MLK Visiting Professor/Scholar Program: Nominations for AY2022

Dear colleagues,

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor Program was established to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by increasing the presence of minority scholars at MIT. The program is now accepting nominations for the 2021–2022 academic year, and I firmly believe this program has never been more important to the Institute. Please take a moment to review your network and consider submitting a nomination.

MLK Scholars enrich the intellectual life of the Institute with their participation in research and academic programs, and they enhance their scholarship through intellectual interactions with MIT peers. Previous MLK Scholars include Lashanda Korley, now a materials scientist at the University of Delaware specializing in mechanically enhanced, multifunctional materials inspired by nature; Harvey Gantt, an architect, city planner, and civil rights leader, and the former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Ta-Nehisi Coates, an author and journalist, and the 2015 winner of a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Book Award for nonfiction.

Appointments as MLK Scholars are available in any of MIT’s five schools and the College of Computing; they will also be considered in medicine, law, and public service, where distinguished individuals can add to the intellectual life of the Institute through special subjects and interactions with students. MLK Scholars can be current faculty at colleges and universities, or they can come from non-academic public and private organizations. We encourage applications from individuals of any underrepresented minority group, with an emphasis on African Americans.

MLK Scholar candidates must be nominated, and they must have a faculty host. Nominations are submitted online by the administrative officer or program manager of the host’s primary DLC. Completed nominations, including all letters of endorsement, must be received by February 14, 2021. Decisions will follow by mid-March 2021.

Please contact program director Beatriz Cantada if you have questions, or to discuss ways to help prepare for a successful visit.

Sincerely,

Martin A. Schmidt, Provost