Online faculty forum on free expression at MIT

Dear colleagues,

As President Reif described in a letter to the community earlier this week, the recent situation around an invited speaker in EAPS has caused significant concern across the Institute.

As a first step on a path forward, we will convene a special online faculty forum hosted by the Faculty Officers on the subject of free expression and community. While this forum is an outcome of recent events, the discussion will focus on the broader question of how the Institute will address issues of free expression in the future. 

Free expression and community at MIT
A special online faculty forum
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
3:30–5:00 p.m. EDT

Meeting ID: 996 7587 5419
US : +1 646 558 8656 or +1 669 900 6833

The session will consist of a context-setting welcome followed by conversation among faculty, focused on specific questions, in small randomly assigned breakout groups. Each breakout group will have the opportunity to submit written highlights to facultychair-reply@mit.edu. As part of the process going forward, we will share a summary of those themes. For those unable to attend next week’s forum, we will convene a second session in the coming weeks.   

Engaging students, staff, postdocs, and alumni

The next immediate step will be to provide opportunities for students, staff, postdocs, and alumni to share their feedback. The offices of the Chancellor, Vice President for Research, and Vice President for Human Resources, as well as the Institute Community and Equity Office and the Alumni Association, expect to announce the details of those opportunities over the next few weeks.

Ad hoc working group

President Reif also called on us to create an ad hoc working group to articulate the lessons from this situation and help guide the Institute in constructive next steps. This forum and the conversations that follow will inform the work and composition of the group.

The input from all corners of the community will be indispensable as the working group helps us chart a path forward on these crucial questions.

Sincerely,

Martin A. Schmidt, Provost

Melissa Nobles, Chancellor

Lily Tsai, Chair of the Faculty