MIT
MIT Faculty Newsletter  
contents Vol. XXVI No. 3
January / February 2014

This issue of the Faculty Newsletter features an open letter to President Reif regarding the Tidbit controversy and President Reif's e-mail to the MIT community.

Spotlight
walking in snow
Former MIT President Charles M. Vest Dies at 72
An in-depth obituary on the passing of Chuck Vest.
The Role of Faculty Governance in Campus Planning
Faculty Chair Steve Hall relates the process of proposing a new standing committee of the faculty and implications for faculty governance.
Build to Win
Professor Steven Leeb tackles our Beyond the Classroom feature.
 
Editorial
Items to Consider
Editorial Subcommittee
A variety of important reports were released as this issue was going to press. These include the draft report from the Graduate Student Housing Working Group;
An Interview with MIT Corporation Chairman John Reed
The following interview by the Faculty Newsletter (FNL) of MIT Corporation Chairman John Reed (JR) was held on January 15, 2014.
Open Letter to President Reif Regarding Tidbit
Hal Abelson, Nathan Matias, Ethan Zuckerman
We are writing you as MIT faculty and graduate students whose research creates new technologies, and who teach, advise, and encourage innovative creativity among our undergraduates.
President Reif's Response to Open Letter Regarding Tidbit
L. Rafael Reif
Thank you for your expression of concern for the Tidbit students and for the larger issues their circumstances point to. As you know, we are coordinating with the students and their pro bono lawyers at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
From the Faculty Chair
The Role of Faculty Governance in Campus Planning
Steven R. Hall
At November’s faculty meeting, Professor Jonathan King introduced a motion to establish a new faculty standing committee. As proposed, the Campus Planning . . .
Beyond the Classroom
Build to Win
Steven B. Leeb
For almost 20 years I have had the good fortune of teaching a freshman seminar. I learned about this program from faculty who worked with Doc Edgerton, who . . .
Former MIT President Charles M. Vest Dies at 72
Steve Bradt
Former MIT president Charles M. Vest – a tireless advocate for research and science, and a passionate supporter of diversity and openness – died last night . . .
Teaching this spring? You should know . . .
. . . the faculty regulates examinations and assignments for all subjects.
Letters
The Continued Need for Nuclear Power Plants
Mujid Kazimi
The suggestion by Prof. Emeritus Ernst Frankel in the November/December issue of the Faculty Newsletter regarding nuclear energy [“There is No More Need for Nuclear Power Plants in the USA”] could not be any more wrong.
M.I.T. Numbers
Underrepresented Minority Faculty and Students at MIT
   
MIT