Alumni Gazette

Alumna Leads MIT

PERSONAL STYLE: Susan Hockfield ’73 meets with MIT students following the announcement of her election as president. (Photo by Donna Coveney/MIT)

Former Yale University provost and noted scientist Susan Hockfield ’73 is making academic history as she begins her tenure as the first woman to lead the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Hockfield, who received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Rochester, takes over this winter as the 16th president in the university’s 140-year history. In addition to being the first woman chief executive, Hockfield, who earned a doctorate in anatomy and neuroscience from Georgetown University, is the first with a background in the life sciences to serve as president of an institution best known for its powerhouse programs in engineering and the physical sciences.

“She possesses a rare combination of scientific achievement, outstanding managerial talent, and an extremely engaging personal style that will serve MIT’s faculty, students, and staff very well,” said James Champy, chair of the presidential search committee for the MIT Corporation, as he announced Hockfield’s appointment late last summer.

A member of the Yale faculty since 1985, Hockfield served as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for four years before her appointment as provost in 2002.

In 2003, Hockfield received a Meliora Citation for Career Achievement from the College in recognition of her professional achievements.