the department's customers in planning and executing their events. This included many concerts, conferences, and all commencement-related programs. This position will continue to work with customers and other MIT service providers to improve levels of communication and event production in the future.

Presentation Technology Systems Consulting and Project Management

The department continued to actively participate in the development and installation of presentation technology systems for classrooms and meeting spaces. Some of these include the following:

Continuing Education

Two department technicians developed and taught a two-day workshop on live audio systems engineering and operation during IAP 2002. The workshop was attended by most technicians and was well received. Plans are being made to teach the workshop to a wider audience during IAP 2003. Professional development in the department included attendance by five staff members at an audio system workshop offered in August 2001 by Shure, an audio equipment manufacturer. Four staff members attended Infocomm, the annual trade show and conference sponsored by the International Communications Industry Association (ICIA). All staff in the department are members of ICIA. Several department members enrolled in courses offered at MIT's Professional Learning Center in customer service and various computer software systems. Future educational opportunities are planned for staff to maintain and increase skills.

Work began during the summer to upgrade the department's web site, allowing easier navigation and operation for users. The site will have links to the customer survey, order form, price list, policies, and links to other MIT service providers with whom we collaborate. The new website will be launched by the beginning of the fall semester.

Louis W. Graham, Jr.
Manager

Further information about Audio Visual Services can be found online at http://web.mit.edu/av/.

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Copy Technology Centers

The goal of this organization is to provide the community with the highest quality copier and copier-related services. We continually strive to maintain a balance of providing new technology at reasonable costs. To achieve success, we pledge to institute creative programs of efficiency and quality controls, while maintaining sound business principles. We hold the customer at the center of our efforts and their satisfaction as our mission.

Accomplishments

The past year saw the beginning of many changes to the Sloan Copy Technology Center in East Campus. The center has long been a key distribution point of teaching materials to the Sloan School community. The department introduced a new supervisor and there were new efforts by the entire staff to revitalize not only the physical surroundings but also the mixture of services offered. Some of those changes included:

The above efforts represent a department-wide response to the expressed needs of a segment of the MIT community. The positive results have positioned the Sloan Copy Technology Center not only for the present needs but also for future requirements that will surely come.

One of the largest areas of growth in the past year was the production of work submitted in electronic format. The past year saw a sharp rise in the number of customers taking advantage of our ability to receive customer files, proof their order, submit the document electronically to our networked printer/copiers, and deliver the finished product back to their office. This service has taken on a new and greater importance as technology allows for customers to design and create more elaborate print orders. A new manager of Media Services was appointed and a staff assigned to work specifically in this service area. Creativity and technology necessitated a dedicated group that has since been responsible for many complex and highly successful projects. Our Media Services group has been on the cutting edge in enhancing this service, introducing new software and hardware solutions to a growing number of Institute departments and individuals.

The CopyTech Express Center in W20 continues to be a unique and popular service solution to a varied group of customers. Whether a student needs to fax a document at 11 pm, the Conference Services department needs a number of posters printed on a Saturday, or a group of conference attendees in Kresge need to check their email, the versatile Express Center has responded. As a new and exciting focus emerges for the West Campus community, our center has recognized the need to remain flexible and responsive to all service requests.

The past year saw a revamping of our service to the Math and Chemistry departments. A long-time manned copy room serving those departments was reconfigured into a self-service copy room under our successful copier program. Newer, more efficient digital copiers were purchased and a simplified account system introduced to the area users. Along with those changes, a new three-times-a-day pick-up and delivery service, similar to a successful program initiated in the Physics department, was introduced to respond to the more complex copy requests of the departments. The combination of new copiers and a more responsive approach to specific needs has resulted in a very successful transition. These three departments serve as examples of how the Copy Technology Centers can seek out creative and tailored solutions to specific needs.

During the past year we laid the groundwork for developing a new electronic storefront for the centers. The ability to provide customers with a web-based option to browse, order, and purchase items online is a critical step forward. The wide array of companies that provide software programs, coupled with the intricate security needs of MIT require careful diligence in establishing this service. A number of vendor products have been researched and initial discussions with the necessary MIT departments have begun. The ability to offer this method of transacting business is a key to our department's future direction and goals.

As the current fiscal year ended, a number of equipment enhancements were made in the center in Building 11. Purchase of a new online booklet maker for our on-demand Heidelberg digital print system was completed. The device will allow for the growing number of workorders requiring booklet-making features to be run more cost effectively in-house rather than sending to a more expensive outside bindery. The completely automated device adds a highly requested module to our current system.

The process of reducing the number of outdated copier devices also began. Newer, smaller, digital units are being installed. These devices will meet the customer demands and significantly upgrade the copier fleet in the department.

The department made concerted efforts this past year to play a prominent role in the MIT community. Led by Marketing Manager June Milligan, the Copy Technology Centers have increased participation in many community events. Sponsorships to student groups, support staff initiatives, and departmental fundraisers have been successfully implemented. Many community-wide events have benefited from the donation of time and services by our department. This comprehensive program has grown to serve all aspects of the community and reinforces our mission to actively participate in the community.

The installation of a new chargeback billing system was a critical step in improving accountability to our internal customers. The new system, developed in partnership with Peggy Conant of Information Systems and our financial officer, Lee Finnegan, will greatly simplify our ability to accurately charge back for work performed. It also gives customers a more efficient and faster way of reconciling their costs. An improved information flow will be the most obvious feature that our community customers will notice.

The initial steps were taken to bring about a working partnership with a number of Institute teaching initiatives. Preliminary discussions have identified the Sloan School, MIT Libraries, and the new OpenCourseWare program as potential partners. Each of these seeks to enhance the distribution of teaching materials, as is the basic mission of our department. A natural progression to understand each of our roles and to avoid duplicate processes, is the desire of the early meetings. All have agreed that further involvement is not only necessary but of benefit to everyone.

Future Goals

The future goals of the department will continue to be shaped by technology and the change it brings. Our ability to react to those changes in a manner that is efficient and of benefit to the community is crucial. We strive to be a flexible organization that can respond to any need and issue. We feel confident that we have made necessary changes and decisions that will accomplish our mission. The following are some of the goals we seek to achieve in the coming year:

Kip Bruggeman, Institute Copier program manager, was co-recipient of this year's Infinite Mile service award for the Enterprise Services group. Don Choate was promoted to the position of media services manager. Donna Mulholland was promoted to the position of course content copyright administrator. Steven M. Dimond was presented the 2002 Gordon Y Billard award by the Institute, for service to the community.

Steven M. Dimond
Manager

More information about the Copy Technology Centers can be found on the web at http://web.mit.edu/ctc/www/.

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Endicott House

Fiscal year 2002 was a challenging year resulting in a negative cash flow of $227,000. The September 11 tragedy, a steep economic downturn, and partial closing for renovations resulted in a $908,000 decrease in revenues. Although a dramatic change from the previous year, losses were minimized through $370,000 of expense reductions. FY2002 losses were reimbursed from Endicott House reserves.

MIT represented a seven percent decline in bookings and a 14 percent decline in revenues. Major contributors to the reduction were two Sloan Executive Education program cancellations and limited availability during renovations. On the external side a more dramatic decline was experienced. Post September 11, bookings declined 32 percent and revenues declined 30 percent.

As noted in last years report, in our effort to meet future conference and special event needs in the MIT Community the first phase of renovations and expansion were completed this past spring. The changes included a renovated kitchen area, serving line and buffet room that can accommodate display cooking; upgrades in life safety systems; and access improvements to the mansion that meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Other enhancements include video conferencing, refurbished guest rooms and new carpeting. The next phase of work at Endicott House will include a new 200-seat banquet facility, 63 more guest rooms (bringing the total to 100), a doubling of meeting-room space, and additional upgrades to the facility's infrastructure.

During renovations the department operated on a limited basis focusing on day meeting events realizing $117,000 in revenues. With the facility partially closed key staff were assigned roles in contacting previous users and potential users within the MIT community. This outreach combined with other marketing activities has generated a 34 percent increase in bookings YTD compared to FY2002. Sustained growth is anticipated in FY2003 with continued outreach and collaboration within the MIT community. Due to the slow economy the external market provides great challenge as bookings YTD are down 32 percent from the previous year. Many long-term clients have reduced budgets for meetings and travel in the current economic climate. Marketing efforts under contract with Conference Center Consulting Group continue to play an instrumental role in meeting the financial objectives.

Again this past year the department maintained focus on meeting clients' goals and expectations. As in previous years food quality, guest services and staff commitment ranked excellent. Employee training, motivation and recognition programs played an important role. Additionally, during renovations all permanent staff remained employed as a measure of MIT's commitment to dedicated team members retaining trained staff.

