Vol. X No. 6 May/June 1998 The Muddy River Revival: Food ... fileStephan L. Chorover, Jovan Ristic, Bob Nesson. MIT Faculty Newsletter Vol. X No. 6 - 2 - MIT Faculty Newsletter Editorial

Vol. X No. 6 May/June 1998

From The Faculty Chair— Page 3Teach Talk — Page 4

The Unspeakable Subject — Page 7F/ASIP — Page 10

Annals of Reengineering — Page 12Also: MIT Faculty Lecture Worldwide;

Letters; M.I.T. NumbersContents — Page 2

(Continued on Page 8) (Continued on Page 9)

http://web.mit.edu/fnl

MIT Provost Joel Moses has announced his intention toresign his position on August 1st and return to teachingand research on a full-time basis.

I would like to begin with some educational issues:1) There was some concern that with Travis Merritt nolonger cajoling faculty members to teach Freshman

Advisory Seminars that we would have far too few suchofferings next fall and beyond. I am pleased to note thatonce we announced a $1500 grant to faculty teaching suchseminars (and a similar grant for staff) we were able to getcommitments for over 130 such seminars for next fall.

2) Several people have noted with understandablefrustration that educational proposals made by facultycommittees often do not get implemented. One reason thathas been suggested for the lack of implementation is thatthere was little analysis of the cost of implementing theproposals.

At a recent meeting of the Education Committee, asubcommittee of Academic Council that is chaired by theprovost, a process for dealing with this issue was discussed.We wish to continue having educational proposals arisefrom and be discussed by faculty committees. Werecognize, however, the need to alert the academicadministrative structure early on about the proposals andtheir possible implications. It was agreed by the EducationCommittee that chairs of faculty committees, such as thechair of CUP, should discuss proposals on educationalinitiatives with the deans on the Education Committee.

Food For ThoughtJoel Moses

In her column “From the Faculty Chair” in this issue ofthe Newsletter (Page 3), Professor Lotte Bailynreviews the latest Carnegie Foundation (Boyer

Commission) Report: “Reinventing UndergraduateEducation: A Blueprint for America’s ResearchUniversities.” As she notes, the report is consonant withthe call for an MIT freshman year that is inquiry-based andintellectually integrated. Pertinently, an article in the May/June ’98 issue of Change: The Magazine of HigherLearning describes a similar program that has alreadybeen in effect for several years at Holy Cross College. (Wethank our colleague, Chris Luebkeman for bringing thisarticle to our attention.) Professor Bailyn mentions “thescarcity of time.” It is our contention that it is still not toolate for MIT to put such a program in place for incomingfirst-year students this coming fall.

Much of the groundwork has already been laid.Discussions along these lines have been ongoing here forat least a year. In an effort to advance the process, one ofus (Steve Chorover) reported to more than four score MITfaculty colleagues in early May on the initial meeting of theMuddy River Education Initiative (MREI) held atNortheastern University on April 23. The meeting includedindividuals affiliated with many different citizens groupsand organizations. Many of the 74 attendees and otherinterested people representing or affiliated with 22institutions were identified as sharing an interest in

The Muddy River Revival:An Educational

Opportunity for MIT?Stephan L. Chorover, Jovan Ristic, Bob Nesson

MIT Faculty Newsletter Vol. X No. 6

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MIT Faculty Newsletter

Editorial Board

*Stephan L. Chorover(Brain & Cognitive Sciences)Nazli Choucri(Political Science)Ernst G. Frankel(Ocean Engineering)Jean E. Jackson(Anthropology)Gordon Kaufman(Management Science & Statistics)Daniel S. Kemp(Chemistry)Jonathan King(Biology)*Lawrence M. Lidsky(Nuclear Engineering)Stephen J. Lippard(Chemistry)Fred Moavenzadeh(Civil Engineering)Merritt Roe Smith(Science, Technology, & Society)David Thorburn(Literature)

*Editorial Committee for this issue.

David LewisManaging Editor

Address: MIT Faculty Newsletter, MIT Bldg. 38-160Cambridge, MA 02139; (617) 253-7303.

E-Mail: [email protected]: 617-253-0458Website: http://web.mit.edu/fnl

Subscriptions:$15/year On-Campus$20/year Off-Campus

Contents

Lotte Bailyn is Professor of Management; FacultyChair.Melissa Chapman is Program Manager, AlumniTravel Program.Stephan L. Chorover is Professor, Brain & CognitiveSciences.Jane Dunphy is Lecturer and Coordinator, ESL.John Hildebidle is Professor of Literature.Joel Moses is Provost.Bob Nesson is a producer of educationaldocumentary films and president of Nesson Media,Inc. of Boston.Jovan Ristic is an Architect and Planner completinghis doctorate in human ecology at the University ofMaine.Janet Snover is Captain, Community InvolvementTeam.Arthur Steinberg is Professor of Anthropology;Director, Integrated Studies Program.

Authors

The Muddy River Revival: An Educational Opportunity for MIT? 1

Food For Thought 1

From The Faculty ChairBoyer Report Offers Guidelines forUndergraduate Education 3

Teach TalkSpecial Considerations for Teachingin the Multicultural Classroom 4

The Unspeakable Subject 7

Summer Testing for Faculty Bulletin Board 7

Freshmen/Alumni Summer Internship ProgramCorporations and Alumni Help LaunchNew Program 10

Research Sponsorship Fiscal 1997 11

Annals of ReengineeringUpdate on HRPD and Management ReportingSAP at MIT – A Review 12

Letters 13

MIT Faculty Can Lecture Worldwide WithAlumni Travel Program 14

M.I.T. Numbers 16

MIT Faculty Newsletter May/June 1998

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From The Faculty Chair

I have just finished reading“Reinventing UndergraduateEducation: A Blueprint for

America’s Research Universities,” therecently released report by the BoyerCommission on Educating Under-graduates in the Research University.Much of what it says is congruent withfindings from our own Task Force onStudent Life and Learning and fromthe Student Advisory Committee tothe Task Force, which has justpublished its final report, showing thatour problems are not unique.

One of the key recommendations ofthe Boyer Report is the provision ofresearch opportunities for under-graduates. There MIT is ahead ofmany. But on some of their otherrecommendations, like their call for afreshman year that is inquiry-basedand intellectually integrated, we fallback into the pack. Of course werightly value the solid science basis onwhich our freshman curriculum isbased, but while the freshman year isintellectually powerful, for many it isa discouraging year. Their call torethink the freshman curriculumreinforces our own efforts in thisdirection.

