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MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 1
Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
http://web.mit.edu
Send Nominations or Cover Letter and Resume to:
Libby Roberts
Vice President
617-262-1102
The University:
“MIT’s greatest invention may be itself – an unusual
concentration of unusual talent, restlessly
reinventing itself on a mission to make a better
world.” - MIT President L. Rafael Reif
The essence of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) is its appetite for problems –
especially those big, intractable, complicated problems
whose solutions make a permanent difference. While
MIT is a research university committed to world-class
inquiry in math, science, and engineering, it has equally distinguished programs in architecture, the
humanities, management, and the social sciences. A diverse, supportive campus environment – with an
incredible range of student groups and athletic and fitness opportunities – ensures that it's not all about the
work. And in MIT's intensely creative atmosphere, the arts flourish in all their forms.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 2
The Opportunity – Why now?
This opportunity is available for the best reason possible, the previous occupant was promoted to serve
MIT’s President. This transition speaks to MIT’s commitment to its own and also signals to one and all that
MIT is committed to ensuring dynamic career paths throughout the University. The time is ripe for a new
leader to come in and, with a fresh perspective, take this department to its next level.
Do you have the right skills and qualities for this position?
Do you know donor relations and stewardship top to bottom?
Are you passionate about your work?
Are you an outstanding manager who is an inspiring coach and mentor?
Are you an accomplished, metrics-driven leader who has experience working in complex and fast
paced organizations?
Do you have a great sense of camaraderie?
Are you a quick study with high energy?
Do you have the ability to address a shift in the IT culture of the department?
Are you politically savvy and have the ability to influence others?
Do you embrace challenges and know how to push back when needed?
Are you a creative problem solver?
If so, keep reading.
Comments from the Donor Relations and Stewardship Team:
…This is an awesome place and intellectually stimulating… We are never bored… Great work/life
balance… We cannot underestimate the complexity of the position… This is a fully formed shop, but
there is room for improvement… Our model throughout the University is like a web, as opposed to a
wheel with spokes like at other universities… We are very proud of our work and the next director will
be lucky to inherit this team…
Observations about the Team and their challenges:
There is great humility among the staff.
They always say “we.”
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 3
This is a pivotal time in donor relations and they are ready and eager to keep up the momentum.
There is great respect for each other.
The program is not just back office, it is donor-facing.
They are playing catch-up in technology (and they recognize the irony in this!).
The Campaign is creating many new donors and currently there is not the capacity to properly
steward them – they are eager to determine a strategy.
The decentralization of stewarding donors throughout the University can create inconsistency.
Increasing numbers of international donors brings new cultural distinctions and requires new
stewardship strategies.
MIT’s Campaign for a Better World:
For inspiration click here: https://betterworld.mit.edu/about-the-campaign
Better Science, Better Living, Better Planet, Better Solutions, Better World
In May 2016, MIT President L. Rafael Reif announced the MIT Campaign for a Better World, a comprehensive
fundraising initiative that will amplify the Institute's distinctive strength in education, research, and
innovation, and will advance MIT’s work on some of the world's biggest challenges.
MIT has a history of discovery, knowledge creation, and innovation. Through the Campaign for a Better
World, the Institute aims to extend that track record, raising $5 billion in support of efforts that will enable a
future where fundamental science unlocks new knowledge; where climate change yields to climate action;
where clean energy is universal; where everyone can count on clean water and nourishing food; where we
detect disease before it has symptoms; where Alzheimer's itself is just a memory; where good ideas don’t
languish in the lab but flourish in the marketplace; where daring companies create thriving industries and
achieve lasting progress; where prosperity is measured not in dollars alone but in the currency of art,
culture, and understanding; where quality education is radically more available; and where we offer the
world's undiscovered talent a digital path to a creative future.
To ensure that MIT continues to attract a community of exceptionally talented students and faculty, and
provides the infrastructure their pioneering work demands, the Campaign is also committed to
strengthening the Institute's core – increasing resources for undergraduate financial aid, graduate
fellowships, and professorships; reimagining residential living and educational spaces; and developing
innovative research facilities such as MIT.nano.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 4
"Humanity faces urgent challenges – challenges whose solutions depend on marrying advanced technical
and scientific capabilities with a deep understanding of the world's political, cultural, and economic
complexities," says President Reif.
