MIT student life

An essential part of an MIT education

An MIT education is about more than what’s taught in the classroom; it’s also about learning by doing. MIT’s student life programs provide these learning experiences, and thus help prepare the Institute’s students for service to society, and for leadership.

To the Institute, these programs are imperative. The world of today calls for a new kind of leader–one who can motivate, inspire, and marshal teams of people to address problems of global scale. An education that provides opportunities for students to both learn and practice their skills in a variety of contexts offers the best hope for addressing the challenges of this new century, And it builds the best foundation for the intense collaborative work these students will be doing tomorrow.

Consequently, MIT has committed to offering multiple venues for learning, in addition to classrooms and labs—a variety of places and opportunities where students can learn from one another and master the leadership, teamwork, and other social skills their future roles will demand. (In the process, many of them also make friends and find mentors who will help motivate and encourage them throughout their educational experiences and into their professional lives.)

The MIT Division of Student Life (DSL) oversees this new learning environment, including its student life programs and activities. MIT students have many choices; here are some examples:

• over 350 student clubs and organizations,

• 41 competitive and 56 recreational sports teams,

• 30 spiritual and religious groups,

• 11 campus and 35 independent residential living options,

• countless community service opportunities, and

• one of the nation’s most admired systems of student government.

MIT must continue to fund a host of campus programs and activities that encourage students to pilot their own leadership strategies, defining for themselves the roles they want to play in life. Whether it’s through volunteering in the local community, participating in a favorite club, or developing leadership programs in the residence halls, the experience of learning by doing—translating personal experience into valuable knowledge—has become an essential element of learning at MIT.

Giving to student life programs

MIT proposes to create an endowed Dean for Student Life Find that will support the efforts of MIT’s Division of Student Life. The development of student life programs also offers a significant opportunity for financial backing and sponsorship by MIT alumni and alumnae.

Priority program areas

Here are seven high-priority student life programs, and how gifts, in addition to the opportunities listed on front, to the Dean for Student Life Fund could advance them.

Athletics, physical education, and recreation

The MIT Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER) stresses the physical benefits of athletic activity and the critical skills that students develop through sports—such as self-discipline, leadership, teamwork, and communication. Eighty percent of all undergraduate and graduate students at MIT engage in athletic of physical fitness pursuits. The Dean for Student Life Fund could help:

• endow faculty/coach chairs: $2.5 million each

• support annual team operating expenses: $750,000 to $1 million

Leadership development

MIT student are the world leaders of tomorrow. The Institute will be better positioned to develop and strengthen their innate talents if it brings together and expands existing leadership training opportunities from around campus, and creates a unified approach to leadership development. The Dean for Student Life Fund could help:

• endow a Director of Student Leadership Development position: $2.5 million

• support annual workshops, student conferences, retreats, speakers, and programs: $100,000

Public service

The MIT Public Service Center motivates, facilitates, and celebrates the ethos and activity of public service at MIT. It creates service opportunities for students through hundreds of projects and programs in the Cambridge and Boston communities, and throughout the world. The Dean for Student Life Fund could help:

• create an International Development Initiative Seed Fund: $2.5 million

• support the annual IDEAS Competition: $100,000

Religious life

MIT’s Board of Chaplains supports 30 religious and spiritual groups in the MIT Chapel and elsewhere on campus. The Dean for Student Life Fund could help:

• endow the Technology and Culture Forum: $2.5 million

• provide individual denomination support: $100,000

Residential life

Residential life programs guide and support student learning, growth, and development in MIT residence hall communities, and in fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (FSILGs) and their respective student governments. The Dean for Student Life Fund could help:

• endow the Director of the FSILG Alumni Relations position: $2.5 million

• support the Independent Residence Development Fund (IRDF): $500,000

Student activities

Involvement connects students to the people and places around them, gives them a sense of community and common purpose, and allows them to develop their creative talents and skills by contributing to something beyond themselves. The Student Activities Office currently supports the logistics, program planning, and financial stewardship for MIT’s 350 student clubs and organizations. The Dean for Student Life Fund could help:

• endow a  Student Activities Advisor position: $2.5 million

• provide an annual operating fund to support student clubs and organizations: $300,000

Wellness

A healthy body and a healthy mind are vital to success at MIT and in life. Campus-wide health education initiatives focus on nutrition, sexual health, mental health, stress management, substance abuse education, and health promotion and wellness. The Dean for Student Life Fund could help:

• endow a life skill center and Web-based health education program: $5 million

• endow a Heath Educator position for the graduate student community: $2.5 million

• provide annual training, workshops, and outreach on topics of nutrition, mental and physical health, stress management, and substance abuse: $100,000

Giving opportunities

Endow a DAPER operating fund: $10 million

Endow a Center for Leadership Development: $5 million

Endow a Public Service Center Fund: $10 million

Endow chaplaincies: $5 million

Endow the housemaster program: $15 million (10 residences at $1.5 million each)

Endow a life skill center and Web-based health education program: $5 million