Julie A. Lucas
This is an important year for the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS), with the launch of MITHIC. What makes this new initiative special?
It’s always exciting to tell MIT supporters and friends something they might not know about the Institute, and many people think of us as primarily a science and engineering school. In fact, MIT has some of the world’s leading humanities scholars. MITHIC was launched at the presidential level to elevate human-centered research and teaching and to encourage cross-school collaboration to pursue big ideas and solve difficult challenges. That’s a compelling story to tell! For example, on a MITHIC-supported project led by the Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy, climate scientists, social scientists, and engineering faculty are working together to improve the sustainability infrastructure at MIT.
How can MIT’s alumni and friends help MITHIC achieve its goals?
The inaugural MITHIC projects received awards from one of three funds: the SHASS+ Connectivity Fund, which supports projects with interdisciplinary teams representing SHASS, the School of Architecture and Planning, the School of Engineering, the School of Science, and the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing; the Humanities Cultivation Fund, which supports creative work in the arts and humanities; and the SHASS Education Innovation Fund, which supports projects that will help create transformative educational experiences and practices in SHASS for MIT students. Philanthropy will make it possible for these projects to thrive, and gifts of all sizes will help the students and faculty of MIT fulfill our mission of building a better world.