Reinvestment in the physical plant and property for FY2001 totaled $233,000 in accordance with our ten-year capital plan. Projects included front desk relocation and renovations, driveway repairs, main house carpeting, video conferencing equipment and master plan design work. Again this past year reclamation and enhancements of gardens around the main house and Brooks Center continues.

The primary goal in FY2003 is to rebuild business volume including growth in function business returning to positive cash flows, continuing to increase usage by the MIT community and expand training and development of managers and supervisors striving for excellence in guest service. Our continued achievements reflect the dedication and commitment of the Endicott House staff.

Michael Fitzgerald
General Manager

More information about the Endicott House can be found on web at http://web.mit.edu/endicott-house/.

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Environmental Programs Office and Environment, Health and Safety Office

The Environmental Programs Office (EPO) is responsible for the strategic direction of environment, health and safety (EHS) services and systems at MIT, for overseeing the EHS Office, and for participating in and coordinating the development of institutional EHS leadership and policy, in collaboration with the Institute EHS Council, the Environmental Council, other Institute committees, and senior officers. Together with colleagues from the academy and administration, EPO is leading the development of an MIT EHS Management System, which integrates compliance, environmental sustainability and health and safety initiatives, research and education. The management system will improve MIT's EHS performance, compliance, and accountability, while preserving the independence of research and teaching. The EHS office's primary responsibility is to provide EHS services to MIT's departments, laboratories, and centers (DLCs), as well as to support the Institute's accountability for EHS compliance and positive initiatives, to ensure the health and safety of the MIT community and the public and to protect the environment. The office is also deeply involved in development of MIT's EHS Management System.

MIT EHS Management System

To demonstrate MIT's long-held commitment to environmental stewardship, as well as to satisfy the requirements of a June, 2001 MIT, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Justice Department Consent Decree, MIT continued efforts begun in fiscal years 2000 and 2001 to design and implement an MIT EHS Management System (EHS-MS), which will be a model for academic research. This management system will provide better institutional accountability for achieving and maintaining compliance with federal, state and local EHS regulations in MIT's laboratories, research centers, facilities and operations, while also retaining the independence of research and teaching. The EHS-MS will also create a more sustainable MIT by incorporating positive initiatives (reducing wastes and toxics, preventing pollution, conserving and reusing resources) into activities. The integration of compliance, positive initiatives, research and teaching defines MIT's EHS-MS, reflecting MIT's values and exceeding the consent decree and regulatory requirements.

An ad hoc EHS subcommittee of the Institute Council on EHS, co-chaired by the vice president for research and associate provost and the managing director for Environmental Programs and Risk Management, and Senior Counsel, and comprising senior faculty and administrators from across the Institute, is leading the development of the management system and approves each component as it is designed. Research and operations-oriented working committees of staff from DLCs work closely with the EHS-MS project team in the Environmental Programs Office to develop and vet ideas for the design of components of the management system including: EHS DLC and central organization; training; audit inspections; inventory; systems integration; web resources; the EHS manual; and the three supplemental environmental projects which are being undertaken in lieu of penalties under the consent decree. Approximately 85 members of the MIT community from a large cross section of DLCs are participating on these committees and project teams to ensure that the management system works well for MIT and is sustainable over the long term.

MIT EHS Policy

In December 2001, MIT's Academic Council adopted a comprehensive EHS policy to represent MIT's long-standing commitment to EHS stewardship in research, teaching and operations. The ad hoc EHS Subcommittee developed the policy, and the EHS Management System will implement it. The policy provides:

MIT is committed to excellence in environment, health and safety stewardship on our campus, in the larger community of which we are a part, and globally. This long-held commitment is demonstrated through our contributions to the environment, health and safety research and teaching, as well as through our institutional conduct.

MIT is committed to being at the forefront of large academic research institutions:

—in minimizing, as feasible, the adverse environment, health and safety impacts of our facilities, activities and operations to protect human health and the environment (which is one way we define sustainability)

—in achieving and maintaining compliance with federal, state and local environment, health and safety laws and good practices in all of our departments, laboratories, and research centers, facilities and operations;

—in achieving a high standard of institutional accountability for environment, health and safety stewardship, while maintaining the independence of research and teaching

—in providing educational opportunities to our students and other members of our community, to reinforce the values exemplified in this policy and influence their activities during and after their tenure at MIT

—in measuring and continuously improving our environment, health and safety performance

The policy and its 20 supporting principles are available online at http://web.mit.edu/environment/stewardship/policy.html.

Environment Web Site

An enhanced environment web site, http://web.mit.edu/environment/, came online this year, providing information on everything environmental at MIT, including research, education and operations. The site, which is to be continuously updated, covers health and safety as well as the environment. This environmental hub for MIT features highlights on environmental research and educational programs, as well as EHS compliance checklists, regulatory resources (including waste pick-up services), commonly asked questions, and MIT's environmental sustainability and health and safety initiatives. Representatives of MIT's Environmental Council have been significantly involved in the site's development. The site reflects MIT's integrated and comprehensive approach to the environment which recognizes that our EHS operations must meet the high standards of our environmental research and teaching. It is intended to provide an easy view of the breadth and depth of MIT's environmental activities, opportunities, and commitment for prospective students, members of the MIT community and others outside of MIT. Additional navigation and design improvements are underway and content additions continue.

EHS Organization Structure in DLCs and Centrally

The ad hoc EHS subcommittee of senior faculty and administrators endorsed an EHS organization structure for MIT, as well as a menu of approved EHS organization options for DLCs. After a one-on-one meeting with representatives of the EPO, EHS office and ad hoc EHS subcommittee to elicit feedback and answer questions, each of the 40 highly or moderately regulated DLCs at MIT determined that at least one of the organization options would work for the DLC and the DLC committed to implement that option. Common to all of the options are: the DLC head is ultimately responsible for implementing MIT's EHS Management System in his or her DLC and for the DLC's EHS performance; the DLC head is supported by an EHS coordinator who oversees DLC EHS performance and provides assistance concerning EHS organization, training, inspections and inventory, on a day-to-day basis, working closely with a lead contact and supporting team from the EHS Office; each principal investigator or supervisor of a laboratory or other facility is ultimately responsible for meeting EHS requirements in his or her research group or area, including by implementing relevant aspects of the management system; EHS representatives within each laboratory or facility assist the principal investigator or supervisor; each DLC will have an EHS committee, chaired by a senior faculty member and co-chaired by the EHS coordinator, and comprising other faculty, students and the EHS office lead contact, to provide resources and oversight of DLC EHS performance; the MIT council on EHS and other EHS presidential committees will oversee MIT's EHS performance, including implementation of the EHS Management System, in close coordination with the managing director for environmental programs. The EHS office has created lead contacts, backed by teams of experts, to provide resources and assistance to each DLC. The EPO and EHS office worked with each DLC to do a resource and workload assessment, and the provost provided resources for additional DLC staff where needed. This assessment will be reviewed in six, nine and 12 months to determine whether assumptions were correct and ensure appropriate resource allocations.

MIT's organization for EHS services and oversight also continued to evolve. In October 2001, the single EHS office consolidated its five programs—environmental management, industrial hygiene, radiation protection, biosafety and safety—into one location, newly renovated space on the fourth floor of N52. This has allowed for more collaboration among the five EHS disciplines and should result in more efficient delivery of services in the years ahead as the EHS-MS is implemented.

As part of MIT's commitment to continuous improvement in the delivery of EHS services, a series of ten focus groups were held this past December and January to determine both client and staff satisfaction with EHS services and processes. The results of these discussions are integral to the evolving EHS office organization design under the EHS Management System. In general, clients and staff viewed the strengths of the EHS office as its proactive approach to partnering with DLCs, strong sense of the customer and sound technical expertise. The primary concern expressed was that the EHS office needs to clarify and more regularly publicize its mission, roles and responsibilities, the resources it offers, and how to access the office services.

The EHS Management System development addresses these concerns as DLC EHS coordinators and EHS office lead contacts form working partnerships and use tools such as the new website, EHS Management System manual and uniform training programs as they are implemented. A recently published supplement to the Tech Talk describes MIT's EHS policy, the EHS-MS roles and responsibilities, and EHS services and personnel. For additional copies, contact 2-EHSS or environment@mit.edu. The first issue of a quarterly EHS newsletter, EHS News and Views also went to press at the end of FY2002 and provides useful information for DLCs.

We will continue to emphasize our new service organization-one office, one call, one location, both physical and virtual. Our new web site (http://web.mit.edu/environment/) and single phone number (x2-EHSS) and one location will serve as a means to effectively handle all queries.

EHS-MS Training Materials

As part of the MIT EHS Management System and consent decree requirements, the ad hoc EHS subcommittee oversaw development of, and the working committees and project training team developed, uniform content for two web-based and live training modules: hazardous waste management and oil spill prevention. A collaborative approach was used to develop these two modules by conducting reviews with the working committees and other focus groups including graduate students. The modules will be available on an Institute-wide EHS training web site. The two web-based modules were submitted to EPA along with a training report that described the process used to develop the two modules. In addition, the foundation was established to develop the consent decree-required training needs assessment tool and uniform MIT EHS training program implementation plan, as well as additional EHS training modules.