"We launch the Campaign for a Better World to rise to those challenges and accelerate positive change. In
this effort, we seek the support of enthusiastic partners who share our sense of mission and infinite
possibility – including our remarkable alumni, who do the great work of MIT in the world every day," he
continued. "Together, through this Campaign, we will give the brilliant minds and hands of the MIT
community the fuel and the focus to make inspiring progress for the world."
The Campaign is guided by six priority areas that span the full breadth of MIT:
Discovery Science: Transforming our world through fundamental scientific research.
Health of the Planet: Addressing critical environmental and sustainability challenges facing
humankind through science, technology, design, management, and policy.
Human Health: Defining the future of health through advances in basic science and engineering –
informed by expertise in disciplines such as management, economics, and political science.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Accelerating the path from idea to impact.
Teaching, Learning, and Living: Reimagining education for the 21st-century learner.
The MIT Core: Attracting extraordinary students and faculty, and providing them with the resources
they need to thrive.
"The MIT Campaign for a Better World represents an important and historic undertaking," said Julie A. Lucas,
MIT's vice president for resource development. "Its priorities transcend disciplines and reflect the breadth
and depth of the Institute's commitment to bringing real change to the world. This is an extraordinary
moment in the life of MIT."
As of the end of the first quarter of 2016, MIT has raised over $2.6 billion toward the Campaign goal, with
gifts coming from more than 77,000 alumni and friends. The Institute's most recent comprehensive
fundraising campaign ran from 1997 to 2004.
Position Overview – Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship
The Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship leads a talented team in the strategic planning,
coordinating, and implementing of a thoughtful and creative stewardship program responsive to the needs
of MIT frontline fundraisers, donors, and prospects. The Director is a highly visible colleague to fundraising
directors and their staffs, and in partnership with the Executive Director for Communications and Events and
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 5
senior fundraising colleagues, is a driving force in shaping meaningful and long-term relationships with
MIT’s constituents. The Director is a convener and an agenda setter whose team will always have
stewardship at top of mind to allow frontline fundraisers to focus on raising the philanthropic investments
crucial to MIT’s future. The Director will develop and put into practice organizational structures and logistical
procedures to carry out nimble stewardship plans, enabling those plans to be revised quickly, as necessary.
As MIT embarks on the public phase of its $5 billion Campaign for a Better World, stewardship and donor
relations have an ever-increasing importance in MIT's interactions with alumni and friends. The Director will
have the opportunity to shape and implement a robust strategy to advance the overall Campaign effort.
Characteristic Duties:
Strategic Planning and Management (40%)
Implement and sustain a comprehensive stewardship program for a world-class institution in the
midst of its largest fundraising campaign.
Maintain a framework for ongoing conversations with key stakeholders in the Resource
Development office and across the Institute to 1) assess needs and 2) continually track progress
against agreed-to goals.
Determine metrics to measure the success of stewardship programs, and, in collaboration with other
colleagues, systematically track progress against those metrics.
In partnership with other units, employ the most current, effective, and automated reporting systems
so baseline data are reliable and accessible in the most efficient ways.
Provide leadership and mentoring to the Donor Relations and Stewardship staff. Assign and direct
projects and oversee day-to-day operations of the staff, including budgets, hiring, performance
management and development, and terminations. Cultivate a strong team-oriented culture of
accountability, with a focus on creating best-in-class experiences for donors and internal partners.
Maintain and build upon the stewardship office culture whereby stewardship staff “reach fundraisers
before fundraisers reach you,” giving fundraisers confidence that stewardship is being handled
vigilantly and to the highest degree.
Work closely with the Executive Director to ensure that DRS is woven tightly into strategic
discussions and decisions.
Donor Relations and Stewardship Program Oversight (30%)
Ensure MIT benefactors receive the highest quality engagement with the Institute through a variety
of communications and events, including customized, firsthand experiences of the areas they have
supported.
Conduct best practices in donor relations and stewardship, ensuring proper policies and procedures
are in place and executed, including: responding to and thanking donors in a timely way, recognizing
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 6
donors and reporting out appropriately, and protecting donors' privacy and rights in compliance
with development office policy.
