Nominate MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars for Academic Year 2023-2024

Dear colleagues,

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars Program was established to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by increasing the presence of underrepresented scholars at MIT. The MLK Scholars program is now accepting nominations for the 2023–2024 academic year, and I encourage all of you to consider submitting a nomination.

Every year, MLK Scholars enrich the intellectual life of the Institute with their participation in research and academic programs while enhancing their own scholarship and creative outputs through interactions with the MIT community. Our current cohort of scholars is right now adding depth, breadth, and expertise to our community – from the arts and media to engineering and math. MLK Scholars are bringing new perspectives and fresh experiences into the work we do in our labs and classrooms.

Appointments as an MLK Scholar 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 other student interactions. MLK Scholars can be current faculty at colleges and universities, or they can come from non-academic public or private organizations. We encourage applications from members of any underrepresented minority group, with an emphasis on African Americans. As President Reif wrote last spring, we will also reserve at least one position for a scholar of Native American studies.

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 department, lab, or center. Completed nominations, including all letters of endorsement, must be received by February 17, 2023. Decisions will be made by the end of March 2023.

Please contact program director Beatriz Cantada at bcantada@mit.edu, if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Barnhart
Provost