Supplemental Environmental Projects

MIT continued efforts begun in fiscal year 2001 on three supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) undertaken in lieu of penalties under the consent decree. The SEPs are an environmental education and projects program with the Cambridge Public Schools, which is being managed by the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment and its Program for Environmental Education and Research, with EPO and its EHS office; a "Virtual Environmental Campus," a web-based environmental compliance and operations tool which graphically depicts good compliance and "green" practices on a typical campus; and an environmentally beneficial biofiltration stormwater management system at the Stata Center, presently under construction. The Virtual Environmental Campus was submitted to EPA in June 2002 for review, and the final version will be available online at www.C2E2.org later in FY2003. Efforts to complete the other two SEPs are proceeding as required in the consent decree.

Additional Service and Program ImprovementS

Construction Safety Program

Along with its ambitious capital building program, MIT is managing an unprecedented volume of renovations. To oversee the EHS aspects of these renovations and construction projects and act as an EHS liaison with the city of Cambridge Fire Department and Building Inspectional Services, a new position of campus construction safety officer was formed. The objective of this collaboration between the Department of Facilities' Design and Construction office and the EHS office is to assist project managers anticipate EHS issues and work effectively with contractors and regulatory agencies to avoid project delays and adverse impacts.

Fire Safety Program

In collaboration with Residential Life, EHS professionals continued to educate residents about fire safety and proper emergency procedures. EHS professionals also worked with the Chemistry Department and Facilities to provide fire extinguisher instruction.

OSHA Confined Space

To satisfy an OSHA confined space rescue requirement, MIT entered into an agreement with the Cambridge Fire Department, designating the Fire Department as the rescue service for MIT in such situations. As part of the agreement, EHS office experts worked closely with the Fire Department to ensure that the Fire Department department is familiar with the MIT campus and provided training to firefighters on rescue situations at MIT's campus.

Support of Research Experiment

The Bates Laboratory completed the final installment of the target/detector system called BLAST. This system employs innovative instrumentation and technology to study the nuclear structure of polarized gas targets. The Bates Radiation Protection Program (RPP) collaborated with laboratory division leaders and user groups to design and evaluate facility shielding and access modes to meet safety and customer requirements. The Bates RPP also collaborated in a major upgrade of the facility emergency annunciator network. The annunciator system is interlocked with machine operation and provides a facility-wide announcement of emergency alarms. The design, installation and evaluation are conducted with a high level of professional care and ensure a sustainable system.

Enhanced Program Delivery

EHS continued its efforts to enhance delivery of services through the efficient use of technology and innovative techniques. The use of the web allows rapid communication and transfer of information for several programs including medical surveillance for animal handlers, submittal and review of DNA protocols as required by NIH, and filing of injury and illness reports required by OSHA. In addition, new databases were created to document and perform trend analysis for several programs including routine inspections of food preparation areas, validation of autoclaves' effectiveness, annual building inspections by the Institute's insurance carrier and select subsets of the environmental and personnel monitoring databases collected by many of the EHS programs. Hazardous waste pickup requests are now exclusively made on-line which improves access to the community and provides a record of performance that can be tracked.

Anthrax and Post September 11 Threats

After September 11, 2001 the biological attacks using anthrax through the mail caused widespread concern throughout the country. MIT was no exception. EHS, police and others responded to 26 suspicious envelope or package concerns. The Cambridge Fire Department HAZMAT unit responded when sources of suspicious material could not be confirmed. No packages or materials have tested positive for anthrax. The EHS office has developed procedures for response and evaluation of suspicious packages. EHS is also evaluating field-testing materials for suspicious packages and envelopes.

EHS and other groups are working collaboratively to evaluate the events of September 11 and to suggest changes in our processes to improve communications, preparedness, and safety. EHS also works with MIT PD, local and regional civil agencies to stay aware of terrorism and crime threats and assists MIT in being prepared for such activity.

Positive EHS Initiatives—Green Campus Initiatives

Construction and Demolition Debris Recycling

The EPO and its EHS office worked closely with the Department of Facilities Capital Projects Group and Design and Construction Services (DCS) to develop and implement a feasible Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Recycling Program. MIT conceived, hosted, and presented the new program at a C&D seminar in October. A standard specification was written for capital projects; its first use at the Media Lab demolition resulted in a 96 percent recycling rate for that project. Efforts to extend the program to all DCS projects are progressing, including a recent meeting with staff from EHS and DCS and several renovation contractors.

Pollution Prevention Activities

In addition to forming a pollution prevention component of the EHS Management System project for the coming year, several pollution prevention activities were initiated. A centralized silver recovery unit was installed for the recovery (rather than disposal as hazardous waste) of photochemical fixers in east campus. This program will be expanded campus wide in the coming year. Recyclable batteries are being purchased for EHS office use in pagers, cell phones, and other battery powered devices. We also worked with the Medical Department in replacing mercury-containing syphgmomanometers with non-mercury containing devices.

Mercury Recycling Program

For calendar year 2001, the Institute shipped off-site approximately 900 pounds of elemental mercury for recycling. The mercury was collected from various laboratories and departments from across the campus as the result of a mercury reduction program and due diligence on the part of Institute researchers. MIT's EHS office encourages laboratories and departments to exchange mercury thermometers and outdated manometers with non-mercury-containing alternatives.

Universal Waste/Battery Recycling

As part of an audit of the Universal Waste program (operated by Department of Facilities) EHS worked with Facilities to implement a campus-wide recycling program for rechargeable batteries.

Contracting

The EHS Office assisted the Department of Facilities in procuring new recycling vendors, saving a projected $80,000 over the previous vendor's price and maintaining a very broad-scope recycling program for MIT.

Recycling/Green Procurement/Food Waste Composting

The National Wildlife Federation recognized MIT's greening efforts. We have much more to do but the recognition was welcome. The Environmental Programs Task Force (EPTF) sponsored by EPO is improving recycling measurement and reporting processes, with vendors submitting data monthly to EHS. EHS assigned a full-time staff member dedicated to recycling issues and other positive initiatives.

Total tonnage recycled at MIT increased in calendar year 2001 by 53 percent over 2000 to 993 tons. However, waste also increased by over 2000 tons, creating an average recycling rate of 12.4 percent for 2001. (The rate achieved by the end of 2000 was 20.3 percent and the average rate in 2000 was 11 percent.) Recycled content products purchased through Office Depot and the Copy Technology Centers increased by 24 percent in 2001 over 2000. In 2001, 75 percent of all copy paper and 16 percent of all office supplies bought were made from recycled materials. Food waste composting increased from about four to nearly nine tons per month from 2000 to 2001, through expansion to Baker House and Next House. The gradual increase in the monthly tonnages being diverted resulted in an increase of from 50 total tons diverted in 2000 to nearly 92 total tons in 2001, an 84 percent increase. MIT's Green Building Guidelines were expanded to encompass previously articulated long-term environmental goals (see 2000 EPTF annual report) and performance standards, as well as life-cycle assessments to fully consider costs and benefits, and certain environmental costs that do not translate well into dollars (e.g., indoor air quality, nonrenewable resources, greenhouse gases).

Clean Charles

MIT continues to support EPA's program to achieve a swimmable, fishable Charles River by 2005. MIT's EPO and Government Relations Office sponsored a stormwater system design contest culminating with the awards ceremony held at the MIT Faculty Club in February. The contest was reported on the contest web site, in Tech Talk, and in The Boston Globe. We also provided support for a graduate student to assist with EPA contest preparations.

Select Biological Agents

The EHS office sent out a questionnaire to update MIT's records on laboratories that have listed and non-exempt "select agents," as well as those that have exempt agents. The questionnaire went to the approximately 220 principal investigators working in any DLC where research with any type of biological materials was occurring, as well as to the approximately 20 heads, chairs, or directors of those DLCs and their administrative officers. The EHS office then followed up with those few locations that have select agents that are listed and not exempted under the 1996 Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act to notify individuals in those labs about the restrictions imposed by the post September 11, USA Patriot Act, so that they can comply.

Program Metrics for Environment, Health and Safety

The following data reflects the level of core service activities in the EHS Office in FY2002 without weighting for level of difficulty:

Regulatory Interactions

US Environmental Protection Agency

During FY2002, MIT met and/or exceeded all MIT-EPA-Justice Department consent decree requirements including: a self-evaluation of existing environmental conditions; development of an MIT EHS Policy; development of a web-based Environmental Virtual Campus, a training tool for campus environmental compliance which is one of the Supplemental Environmental Projects in lieu of penalties, and is being tested and will be available to all colleges and universities online at www.C2E2.org later in FY2003; development of an EHS Organization in all DLCs across the Institute and centrally; and development of web-based training materials for hazardous waste management and spill prevention and control. Also see the section on Positive Initiatives undertaken with EPA above.

