MIT Volunteer View

Dear Volunteers

For those of you unable to attend the Alumni Leadership Conference, I wanted to share some of the news President Hockfield presented to volunteers. Much of the excitement on campus these days stems from new alliances, some of which benefit from the more than 150 life science companies and 70 energy companies within walking distance of MIT.

Novartis will invest $65 million in research activities at MIT over the next 10 years to transform the way pharmaceuticals are produced. A $100 million gift from David H. Koch '62, SM '63 will establish a new state-of-the-art cancer research facility, scheduled to open in 2010, where MIT scientists and engineers will develop new and powerful ways to eradicate the disease.

The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) has formed industry and alumni partnerships as it seeks solutions to the world's energy crisis: BP for coal conversion research, Ford for automotive technology, Ormat Technologies for geothermal power, and Phil Rettger '80 for solar power. These and others to be announced in the coming weeks will contribute to a seed fund for research, and over the next five years, MITEI will support some 100 energy fellows.

These initiatives and others, such as the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, which stems from a $50 million gift to support aspiring entrepreneurs from the developing world committed to development entrepreneurship, serve to keep MIT at the forefront of innovation and position MIT's students and researchers to significantly change the world. Your volunteer work helps the Institute recruit the best students, spread the word about MIT's global significance, and find new alliances. Thank you for your hard work and partnership in sustaining the important work at MIT.

Sincerely,
Beth Garvin HM

Spotlight Story

Volunteers Collaborate, Learn at Alumni Leadership Conference

More than 400 MIT volunteers convened on campus Sept. 28-29 to swap ideas and advice, celebrate the MIT Museum's expansion, and hear Institute updates. View a slide show of the weekend and download a number of session presentations, including vendor negotiation and selection, Web 2.0 tools, community service projects in concert with MIT, and more. Attendees, please fill out an evaluation form.

Featured Volunteer

BGALA

The Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Alumni group (BGALA) is focused on improving the quality of life for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual alumni, students, and faculty. BGALA sponsors many student life initiatives and works closely with student groups to create an LGBT-friendly campus environment. It also hosts events such as the 2006 Gay in the Day alumni panel, for which BGALA won a 2007 Presidential Citation. The event engaged alumni who had not previously participated in alumni activities, fostering for them a new relationship with MIT and an opportunity to collaborate with others on supporting this constituency. BGALA also supports QNET, an online social and professional network of MIT alumni, students, and staff.

Top 6

Six Gems from ALC

The Alumni Leadership Conference offered useful and sometimes enlightening advice. Here are just six take-aways. Read more from a number of presentations.

Negotiate Like a Pro

• Build trust by focusing on finding common ground.
• To achieve a resolution to a problem, exchange information about each other's vision of a good deal.
• Before negotiating, prepare alternative solutions you can live with in case of deadlock.

Persuasive Communication

• People decide with emotion and justify with logic—understand the emotion driving decision makers.
• Sway a bully by asking them for help. If they accept, they will defend your agenda.
• Change makes people afraid they might lose power, status, or money. To overcome fear, involve people in a way that gives them a sense of power.