Skip to content ↓

Writing & Speeches

  • Letter to the Community

    Deeply troubling campus incident

    Dear members of the MIT community,

    Though I regret having to interrupt what for many is a summer break, I must let you know about extremely troubling actions over the weekend.

    On Sunday, the Stata Center was vandalized with spray-painted messages…

  • Letter to the Community

    Worth fighting for: MIT and American science, innovation and education

    Dear MIT graduates and friends,

    In a letter last fall, I offered fresh evidence of how MIT continues to live out its mission and values, with direct benefits to the American people. In April, I sought your help in convincing Congress that …

  • Speech

    Naming Celebration for the L. Rafael Reif Innovation Corridor

    Wow!  A rhumba!  Rafael, as I’m sure you realize, this is one of the wildly unfair advantages of hailing from Venezuela – versus, say, New Jersey.

    So, huge appreciation to the incomparable John Harbison for composing the “Rhumba for Rafael” for his…

  • Letter to the Community

    Anantha Chandrakasan named MIT provost

    Dear members of the MIT community,

    I’m delighted to share the news that Anantha Chandrakasan – chief innovation and strategy officer, dean of engineering and longtime member of the faculty – has agreed to serve as MIT’s next provost. He’ll begin in the role…

  • Letter to the Community

    Rejecting antisemitism and targeting

    Dear members of the MIT community,

    In my time as president, I have been very clear that protecting freedom of expression is deeply important to the intellectual health and vitality of MIT. I have also been clear that we absolutely reject…

  • Letter to the Community

    Support for lawsuit defending scientific research

    Dear members of the MIT community,

    Recently, Harvard University filed suit to block a federal action to eliminate all grant funding it receives from the US government.

    This afternoon, we joined a broad group of US research universities in filing this…