US Occupational Safety and Health Administratio

There were two separate complaints filed with OSHA. One related to building E32 and the other to building NW30. Both were resolved with no citations issued.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Radiation Protection

The campus's broad scope radiation license was inspected in May 2001. Two inspectors spent 2.5 days reviewing the program. No violations were reported. A renewal application for MIT's broad scope license was prepared and submitted to the Massachusetts's DHP, Radiation Control Program. The application qualified our current license as timely renewed, thus there were no interruptions in use of licensed material by our research community. The renewal application reflected recent changes in our organization, location, and personnel. The special nuclear materials license was amended to reflect the needs of a nuclear engineering project that utilizes several radioactive materials. The Massachusetts DPH Radiation Control Program conducted a telephone inspection of the MIT and Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research (WIBR) security programs in October 2002 as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks and found security in order. The Massachusetts DPH Radiation Control Program conducted a surprise inspection of the licensed activities at the WIBR on April 28, 2001. The inspection resulted in no safety, security, or compliance violations. The WIBR management was pleased with the inspection results and attributed success as a result of the strong RPP efforts at their facilities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducted an inspection of MIT's special nuclear material license (SNM-986) activities on January 27, 2002. The inspection resulted in no safety, security or compliance violations.

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Interaction

MWRA inspectors visited the campus twice in the past year. No significant violations were noted.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The MIT Research Reactor was routinely scheduled for inspection by the (Nuclear Regulatory Commission two times during the last year. Additional inspections by the NRC were made for specific program areas. Each of the routine inspections was one week long. One of the routine inspections focused on the radiation protection program. During this inspection, no notices of violations (NOV) were reported and the one follow-up item (IFI) has been addressed and confirmed by the NRC. The other routine inspection focused on operations. This inspection resulted in no NOVs and two IFIs. One IFI related to reflecting the evolved EHS office organization in the reactor's license, which has now been done. The other IFI was a reminder for the inspector to review with MIT new formal guidance by the NRC for all reactors of certain types, once that guidance is issued.

Cambridge Fire Department

Training for the Cambridge Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team was conducted for radiation safety, chemical and biological hazards, and air sampling techniques. Members of the EHS office worked with the Fire Department on emergency planning procedures. MIT provided training to the Cambridge Fire Department in rescue techniques for confined spaces and high places as well.

Cambridge Local Emergency Planning Committee

Several members of the EHS office participated as members of the Cambridge Local Emergency Planning Committee. A major disaster drill implemented by LEPC is assisting MIT in refining emergency preparedness planning.

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

EHS submitted a comprehensive air emissions permit for the campus to the Massachusetts DEP in the past year. DEP is evaluating and analyzing the permit application presently. EHS reported to DEP regarding hazardous waste generation and pollution prevention activity, commuter trends and statistics for MIT, and provided DEP with many required reports regarding site work at the campus and regarding other MIT properties in Massachusetts. EHS also assists MIT Real Estate in their interactions with Mass DEP regarding property managed by Real Estate.

Massachusetts Department of Health Public Health

In January 2002, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) notified MIT that it had inspected the Johnson Athletic Center ice skating rink and found some air monitoring violations. EPO and EHS staff worked with the skating rink staff to implement corrections and notified DPH of these actions. After receiving written confirmation of the corrections, DPH staff conducted a follow-up air testing inspection and then issued a new "certificate of approval" to the ice skating rink.

Jamie Lewis Keith
Managing Director for Environmental Programs and Risk Management
Senior Counsel

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Facilities

Without question, this was the busiest and most challenging year for our department in decades. The level of activity involved in capital construction, space changes, and the needed response to 9/11 was daunting, but as a department we pulled together and minimized disruption on campus and kept the level of service remarkably high.

As the department responsible for the operations of buildings on campus, we have long maintained a program to deal with emergencies. However, following 9/11 we created a Facility Protection Team to review our current operating procedures in regard to the context of terrorism. Headed up by Joseph Gifun, assistant director for infrastructure renewal and special projects, the goal of the team was to make suggestions on ways to protect the assets of the Institute, its staff and students. Recommendations were brought to the various task forces established by President Vest to look at specific areas across the campus. Now that Executive Vice President John Curry has formed the Safety and Security Operations Team, the Facility Protection Team will bring issues related to the protection of MIT's facilities to it for discussion.

We are very proud of the integral role our repair and maintenance crew played in creating the Reflecting Wall that was constructed next to the chapel. This project was done in collaboration with the Department of Architecture shortly after the terrorist attacks.

Our Mail Services area increased the level of security around mail delivery following the anthrax scares. Our mail staff received additional training on safety and worked with the community to allay their fears around mail delivery. Martin O'Brien, the new manager of Mail Services, developed a training program addressing issues of safe mail handling practices and methods of identifying possible hazardous mail pieces. He presented the program to managers from the Department of Housing and also at a customer forum this spring.

In addition to our heightened security review and measures taken, maintaining our daily business continued throughout the year.

Members of the Department of Facilities and Human Resources staff successfully negotiated a new union contract with the Service Employees' International Union, Local 254 (SEIU). Key changes include incorporation of a formalized performance appraisal for hourly staff, a work clothes program, acceptance of a rewards and recognition program, and tiered wages for custodians. The new, three-year contract was ratified by the union membership in January 2002.

This year significant design changes were made to the Committee for the Review of Space Planning (CRSP) structure that are already enhancing our ability to manage space and space changes in a more effective manner. Among the major aspects of this are two new appointments to CRSP. Our director of capital project development and the director of design and construction will now serve on CRSP; the latter was also appointed to the CRSP-Renovation subcommittee (RCRSP). DCS is now developing and implementing program- and project-level controls consistent with the broader accountabilities of the department.

The Capital Project Development group (CPD), which now incorporates the Drawing Information Systems team, has put in place a draft space management system for testing and further development over the next year. The system significantly increases the usefulness and analytical power of space use and characteristics information. The CPD group is also engaged in several campus-wide development efforts including transportation, Information Systems, medical services and classrooms.

The infrastructure renewal program completed its third and final year in its current form investing $45M in 60 projects. Each of these projects eliminate part of the existing backlog of building system deficiencies that, if left unchecked, could adversely impact the life of our buildings and the Institute's ability to carry out its mission of learning and research.

The Department of Facilities continued our goal to meet client needs and expectations, improve our business processes and increase environmental initiatives. Many of the steps taken reflect the five administrative themes of our executive vice president.

Client Orientation

We have organized ongoing meetings between the Repair and Maintenance managers and the Department of Housing, Registrar's Office, Campus Activities Complex, and Dining Services to be more proactive with issues, needs, and problems. These meetings have been very productive and have enhanced our level of service to these customers.

Our customer forum series continued this year with presentations by members of several service areas including Capital Projects, Design and Construction, Mail Services, and Repair and Maintenance. We anticipate continuing this well-received series in the next academic year.

In April, one of our leadership subteams met with the Administrative Advisory Council II (AAC II) to discuss their research on responsibilities for building systems management. The team, which consisted of members from different service areas as well as a customer representative, did research on specialized systems and who currently has responsibility for their maintenance and found that there is little parity at the Institute. We will continue to work with AAC II on how to resolve this issue.

Collaboration

Several members of the department have been working on the Institute's efforts to develop an environmental, health and safety management system. Our department's existing training program, inventory tracking system, and environmental team's relationship with the EHS department have been used as models for the Institute to expand upon.

By a joint effort of the Lab for Energy and Environment staff and Utilities staff, a grant proposal was developed and submitted to the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust for photovoltaic installations at the MIT campus and on roofs of staff members' homes. We anticipate receiving a response to our request sometime in the next year.

Multiple presentations and tours of the cogeneration plant were provided to student groups, MIT departments, and outside groups, such as Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Architectural/Building Science, and MIT's Senior Congressional Staff Seminar. Our joint presentation with Chemical Engineering included a presentation by Professor Janos Beer, the inventor of the combustor technology, which is incorporated in our gas turbine generator.

Sustainability

MIT benefits significantly by having a highly efficient central cogeneration plant that serves most buildings on campus. The engineering and utilities groups are engaged on an ongoing basis with environmentally friendly upgrades to the central plant as well as water and energy reduction technologies in buildings throughout the campus. These initiatives have not only dramatically reduced the use of natural resources, but also have provided provisions to greatly improve the monitoring of our energy use.

As construction causes disruption on campus, we are aware of the importance of preserving or adding to green space for our community. As part of the campus beautification initiative, begun in FY2000, the department has redesigned the Vassar Street corridor from the east to the west edges of campus. This streetscape revitalization will transform this industrial throughway into a people-friendly residential street. The design, which is due to start construction this year, includes reduced automobile parking, traffic calming, new bikeways and walkways, and street trees.

