Final Suri and Fisher reports, and next steps

To the members of the MIT community,

In the fall, we released draft reports of two related committees: the Ad Hoc Faculty Committee on Guidelines for Outside Engagements, chaired by Professor Tavneet Suri, and the Ad Hoc Committee to Review MIT Gift Processes, chaired by Professor Peter Fisher.

Following a period of community engagement, the committees recently submitted their final reports to us, and we share them now: You can find the final Suri report here and the final Fisher report here.

As a next step, President Reif has created an ad hoc group to advise him as MIT determines how best to implement the committees’ recommendations, with a particular focus on the charge to a new Gift Acceptance Committee. The advisory group will meet several times this month to converge on an implementation plan, and again in about six months to review the committee’s early efforts. The group will consist of:

• L. Rafael Reif, president (chair)
• Peter Fisher, professor, physics
• Suzanne Glassburn, vice president and secretary of the Corporation
• Diane Greene SM ’78, chair of the Corporation
• Eric Grimson PhD ’80, chancellor for academic advancement
• Adedoyin Olateru-Olagbegi ’20, member of the Corporation
• Tavneet Suri, professor, Sloan School of Management
• Lily Tsai, professor, political science; chair-elect of the faculty
• Mark Wrighton, member of the Corporation
• Julia Topalian, director of gift administration and recording secretary (advisor)

As we move closer to implementation, we express our deepest gratitude to Professors Suri and Fisher and their committees for their leadership and care throughout this difficult and critically important process. We’re also grateful to those across our community who shared insights and suggestions for making the reports stronger.

Sincerely,

Martin A. Schmidt
Provost

Rick L. Danheiser
Chair of the Faculty