And what about the Boyer Report’scall for a “student-centered researchuniversity” – is that useful for MIT?The Student Advisory Group seems togo along with this idea. They wantfaculty to “play a more prominent rolein the community,” and to “apportionmore resources toward excellence inteaching, both inside and beyond theconfines of the classroom.” But, asJesus Del Alamo made clear in hiscriticism of the Boyer Report (TechTalk, April 29), the issue of resources

to support their ideas has not beenaddressed. I would add, though, thatin introducing the section entitled “TenWays to Change UndergraduateEducation” (p. 14), the Report doesprovide some hints as to how financialresources could be found. More im-portant, however, is the scarcity of time.

In some ways, the changes beingsuggested seem to imply a “superfaculty” role: men and women whocan do their classroom teaching, theirresearch, fulfill their outsideprofessional and personal commit-ments, and still have time and energyto interact informally with studentsoutside of the classroom or theresearch lab. This reminds me of the“super mom” of the last decade whowas supposed to be tops in all areas:career, care taking, communityinvolvement. We now know that sucha role is not easy to fulfill and so we arerethinking how men and womenshould allocate their involvementsover a lifetime.

In the same way, we may need todisaggregate the “super faculty” ideaand allow for “serial specialization.”Yes, do all of these things, but notnecessarily all at the same time. Thenotion of temporary “teaching” or“community” chairs that providerecognition and support for informalinteractions with students, assuggested in the Student AdvisoryCommittee Report, is an interestingapproach.

Changes such as these are not trivial.They would certainly require a creativelook at many aspects of Institute life,from incentives for faculty to the basicway the Institute is organized. Fromthis point of view, it is telling that the

Boyer Report echoes the Task Force’sidentification of the structure of theuniversity around strict disciplinarydepartmental lines as an underlyingproblem. It urges interdisciplinary andintergenerational (undergraduates,graduate students, and faculty)intellectual communities. It reinforcesthe Student Advisory Committee’s callfor housing that mixes undergraduates,graduate students, and faculty, andurges a widening of graduate educationto include emphasis on communi-cation (both written and oral), trainingin the principles underlying pedagogy,and opportunities for crossingdisciplinary lines.

The Report is consistent with theStudent Committee’s recommendationof a minor field in the graduateprogram. And though I suspect thatthis may not be the right vehicle toreach the breadth they seek, itemphasizes the need for graduateeducation to broaden out, so that therole that graduate students play inundergraduate education as TAs andas future faculty can be better met.(On this latter point, incidentally, it isdiscouraging to note that thepercentage of PhDs going into theacademy, as into government, hasdropped since 1975, with industryshowing an increase (Boyer Report,p. 30).)

There are lots of ideas in this Reportthat add to those already coming fromthe faculty, the students, and theadministration. Our challenge now isto sort all this out, select specific targetsfor action, and do something creativein following through.✥[Lotte Bailyn can be reached [email protected]]

Boyer Report Offers Guidelinesfor Undergraduate Education

Lotte Bailyn


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MIT’s commitment to diversityin the student body is trulycommendable. The Insti-

tute’s increasing attention to qualityteaching is equally impressive.However, these two laudable goalsmay, to some extent, be at odds.

A multicultural classroom impliesmultiple assumptions about academicconventions and success. Thismultiplicity can enrich the students’experience, but it can also present anobstacle to the full and productiveparticipation of some class members.It is incumbent on us, as teachers inthis environment, to understand thesedifficulties and help all our students toengage fully in their education.

Although these considerations applyto cultural diversity in the broad sense,my focus here is on MIT’s internationalstudents, who come from 108 countriesand constitute a large part of the studentcommunity. Eight percent of theundergraduates and 33 percent of thegraduate students come from countrieswhere academic conventions arevastly different from those of the U.S.,in general, and from those of MIT, inparticular. (See table.)

Many of us focus on languagedifferences when we consider MIT’sinternational students, but other aspectsof our multicultural environment mustbe addressed. Three areas where oursensitivity to cultural difference canenhance learning are classroomdynamics, approach to assignments,and navigation of hierarchy.

Classroom DynamicsWith some exceptions, the general

model of university education outside

of the U.S. involves large lecture hallsfilled with many students listening toan authority read or speak in a formalmanner from notes. In some countries,such as France, students graduate fromthe most prestigious engineeringschools with an enviable theoretical

background, but have done very littleexperimental or practical work. Thereis seldom interaction betweeninstructors and students in or out ofclass. As a result, international studentsaccustomed to the “Professor asAuthority/Student as Empty Vessel”model can feel adrift as they try toadapt to the interactive dynamic that ismore and more the goal of educationat MIT.

Understandably, a new Japanesestudent may feel alienated in a largemanagement class, where 40 percentof the grade is determined by

participation; or a Korean student mayfeel trepidation in a graduate seminarwhere students regularly makepresentations.

Of course, students react differently.Some, regardless of their nationalities,embrace the chance to engage and do

so appropriately. Occasionally, astudent resents the time spent indiscussion, has no patience with peercomments, and has trouble respectingthe instructor or accepting the system.More commonly, students need timeto learn our discourse customs. Forexample, we expect students to expressopinions readily, but we typicallysoften disagreement in English usingforms like “I see your point, but, … ”, or“Don’t you think…?” Extraencouragement is needed to overcomestudents’ unfamiliarity with class

Special Considerations for Teachingin the Multicultural Classroom

Jane Dunphy

Countries with the Largest Student Representation at MIT

Academic Year93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98China Canada Canada Canada ChinaCanada China China China CanadaIndia Japan Japan Japan JapanJapan India India India IndiaKorea Korea Korea Korea KoreaTaiwan Taiwan Taiwan Mexico MexicoGreece France Mexico Thailand ThailandGermany Mexico Germany Taiwan TaiwanMexico Germany Italy Germany Germany/ France

Source: MIT International Students Office

(Continued on next page)


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dynamics, their self-consciousnessabout accent and lack of fluency, ortheir fear of being wrong.

We can provide this encouragementin several ways:

• If the context allows, we can usedifferent kinds of questions to stimulateinteraction. For example, students findsolicitations like “Can you guess whatmight work here?” or “What are somesituations where we’d find this?” lessintimidating than the more direct“What do I plug in here?”