Oversee broad-based donor recognition programs, which include the presidential recognition
society, MIT Charter Society, honoring all donors of $1M or more, as well as a new Campaign-
specific recognition society for major gift level donors.
Oversee the quality control of all presidential acknowledgement letters and other correspondence
generated from RD on behalf of the president (“presdrafts”).
Ensure formal reporting on funds, projects, and programs supported by MIT’s top donors.
Coordinate the submission of all space naming requests from across the Institute to the Building
Committee and Executive Committee.
Convene regular meetings with fundraising directors and their frontline staff to develop tailored,
highly personalized, long-range stewardship plans; consistently monitor the progress of those plans;
and modify as required. Work with development officers throughout the Institute to develop and
promote MIT priorities and develop program-specific strategies for Stewardship.
Reach out to colleagues in the schools and various centers to understand how donors are being
stewarded, in the interest of collaborating and coordinating efforts to provide the best possible
Institute-wide stewardship for donors.
Work closely with RD Communications and Events team to ensure donors receive the highest-quality
products and experiences.
Top Donor Stewardship (30%)
Develop and manage the stewardship portfolio of transformational donors (8-figures and above),
partnering with gift officers and appropriate colleagues across the Institute. Work directly with the
prospect managers, school development officers, and other key MIT colleagues to craft individualized
and personal plans of engagement for principal donors.
Partner with Philanthropic Partnerships and the Campaign Office to create highly customized
stewardship plans for top campaign donors.
Serve as a strategic planner to coordinate meaningful and regular contacts and "actions" for the
President with key principal prospects.
Partner with prospect managers and senior leadership to deepen relationships that result in soliciting
additional gifts from top donors.
Have working knowledge of the Institute's mission, academic programs, research, and fundraising
objectives, and be knowledgeable about fundraising priorities, ways of giving, the donor
development process, and management of volunteers.
Serve as a primary advocate for MIT's Campaign priorities and interests related to sustaining
relationships with donors. Builds strong collaborations with other groups within Resource
Development and other parts of MIT.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 7
Recommend priorities for the participation of senior officers, deans, and faculty in stewardship-
related activities.
Other duties as assigned.
Ideal Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree a plus.
Minimum 8 years of experience in increasingly responsible stewardship and donor relations
positions, preferably in higher education.
Experience in personnel management with the expertise to build and lead a team.
Involvement in a comprehensive campaign.
Deep understanding of strategic stewardship.
Superb writing and communications skills.
Proficiency to:
o collaborate with colleagues across MIT;
o think strategically;
o solve problems;
o motivate both staff members and peers;
o win the confidence of senior leadership;
o understand the character and nuances of MIT’s distinct culture; and
o think expansively about how the Institute communicates to its donors the critical importance
of their philanthropy to MIT and to addressing the world’s great challenges.
Superb judgment and decision-making skills.
Detail oriented while being able to see the big picture.
Ability to build coalitions and bring consensus across a wide range of offices.
Ability to recreate a stewardship team responsive to the needs of fundraisers and an ambitious
resource development operation.
Capacity to analyze systems in ways that will bring continuous improvement to stewardship
operations.
Excellent oral and written communications skills.
Demonstrated ability to direct projects, and combine theory and practice in early stages of complex
initiatives.
Flexibility in navigating change with an openness to new ideas.
Experience taking the lead in developing new systems and programs and implementing them
successfully.
Desire to boldly advance one of the largest fundraising efforts in higher education.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 8
Leadership:
L. Rafael Reif
President
Since July 2012, Rafael Reif has served as the 17th President of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is leading MIT’s
pioneering efforts to help shape the future of higher education. A champion for
both fundamental science and MIT’s signature style of interdisciplinary, problem-
centered research, he is also pursuing an aggressive agenda to encourage
innovation and entrepreneurship.
