Why I Volunteer: Sharon Cutler Ross ’65

Honor more outstanding volunteers like Sharon Ross and submit a Leadership Award nomination before December 9, 2018!

The annual MIT Alumni Leadership Conference (Sept. 21–22) celebrates volunteer leaders who contribute their time and talents to help the MIT community make a better world.

One important event during ALC weekend is Friday evening’s Leadership Awards Celebration, which this year recognizes more than 40 volunteers for their dedication to MIT, including the recipients of the Bronze Beaver Award, the highest honor that the Alumni Association bestows on a volunteer.

In 2018, MIT will pay tribute to two MIT alumni for their distinguished service to the Alumni Association and the Institute: Bruce N. Anderson ’69, MArch ’73 and Sharon Cutler Ross ’65.

About Sharon Cutler Ross ’65 
Sharon Cutler Ross began volunteering for MIT as an educational counselor in 1972 and continued on as an EC for 40 years. At home, she has been deeply involved with the MIT Club of Atlanta where she has held various leadership roles, including director, president, treasurer, and secretary. Ross also volunteers on the Class of ‘65’s Reunion Programming Committee and Reunion Gift Committee and has served as a William Barton Rogers Society agent for her class, inspiring others to give annual gifts to the Institute at the leadership level. Her CV as a volunteer also includes stints on the Alumni Association Selection Committee, Alumni Board of Directors, MIT Annual Fund Board, and the Office of Gift Planning Advisory Council.

“For me, the importance of being connected to MIT was that it added another dimension to my life, beyond my family and my professional connections,” says Ross. “For most people, [MIT] is a life changer; it certainly directs their lives in ways that they wouldn’t have gone before. Being a volunteer continues that idea.”

Online registration for ALC is now closed, but alumni and volunteers can register in person beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, in the Stratton Student Center’s Coffeehouse Lounge (Bldg. W20, 3rd floor).

Learn more about the conference and this year’s featured speakers, who will discuss the real-world impact of science and technology and showcase how alumni and students are putting the MIT mindset to work through hands-on research, public advocacy, and participatory innovation.

Learn about Bruce N. Anderson ’69, MArch ’73 and why he volunteers for MIT.