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A Historical Choice

First Woman President in School's History

MIT made history on Thursday (8/26/04) by naming Professor Susan Hockfield--the current Provost at Yale--the Institute's 16th president. Hockfield, a neuroscientist, will be the first woman president in the school's distinguished history as well as MIT's first president to come from the life sciences.

Hockfield's selection was approved unanimously at a special session of the MIT Corporation held to vote on her nomination. A press conference followed where Dana G. Mead PO '67, chairman of the MIT Corporation, introduced the new President-elect to an assembled media. Said Mead in his opening remarks, "Professor Hockfield represents the kind of dynamic, visionary leadership that is vital to MIT's continued success as one of the world's leading research universities."

In her comments, President-elect Hockfield pointed to MIT's record of innovation over the years. "The mission of a world-class institution like MIT is to produce and disseminate knowledge, and MIT has done that at a staggering torrent." Hockfield also listed three traits she found irresistible about the Institute: its pursuit of truth, its integrity, and its dedication to meritocracy.

"In my visits to MIT," said Hockfield, "it quickly became apparent that this was a place where Tom, Elizabeth, and I could feel at home." Hockfield's husband, Thomas N. Byrne, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Internal Medicine at Yale's School of Medicine. They have one daughter, 12-year-old Elizabeth. Both husband and daughter attended the press conference and the MIT community meeting which was held later in the afternoon.

Hockfield served five years as the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Yale, before becoming Provost in 2003, where she was the chief academic and administrative officer overseeing educational policies and academic plans, including Yale College, the graduate school, Yale's ten professional schools, and its various centers of research and scholarship. She also had principal responsibility for Yale's operating and capital budgets.

A Yale faculty member since 1985, Hockfield became a tenured associate professor at Yale in 1991, was named full professor in 1994, and then the William Edward Gilbert Professor of Neurobiology in 2001.

MIT Alumnus James A. Champy '63, who chaired the presidential search committee for the MIT Corporation, said, "Dr. Hockfield emerged from a stellar field of candidates as the best person to lead MIT to new frontiers of innovation and leadership in research and education. She possesses a rare combination of scientific achievement, outstanding managerial talent, and an extremely engaging personal style that will serve MIT's faculty, students and staff very well."

In response to media questions about Hockfield's life science background, Chairman Mead said that MIT has been aware for some time about the growing collaboration between the life sciences and engineering.

"Engineering and life sciences have been shifting in a collaborative direction for quite some time," said Mead, "and not just at MIT, but all over the world. Susan Hockfield's academic background will only serve to strengthen these important collaborations." Mead pointed to the fact that last year, for the first time, MIT received as much research money from the National Institute of Health as it did from the Department of Defense.

When asked about choosing its first female president, Mead smiled but stated the search was gender-blind. "We're delighted our new president is a woman," said Mead, "but in all seriousness, that never played into our search process. The decision was made based on Susan being a renowned scientist, a superb administrator, and a proven academic leader."

President-elect Hockfield said she has much to learn about MIT in the coming months before she officially assumes office in December of 2004.

-Jim Wolken