UAC faculty director update
Dear colleagues,
I am delighted to announce that John E. Fernández ’85, Professor of Architecture, Urbanism and Building Technology in the Department of Architecture, will be the first faculty director for the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC). His first day will be on June 1.
An MIT alumnus (B.S., Architecture) and member of the faculty since 1999, John has a deep and holistic commitment to students, their education, and their wellbeing. He has served on the DAPER Advisory Board; the Committee on the Undergraduate Program; the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid; the ROTC Oversight Committee; Task Force 2021 Refinement and Implementation Committee on Undergraduate and Graduate Living and Learning; and many other roles.
He also understands the student residential experience. John and his wife, Malvina Lampietti, have lived on campus as Heads of House at Baker House, one of MIT’s largest undergraduate residence halls, since 2015.
John is a world-renowned architectural and urban researcher, practicing architect and a faculty member whose scholarship focuses on advancing knowledge and real-world solutions that promote the sustainability of cities, enhance ecosystems in partnership with local communities, and use digital technologies for a humane, prosperous, and climate-safe future.
For nearly a decade, he directed the Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI), which engaged MIT students, faculty, and staff on an array of urgent environmental challenges. Active in professional learning, John has taught multilingual in-person, online, and hybrid courses on topics ranging from sustainability to corporate strategy.
In short, I can think of no one better to help the UAC build deeper connections across all parts of campus, strengthen faculty and departmental ties, and empower all of MIT’s undergraduate students.
Please join me in welcoming John and in thanking the members of the search committee (listed below), especially our co-chairs Denny Freeman, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Kristin McCoy, GUE’s Director of Human Resources.
Sincerely,
Dave
David L. Darmofal
Vice Chancellor for Graduate and Undergraduate Education
Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
UAC Search Committee Members
Brian E. Canavan, Registrar, Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education
Theresa Cummings, Assistant Director, Academic Programs, Department of Mathematics
Ray Feller, Associate Dean and Director of Student Support Services, Division of Student Life
Dennis M. Freeman, co-chair, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Scott A. Hughes, Professor, Department of Physics
Justin Khoo, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
Sara Leavitt, Assistant Dean, Proactive Advising Initiatives, Undergraduate Advising Center, Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education
Kristin McCoy, co-chair, Director of Human Resources, Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education
Cheryl Mottley, Administrative Assistant, OACES / Undergraduate Advising Center, Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education
Caitlin T. Mueller, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture
Ugo Okwuadigbo, undergraduate
James Orlin, E. Pennell Brooks (1917) Professor in Management, MIT Sloan School of Management
Samantha Phillips, undergraduate
Danna Solomon, Academic Programs Specialist, Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Katie Spivakovsky, undergraduate
Elizabeth Cogliano Young, Associate Dean and Director, First Year Advising, Undergraduate Advising Center, Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education