[1189] in UA Senate
Re: Meeting tomorrow with Grimson
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Geoffrey Thomas)
Mon Mar 14 16:55:02 2011
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:54:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Geoffrey Thomas <geofft@MIT.EDU>
To: Jessica Chen <jessicachen.dbhs@gmail.com>
cc: Betsy Riley <rileyb@mit.edu>, Timothy Robertson <tim_r@mit.edu>,
ua-senate@mit.edu
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTim+YhS-F3JdBAr4m8jSg0SjN=Xvw5xK_6kiDFNw@mail.gmail.com>
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Two random thoughts. The first is along the lines of that question: "What=
=20
sort of advantages does being MIT faculty bring you in this position?=20
having been an MIT student? What disadvantages? How would being / not=20
being from MIT influence hiring people to work under you, or affect=20
working with people?"
Also, perhaps something roughly like "As a CS professor you could=20
undoubtedly implement the code for electronic add/drop forms in a weekend.=
=20
What do you think the challenges of modernizing our systems are? What do=20
you think the role of technology and research in running MIT should be?"
I'd be interested in seeing his response there -- obviously there's an=20
argument against micromanaging, but there's also an argument that his=20
perspective might help him figure out when the only thing that could=20
possibly be getting in the way of an effort is bureaucracy/politics, not=20
ability.
--=20
Geoffrey Thomas
geofft@mit.edu
On Mon, 14 Mar 2011, Jessica Chen wrote:
> I particularly like the question of
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> To what extent do you think MIT should model itself after other schools? =
Are
> there areas of MIT that you think could be improved by copying or modelin=
g
> other institutions?
>=20
> because I feel like a lot of the conflicts we've been having is that yes.
> change is good but MIT is unique in its own way and that change shouldn't
> mean that we're changing MIT's core qualities.
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> Sincerely,
> ~Jessica Chen
> MIT 2014
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>=20
> On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 2:07 PM, Betsy Riley <rileyb@mit.edu> wrote:
> Some questions I have (with input from others) are...
> -- What do you want your legacy as Chancellor to be? How do you want
> to be remembered?
> -- Why did you take the job of Chancellor even though you had such a
> successful career as a faculty member? What is the appeal of being an
> administrator?=A0 -- The faculty are sometimes said to "run" MIT, and
> they have been known to defend students opposing the administration.
> As a long-time faculty member, how do you view the administration? Do
> you think your presence in the administration will help unite the
> faculty and admins?=A0
> -- What is your take on the current state of student engagement? How
> do you plan on improving it?
> -- What are your top priorities for the coming year?
> -- Do you see any value in preserving MIT traditions? How does one go
> about doing that?
> -- What value do you see in including students in administrative
> decisions? What is the role of student government? What do you think
> of the current model of student government at MIT?
> -- To what extent do you think MIT should model itself after other
> schools? Are there areas of MIT that you think could be improved by
> copying or modeling other institutions?
> -- One aspect of student life that matters a lot to undergrads is the
> residential system here, with its self-selecting dorm and living group
> cultures. What do you think of this system? What changes, if any, are
> you planning on making to it?
> -- The waiting list numbers for dorm transfers seem to have changed
> rather dramatically recently, such that now East Campus has the
> longest waiting list and Next House and Simmons have no waiting lists.
> Although I can't be sure that this is due to the changes in dining
> that will occur next year, if there is a mass exodus from dining-hall
> dorms, how do you plan on handling it?
> -- The dining plan will almost certainly continue to cause
> controversy. What specific plans do you have to make the transition to
> the new dining model smooth? How will you continue to gather student
> feedback once the plan is in place? How flexible will you be about
> modifying the plan based on student input?
> -- In what ways has the undergraduate body at MIT changed since you
> arrived here? What about ways in which student government and student
> engagement here have changed?
> -- What are the best/most functional and worst/least functional
> aspects of the divisions you oversee (DUE, DSL, and DGE)?
>=20
> Betsy
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>=20
> On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 12:07 AM, Timothy Robertson <tim_r@mit.edu>
> wrote:
> May I suggest we start presenting topics to ask Grimson?
> Like what is his plan going forward the next six months,
> or what is he intending to regarding student engagement.
> Yes these are general concerns but I would like this
> discussion to start before the meeting.
>=20
>
> --
> Tim Robertson II
> MIT 2011
> Mechanical Engineering
> UA Senate Office Hours:
> EC-B515 Sunday 5-8pm
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>=20
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>
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