Speeches

“Science, math and engineering can give you the exhilarating power to become not mere spectators or consumers, but the active explorers, makers and doers who will help invent the future.”                 - Susan Hockfield

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April 28, 2006
Innovation and Its Organization I would like to begin with an insight from one of MIT's most distinguished economists, Robert Solow. Professor Solow was the first of the growth economists, challenging the static model of classical economics and its explanation of economic growth as derived from capital supply and labor supply. He found – and perhaps this was not surprising from someone working...
March 20, 2006
This testimony appears as submitted to the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education in advance of its Boston field hearing on March 20, 2006. As President Hockfield noted at the hearing itself, "Since the end of World War II, American higher education has increasingly become available to those with the ability and ambition to draw on this valuable resource. At its...
February 09, 2006
As we meet this morning, it is hard not to be reminded of the passing, just last week, of Coretta Scott King. Some of you here today will remember her speaking at MIT in 1994 at our 20th Martin Luther King Celebration. MIT was honored, and I am sure inspired, by her presence and her observations on that occasion. In one sense, Mrs. King’s passing marks the end of an era and compels us to reflect...
January 15, 2006
Today, universities all over the world face great challenges. Like businesses and governments, we must meet the needs of a new, global age. While universities must adapt to the times and be alert to new opportunities, I do not believe we should forsake our longstanding mission. As research institutions, universities seek to advance knowledge for the benefit of society, and as teaching...
November 07, 2005
Good afternoon. I would like to thank Professor Rosalind H. Williams and her colleagues in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society for the invitation to deliver this year’s Miller Lecture. It is a great privilege to be with you on this occasion. This afternoon, I would like to talk about some large issues that affect all of us in this university community. It is all too easy for us to...
September 14, 2005
It is a pleasure to be here. I am grateful to Paul Guzzi for inviting me to join you this morning. And I’m glad to have this occasion to salute the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber does very important work – not just on behalf of our local business community, but more broadly, on behalf of all of us in the Charles River basin. Our local economy is unique, and Paul and his...
August 29, 2005
Good afternoon. Welcome, families. Welcome, friends. And most of all, welcome, members of the Class of 2009! It is a great privilege to greet you at the beginning of your time at MIT, at this Freshman Convocation. Convocation is a gathering to welcome you into the MIT community – to give you some words of introduction, and some words of advice. (But not too many.) I am joined by a few of the...
May 26, 2005
It is a pleasure to be here. I am grateful to Tom Finneran for offering me the chance to join you this morning. And I'm glad to have this occasion to salute the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council for its important work over the last twenty years to promote the development of new science, medicines, and technology. By strengthening our regional biotechnology industry, the Council benefits people...
May 06, 2005
  Thank you! To all of you gathered here in the great embrace of Killian Court – to all the students, faculty, alumni, staff, members of the Corporation, and friends – thank you for your welcome to the great global family of MIT. The MIT family is enlarged today, and honored, by the presence of delegates from many of the world's leading colleges and universities. We are proud to count you as...
February 03, 2005
This morning, I would like to suggest that MIT has a special responsibility to meet the challenge of creating a more diverse and supportive community. This is not to say that any other institution can feel free to abdicate its moral responsibilities. This is an issue for every institution, and for every individual, in our society. But MIT is different from other educational institutions, in ways...
January 01, 2005
On August 26, 2004, the MIT Corporation elected Dr. Susan Hockfield, a distinguished neuroscientist and Provost of Yale University, the 16th president of MIT. Shortly before she took office on December 6, Dean Tom Magnanti spoke with her about some of her initial thoughts on the current status and future of the Institute and of Engineering. First Impressions of MIT / Engineering Tom Magnanti: MIT...
August 26, 2004
I am deeply honored to have been selected as MIT's sixteenth president. As a scientist, I have always regarded MIT as a beacon, projecting an incredibly bright light that has illuminated the path of discovery and innovation for the entire world. I know that I am only one of countless people who have been inspired – and awed – by MIT's strengths along the entire continuum of scholarship, from the...

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