In education, his central focus has been the development of the Institute’s latest experiments in online
learning, MITx and edX, which he spearheaded in his previous role as MIT provost. While fostering the rapid
growth of the open online learning platform edX – which as of April 2016 had engaged more than 7 million
unique learners, drawn from every country in the world – Dr. Reif also launched an Institute-wide Task Force
on the Future of MIT Education. Its final report spurred rapid adoption of blended learning models in MIT
classrooms and the October 2015 announcement of a MicroMaster’s credential from MITx (the Institute’s
portfolio of massive open online courses), which inverts the traditional admissions process by allowing
applicants to demonstrate their ability to handle MIT graduate-level material before applying for a master's
degree program. Another outgrowth of the Task Force report was the February 2016 launch of the MIT
Integrated Learning Initiative (MITili), an intense interdisciplinary exploration of the deep mechanisms of
learning, which aims to make teaching more effective.
For his work in developing MITx, he received the 2012 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award, and in 2015 the
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation honored him with the Frank E. Taplin, Jr. Public Intellectual
Award for his leadership in envisioning “what higher education must become in a global, digital, information
economy.”
In keeping with MIT’s mission to “bring knowledge to bear on the world’s great challenges,” in May 2014,
Dr. Reif launched the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, anchored by the new Abdul Latif Jameel World
Water and Food Security Laboratory. In October 2015, inspired by a yearlong campus conversation about
MIT’s most effective path forward against global warming, Dr. Reif and his leadership team issued MIT’s Plan
for Action on Climate Change, centered on research, education, campus sustainability, and a strategy of
industry engagement.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 9
To enhance MIT’s innovation ecosystem and equip the next generation of innovators to drive their ideas to
impact, in October 2013, Dr. Reif launched the MIT Innovation Initiative. Milestones include the November
2015 announcement of the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node, the creation of a new minor in
Entrepreneurship and Innovation beginning Fall 2016, and the January 2016 announcement of the MIT
Sandbox Innovation Fund Program, which gives student-initiated projects the early support and mentoring
to get off the ground.
To accelerate research and innovation at the nanoscale, MIT is also constructing MIT.nano, a major new
facility at the heart of campus set to open in 2018. And because MIT’s entrepreneurial ecosystem extends
well beyond the campus, Dr. Reif is leading an ambitious, decade-long redevelopment initiative in Kendall
Square. This will include the creation of an “innovation orchard,” an idea he coined in a May 2015 op-ed
in The Washington Post.
At the national level, President Obama asked Dr. Reif to co-chair the steering committee of the national
Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP 2.0), which spurred the creation of a network of Manufacturing
Innovation Institutes (MIIs). In April 2016, Dr. Reif announced that MIT had won the lead role in the
Advanced Functional Fibers of America (AFFOA) Institute, an MII designed to accelerate innovation in high-
tech fiber and textile manufacturing in the U.S.
On May 6, 2016, Dr. Reif announced the $5 billion MIT Campaign for a Better World.
As MIT’s provost (2005-2012), Dr. Reif helped create and implement the strategy that allowed MIT to
weather the global financial crisis, drove the growth of MIT’s global strategy, promoted a major faculty-led
effort to address challenges around race and diversity, and helped launch the Institute for Medical
Engineering and Sciences.
A member of the MIT faculty since 1980, Dr. Reif has served as director of MIT’s Microsystems Technology
Laboratories, as associate department head for Electrical Engineering, and as head of the Department of
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). In 2004, he was named the Fariborz Maseeh Professor
of Emerging Technology, a title he held until he was selected as president. He remains a mentor and
advocate for students, serving each year as a freshman advisor.
In 1993, Dr. Reif was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) “for
pioneering work in the low-temperature epitaxial growth of semiconductor thin films,” and in 2000, he
received the Semiconductor Research Corporation’s Aristotle Award. An elected member of the National
Academy of Engineering, Dr. Reif is the inventor or co-inventor on 15 patents, has edited or co-edited five
books and has supervised 38 doctoral theses. An elected member of the American Academy of Arts and
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 10
Sciences, he also belongs to Tau Beta Pi, the Electrochemical Society and the IEEE. In 2015, he received an
honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Reif received the degree of Ingeniero Eléctrico from Universidad de Carabobo, Valencia, Venezuela, and
served for a year as an assistant professor at Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas. He earned his doctorate
in electrical engineering from Stanford University, where he spent a year as a visiting assistant professor.
After moving to MIT, Dr. Reif held the Analog Devices Career Development Professorship in the EECS
Department and an IBM Faculty Fellowship from MIT’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering. He
received a United States Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1984.