• Rather than waiting for volunteersto respond to each question, we can“cold call” on international studentswho are conspicuous for their lack ofparticipation. In general, they welcomean invitation into the discussion butlack the confidence to initiate. If wemake clear that they can “pass”penalty-free when they have nothingto contribute, most students do notfind this system threatening.

• Occasionally, we can also try towait up to 10 seconds after asking aquestion before moving on. Americansare more uncomfortable with silencesthan those from many other cultures.We often rush in to fill pauses. Wheninternational students are willing tomake contributions, they may needextra time.

• They may also need us to check forclarification. An expression like “If Iunderstand you, you’re suggesting that… ” or “So, you think that … ” providesthe chance to check for mutualcomprehension and the opportunityfor restatements.

Written and Oral AssignmentsExplicit guidelines for oral and

written assignments are helpful for allstudents, but essential for internationalstudents. While problem sets andexams that focus on data manipulation

are relatively self-explanatory inapproach, the content and format ofother common assignments at MITare not.

For example, we cannot assume thatFrench students understand how tostructure an argument memo or aresearch paper for an Americanacademic audience. Our preferencefor the “bottom line on top,” that is,placing the author’s main point oropinion in the introduction to adocument and using the following

pages to support that opinion, is not auniversal approach to writing. In fact,it is contrary to what many well-educated European students have beentaught – to “save the best for last.”Their rhetorical style requires anexpansive overview of both sides ofan argument before a final synthesisprovides the author’s position.

Similarly, many internationalstudents have no way of knowinghow to structure and deliver aneffective oral presentation thatconforms to our expectations unlessexplicit guidelines are provided. They

wonder what information effectiveAmerican speakers typically includein an introduction to a 20-minuteresearch presentation. What con-stitutes an effective slide? We need toprovide them answers.

In class, we should demonstrate inour handouts the precise, organized,and thorough approach that we expectto see in students’ written assignments.We should make great efforts to usethe organized board technique,affirming body language, sincerity,

and enthusiasm that mark effectivepresentation skills. In addition, wemust make explicit our expectationsabout the format as well as the contentof documents and presentations.Where appropriate, we should guidethe students to models such as journalarticles that exhibit the characteristicswe seek in our students’ work.

Another area that must be addressedexplicitly is the role of academichonesty in assignments. Keep in mindthat English language cultures have aparticularly rigorous approach to

Teaching in theMulticultural Classroom

Dunphy, from preceding page


Imagine a typical MIT class – an 18.01 lecture, asmall graduate seminar, or a HASS-D course. It ishighly likely that some students are drinkingCoke or coffee, likely that several are eatingdonuts or bagels, and possible that one has barefeet. This level of student informality is startling,even offensive, to new students from countriessuch as Mexico and Thailand. It can seem highlydisrespectful of the instructor and, as a result,can affect the newcomers’ attitudes towards theirpeers and their instructors.


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protecting intellectual property. Insome cultures, individual andindependent expression of ideas is notgreatly valued; instead, students areexpected to honor respectedauthorities by repeating theircontributions verbatim. In addition,standard documentation conventionsare not widely used in all intellectualcommunities. Students from suchcultures may have difficultyunderstanding or accepting ourconcept of plagiarism and theintricacies of documenting sources ofinformation. By letting our studentsknow that we are aware of suchdifferences and by working withthem to understand the expectationsat MIT, we can avoid awkwardnessor worse.

Respect & HierarchyInternational students frequently

express concern about how to navigatethe hierarchical system at MIT.

The difficulty is obvious even at themost basic level. The English languageis unusual in that it does not have agrammatical way to indicate hierarchy.We use “you” for everyone – friends,parents, professors, bosses – unlikeFrench with the tu/vous distinction,Spanish with the tú/usted distinction,or Japanese with its complex systemof grammatical markers for respectand hierarchy. We sometimes indicateformality by using complex sentencestructure (e.g., “I was wondering if itwould be possible. ..”, instead of “CanI...”), but not always. Something assubtle as rising intonation on one wordcan indicate acknowledgment ofhierarchy. It is a challenge for newinternational students from cultureswith strict linguistic and behavioralcodes for showing respect to navigatethe system here.

Teaching in theMulticultural Classroom

Dunphy, from preceding page

Imagine a typical MIT class – an18.01 lecture, a small graduateseminar, or a HASS-D course. It ishighly likely that some students aredrinking Coke or coffee, likely thatseveral are eating donuts or bagels,and possible that one has bare feet.This level of student informality isstartling, even offensive, to newstudents from countries such as Mexicoand Thailand. It can seem highlydisrespectful of the instructor and, asa result, can affect the newcomers’attitudes towards their peers and theirinstructors.

To further confuse the situation,the MIT faculty, and academic andresearch staff vary in their levels offamiliarity. Some conduct them-selves, their classes, and theirinteractions with a formality thatmay be comfortingly familiar to someinternational students. Informality,however, seems to be more commonat MIT. Instructors regularly sit ondesks, swinging their legs as theytalk or listen. They are sometimeson a first-name basis with students,and many are available for help, orenjoy friendly conversations outsideof class. The level of comfort is suchthat the better teachers at MIT canadmit ignorance in class, not acommon occurrence in manycountries.

There is, in fact, much morenegotiation of hierarchy at MIT thaninternational students are likely to haveencountered. It is confusing. The resultmay be inappropriately passive orinappropriately bold demeanor in theclassroom. Again, many problems canbe avoided by being aware of potentialdifficulty, by explicitly acknowledgingour own styles and motivation, and bystating our expectations in matters

such as terms of address and classroombehavior.

Realizing the Potential of theMulticultural Classroom

The cultural diversity at MIT is anexciting resource, which, if fosteredsensitively, can enrich the intellectuallives of all of us. If we, as teachers,make a concerted effort to chatoccasionally with internationalstudents before or after class andexpress our curiosity about, orawareness of, some of the differencesbetween MIT’s educational culture andthat of other countries, we will go along way toward increasing comfortlevels. We must be willing to spendsome time in the first week of classesdiscussing our motivation forstructuring classroom dynamics theway we do. We should providethroughout the term explicit guidelinesfor any assignments where differentcultural assumptions may shape theend product in a way that does notmeet our expectations. Theseguidelines will allow internationalstudents to play the game with thesame rules as the American students.

International students who feel theirdifferences are understood will bemore likely to engage fully in theexperience that MIT provides. Inaddition, they will feel morecomfortable pursuing questions aboutother aspects of their environment.

