Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Task Force on Student Life and Learning records

In July of 1996, President Charles Vest appointed the Task Force on Student Life and Learning to undertake a comprehensive review of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's educational mission and student life as the Institute approached the 21st century. The last review of this scope was carried out in 1948 and 1949 by the Committee on Educational Survey, known as the Lewis Committee, which examined MIT’s educational system in the aftermath of World War II .

The Task Force on Student Life and Learning was modeled after the Lewis Committee and, like the Lewis Committee, it looked back to the earliest years of MIT’s existence to study its founding principles as outlined by the Institute’s first president, William Barton Rogers.

The Task Force held meetings with MIT administrators, sponsors, and faculty members, and conducted surveys of students, staff, alumni, and parents to gather opinions on strategic issues related to student life and learning. The Task Force also met regularly with the Student Advisory Committee, obtaining substantial information and feedback from the students’ perspective. The collected data enabled the committee to identify the elements of the MIT “educational triad”: research, academics, and community interaction.

Some of the recommendations made by the Task Force included the expansion of UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) and the creation of Freshman Advisory Research subjects (FARs) to make participation in Institute research activities an integral part of undergraduate education. A recommendation to house all freshmen in residence halls on campus was immediately implemented.

The Task Force published a final report titled Task Force on Student Life and Learning (http://web.mit.edu/committees/sll/tf.html). The Task Force recommendations guided many decisions at MIT after its issue.

Members of the Task Force: Co-chairs: R. John Hansman, Jr. (Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics) Robert J. Silbey (Professor of Chemistry) Jesus del Alamo (Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) Sallie W. Chisholm (McAfee Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering) Iddo Gilon (Graduate Student) Hermann A. Haus (Institute Professor) June L. Matthews (Professor of Physics) Mario Molina (Institute Professor) Luis A. Ortiz (Graduate Student) Jeremy D. Sher (Undergraduate Student) Charles Stewart III (Associate Professor of Political Science) Marcus A. Thompson (Taylor Professor of Music and Theater Arts)

J. Kim Vandiver (Professor of Ocean Engineering) Rosalind H. Williams (Metcalfe Professor of Writing; Dean for Students and Undergraduate Education)

Members of the Student Advisory Committee: Erik Balsley ‘96 Alexander Cahill ‘01 Ernest Cuni ‘98 Jason Dailey ‘99 Michelle Evans ‘99 Iddo Gilon G Arlene Hahn ‘97 John Hollywood G Anders Hove ‘96 Kai-Yuh Hsiao ‘99 Anthony Ives ‘96 Steven Jens ‘98 Timothy K. Layman ‘97 Michele Micheletti ‘00 Amalia Miller ‘99 Paul Njoroge ‘00 Luis Ortiz G Jacob Seid G Jeremy Sher ‘99