Julie A. Lucas
Vice President for Resource Development
Julie Lucas has served as the Vice President for Resource Development at MIT
since November 2014. An innovative and proven advancement leader who is
dedicated to the mission of MIT, she reports directly to MIT President L. Rafael
Reif, and oversees all aspects of MIT’s fundraising enterprise, deploying
resources to ensure MIT’s leadership in higher education.
To build philanthropic support for priority areas, Ms. Lucas collaborates closely
with the offices of the Provost and Chancellor, and the vice presidents, deans, faculty, Alumni Association,
and volunteers. Her first fiscal year at MIT closed June 30, 2015, with the highest fundraising results in the
Institute’s century-and-a-half history, as it prepares for a capital campaign.
A development professional with over 20 years of experience in higher education and external relations, Ms.
Lucas came to MIT from the University of Southern California (USC) where, as Associate Senior Vice
President, she managed fundraising for 15 individual School Campaigns and for the University Village, a
$600 million redevelopment project expected to provide housing for 30% of USC undergraduates. During
her tenure, she was responsible for the launch of 11 of the School campaigns and laid the groundwork for
the remainder. In addition, she spearheaded a global initiative to build relationships and raise capital
worldwide, and worked with development staff across USC’s schools to create metrics for monitoring
effectiveness. During her time at USC, Lucas was part of a team that raised over $3B toward the $6B overall
campaign target.
Prior to USC, Ms. Lucas served as the Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Relations at the New York
University (NYU) Stern School of Business, where she achieved record contributions, including raising over
$50M, achieving a 133% increase in seven-figure leadership gifts, and 100% leadership participation, as
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 11
well as exponentially increasing first-time, faculty, and staff giving. She directed the development program
for 110,000 alumni and created 14 new programs, including SternConnect, an online alumni directory.
Previous to NYU, Ms. Lucas was the Assistant Vice President of External Affairs and Assistant Dean of
Institutional Advancement at Fordham Law School, where she oversaw all aspects of a $100M campaign
and, under her leadership, the Law School raised more capital than it had in the previous 100 years of its
existence. She also oversaw a four-fold increase in the number of scholarships and the establishment of
eight new faculty chairs and five academic centers. Before her tenure at Fordham, Ms. Lucas served in a
series of progressively senior development roles at Hofstra University and the Episcopal Church Foundation,
as well as New York University and its School of Law.
Recognized for her strong work ethic, her ability to set ambitious goals and achieve them, and her
leadership, drive, and experience, Ms. Lucas was profiled in Crain’s New York Business 2010 “Forty Under 40,”
an annual list of 40 professionals who have achieved success in business before turning 40 years of age. Ms.
Lucas earned a BA in political science and Spanish from McDaniel College, where she serves as a
member of the Board of Trustees, and an MS in educational administration from Hofstra University. She also
holds an advanced certification from NYU’s Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising.
Whitney Espich
Executive Director, Communications & Events
Whitney Espich joined MIT’s Resource Development group in August 2014,
where she oversees comprehensive marketing and communications in
support of the $5-billion MIT Campaign for a Better World, launched in May
2016.
She had served as senior director of strategic marketing and communications
and, prior to that, director of university development communications, at Harvard University’s central Alumni
Affairs and Development Office. In these roles, she developed and oversaw University-wide marketing and
communications for Harvard's $6.5-billion campaign, launched in September 2013. Before that, she served
as director of communications at Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
Ms. Espich has also provided marketing guidance and support to corporate clients, such as Motorola, U.S.
Steel, and Sun Microsystems, as an account manager in the Cambridge, Mass., offices of Citigate
Cunningham, a UK-owned, high-tech communications agency.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 12
Before moving from Virginia to the Boston area in 2000, Ms. Espich handled communications for Monticello,
the home of Thomas Jefferson, and for Mary Baldwin College. She earned a BA in English from Indiana
University, Bloomington; an MA in English from the University of Virginia; and a MPhil in philosophy from
the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
MIT Overview
The mission of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology is to advance knowledge and
educate students in science, technology,
and other areas of scholarship that will best
serve the nation and the world in the 21st
century. It is also driven to bring knowledge
to bear on the world’s great challenges.