Explicit discussion of these issues inand out of class will have the addedbenefit of heightening the awarenessof American students to differentcultural assumptions in academic life.As teachers, we can be instrumental increating a multicultural environmentthat truly benefits everyone.✥[Jane Dunphy can be reached [email protected]]


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My title is not wholly facetious.I really do think that there isat least one subject that

cannot be discussed in any variety of“polite” company, especially within theInstitute. Yes, I know that the particularsof the intimate anatomy of politicalfigures are now subjects of prime-timeTV and comic strip humor. But still –when was the last time you had theunmitigated gall to ask someone exactlywhat his or her salary was?

Being the holder of more Harvarddegrees than any sane being can finduse for, I get, regularly, HarvardMagazine. And there on the cover ofthe May/June 1998 issue was theneatly-alliterative, modestly-sizedheadline “Hobbled.” Investigation ledme to an article jointly-authored byJames Engell of the Harvard EnglishDepartment, and Anthony Danger-field, trained in English at Cornell.The gist of the article was all-too-painfully-clear: my specialty, the studyof “humane letters,” is withering in themodern age of the “market modeluniversity.” If the problem is apparenteven at Harvard, how could it not beevident a few stops down the Red Lineas well?

This thought is prompted, of course, bycrass self-interest – I have attained thatproblematic moment in the life cycle whenthe elder of my two children is about tohead off to college, and so when (even withthe MIT faculty tuition-support benefit,great be its praises) it would seem thatanything short of uncovering a hitherto-unknown rich ancestor, I face some years ofconsiderable penury. The other day muchwas made in the local press of the decision,by a man proclaimed to be one of theworld’s most renowned youngereconomists, to turn down a vast contract atColumbia, and stay at Harvard. This newsfollowed right on the heels of the report thatYankee Stadium is crumbling, but that maybe pure coincidence.

Anyway, Jeremy Knowlesannounced that, while Harvard didnot intend to discuss the particulars ofits contractual relations with this cleverfellow, it did not, as a matter of course,engage in salary wars. “At Harvard,every faculty member is a star.” Thathas a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? But inthe light of the Engell article, one canbut wonder.

Which brings us around, at longlast, to MIT. Can the Institute say whatKnowles says? I mean not that it has a

The Unspeakable SubjectJohn Hildebidle

faculty of stars, but that it doesn’t engagein salary-bidding wars? Alas, I have it onreliable authority that the matter may bea bit more complex than that. I want to becareful not to embarrass my sources bygiving clues as to who they are; suffice itto say they have the personal integrityand the administrative rank to knowwhereof they speak, and to speak frankly.And the word I hear is that the disparityin salary between Institute facultymembers at the same purported rank isconsiderable, and growing.

Which is made worse by the sadtruth that not every MIT facultymember is compelled to liveexclusively on his salary. I won’t stoopto vulgar language, but it is hard toavoid the term “consulting.” And Iknow, the next time I sit at a facultymeeting, officially among my peers, Iwill be, inwardly, looking at the otherfaces in the room, wondering darkthings. Even more so when I try tofigure out a way to write the firstroom-and-board check that TrinityCollege demands of me.✥[John Hildebidle can be reached [email protected]]

Summer Testing ForFaculty Bulletin Board

After almost a year of extensivemodifying and evaluating, thesoftware which will allow for

a verifiable and totally secureElectronic MIT Faculty Bulletin Boardis ready for on-line testing.

Web Crossing, the software that willbe utilized, offers a variety of potentialapplications. Among them are Web-based discussions that allow

participants to post messages, as if ona bulletin board, and let others readand respond to them at any time.Participants check in periodically toread new messages.

Another possible use is the ChatRoom feature that would enableparticipants to have conversations in"real time," by typing in text messages.The exact form the Faculty Bulletin

Board will take has yet to be decided,and testing will take place over thesummer, with a projected on-line dateof early September.

If you'd be interested in participatingin testing over the next couple ofmonths, please contact us at<[email protected]>. To see other uses ofWeb Crossing at MIT, see <http://web.mit.edu/webcrossing/www/>.✥

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


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collaborative education programs focusedon the ongoing revival of the historic MuddyRiver (water quality improvement, floodmitigation, and ecological restoration). Somefinancial resources were identified that mightbe available to support the establishment ofsuch a program in the near future.

The Muddy River watershed andfloodplain contain a unique concentrationof educational institutions, museums, andhealth care facilities and provide a superbsetting for the integrated study of often-separated issues of urban ecology and basicscience. A study of the urban environmentthrough which the river flows offers insightsinto the relationship between the naturaland the built landscape.

The MIT campus is not situated in theMuddy River watershed or floodplain. Whythen should we participate in an educationalinitiative that takes it as the focus? At leasttwo of our independent living groups arelocated in the floodplain, as is the Museumof Fine Arts, which the Institute participatesin operating. Moreover, the Muddy emptiesinto the Charles directly opposite ourdoorstep. Its effluent directly affects thequality of the waters on which we sail androw and along and across which we traveldaily on our ways to and fro.

The general idea that emerged from themeeting is to draw on the intellectualresources available among the stakeholdersto create new approaches to collaborativeand integrative learning. It was agreed toapply for support under a recently announcedNSF program: Urban Research Initiative:The Dynamics of Change in UrbanEnvironments. Under this program, 10-20awards totaling $6-10M will be made to U.S.colleges and universities for the support ofinter-institutional partnerships dealing with“functional interrelations among physical,biological, social and engineered systemsand processes.” The deadline is mid-July(for further information, see <http://www.ns f . gov /pubs /1998 /ns f9898 /nsf9898.htm>).

The authors of this article agreed toparticipate with others in the developmentand submission of the proposal. Inpreparation, a second communication wassent to essentially the same group of MIT

faculty colleagues in mid-May, invitinginterest in an MIT role in the project. It wasfurther suggested that the MIT componentbe an alternative first-year undergraduateprogram like the one described in a previousFaculty Newsletter article ("I Have TrulyFound Paradise," Vol. X No. 1, September1997). A more specific purpose of this secondmessage was to determine whether or notthere is any serious interest in MIT servingas “lead institution” in the prospectivecollaborative submission to NSF.

The answer remains – muddy. To beginwith, only 13 replies were received from thepeople to whom the second message wassent. Most of those replies were supportiveof the idea, but pessimistic about the capacityof MIT to mount such a program. Thefollowing excerpts are representative:

“It would be great if we could apply theseideas in our own back yard, so to speak, aswell as in Bangkok, Mexico City and otherfar-flung locales. I think the most appropriateresponse would be from the Civil &Environmental Engineering and UrbanPlanning folks- I hope this works out, but ....”