This past year, the department initiated a construction and demolition debris-recycling program. This program requires contractors to maximize the recycling of construction waste on new projects and when buildings are demolished. The new system was employed on the Media Lab demolition project, resulting in 96 percent of the materials being recycled.

We continue to try and expand our campus-recycling program. We have added more sites for food scrap composting and installed compactors on the edge of campus to lower the cost of materials removal. WasteCap of Massachusetts, a non-profit company that assists companies and institutions start up or improve waste management programs, also recently reviewed the program. We are awaiting their final report due to us in July.

Accountability

Over the past year a significant effort was undertaken in the area of benchmarking and development of a net asset value (NAV) model for our physical assets. With the collaboration of the Boston Consortium and of Sightlines, a firm that specializes in the measurement of campus physical assets, we have worked to define a methodology that integrates the maintenance of facilities, the repair of deferred maintenance, the renewal of space to meet program needs, as well as the implications of adding new facilities. As an industry, higher education has focused heavily on management metrics to manage its investments, its revenue, and its recruitment. With the NAV model and benchmarking we have now begun a similar effort to measure physical asset performance. We can demonstrate that with a combination of increases in operating expenditures to address planned maintenance as well as new space, and in capital expenditures to restore assets, a long-term solution can be attained.

The department deployed a computerized timekeeping system that hourly employees use to record their time. This system has the capability of interacting with our computerized maintenance management system and SAP. It also can link directly to the payroll system. The new system will better allow us to track daily schedules, overtime, as well as sick and vacation time of the hourly staff.

Professionalism

For the past year, I have participated in the Boston Consortium's leadership program. In the coming year, we plan to expand our efforts to reach a great cross section of colleges and universities. Following are some of the professional achievements of our department.

Utilities staff members presented at the International District Energy Association (IDEA) college and university conference and annual conference, and at an energy efficiency and measurement seminar sponsored by a national engineering firm. Peter Cooper, our director of utilities, was recently appointed to serve as a director of the IDEA.

Our executive administrator, Pat Kennedy Graham, joined the AAC II group this year. She is a member of the communications subteam that reviews better ways to communicate to administrative officers about issues that affect them directly.

This year, Leader to Leader (L2L), a new management program geared toward select members of the MIT administrative staff, was unveiled. David Myers was the Facilities representative selected for this new program. A major focus and benefit of the program was on the challenges and opportunities associated with change management.

In April, MIT was pleased to host several lectures in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Professional Practice Conference. These lectures, which focused on distance learning and MIT's newer state-of-the-art classrooms, allowed us to highlight a number of recent renovation projects including the TEAL Classroom (26-152) and classrooms in Buildings 9 and 3.

MIT's Department of Facilities and the University of Cambridge's Directorate of Estate Management and Building Service received £10,000 from the CMI to explore collaborative opportunities within the field of facilities management. Two workshops are scheduled; the first will be held at MIT in July 2002 and the second at Cambridge in September 2002.

Landscape designer Talitha Fabricius's landscape master plan included a graphics section that just won the top award from the National Society of Environmental Graphic Designers. She continues to serve on the Boston Civic Design Commission, which reviews all major developments in the City of Boston, and she is an active member of the City of Cambridge Bike Committee.

Our directors of capital projects were participants in several activities this year. Paul Curley, director of capital construction, was a judge for the Associated General Contractors' Mass Build awards last year. Deborah Poodry, director of capital project development, has provided management consulting to the University of Hawaii as they begin a major capital program. In addition, she served as a juror for the Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction awards and has been appointed a member of the Urban Ring Citizen's advisory committee.

Capital Projects

The Capital Projects Group, established two years ago, is charged with implementing MIT's current building program. During the past year, they managed six projects under construction, ten in the design phase, and numerous in the study phase. In addition, several milestones were accomplished, including the completion of the 224 Albany Street Graduate Dormitory (NW30) and phase one of the Dreyfus Chemistry Building (18).

In addition, the group completed the procedures manual for project management, budget and schedule tools, and updated design standards. Periodic training sessions were held for the project managers, and the group continued to enhance their reporting procedures in order to maintain strong oversight and accountability.

The new MIT Building Systems Design Handbook established LEED Silver Plus certification as the minimum standard for new capital projects. The LEED (the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program) standard provides national recognition for leadership in the design of environmentally friendly buildings. Currently, the Stata Center, under construction, is seeking a Gold Level Certification. Brain and Cognitive Sciences, in design, is seeking Silver Level Certification and the Sloan School of Management campus, currently in concept design, will be seeking Gold Certification. Certification occurs only when construction is complete and the project is occupied. In addition, the department is investigating sustainable design concepts for renovation projects. The department is currently developing formal process mapping and life cycle cost analysis to ensure that sustainability initiatives are incorporated in all projects.

Work continued on the following major projects during the year:

Design and Construction Services

In addition to the specific projects noted below, approximately 95 space changes, both large and small, as well as numerous small interior design projects and a number of ADA accessibility projects across the campus were completed during the year. Off campus, major renovations were completed at Endicott House in Dedham to improve and increase the amenities and capacity of the kitchen facilities.

This year, Design and Construction Services (DCS) enhanced our focus on construction safety and mitigation. In consideration of an increasing number of complex renovations in existing buildings, DCS entered into a collaborative effort with Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) personnel. DCS and EH&S staff have developed and staffed the position of construction safety officer within EH&S but assigned to DCS. The purpose for creating the position has been to ensure that MIT continues to be proactive in guaranteeing safety during construction phases of projects.

In conjunction with the Capital Project Development Group, DCS has developed and is now implementing a project-tracking system that is already increasing our capacities for communicating up-to-date information for both internal departmental use and for better communicating the status of our projects to the end users.

This year, a significant development was the collaboration between DCS and the Capital Project Development Group. Consistent with the new mandate from CRSP relative to committee structure and goals, we have focused on a holistic approach to asset management. The efforts have entailed a fundamental re-evaluation of the nature of campus improvement and, strategically, we have identified and focused on a new process of receiving, evaluating, and prioritizing work requests. The directors of Capital Project Development and DCS have partnered in the development of a new process for evaluating, assigning, and tracking projects. This effort will continue into FY2003.

Project highlights of the year included:

Finance and Accounting

The volume of construction on campus has changed the way the department does business. We have improved our vendor selection and documentation procedure while establishing more interactive relationships with departments whose work aligns with the construction process. We continue to enhance our reporting and tracking system, working to make it as automated as possible.

Operation of our core business units has been enhanced to meet known needs of the Institute community as well as looking for ways to anticipate needs that have not been articulated. Our focus in FY2002 has continued to be improving the quality and timeliness of information provided to clients. Paying greater attention to the needs of clients has had an impact on the operation of our business units and has offered an opportunity to make changes in our financial practices. To improve reporting for client services, we have actively promoted our email address, plant-finacc@mit.edu with a guarantee of same day response to our client inquiries. Our business processes have been enhanced through the use of SAPweb, ECAT, and the credit card. Purchase orders are done online reducing turnaround time from one week to two days. The use of ECAT and the credit card have eliminated nearly 3,000 invoices and companion purchase orders. Our enhancements have allowed us to reduce our accounting clerical staff by two FTE. We will continue to look for ways to improve our purchasing and vendor payment process, which affect client accounts.

SAP training continues to be a major focus. This year, the Facilities Learning and Performance Team developed and conducted classes on SAPweb for 150 departmental requisitioners and 20 approvers.

Information Technology

The Facilities Information Technology group continues to support the wide range of departmental activity. Among the outstanding issues addressed in FY2002 were SAP enhancements and improvements to the Maximo work-tracking system in the Repair and Maintenance group. We began implementation of Kronos, a new automated time and attendance system, as a means to increase accountability in the Operational groups.

Implementation of the group's 1999 strategic plan recommendations continued in FY2002 with the reorganization of the team's interface to the client via a web-based helpdesk system. Also, we have formed a group of "Local Area Experts" providing department-wide peer support on I/T issues.

Facilities employees have developed several enhanced PC and Macintosh programs for use. The Maximo system was implemented in the Office of Residential Life and Student Life Programs. This implementation included a new web interface with real-time client reporting. In addition, modifications were made to Maximo to accommodate the new design for the combined Repair and Maintenance/Custodial E Zone.

The group has continued to deploy desktop computers for use by all members of the organization. There are now over 400 desktop computers in Facilities for use by administrative, support, and hourly staff. Significant I/T training continues to be provided to members of the department.

Operational Units

During the past year several of our operational units underwent significant change. Our Mail Services area has an entirely new management team: Marty O'Brien, manager; Mike Fahie, day supervisor; and Jeanne Jackson, evening supervisor. This new group is reviewing current operations and will work on ways to improve service to its MIT customers.

