FAQs

Why do I have to log in to the Infinite Connection?
Since only MIT students and alumni of certain degree years can vote in this election, the ballot is posted on a secure part of our site, so that we can authenticate your status and protect the privacy of your vote. Therefore, you need to log in using your Infinite Connection (IC) account.

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What is the MIT Corporation?
The Corporation — the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — holds a public trust: to see that the Institute adheres to the purposes for which it was chartered and that its integrity and financial resources are preserved for future generations as well as for current purposes. The Corporation and its committees have responsibility for reviewing and providing guidance on strategic directions, approving annual budgets, exercising long-term fiduciary responsibility, approving the establishment of new degree programs or courses of study, approving degrees, electing the President (as well as the other Corporation officers), and being available (individually as well as collectively) to advise the President on issues that he/she may wish to raise with them.

It is also understood that trustees are expected to represent the interests of MIT to outside constituencies as appropriate and help provide financial support for the Institute.

The members of the Corporation include distinguished leaders in science, engineering, industry, education and public service.

These include the Executive Committee, Investment Committee (Investment Company Management Board,) Risk and Audit Committee, Membership Committee, CJAC, and visiting committees for each academic department as well as certain other functions, such as student affairs, libraries, research, and athletics. In addition to their service on various standing committees, each Corporation member serves on at least two visiting committees.

MIT's charter is comprised of the various Acts and Resolves of the General Court of Massachusetts pertaining to the Institute from its act of incorporation in 1861. The Institute is subject to Massachusetts' statutory provisions governing corporations organized for charitable purposes, which now provide for amendments to the articles of organization by vote of the Corporation. The Corporation is governed by its Bylaws, which were last amended in 2020.

For more in-depth information about the Corporation, please visit the Corporation's web site.

What is the Corporation Screening Committee?
The Screening Committee is appointed each year by the Chairperson of the Corporation. A chairperson is appointed from this group. The Committee is responsible for overseeing the annual nomination and election process of Recent Graduates to the MIT Corporation, including interviewing prospective candidates and selecting the candidates for the ballot. The current members of the Screening Committee are:

Colin O. Webb II ’18, chair
Fiona Chen ’21
Heather M. Cogdell ’89
David A. desJardins ’83
Sarah Melvin ’18
Adedoyin A. Olateru-Olagbegi ’20

What are the campaigning rules?
In the spirit of fairness, the Corporation Screening Committee has adopted the following electioneering policy. The MIT Corporation Screening Committee takes the policy very seriously and will remove candidates from the ballot should there be violations.

Candidates are encouraged to discuss their candidacy and promote the election but may not ask people to vote for themselves or any other candidate, nor make electioneering arguments like giving reasons to vote for themselves. No one may campaign on any candidate's behalf. Candidates may raise awareness that an election is happening and encourage eligible alumni to participate in voting. The Corporation Screening Committee will make pre-approved marketing materials available. Violations of the letter or spirit of this restriction will be strictly enforced.

Postering, in-person canvassing, or spamming of mailing lists or social media groups is prohibited in any case. The purpose of this policy is to encourage communication about the election and the Corporation while shielding voters and others from excessive, unwanted, or otherwise inappropriate contacts.

When in doubt about whether a specific practice is permitted, candidates should seek guidance by contacting mitcorpballot@mit.edu. Failure to seek guidance may work against candidates in assessments of whether a violation has taken place.

Candidates are required to report all violations of the Electioneering Policy that they become aware of, whether in their favor or against, by themselves or someone else, to ballotviolations@mit.edu. Violations of the electioneering policy or its intent may result in a candidate's disqualification.

What is preferential voting?
This election is conducted using a preferential voting technique called Single-Transferable voting. Single-Transferable voting is the standard system used for translating ranked ballots into multiple winners.

This form of voting works optimally when voters rank all or most of the candidates. The rankings indicate which candidate you would like your vote transferred to in the event that your favorite candidate has enough votes already or stands no chance of winning.

To determine the winners of the election, the standard preferential voting algorithm that carries out the calculation requires a random seed so that votes may be redistributed in a random, unbiased, and verifiable manner.

General questions about this election?
Contact Regan Flynn by emailing mitcorpballot@mit.edu.