“I think it’s a terrific idea. My problem isI’m so overwhelmed....

“It’s unclear to me that MIT’s senioradministrators would commit to anyeducational initiative without more of theMIT community involved. [However], Ireally don’t believe that the...faculty willtake on an initiative...unless it is legitimizedby the President and/or Provost. So, thisbecomes very problematic. I have beenstruggling with this for several years at thispoint, and I don’t have an answer. I used tothink that if I had lots of money peoplewould show up. I no longer believe that,because the real currency of academic life atMIT is tenure and promotion and in thatsense, education...does not now really makea good case. Without a change in the facultyincentives and reward structure, I’m notoptimistic. I do regret coming off so negative,but I really do believe that the above is atwork in this instance. I am not negativeabout what you are trying to do, as I suspectyou already know.”

“I wish you well in this... if you don’t getoverwhelming support, there are other waysfor you to proceed that may be easier.”

“I am just overloaded and trying as I havebeen for a long time to do somethingworthwhile here at MIT with little or nosupport....I see no institutional interest herefor this kind of project....I won’t tell you whatyou should do, but I am limiting my horizonsand muddling through, as I have, in fact,been doing for some time. So, you have myheart in this one but not my body....”

The Muddy River Education Initiative isconceived as a scientifically-informededucation action research project. Its goal isto create some much-needed cross-disciplinary, hands-on, inquiry-basedlearning and teaching programs that connectscience subjects – e.g., math, physics,chemistry, biology – to their social, cultural,and historical context, as well as to eachother. The NSF initiative specifically focuseson “functional relationships among physical,biological, social and engineered systemsand processes.” This makes it easy to imaginethe outlines of a proposal directly responsiveto the NSF agenda.

In sum, MIT could and should be playinga leadership role in a partnership under whichinnovative and effective educationalprograms would be collaborativelydeveloped. Each of the participatingeducational institutions would develop anduse educational materials in its own way,and all would exchange information ofcommon interest. As an educational resource,the Muddy River contains all the elementsneeded to develop and test such programs.Here is an opportunity to serve theeducational interests of MIT while enablingthe development of pedagogical models thatwould be transferable to any educationalprogram in which an urban waterway isavailable as a resource. Is this not an endworth pursuing?

A second meeting of those interested andwilling to get involved in the MREI projectwill be held at MIT on the morning ofWednesday June 10. At that time, or soonthereafter, the lead institution will have to bedetermined, so that a proposal to NSF can beprepared. Whither MIT vis-à-vis the MREI?✥[Stephan L. Chorover can be reached [email protected], Jovan Ristic can bereached at [email protected], Bob Nesson canbe reached at [email protected]]

The Muddy River RevivalChorover et al., from Page 1


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Deans can then alert department headsabout the possible changes. I expectthat this simple change in the processby which educational proposals arediscussed will have very beneficialconsequences.

3) Several long term interdepart-mental teaching programs haveencountered a similar difficulty. Thefaculty originally passionate about theprograms have retired, are on leave,or have simply changed their areas ofinterest. New department heads havenot been involved in the originaldiscussions leading to the creation ofthe programs. Departments feel thattheir core educational missions mustbe served first and foremost. Thus,faculty interested in teaching in theinterdepartmental program are eithernot available or else are stronglyadvised to teach in departmental coreprograms. In order to deal with thisissue I believe that new inter-departmental teaching programsshould obtain written guarantees byrelevant departments that they willprovide a specified minimum amountof faculty effort each year. Similararrangements should be attempted forexisting interdepartmental programs.

I would like to make some commentsregarding the budget:

MIT is undergoing significantstructural changes in its finances atthis time. For the past 50 years wehave been one of the universities mostreliant on federal support for research.In recent years, as we are all painfullyaware, changes in accounting ruleshave reduced our annual support fromoverhead and employee benefits byan estimated $50M a year. Fortunately,our endowment has doubled in thepast four years, and our annual giftshave also grown significantly. I amoptimistic that by fall the Corporationwill agree to new operating assumptions

for the Institute for the coming years,and in addition approve a major increasein the endowment payout and a newcapital campaign. The current payout isapproximately 3.2 percent of the presentvalue of the endowment.

The transformation to an Institutethat is much more heavily reliant onprivate support than it has been in the

past will not come about without somestresses in the community. The stressescan arise because some parts of thecommunity will no doubt benefit morethan others from this transformation.In order for us to avoid the frictionsthat such a situation may entail, it istime for MIT to recommit to coreprinciples, such as those establishedby the Lewis Commission nearly 50years ago. One such principle is thatwe have a single faculty with nodistinction between those who teachundergraduates and those who teachgraduate students. I would add to theLewis Commission principles certainoperating principles, namely that wehave a single overhead rate and asingle endowment payout rate.

At this time, it is especially importantthat we permit the central admini-stration to smooth out some of thedifferences among our units that arelikely to arise as we transition to aperiod of much greater reliance onprivate support. The forthcomingcapital campaign must also be onethat deals with community-wide issuesas well as local ones. Thus continued

attention to scholarships, under-graduate educational initiatives, andunrestricted funds needs to take placealong side support for particularresearch, educational, and construc-tion initiatives. I firmly believe thatwith some care to such issues, theInstitute will achieve continuedgreatness in the coming decades.

Finally, let me point out a commontheme in several of the initiatives inwhich I have played a role in the pastdozen years. I am thinking of theFaculty Lunchroom, the Keyserdinners, the Symposium (a monthlydinner discussion by a group of abouttwo dozen faculty), and the “Moses”seminar (a biweekly faculty seminaron issues related to the brain, learning,and complex systems). In each case Ihave tried to foster the notion that MITis a collegial community of scholars.In each case we have also tried toengage faculty from all parts of theInstitute in discussion of issues. Thereason that these initiatives have beensuccessful has been in part because ofthe existence of that four-letter word,food. Of course, Jay Keyser has playeda crucial role in a couple of theseinitiatives, and I am pleased to say thathe will continue to do so in hisretirement. I am very optimistic thatall these gatherings will continue inthe coming years. I hope that we cancreate new ones as well.✥[Joel Moses can be reached [email protected]]

Food For ThoughtMoses, from page 1

Finally, let me point out a common theme in several ofthe initiatives in which I have played a role in the pastdozen years....The reason that these initiatives havebeen successful has been in part because of theexistence of that four-letter word, food.