The Institute is an independent,
coeducational, privately endowed university,
organized into five schools (architecture and
planning; engineering; humanities, arts, and
social sciences; management; and science). It has some 1,000 faculty members, more than 11,000
undergraduate and graduate students, and more than 130,000 living alumni.
At its founding in 1861, MIT was an educational innovation, a community of hands-on problem solvers in
love with fundamental science and eager to make the world a better place. Today, that spirit still guides how
it educates students on campus and how it shapes new digital learning technologies to make MIT teaching
accessible to millions of learners around the world.
MIT admits some of the most talented students in the world on a need-blind basis. The Institute is
committed to meeting the financial need of each admitted undergraduate student through MIT
scholarships; the average student scholarship was $34,551 per year in 2014. As a result, the MIT community
is incredibly diverse, and organically collaborative, with students coming from many different backgrounds,
across the country and around the world.
Students are frequently encouraged to unite MIT's engineering excellence with public service. For example,
the required senior capstone design course for mechanical engineering majors centers on making the world
a better place through engineering. Recent years have focused on projects using alternative forms of
energy, and machines that could be used for sustainable agriculture. Beyond academic coursework, MIT's D-
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 13
Lab, Poverty Action Lab, and Public Service Center all support students and professors in the research and
implementation of culturally sensitive and environmentally responsible technologies and programs that
alleviate poverty and improve quality of life in low-income areas locally, nationally, and worldwide.
The MIT community brings its energy and creativity outside the classroom as well with 450+ student-run
groups, 33 varsity sports, 18 intramural sports, 33 club sports, and more than 60 music, theater, visual arts,
writing, and dance groups.
MIT’s spirit of interdisciplinary exploration has fueled
many scientific breakthroughs and technological
advances. A few examples: the first chemical synthesis of
penicillin and vitamin A. The development of radar and
creation of inertial guidance systems. The invention of
magnetic core memory, which enabled the development
of digital computers. Major contributions to the Human
Genome Project. The discovery of quarks. The invention
of the electronic spreadsheet and of encryption systems
that enable e-commerce. The creation of GPS. Pioneering 3D printing. The concept of the expanding
universe.
Current research and education areas include digital learning; nanotechnology; sustainable energy, the
environment, climate adaptation, and global water and food security; Big Data, cybersecurity, robotics, and
artificial intelligence; human health, including cancer, HIV, autism, Alzheimer’s, and dyslexia; biological
engineering and CRISPR technology; poverty alleviation; advanced manufacturing; and innovation and
entrepreneurship.
MIT’s influence also includes the work of its alumni. One way MIT graduates drive progress is by starting
companies that deliver new ideas to the world. A recent study estimates that as of 2014, living MIT alumni
have launched more than 30,000 active companies, creating 4.6 million jobs and generating roughly $1.9
trillion in annual revenue. Taken together, this "MIT Nation" is equivalent to the 10th-largest economy in the
world!
MIT places among the top ten in many overall rankings of universities. For 2016, U.S. News & World Report
ranked it #7 among National Universities, #2 Best Undergraduate Business Programs (including #2
Entrepreneurship), #1 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs, #5 Best Business Schools, #5 Best Value
Schools, and #7 Best Colleges for Veterans.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 14
In 2015, Money magazine ranked MIT as third in the U.S.
"Best Colleges for Your Money", based on its assessment
of "the most bang for your tuition buck", factoring in
quality of education, affordability, and career
outcomes. As of 2014, Forbes magazine rated MIT as the
second "Most Entrepreneurial University", based on the
percentage of alumni and students self-identifying as
founders or business owners on LinkedIn. In
2015, Brookings Fellow Jonathan Rothwell issued a report
"Beyond College Rankings", placing MIT as third in the US, with an estimated 45% value-added to mid-
career salary.
MIT’s Global Impact:
In the lab and in the field, MIT impacts the world through both the technology developed at the Institute
and the people who learn, work, and train here. MIT's students, faculty, and staff – supported by its alumni,
donors, and industry partners – are able to turn hands-on research into answers for the world's most
pressing problems.
Diversity – Institute Community and Equity Office
MIT understands that diversity spans the whole array of human characteristics that differentiate and shape
us, including but not limited to race, gender, culture, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic
background, age, religion, and language.
