Writing & Speeches

Dear members of the MIT community,

We write to provide an update on the campus encampment.

We began the day with another round of discussions with the student leaders from the encampment. It quickly became clear that their primary demand had not changed…

Dear members of the MIT community,

The war in the Middle East continues to cause anguish and conflict here at MIT.  Some have expressed their views through the encampment on the Kresge lawn. My team and I, as well as many faculty members, have engaged in…

Dear members of the community,

As I explained by video last Saturday, one of our concerns about the current encampment has been its potential to turn our campus into a magnet for protestors from outside MIT. This is not theoretical: Earlier this week, a…

Dear members of the MIT community,

Yesterday morning I recorded a video for the community related to the current encampment. I intended to share it with you yesterday.

The video is here and the transcript is here.

I paused…

View the video.

Hello, everyone.

As you surely know, campus communities across the country are struggling to cope with strongly contending views on the war in the Middle East – and MIT is too. 

So I want to let you know what I see here, and…

Dear members of the MIT community,

I write to share the news that Vice Chancellor Ian A. Waitz, the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has agreed to become MIT’s next vice president for research (VPR). He will begin a five-year term…