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Over the last few months wehave started a small newprogram to place freshmen in

summer internships in companieswhere they will have interesting work,and will have alumni mentors to helpacclimate them to the workplace. Theidea for this program was suggestedand promoted by Joel Moses, to whomI am very grateful, since it is awonderful idea. There are a number ofreasons for starting this programwhich, I think, will help remediatewhat some of us think are seriousproblems in our undergraduateeducation.

A constructive summer experiencewill go far to combat the loss of self-esteem that many of our students sufferin coming to MIT. Many of us noticethat our happiest upperclassmen arethose who had an internshipexperience during the summer. Suchstudents are happy because they get tosee that their MIT education has a realvalue in the outside world, and theycan then begin to feel better about thetough academic year they have justbeen through. This positive experienceshould be transferable to the freshmanyear as well.

These internships may also helpchange the attitude of MIT under-graduates toward written and oralcommunication. By placing interns insituations where they can see theimportance that others place on thesecapabilities, our students will be moreeager to learn to communicate betterwhen they return to campus in the fall.

Another important skill we wish ourstudents to be more positive about isteamwork. MIT emphasizes, and

appropriately so in many cases, theimportance of individual work. Yetteamwork is increasingly important inmany careers. Our students shouldadjust to this work style when they seeit in action.

Finally, the MIT ethos of hard workand attacking absolutely any problem,inculcated early at the Institute, is notseen as an asset by many under-

graduates. But our alumni frequentlytell us how important this aspect oftheir education was to them when theyentered the workplace. We hope thefreshmen interns will also see this atwork, and will bring a more positiveappreciation of MIT’s pace andpressure back to the campus with them.

An important component of theseinternships is to involve MIT alumniin them. Many alumni have askedhow they can help the Institute inways other than by donating money.Our alumni also can recall well theirexperiences at MIT, and can thusunderstand what the current studentsare going through. We see this as aunique opportunity for alumni to havea positive mentoring effect on a group

of students. The fallout from this willbe that when these students return inthe fall they will help change the malaiseand disaffection of many MIT studentstoward what is happening to them atthe Institute.

The response from students to thisinternship program was overwhelmingthis year; 64 applied for 22 jobs, andthey are now being placed in

internships in companies where theywill have close contact with alumni.We began this year with companies innorthern California and the Bostonarea. [Our greatest support has comefrom Teradyne through the efforts ofMIT Corporation Chairman Alexd’Arbeloff.] The alumni will act asmentors for the students, though thestudents may be working under non-alum supervisors. We expect that thestudents will get together with theirclassmates over the summer, and willalso have contact with alumni in seniorpositions at businesses in the area.

To prepare the students for theirexperience we organized a seminarthis spring which consisted of a series

Corporations and Alumni HelpLaunch New Program

Arthur Steinberg

Freshmen/Alumni Summer Internship Program (F/ASIP)

A constructive summer experience will go far tocombat the loss of self-esteem that many of ourstudents suffer in coming to MIT. Many of usnotice that our happiest upperclassmen arethose who had an internship experience duringthe summer. Such students are happy becausethey get to see that their MIT education has areal value in the outside world...



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of workshops. These workshops wererun by myself, Marshall Hughes (staffmember in F/ASIP) and Sarah Wu (afreshman). These workshops werefacilitated by a marvelous group ofpeople drawn from MIT staff andparticipating companies in the Bostonarea. Students worked in small groupswith a facilitator on resume writing,interviewing, holding meetings andwriting memos, and dealing withdifficult confrontational situations.

The final workshop was anelaborate design game in which wetried to put all these skills together.Students were divided into teams, andhad to design an elaborate museumcase. In order to win the contract for itthey had to reserve factory space, buysupplies, build a prototype, make abudget, and present a proposal tothe museum board. Facilitatorshelped to make this a realistic worksituation and pushed the students topropose designs that would make aprofit for their company.

While in the workplace students willbe keeping journals about theirexperiences and observations, and willthen write a 2500-word paper forsubmission to us in the fall. They will

Students Creating a Museum Display and Travel Case for a Rare Dinosaur Egg

also have to give an oral presentationwhen they are back on campus, whichwe will use to recruit the next group offreshmen.

Students are paid over the summerby the participating companies, andreceive academic credit in the fall forhaving completed the accompanyingseminar. What has been extremelygratifying is the positive response and

excitement that we have seen from boththe students and alumni. We expect thisprogram will grow much larger over thenext few years. Please tell students aboutit next fall!

For more information about F/ASIPvisit our Website at <http://web.mit.edu/fasip/www>, or e-mail me<[email protected]> or MarshallHughes <[email protected]>.✥

Corporations/Alumni HelpLaunch New ProgramSteinberg, from preceding page

Research Sponsorship Fiscal 1997(figures in thousands)

Organization Amount PercentIndustry $75,193 19.4%U.S. Department of Energy $70,753 18.1%U.S. Department of Defense $67,857 17.5%U.S. Department of Health & Human Services $57,214 14.8%NASA $36,947 9.5%NSF $36,346 9.4%Other Nonprofit $28,951 7.5%Other Federal $7,232 1.9%Internal $4,257 1.2%State, Local, & Foreign Governments $2,854 0.7%

Source: MIT Facts 1998


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Annals of Reengineering


In the January/February issue ofthe Newsletter, I outlined thebackground of the Human

Resource Practices Design team(HRPD) and the project teams chargedwith developing some of itsrecommendations into new programsfor MIT. The March/April article aboutReengineering summarized thecontinuation of the SAP rollout todepartments, labs, and centers (DLCs).It seems appropriate to end theacademic year with updates on thetwo HRPD projects that are furthestalong, and to provide some additionalinformation about the implementationof SAP.

Recognition and RewardsThe Recognition and Rewards projectteam of HRPD has designed a series ofoptions for showing appreciation toemployees who make a significantcontribution to the Institute. The multi-level program they are recommendingwas designed to build on and formalizecurrent MIT recognition and rewardspractices. The team reviewed inputfrom more than 1,000 MIT employeesfrom a broad range of areas on campusprior to writing its report. They alsocollected information about how otherorganizations reward employees.

Designed to operate at both the localand the Institute level, the proposedprogram provides the flexibility andconsistency that employees stressedas important. The team’s reportincludes a cost analysis andrecommendations for programadministration, implementation, andevaluation. The report has been givento Vice President for HumanResources Joan Rice, who is HRPD’ssponsor, and it was also discussedwith the Reengineering SteeringCommittee in late May.