Last year, we made a major change to the Repair and Maintenance area by creating two new manager positions. The new managers in the structural and mechanical, electrical, and piping areas are leading their teams in reducing the backlog on orders and increasing service.

In addition, we have begun a pilot program consolidating Facilities services within campus zones. On July 1, 2002 we began to test a concept of a manager in the east campus responsible for both repair and maintenance and custodial for all buildings in that section. We expect to develop a system that will provide easier access for customers and improve direction and management for those services.

In an effort to make the clean campus program a success, we have also employed a consultant to review our current cleaning program on campus. The company will review staffing, supervision, supplies, equipment and training. They will also evaluate the quality of the cleaning throughout the campus and make recommendations on how to improve services.

Facility upgrades continue to be a priority at the Bates Linear Accelerator Complex in Middleton. We have upgraded some electrical and HVAC systems, improved grounds maintenance, repaired/replaced a number of underground storage areas and installed a work tracking system. We are also in the process of upgrading the fire and life safety system. A liaison from the main campus meets with both facility and program staff weekly.

Utilities

New technology for heating distribution was installed and commissioned in the west campus to serve NW30 and Simmons Hall. It is a high temperature (240ºF) water system, which is the current state-of-the-art in district heating. A steam to hot water conversion facility was installed in the former NW14 boiler room, and a piping system manufactured in Denmark was installed in the railroad right-of-way and the edge of Briggs Field. We expect to save operating and maintenance cost, and did save capital cost versus a steam system by avoiding the need for steam manholes along the route.

A new fire pump house was constructed at the Central Utility Plant, specifically to protect cooling towers and doubling the capacity of the existing central fire protection system. Piping laid in the railroad right-of-way, along with other utilities, will allow this new loop to overlay and replace the aging loop in the main group over time. Replacement of the 1968 vintage chiller plant electrical substation in 42 was also accomplished over the winter months.

Steam, chilled water, power and telecom duct banks, and hot water piping, were completed in the railroad right-of-way and Briggs field, and municipal storm drain, sewer, and water were completed in Vassar Street itself. The other major traffic disruption, the Mass. Avenue storm drain construction by the city, was completed in May 2002, when the outfall to the river was opened and the drain put into service. MIT contributed $3 million to the city in support of this construction. MIT made an additional contribution to the city's drainage by connecting its two abandoned cooling water pipes in Audrey Street to lines in Vassar Street, all of which will be turned over to the city to provide an additional storm drain outfall.

A significant energy conservation project was the replacement of steam traps and thermostatic valves in 2900 radiators in the main group. A smaller project was installation of controls on 25 soda vending machines to turn off power when no one is nearby. Both of these projects will be expanded in coming years.

A lab wastewater neutralizing master plan was developed to pump lab waste from several surrounding buildings to central neutralizing equipment for code compliant handling. This will reduce the number of limestone chip tanks under each lab sink, which are costly to maintain. In addition, this will reduce the amount of chemicals used, reduce daily inspection costs, and reduce permitting fees and reporting requirements. To date, Buildings 6, 8, and 18 have been piped to the central neutralizing system in 56.

Reconstruction of a steam vault in Amherst Street at W4 was accomplished, and replacement of the main electrical substation in Building 10 nears completion. Other work included 13.8kV sectionalizing switch replacements and expanded metering of chilled water steam and electricity.

The environmental team has begun working with the City of Cambridge on their project to reduce the amount of cooking grease in effluent by inspecting and upgrading campus grease traps.

Administration

Members of our staff created a new-hire orientation manual that will introduce new employees to Facilities as well as their specific work group and that also provides overall information about the Institute. The new-hire orientation program has been planned and will be piloted in the summer of 2002 for all new members to the department.

Our Learning and Performance team is updating the courses being offered to enhance skills of department personnel. In addition, an emphasis has been placed on technical training of existing mechanical systems (Andover, FCS systems) and specific team training (i.e., Operations Center and Mail Services). In an introduction to making the Department of Facilities more of a learning organization, an outside consultant, Dr. Carol Zulaf, ran a workshop for members of the department's assistant directors and the Strategic Leadership Team. The workshop began a process of exploring how all of us can make better decisions for the department and the Institute in our daily tasks.

Our Rewards and Recognition initiative has been a great success. This year, the SEIU membership voted to participate in the program. Our program consists of three levels of awards that include the Infinite Mile award ("Wonderful and Outstanding Work" award), the Criteria awards (to reinforce our department's strategic goals), and Excellence in Service (formerly called the director's award given for overall achievement). During 2002, the following awards were given to recognize our department employees: 70 WOW awards ($25 gift certificate), 10 criteria awards ($250 check), and two Excellence in Service awards ($1,000 check).

Personnel Changes

This past year, Annette Jerome joined the Human Resource team within the Department of Facilities as personnel administrator. Annette will assist with the recruitment of all positions within the department as well as work on the performance management system and other HR issues.

This spring we hired a director of engineering, Walt Henry, to lead our systems engineering group. This formerly "virtual" group will now work as a team and play a significant role in the operational needs of our current and future buildings.

The hiring of Bernard Richard as manager of mechanical, electrical, and piping rounds out the restructuring of our Repair and Maintenance section. Bernie joins the new structural manager, Dave McCormick in leading the trades' groups providing greater technical expertise and support to the campus and other units within the Department of Facilities.

Marty O'Brien has filled the position of manager of Mail Services. He has over 12 years of experience with the United States Postal Service and provides a high degree of knowledge regarding regulations, efficiency, safety and security.

Affirmative Action Plan

Our new personnel administrator is developing a program for all open positions that will include a search plan to recruit a more diverse workforce at all levels in the department.

Victoria V. Sirianni
Chief Facilities Officer

More information about the Department of Facilities can be found online at http://web.mit.edu/facilities/.

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MIT Card Office

The mission of the MIT Card Office is to actively contribute to the convenience, security, and quality of life of the entire MIT community. With a focus on customer service, the MIT ID Card serves as the Institute's universal passport to the widest possible array of campus services, facilities, and activities.

Accomplishments

For the second year in a row, the MIT Card Office was the recipient of one of the Institute's Infinite Mile awards for excellence. This award reflects the continued emphasis of the Card Office on providing the very best customer service possible to the entire MIT community. To this end, several large-scale projects were conceived and successfully completed in the past year that will allow the MIT Card Office to enhance its services while simultaneously setting the stage for planned expansion.

The Card Office recently completed a major systems upgrade to its entire electronic access and security system. This upgrade has dramatically increased the ability of the office to proactively monitor the state of the Institute's electronic access and security equipment and allows for a vast increase in the number of electronic access and security points both on and off campus. Another benefit of the systems upgrade is the ability of the Card Office to distribute its security services functionality to individual offices and departments through the use of client stations hosted on the main Card Office infrastructure.

In another successful project, the Card Office has paved the way for a complete migration of its communication infrastructure from dedicated leased lines to network-based communication. The Card Office worked with the Information Technology Architecture Group in Information Systems to develop a virtual private network that is secure and more reliable than the previous infrastructure. As the security and convenience offered by electronic access becomes more important to the Institute, this investment in a faster, more reliable, and more inexpensive infrastructure will reap tremendous rewards.

The Card Office also renovated its physical office space in the past year, combining with the Parking Office and the Office of Campus Dining to produce a one-stop, card services customer service office. Paying close attention to detail, the new layout allows all three offices to better deliver their services in a more efficient and customer-friendly environment.

In an effort to streamline its core business, the Card Office has worked with the Dean for Student Life's Office to develop a new procedure for the creation and distribution of MIT ID cards to incoming students in the fall semester. New students now have the option of submitting an electronic ID photo before they arrive on campus. This new procedure combined with the increased efficiency of the office has allowed us to discontinue the practice of initially distributing temporary, non-photo ID cards for the first few weeks of the semester. As of this fall, all incoming students will receive a permanent, photo ID as soon as they arrive at the Institute.

Planned Projects

Looking to the future, the Card Office has also laid the groundwork for several planned projects that will benefit the entire MIT community.

Due to the success of the recent network migration and security systems upgrade projects, the Card Office is working with the Campus Police to combine various alarm systems on campus into one secure, reliable alarm infrastructure that will make use of the existing network of electronic access and security equipment maintained by the Card Office. This systems centralization will allow for more effective monitoring of security equipment and will greatly increase the reliability and responsiveness of the Institute's overall alarm and security system.

The Card Office is also looking into ways to effectively and efficiently absorb some of the smaller, independent card access systems on campus into its campus-wide system. By working closely with the various offices and departments at the Institute that currently operate their own electronic access systems, the Card Office is finding ways to meet the need of these entities to be self-sufficient while allowing them to reap the full benefits of a secure, convenient, Institute-wide, one-card system.

