MIT Better World
New York City

MIT Returns to New York City

For the second time in two years, the MIT community of alumni and friends in New York City gathered to celebrate the positive impact that the Institute is having in making a better world.

Held at New York’s PlayStation Theater, the October 10 event offered the 400-plus attendees a chance to connect with their peers as well as to learn about the MIT Campaign for a Better World.

Guests heard about how they can be part of MIT's global commitment to addressing society’s greatest challenges from MIT Provost Martin A. Schmidt SM ’83, PhD ’88, Ray and Maria Stata Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

The Better World event also featured a panel discussion on MIT’s approach to education, on and off campus, led by MIT Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart SM ’85, PhD ’88, Ford Foundation Professor of Engineering. Panel participants included Edward Fan ’20, x-terms student lead, Simmons Hall president, and First Year Experience core team member; John E. Fernández ’85, MIT head of house at Baker House, director of the Institute’s Environmental Solutions Initiative, and professor in the architecture department; Anette “Peko” Hosoi, associate dean of engineering, Neil and Jane Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and co-lead for New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET); and Candace Ross SM ’18, PhD student in the Center for Brains, Minds and Machines at MIT, graduate resident tutor at New House, and past president of the Black Graduate Student Association.

The evening kicked off with welcome remarks from MIT Club of New York President and New York Junior League Vice President Charlene Chuang ’05, a former MIT Alumni Association Board director and current Alumni Association Selection Committee member, and one of the thousands of MIT alumni who call New York home.

Schmidt concluded the program with an invitation to guests. “We need you to help inspire the whole family of MIT with your example by attending events—like this one tonight and like the ones offered by your local and regional alumni groups—and by supporting the MIT Campaign for a Better World with your gift.”

This story was adapted from an October 30, 2018, article by Brian Geer for Slice of MIT. Read the full story.