OrientationThis HRPD project team has

prepared the first draft of itsrecommendations for a compre-hensive orientation program to helpnew employees understand MIT’sorganizational structure, culture, andresources. The program is designed tocomplement, rather than replace,existing orientation efforts.

The recommendations are based onsuggestions from new employees,employees in departments with andwithout orientation programs, bestpractice research, Website data, andinformation from a review ofmanagement and human resourcejournals. Employee input proved veryhelpful in identifying the criticalcomponents of an orientation program,as well as providing ideas for programsupport and delivery.

SAP at MIT – A Review

Though staff from theManagement ReportingProject have done countless

presentations and written numerousarticles and Web documents aboutMIT’s new financial system, manyfaculty members have probably nothad the time (nor interest) to payattention to all the news about SAP. Incase you’re wondering why theInstitute is going to all the effort andexpense of installing SAP R/3, hereare a few of the reasons, as well assome background information.

It’s been more than 30 years sinceMIT’s core financial systems wereupdated, and during that time thevarious areas of accounting,procurement, budget, and the Officeof Sponsored Programs have eachdeveloped separate systems. This has

created an unwieldy network. (Forexample, if you were connected to thegeneral ledger and wanted informationon a particular purchase order, youhad to change systems and computers.)

The new system – SAP R/3 – willreplace the separate general ledger,accounts payable, accounts receivable,procurement, and financial reportingsystems with a single, integratedsoftware program. Some advantagesinclude the following:

• data is entered only once and isavailable to all the functions thatrequire it;

• authorized users can view up-to-date accounting statements any timeduring the month;

• since the system is on-line, it worksin real-time for most transactions,giving users a much clearer picture ofwhat funds are actually available.

The last feature will be particularlyvaluable when DLCs begin using SAPfor purchasing this fall.

Needed FlexibilityThe capacity to create new accounts

in the old MIT financial systems (withfive-digit account numbers and three-digit object codes) is almost exhausted– seriously constraining the Institute’sability to respond to sponsor andinternal reporting needs. The newfinancial architecture designed in SAP(with seven-digit “cost objects” andsix-digit general ledger accounts) willrelieve this constraint. DLCs as well ascentral offices will have much greaterflexibility in setting up new researchaccounts.

Not all of MIT’s administrativefinancial systems that interact withSAP are compatible with this newarchitecture; the goal is to upgrade allthese applications to seven and six digits

Update on HRPD and Management ReportingJanet Snover


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by December 31, 1998. Departmentswith systems that receive financial datafrom the central applications must alsoupgrade them by that date.

Year-2000 ComplianceA major benefit to MIT is that SAP

R/3 is “Year-2000” compliant. SAPAG designed the R/3 system to supportfour-digit year dates at the inceptionof the product five years ago. R/3 alsoautomatically recognizes and convertstwo-digit year dates passed fromexternal systems to proper four-digitnumbers.

Faster ClosingThe Audit Committee of the MIT

Corporation requested that year-endfinancial results be available in a moretimely manner than with the Institute’sold systems. In addition, the federalgovernment shortened the deadlinefor the A-133 audit beginning in fiscalyear 1998. In order to provide thisfinancial information earlier, SAPelectronic journal vouchers will be

used for the 1998 fiscal year closing –and for all business thereafter. (Theuse of paper and $SumMIT journalvouchers will be discontinued at theInstitute after June 24, and June 26,1998, respectively.) Using SAP journalvouchers will dramatically speed upthe closing time, and also will allowusers to see the effect of journalvoucher transactions on accountsimmediately, instead of having to waituntil the end of the month.

Easing the DiscomfortThere will inevitably be some

discomfort from changing businessprocesses as SAP is rolled out todepartments, labs, and centers. Manyemployees will need to learn newprocedures and abandon old, familiarmethods of doing financial work. Tosupport users during the transition,the Management Reporting Project isoffering extensive training at the W89Professional Learning Center. Inaddition, the MIT SAP Website <http://

web.mit.edu/sapr3/> has onlinedocumentation for all procedures andreports. The new Business Liaisonteam in Information Systems is alsonow in place to provide SAP help viae-mail <[email protected]> andby telephone (252-1177).

As of May 1998, four school andarea coordinators have beenappointed to assist departments, labs,and centers as well as administrativeareas during the transition to SAP.Coordinators Bob Davine, JenniferKratochwill, and Brian Tavares areformer MIT fiscal officers oradministrative officers; and ShirleyPicardi is a former Institute Bursar.(Two additional school and areacoordinator slots are still unfilled.)The coordinators’ main task for thesummer of 1998 will be to help areasto create requisition approvalstructures for use in SAP.✥[Janet Snover can be reached [email protected]].

To The Faculty Newsletter:

After reading the latest “mail-bashing” by the “NewsletterStaff” in the March/April

edition of the Faculty Newsletter, I amcompelled to write.

First, the delays the unnamed authordecries are not always the fault of MailServices, the Personnel Department,Reengineering, or even El Niño. The“week’s delay” the author refers towas actually, in February, a delayfrom Thursday afternoon, when wereceived the materials from the printer,until Tuesday morning, when theywere delivered to the Distributed MailCenters on campus. We labeled themon Monday, with distribution Mondaynight. The March/April Newsletter had

better timing. We turned it aroundwithin 24 hours of receipt of thematerials.

It is true that there is a “hierarchy” oflabeling and mailing priorities here.However, a better characterizationwould be a “triage.” Like otherservices, we queue the tasks weperform for the Institute, normally ona first come-first served basis. But, ifsomething arrives with a specific date,such as an invitation to a function inthe very near future, or a “news flash,”such as the President’s letter to thefaculty concerning the Provost’sresignation – yes, we move it ahead ofmaterial that is not quite so urgent. Iconsider this logical, good customerservice.

I certainly appreciate the author’s

comments about the helpfulness ofMail Services personnel. We take pridein the service we provide, and it’sgratifying to see that recognized.

The Newsletter article had a validpoint in complaining about thecumbersome system for producinglabels for campus mailing. And we areattacking that problem. Hopefully itwill not be long before the I/Trequirements for downloading addressinformation directly to Mail Serviceswill be available. At that point, mailerscan come directly to us to get labels,eliminating the hand-off fromPersonnel. Believe me, we will be ashappy as the “Newsletter Staff” whenthat happens.