One of the steps that the Card Office is taking to better serve the MIT community is the adoption of proximity access technology. In the coming year, the Card Office plans to roll out a dual-technology ID card that can be used in either magnetic swipe or proximity card readers.

Staffing Changes

Daniel Michaud was promoted to the position of office manager. Former administrative assistant Michael Collins accepted a position as the house manager of Tang Hall and Westgate Apartments. Nancy Fu was hired as an administrative assistant.

Daniel L. Michaud
Manager

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MIT Police

On December 10, 2001, I was appointed chief of the MIT Police Department. Previously, I had completed a 27-year career with the Massachusetts State Police retiring at the rank of colonel and superintendent of the department. My MIT appointment was initially scheduled to take place in September 2001, but due to the tragic events of September 11, I was asked by Governor Jane Swift to assume the position of interim director of security at the Massachusetts Port Authority, Logan International Airport.

Since my appointment with the MIT Police, I have instituted the following changes in order to enhance the professional image of the department in accordance with the standing of the Institute:

MIT Police MIT Police

A total restructuring of the command staff including an internal promotion to the position of deputy chief along with three new hires at the rank of lieutenant. These changes have been made with an eye towards increasing the professionalism of the department and better serving the needs of the MIT community. Five patrol officers were hired to bring the patrol staff to its full complement. One of these positions also included an internal promotion. These new officers are undergoing a new department orientation program that will allow them to better serve the needs of the MIT community.

Under the direction of Lieutenant Daniel Costa, a department honor guard was formed and was unveiled to post the colors at commencement. This group has also participated in several community events such as the city of Cambridge Memorial Day parade, representing the Institute in a visible and professional manner.

I am committed to these efforts to ensure that the MIT Police department continues to commit itself to providing the utmost in professionalism and service to the Institute.

During the period 2001-2002, crimes against persons decreased by three over the previous period. The 2001 total was 30 incidents. There were 120 incidents of theft of Institute-owned property compared to 107 in 2000. Once again, computers and computer components were the most frequent type of Institute-owned property that was stolen. There were 381 incidents of personal property theft reported at sites other than residences. This compares with 356 that were reported for the previous time period. The majority of items stolen were wallets, laptop computers, and backpacks. The number of thefts from inside residences decreased to 40 for this time period from a previous total of 76. There were 16 motor vehicle thefts reported this year, which represents a slight increase from 13. The theft of bicycles increased with a total of 110 bicycles stolen as compared to 93 stolen in 2000.

MIT Police supplemented Safe Ride when its early morning operations ceased by providing 288 personal safety escorts to members of the community.

The Campus Police department also provides 24-hour emergency medical services to all members of the community as well as to Draper Laboratory and the Whitehead Institute. The total number of patients transported by the MIT Police was 819.

The Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) self-defense program continued to be a popular course among the MIT community. Since its inception in 1994, a total of 636 women in the MIT community have been trained.

John DiFava
Chief of Police

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Parking and Transportation Office

The MIT Parking and Transportation Office (PTO) is responsible for the following operations: parking permit allocation issuance and management, parking facility management (4,814 spaces), parking violation issuance and management, subsidized MBTA Pass program, Saferide Shuttle program, and TECH Shuttle.

The operations manager of Parking and Transportation provides day-to-day management of the department, while Standard Parking employs the remainder of the staff. There are presently 30 full-time equivalent employees working under the auspices of Parking and Transportation.

The PTO is committed to providing a high level of customer service to both internal and external customers. PTO also provides effective planning to ensure the maximum usage of all parking facilities, consideration for facility placement, construction and repairs.

Guiding Themes

In order to provide excellent customer service, we use many different methods of communication. We hold an annual parking coordinators luncheon that brings together at least one employee from every department on campus to discuss parking allocations and other issues. We maintain an email list to quickly provide messages concerning parking and transportation impacts to the community. We periodically hold a transportation fair to provide information on alternative commuting strategies and bicycle tips.

Our vision is to move the many manual PTO processes to web-based applications by transforming our Parking and Transportation web site to a commuter services web site. An application that allows departments to purchase visitor parking passes on the web will roll out in July. We initiated a discovery project to study the feasibility of a web-based parking registration system, which will be deployed in FY2003.

Collaboration was another goal of the PTO this year. Efforts were made with campus police to develop and implement a successful abandoned bicycle removal program and a new service agreement. We worked with both campus police and the state police to facilitate an auto glass etching program. During the holiday season, the PTO collaborated with campus police to run a Toys for Tickets program, which resulted in several cartons of toys donated to the Cambridge community.

The creation of a service agreement with campus police provides a sustainable platform, which will not be affected by personnel changes in either department. Service agreements with the Department of Facilities and Information Systems are in place. A service level agreement with Standard Parking is currently being worked out.

The service level agreements provide a high degree of accountability to all parties. These documents assign responsibilities for enforcement, facility cleaning, maintenance, computing support, and all aspects of parking and transportation.

By adhering to these guiding themes we provide a valuable and well-positioned department to the Institute. The PTO will continue to investigate new technological and business process models to continually improve our processes and services in a cost efficient and productive manner.

Parking Permit Allocation, Issuance and Management

MIT is required by the Federal Clean Air Act of 1973, to provide parking to no more than 36 percent of the MIT commuting population. Due to this restriction, parking permits are not available to all who would like to have one. The total annual number of available parking permits is determined via an allocation system by the Parking Office each July. These allocations are distributed to each department for assignment. The local assignment of allocations provides a more flexible distribution system that accounts for special circumstances within that department.

There are currently 6,141 members of the MIT community with parking privileges, accounting for 8,297 stickers. There are 15 different parking permit types; 12 for employees and three for students. Parking allocations are calculated annually and take effect around September 15th each year. All parking permits are valid from September 1st through September 15th of the following year. This means that the Parking Office issues more than 7,000 parking stickers between August 15th and September 15th annually.

Parking Facility Management

MIT currently has four parking garages and 23 open parking lots. The parking garages are the Albany Garage, the West Garage, the East Garage, and the Hayward Garage. The new Stata parking garage is scheduled to open in early 2003. All of the facilities have maintenance needs, including capital repair projects. The PTO coordinates these projects while maintaining a level of service needed to serve the Institute.

The allocation process distributes parking permits throughout all of our parking spaces on campus. For this reason, the intensity of use of each location is predetermined. In most parking locations, each space is over-allocated by a factor of .1 to .5 depending on intensity of use. The PTO must also accommodate the Institute's visitors and the occasional parking users using the same spaces. Due to the uncertainty of how many visitors and occasional users will come in each day, the lots will fill up from time to time. Overall, this approach has provided the maximum use of space possible, with minimal inconvenience to our customers.

This year we lost the Pacific Street annex lot for construction of the new graduate student residence. We have also lost portions of the West Lot, Kresge Lot, Northeast Lots and Albany Street Lots for construction of Simmons Hall, the Central Athletic Facility, and utility improvements respectively. In total, over 600 parking spaces have been taken out of service for construction needs.

Parking Violation Issuance and Management

The Campus Police as well as the PTO issue tickets for MIT motor vehicle violations on campus. There are 13 different motor vehicle violations:

Violation Type
12 Mos. Issued
Fee
Parking Over Time Limit for Zone
887
$20.00
No Permit for this Area
7,683
$20.00
Parking in Area Not Marked for Parking
702
$20.00
Blocking Roadway, Driveway, Entrance or Crosswalk
208
$30.00
Parking in a No Parking Zone
915
$30.00
Parking or Driving on Sidewalk or Lawn
274
$30.00
Blocking Fire Lane or Hydrant
94
$40.00
Parking In Reserved Space
129
$40.00
Blocking Loading Zone or Dumpster
121
$50.00
Parking in Area Reserved for Handicapped
104
$50.00
Blocking Wheelchair Ramp
26
$50.00
Driving to Endanger
3
$50.00
Speeding
4
$50.00

There were 11,150 violations issued during the 12 months ended 6/30/2002. This was a nine percent decrease from the year before.

Subsidized MBTA Pass Program

This year MIT increased the subsidy for MBTA passes for employees and students. Previously the subsidy was $10.00 per pass. The new subsidy is now 50 percent of cost for over 90 percent of participants. The subsidy for a Bus pass is 62.5 percent, for subway, combo, combo+, zone 1 and zone 2 the subsidy is 50 percent, and for zone 3 and above the subsidy is 50 percent of the face value of a zone 2 pass.

MIT has also relaxed the eligibility requirements for this program. We now allow residential students to participate in the subsidized program. Enrollment is now more than 4,800, almost evenly split between students and employees.

Saferide Shuttle Program

The Saferide shuttle program operates from 6 pm to 3 am, Sunday through Wednesday and from 6 pm to 4 am, Thursday through Saturday. There are currently five passenger vans, three of which are 12-passenger, and the other two are handicapped accessible and can seat 10 passengers.

