EVPT Israel Ruiz planning to leave MIT

Dear MIT faculty and staff,

I write to let you know that Israel Ruiz SM ’01 has shared with me his decision to step down as MIT's executive vice president and treasurer (EVPT) this next semester. Twenty years after his first arrival at the Institute, he has decided to pursue opportunities that will more directly accelerate innovation.

Widely respected across MIT, Israel is a brilliant strategic thinker whose commitment to excellence has advanced innovative solutions to complex challenges while earning broad support along the way. His efforts have transformed many aspects of our campus to better serve and support the MIT community. Since my earliest days as provost, he has been among my most important advisors.

An engineer from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (1995), Israel began working for MIT after graduating from Sloan in 2001, initially as a consultant to President Chuck Vest and Provost Bob Brown. A year later, he was hired to lead MIT’s long-term financial plan in the Budget Office. Under President Susan Hockfield, he became director of finance in 2005 and vice president for finance in 2007. In October 2011, he was elected EVPT by the MIT Corporation.

In addition to leading MIT’s administrative and financial functions, over the past decade Israel has been the driving force behind many of MIT’s most significant administrative initiatives, creatively shaping these ideas and leading them to fruition. His leadership has been essential to strengthening MIT’s financial position, to the genesis and success of the most ambitious capital development and renewal plan for the MIT campus since the Main Group was built 100 years ago, and to the transformation of Kendall Square. He also played a crucial role in the launch of MITx and in shaping the landmark partnership with Harvard to imagine edX. Most recently, he spearheaded the creation of The Engine and the negotiation for the agreement that led to the establishment of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. All of these accomplishments owe a great deal to Israel’s leadership, strategic mindset and drive to action.

The Institute has not had an operating loss since Israel became VP for finance in 2007. As we enter the final decade of the MIT 2030 framework, Israel and his team have already advanced most of its key elements while maintaining the Institute’s operating performance and the highest possible credit ratings, putting MIT in a position of great strength for the future.

You can read more about Israel’s accomplishments here.

In the next several months, senior leadership and I will work with Vice President for Finance Glen Shor, Vice President for Campus Services and Stewardship Joe Higgins and the rest of the EVPT leadership team to identify the best path for transitioning Israel’s responsibilities.

I hope you will join me in expressing our deep gratitude for Israel’s dedication and transformational impact.

Sincerely,

L. Rafael Reif