MIT Community Input

The MIT Presidential Search is being guided by a 20-person Presidential Search Committee. The committee aims to consult extensively with MIT faculty, staff, students, and alumni to identify the challenges and opportunities that are likely to present themselves in the next decade. The search committee is committed to consulting widely across the MIT community to hear input on the ideal attributes of our next president, the issues that should be addressed, and recommendations of specific candidates.
 
Throughout the summer, community engagement and input was vast across all cohorts and included the following:

• 30 listening sessions with departments and programs, attended by over 300 faculty members
• Office hours for faculty, including a special set for pre-tenure faculty
• 12 student listening sessions, led by the student advisory committee
• Separate sessions for undergraduates, graduates, identity-based groups, international students, marginalized groups, members of the military, and veterans
• Five general focus groups for all staff
• One focus group for instructional and research staff and one for Lincoln Lab
• Many ongoing discussions with the MIT Corporation
• Meetings with the MITAA Board and leadership
• Review of the community survey that included feedback from 5,175 alumni, staff, students, faculty, and corporation members

Externally, the committee completed a set of thought leader interviews. The goal was to learn from experienced leaders in higher education across many types of institutions. The committee spoke with more than 20 leaders — from California, the Midwest, Seattle, Washington, DC, New York, and Boston — from public and private institutions, peer institutions, and historically black colleges and universities, as well as a Native American & Indigenous Studies expert. Internally, the committee spoke with 17 MIT leaders.