The Institute Community and Equity Office/Officer (ICEO) serves as a thought leader on the subjects of
community, equity, inclusion, and diversity; a focal point for organizing MIT’s related activities and
conversations; and a hands-on practitioner who disseminates best practices and inspires the awareness and
enthusiasm to help them flourish.
Drawing on the strength and energy of MIT’s extraordinary diversity of experiences and backgrounds, the
ICEO leads MIT to make practical progress on a daily basis toward cultivating a caring community focused
on MIT’s shared values of excellence, meritocracy, openness, integrity, and mutual respect. This work is
carried out in ways that enhance the life and work of MIT faculty, students, postdocs, and staff, with the aim
of making everyone here feel that MIT is home.
Global – Global MIT
MIT is committed to solving the world’s most pressing problems, and its students and faculty are eager to
do the hard – but fulfilling – work needed to reach this lofty goal. While the Institute has a 150-plus-year
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 15
commitment to global engagement, today’s MIT is far more ambitious, integrated, and influential than ever
before.
The Institute has long worked with organizations, communities, and industries across the globe to push the
limits of what science and technology can accomplish – but there is an opportunity to do more and reach
further, and MIT is ready to meet that charge.
"Mens et Manus" (Mind and Hand), the motto emblazoned on MIT’s seal, speaks to the Institute’s time-
honored tradition of turning extraordinary ideas into powerful realities. Students and faculty at MIT aren’t
afraid to get their hands dirty if they can improve, evolve, or fix some aspect of the world around them –
and the world is benefitting in powerful ways from this pioneering spirit.
Energy – MIT Energy Initiative
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) is an Institute-wide initiative designed to help transform the global energy
system to meet the needs of the future. MITEI also aims to help build a bridge to that future by improving
today's energy systems. MITEI is the Institute’s hub for energy research, education, and outreach. Through
these three pillars, MIT helps develop the technologies and solutions that will deliver clean, affordable, and
plentiful sources of energy. Its mission is to create low- and no-carbon solutions that will efficiently and
sustainably meet global energy needs while minimizing environmental impacts, dramatically reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigating climate change.
Within MIT, the Initiative fosters a sense of community among those interested in energy, and provides
opportunities, including funding opportunities, for faculty and students, supporting student-led energy
groups, and hosting events with thought leaders across the energy spectrum.
Cancer – Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT unites biologists, chemists, engineers,
computer scientists, clinicians, and others to bring fresh perspectives and an interdisciplinary approach to
the fight against cancer. This multifaceted group of investigators is at the core of the Koch Institute’s work
to develop new insights into cancer, as well as new tools and technologies to better treat, diagnose, and
prevent the disease.
The Koch Institute is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center. Completed in 2010, its
state-of-the-art cancer research facility on the MIT campus allows for the physical co-localization of faculty
members from the Department of Biology (formerly in the MIT Center for Cancer Research) with faculty
members drawn from a variety of departments in the MIT School of Engineering. The Koch Institute faculty
also includes many members located in other research buildings at MIT, including the Whitehead and Broad
Institutes.
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MIT’s goal is to make the Koch Institute the gold standard in interdisciplinary cancer-focused research. The
Koch Institute is continually expanding its highly effective relationship network, which involves other
academic and clinical oncology centers, industrial partners and cancer-focused individuals and foundations.
Firmly rooted in the MIT community, the Koch Institute shares its educational mission and is deeply
committed to training the next generation of cancer researchers. Trainees make up a significant portion of
its research force, and make invaluable contributions to the shaping of its institutional culture.
Public Service – Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center
At the heart of the MIT mission statement is a call to serve the nation and the world – and at MIT, the
opportunities for doing so are as diverse and as far-reaching as the Institute itself. The Priscilla King Gray
Public Service Center provides support for the humanitarian efforts of the MIT community, engaging
students, alumni, staff, faculty, and others in social entrepreneurship that provides needed resources to
individuals and communities around the world.
Every year, it sends thousands of students into communities locally, across the nation, and around the globe
to apply their skills and knowledge for the betterment of humankind. In the Institute's best traditions of
hands-on experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and creative problem solving, these students donate their time,
create new technologies, form communities and companies – and ultimately change lives everywhere they
go.