Penny Guyer, ManagerMail Services

LettersLettersLettersLettersLetters

Update on HRPD andManagement Reporting

Snover, from preceding page

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


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MIT alumni have an ongoingdesire to learn about theworld around them and a

strong interest in participating incontinuing education programs.Through the trips offered by the MITAlumni Travel Program, designed tooffer travel with education, MITfaculty can become involved and reapthe satisfaction of sharing their expertisewith our curious alumni while travelingto destinations around the globe.

During the past few years, a growingnumber of distinguished faculty havegenerously offered their time andenergy to our alumni and in turn haveenjoyed every aspect of theexperience. The MIT Alumni TravelProgram staff would like to speak toother faculty members who might beinterested in similar opportunities.

This past March, MIT ProfessorS. Jay Keyser led an Alumni TravelProgram trip from New Orleans toChicago on board the American OrientExpress luxury train. Twenty-fouralumni and friends of MIT, along withtravelers from other institutions,learned about the history of jazz in theUnited States and enjoyed some greatmusic from Professor Keyser and hisNew Liberty Jazz Band.

Of his experience, Professor Keyserexplained, “Playing jazz on theAmerican Orient Express for the MITalumni was like being in a 1950smovie. I half expected to see DickPowell come through the RockyMountain Lounge car looking forclues. Who was that blond who left alipstick-stained cigarette smoking inthe ashtray? Why did she leave just asthe band began to play ‘Do You KnowWhat It Means To Miss New Orleans?’It was the experience of a lifetime. Idon’t think any of us would have

missed it for the world. How I long tohear ‘all aboard’ all over again.”Professor Keyser is hosting an alumniprogram in Kenya this fall.

Professor Emeritus Ernst Frankel ofthe Ocean Engineering Department isbusy preparing for his alumni trip toChina this fall. The group of 40travelers will visit Beijing, Xian, takea 4-day cruise on the Yangtse River,and spend some time in Shanghai.Professor Frankel served as aconsultant to the Chinese governmenton infrastructure development, andhe will share with the alumni group his

knowledge of theYangtse Riverd e v e l o p m e n tprojects. “I haveled alumni groupstraveling throughEurope, Russia, andChina and haveenjoyed my travelexperience withalumni very much,making long-lastingfriendships alongthe way. The intel-lectual exchangewith the alumnitravelers has alwaysbeen a rewardingone. I feel it is veryimportant as afaculty member ofMIT to make theconnection withour alumni – it notonly benefits MIT,but I feel I benefitfrom the experienceas well.” Ford ProfessorEmeritus Dr.Donald Harleman

will be leading a group of MIT alumnion a river cruise from Budapest toAmsterdam this fall. Of his pastexperience, providing lectures to agroup of alumni who made the passagethrough the Panama Canal, Dr.Harleman comments, “My wife Marthaand I have made some wonderfulfriends by arranging on-board socialgatherings with the alumni group. Iheartily recommend this to my facultycolleagues.”

“I can truly recommend theassignment – it was a great experience”

MIT Faculty Can Lecture WorldwideWith Alumni Travel Program

Melissa Chapman


Jay Keyser and the New Liberty Jazz Band


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says Ford Professor Emeritus LucianPye of MIT’s Political ScienceDepartment, who escorted alumnigroups to China in 1993 and 1996.Professor Pye speaks highly of hisexperience and remarks on therewards: “The group was made up ofpeople with a high level of sociabilityand intellectual curiosity, so aside fromtheir responding to the lecture sessions,we had many interesting con-versations.”

Later this year, Professor WilliamBrace and Professor Samuel Bowring,both of EAPS, will lead programs toIceland and the Galapagos Islands,respectively. Professor of History PeterPerdue departs this month to lecture toa group of alumni on board a Russianriver cruise.

Upcoming Alumni TripsSince we are now planning our 1999

programs, as manager of the AlumniTravel Program I would like to speak

to faculty interested in joining thesetrips to help provide educationalcontent for our alumni. Some of thedestinations for which there are facultyopenings are The Great Whales ofBaja (January), Tahiti and Easter Island(February), Costa Rica & the PanamaCanal (March), Holland and Belgium(April), South Africa via Rovos Rail(April), Bohemia and Saxony: theVltava and Elbe Rivers (June),Greenland & Maritime Canada(August), Alaska Family program(August), Bordeaux (September),Columbia River via paddle wheel boat(September), Brazil & the Amazon(October), as well as two river cruiseprograms in Europe in July andSeptember.

How do I find out more?Please contact me to get more

information. I can be reached at<[email protected]>, 253-8265, orby fax 258-6211.

If Traveling for an Extended Periodof Time is Not Your Thing...

If you travel regularly or occas-ionally, to do research, attendprofessional conferences, consult, visitfriends or family, or headline a specialevent, and you have time and arewilling to fit in some alumni interactionduring your trip, let us list you with theAlumni Association’s Speaker’s Bureau.

The Speaker’s Bureau offers a poolof MIT faculty and topics from whichMIT clubs and other MIT alumnigroups may identify speakers andtopics of interest to their groups fordinner talks, seminars, or specialevents. The Speaker’s Bureau coor-dinates speaker recruitment andlogistics for the general audience ofalumni and friends who want to keepabreast of the excitement that is MIT.

To learn more, contact Bob BlakeHM, at <[email protected]>, 253-8243;or by fax 617-258-6211.✥

MIT Faculty CanLecture Worldwide

Chapman, from preceding page


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M.I.T. Numbers

Sponsored Research$620.952.3%

General Administration$260.522.0%

Instruction andUnsponsored Research

$255.021.5%

Association of Alumniand Alumnae

$7.40.6%

Auxiliary Expenses$42.83.6%

TOTAL: $1,186.6 million

Revenues and Funds UsedFiscal 1997(in millions)

Sponsored ResearchRevenues-Campus

$387.932.7%

Sponsored ResearchRevenues-Lincoln Lab

$352.629.7%

Funds Allocated toOperating Unit Expenses

$238.120.0

Tuition Net of Student Aid$160.313.5%

Auxiliary Expenses$42.83.6%

Additional Need forUnrestricted Net Assets

$4.90.5%

Source: MIT Facts 1998

Operating ExpendituresFiscal 1997(in millions)

Documents

Vol. X No. 6 May/June 1998 The Muddy River Revival: Food ... fileStephan L. Chorover, Jovan Ristic, Bob Nesson. MIT Faculty Newsletter Vol. X No. 6 - 2 - MIT Faculty Newsletter Editorial