The vans operate on fixed routes each day of the year. There are two routes that serve Boston (East and West) and two routes that serve Cambridge (East and West). The last van is put into service during heavy demand or when one of the other vans is out for service.

All members of the MIT community are eligible to use the Saferide service. However, the vast majority of passengers are students going to and from their living quarters. The service times and routes are determined by the location of student residence houses.

Use of Saferide has significantly increased in the past few years. A decision has been made to upgrade the service using minibuses to accommodate the increased demand. The Saferide shuttles currently serve 170,000 riders per year.

TECH Shuttle

The TECH shuttle was designed to provide daytime transportation to all members of the MIT community. The route operates in a loop from Kendall Square via the T stop, to Audrey Street by the Tang and Westgate residences. The shuttle runs from 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday.

The shuttle service was previously owned and operated by Paul Revere and coordinated by the Charles River Transportation Management Association (CRTMA). In August 2002 the shuttle service will be owned and operated by the MIT PTO. The TECH shuttle currently serves 200,000 passengers per year.

Airport Shuttles

The PTO operates Logan Airport shuttles to accommodate students leaving for Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks. Nearly 800 students took advantage of this service during the past year.

Lawrence R Brutti
Operations Manager

More information about the Parking and Transportation Office can be found on the web at http://web.mit.edu/parking/www/.

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Senior Counsel's Office

The Senior Counsel's Office offers legal services and counseling to the MIT community on MIT matters, and also can arrange for outside legal services when needed. Our office comprises MIT's Senior Counsel, Jamie Lewis Keith, and three additional experienced counsel, Contracts Counsel, Margaret Brill, Litigation and Risk Management Counsel, Mark DiVincenzo, and Environmental Counsel, Dan Winograd. The staff are always available as problem solvers and thinking partners. We will help MIT areas accomplish their objectives; we strive to enable, not to prevent. We will empower clients with information so that they can balance risks and benefits, and make informed decisions. Our office's expertise includes: structuring, negotiating and documenting major research and other collaborations and transactions, which we do with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and the involved DLCs; export controls; privacy and information requests; contracts; litigation; mediation; investigations; employment and student issues; affirmative action; real estate and corporate law; environmental health and safety laws and permitting; and insurance and risk management issues.

Scope of Services

The scope of clients served and matters handled by the Senior Counsel's Office in FY2002 (i.e., by performing all legal work or dividing work with outside counsel, not only managing outside counsel work) includes over 30 different academic departments and 40 administrative departments. Included are:

Highlights

The senior counsel, working with the director of Sponsored Programs and the controller, continued to represent MIT and the Media Laboratory under an initial agreement and a research and collaboration agreement with the Government of India and a new Indian company. The purpose of the undertaking is to "bridge the digital gap" and bring technology to the villages of India to support development of the social, educational, and economic infrastructure of the country and its people. She also worked with these colleagues to assist the Media Laboratory to explore other international collaborations.

The office provided services on a number of post-September 11 matters. The senior counsel served on the MIT Task Force on Campus Security, and she and Litigation and Risk Management Counsel served on the Working Group on Privacy. The senior counsel served on a Council on Governmental Relations Task Force and provided advice to the vice president for federal relations, vice president for research and associate provost, and the Association of American Universities on federal anti-bioterrorism legislation to assist in the development of responsible legislation that would not adversely affect research. With input from the vice president for research and director of OSP, she prepared an Information Sheet and Self-Assessment Questionnaire and provided guidance to researchers on the post-September 11 federal laws governing select biological agents. The senior counsel and litigation and risk management counsel worked with Human Resources colleagues to address issues and procedures arising from these new laws.

The senior counsel worked with the director of sponsored programs and MIT's senior officers on a number of export control issues affecting research at MIT and by MIT researchers abroad. She served as an advisor to the ad hoc Faculty Committee on Access to and Disclosure of Scientific Information.

The contracts counsel negotiated and documented over $300 million of contracts for design and construction services on MIT's major capital building projects.

The senior counsel and contracts counsel began to represent the provost and vice president for research on a long-term lease for the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies and Biological Engineering Division.

The senior counsel and environmental counsel continued to represent MIT in implementing its consent decree with the EPA and the Justice Department settling a major enforcement action arising from a May 1998 inspection of MIT's campus.

The litigation and risk management counsel successfully represented a number of DLCs at federal, state and local employment and civil rights related administrative agencies and forums. In addition, litigation and risk management counsel provided legal counsel and advice to human resources and DLCs on a wide variety of discrete employee issues, including reduction in force and separation issues, preparing and negotiating separation agreements and settlement agreements. In addition, the litigation and risk management counsel provided advice on process and content regarding certain investigations in connection with particular events regarding faculty, students, and/or staff.

Controlling Legal Costs

The Senior Counsel's Office manages MIT's outside legal services funding. In FY2002, the office continued an initiative with the Controller's Accounting Office begun in FY2000 to better account for and report on legal expenditures across the Institute. Legal costs can fluctuate from year to year for a number of reasons, including unanticipated litigation and other events, more or less efficient use of inside and outside counsel, rising outside fees, and significant increases or decreases in programs. FY2000 was the first year of the Senior Counsel's Office and of more comprehensive cost tracking, and FY2002 was the first year of full staffing in the office, with additional experienced counsel in the office working the full year and creating greater capacity to provide in-house services.

With a continued exceptionally high level of real estate and other investment activity in the Treasurer's Office resulting in an approximately $870,000 increase from FY2000 to FY2002 ($200,000 increase from FY2001 to FY2002) in outside legal costs for that office, a $240,000 increase from FY2000 to FY2002 ($280,000 increase from FY2001 to FY2002) in outside legal costs for the Technology Licensing Office, and $356,500 in litigation costs for one extraordinary litigation matter which will span several years, outside legal billings at MIT were up by $350,000 from FY2000 to FY2002 ($311,000 from FY2001 to 2002). Without the cost of this extraordinary litigation, MIT's legal costs would have been about level from 2000 to 2002, even with the significant increase in costs for Treasurer's Office and TLO activities. The amounts paid to MIT's largest billing firm were down by $540,000 from FY2000 to FY2002 ($320,000 from FY2001 to FY2002), at least in part due to the ability of the Senior Counsel's Office to capably handle many matters in-house.

MIT also realized a total savings of over $880,000 in avoided outside legal fees in FY2002 in connection with legal work done by lawyers in the Senior Counsel's Office that would have been done by outside counsel if experienced inside resources weren't available. The litigation, contract, and environmental lawyers in the Senior Counsel's Office track their time spent on work that would have been sent to outside firms if the office did not exist, including work on capital projects, legal work on major policies, MCAD and other agency discrimination claims, other litigation, government investigations, major contracts and the like. Their total compensation is converted to hourly rates and compared with outside firms' hourly billable rates. MIT realized almost $1 million of savings this year on outside work done inside because inside lawyers' hourly rates are significantly below outside billable rates. Without inside counsel, there is no doubt that the increase in MIT's outside legal billings would have been at least two times greater.

Risk Management

September 11 brought risk management around the world into greater focus. The managing director for risk management/senior counsel and her staff from several departments, working with colleagues from other emergency response groups, were primary responders to the events of September 11 as they affected the MIT community. The managing director and director of Enterprise Services continued to work with all MIT emergency response departments (including the EHS Office, Facilities Department, Senior Counsel's Office, Residential Life, Dean of Student Life Office, Campus Police, News Office, and others) to raise MIT's level of safety and emergency preparedness and response, participating on the Presidential Task Force for Campus Security post September 11, and following up on issues raised by the Task Force. They sponsored a cross-departmental Safety Operations Team coordinated by the director of EHS Programs, Bill Van Schalkwyk, to plan and oversee implementation of projects and systems.

The EHS Office provided joint training for Fire Department and MIT confined space rescuers under a contract with the city of Cambridge under which the Fire Department provides confined space rescue services to MIT.

The managing director for risk management/senior counsel and institute auditor collaborated on a number of risk identification and management initiatives. The controller and director of sponsored programs also were involved. These matters included work on guidelines for complex transactions (including international transactions); work on intermediate sanctions issues and policies; work on controls within the EHS Management System design; and work for the Auditing Committee on their role in risk management review.

MIT's litigation and risk management counsel worked closely with the controller and insurance manager to communicate with DLCs and administrative departments on best practices, promote a better understanding of MIT's insurance coverages, and assess and address potential risk throughout the Institute. The managing director for risk management/senior counsel and litigation and risk management counsel also worked with the dean for undergraduate education, dean of graduate students, provost, chancellor and head of the Travel Office, among other colleagues, on the development of international travel risk management approaches. They also provided advice and assisted in policy development related to India and Pakistan travel following very serious tensions and State Department travel warnings for those countries.

Jamie Lewis Keith
Managing Director for Environmental Programs and Risk Management
Senior Counsel

 

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