As part of MIT's Division of Student Life, it provides a central point of communication and support for the
outreach and humanitarian efforts of the MIT community. The Center engages students, alumni, staff,
faculty, and others in life-changing initiatives and social entrepreneurship ventures that provide needed
resources to individuals and communities.
Industry – MIT Industrial Liaison Program's Industry Gateway
Since its founding, MIT has fostered a problem-solving approach that encourages researchers to work
together across departments, fields, and institutional boundaries. The resulting collaborations have included
thousands of fruitful partnerships with industry and other leading research institutions.
The MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) is dedicated to creating and strengthening mutually beneficial
relationships between MIT and corporations worldwide. Established in 1948, the ILP continues to be a key
player in making industrial connections for MIT.
Over 200 of the world's leading companies partner with the Industrial Liaison Program to advance
research agendas at MIT (FY15)
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ILP member companies account for approximately 40% of all corporate gifts and single-sponsored
research expenditures at MIT.
With continued acceleration of advances in technology and knowledge discovery, and a more demanding
corporate funding environment, the ILP is committed to creating productive interactions with industry. The
ILP continually evolves to meet the interests, needs, and aspirations of MIT faculty and corporate partners.
Location
Cambridge, MA:
Cambridge is situated directly north of the city of Boston,
across the Charles River and is home to two of the world's
most prominent universities, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and Harvard University. As of July 2014, it was
the fifth most populous city in the state.
Consisting largely of densely built residential space,
Cambridge lacks significant tracts of public parkland. This is
partly compensated for, however, by the presence of easily
accessible open space on the university campuses, including MIT's Great Lawn, Harvard Yard, and the
Radcliffe Yard, as well as the considerable open space of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Public parkland includes
the esplanade along the Charles River and the Alewife Brook Reservation and Fresh Pond in the western part
of the city.
From MIT, it is just a short walk across the Charles River to Boston where one can enjoy the city's fabulous
restaurants or take in Boston culture.
In terms of business interests in Cambridge, manufacturing was an important part of the economy in the
late 19th and early 20th century, but educational institutions are the city's biggest employers today. As a
cradle of technological innovation, Cambridge was home to technology firms Analog Devices, Akamai, Bolt,
Beranek, and Newman (BBN Technologies) (now part of Raytheon), General Radio (later GenRad), Lotus
Development Corporation (now part of IBM), Symbolics, and Thinking Machines. Healthcare and
biotechnology firms such as Genzyme, Biogen Idec, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Pfizer, and
Novartis have significant presences in the city.
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Though headquartered in Switzerland, Novartis continues to expand its operations in Cambridge. Other
major biotech and pharmaceutical firms expanding their presence in Cambridge include
GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Shire, and Pfizer. Most Biotech firms in Cambridge are located around Kendall
Square and East Cambridge, which decades ago were the city's center of manufacturing. A number of
biotechnology companies are also located in University Park at MIT, a new development in another former
manufacturing area.
Google, IBM Research, Microsoft Research, and Philips Research maintain offices in Cambridge. In late
January 2012 – less than a year after acquiring Billerica-based analytic database management
company, Vertica – Hewlett-Packard announced it would also be opening its first offices in
Cambridge. Around this same time, e-commerce giants Staples and Amazon.com said they would be
opening research and innovation centers in Kendall Square. LabCentral also provides a shared laboratory
facility for approximately 25 emerging biotech companies.
The proximity of Cambridge's universities has also made the city a center for nonprofit groups and think
tanks, including the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,
the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cultural Survival, and One Laptop per Child.
In September 2011, an initiative by the City of Cambridge called the "Entrepreneur Walk of Fame" was
launched. It seeks to highlight individuals who have made contributions to innovation in the global business
community.
To learn more about Cambridge, please visit: www.cambridgeusa.org
Background Checks:
Prior to submitting your resume for this position, please read it over for accuracy. LLLS does verify academic
credentials for its candidates, and our clients frequently conduct background checks prior to finalizing an
offer.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 19
To learn more, call
Libby Roberts, Vice President
617-262-1102
or send nominations or cover letter and resume to
All inquiries will be held in confidence.
Setting the Standard in Development Search
420 Boylston Street, Suite 604, Boston, MA 02116
617-262-1102
www.LLLSearches.com
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUNDER | 20
Organizational Charts
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