NASEM progress

MIT has hired for all three positions. VPR's director of student advocacy and IDHR's education specialist started in October 2020; IDHR's dispute resolution coordinator started in January 2021.

In 2019, with Associate Provost Tim Jamison as sponsor, Committed to Caring launched the Faculty Peer Mentorship Program to recognize faculty who serve as mentors to new MIT faculty for a minimum of one year. MIT News publishes regular stories highlighting C2C honorees.

MIT’s five schools and the college have hired assistant deans for DEI, who have a dotted-line reporting relationship to the ICEO. The schools of Engineering, Sloan and Science have also appointed faculty to serve as associate deans focused on issues of DEI. And many academic departments have hired diversity officers. The ICEO is working with all new DEI staff and leadership to develop this cohort and promote Institute-wide collaboration in academic and administrative units.

All new employees (faculty and staff) and students (undergraduate and graduate) must now take an online training on sexual/gender-based harassment during orientation. All undergraduates receive annual training. Beginning January 2021, MIT initiated a phased rollout of additional training for faculty, staff and graduate students (3rd year and above); the training is required every two years. Separately, MIT now provides in-person training on sexual/gender-based harassment at orientation for new department heads and new faculty.

In 2021, Academic Council underwent “Tough Conversations” training with a focus on harassment, marginalization and power imbalances. In 2022, the officers underwent training on personal accountability. Academic Council will undergo similar training on an annual basis.

Human Resources has updated and enhanced the training and resources available to managers, with an emphasis on the mindset, skills and behaviors needed to establish a respectful and inclusive work environment. These tools are designed to heighten managers’ awareness of the power dynamics inherent in their relationships with direct reports. 
 

In April 2022, following an extensive process of community engagement, MIT released the Institute values statement.

MIT has strengthened its complaint policies, created a central hub for reporting discriminatory treatment and strengthened whistleblower channels and non-retaliation and confidentiality protections, as detailed in a letter from President Reif in December 2020. Separately, in December 2021 MIT updated a newly retitled policy called “Confidentiality and Privacy.” The change responded to a recommendation by a working group that reviewed MIT’s policies and practices in the context of formal complaints, with the aim of balancing the Institute’s commitment to transparency and privacy in addressing unwelcome and inappropriate behavior.

With input from the academic deans, department heads and student leaders, in spring 2021 MIT finalized plans for an accessible transitional funding program to lower the barriers some graduate students experience when they change research advisors or groups. The Office of Graduate Education continues to implement the program and, consistent with recommendations from a working group that examined the first phase of the program, is identifying improvements such as increased community awareness, additional training for department Transitional Support Coordinators, and better data collection to inform future changes to the program.

MIT now provides information on relevant policies and reporting options in orientation materials for postdocs. Postdocs must also undergo training on these topics every two years.

In April 2023, Professors Paula Hammond and Tim Jamison, co-chairs of the ad hoc committee on graduate advising and mentoring, released the committee’s final report—a compilation of the draft report and community feedback—which provides a roadmap for promoting a culture of excellence in mentoring and advising, and fostering the well-being, research, and professional development of graduate students, faculty, and thesis supervisors. Separately, in fall 2020 Academic Council approved a revision to Policies and Procedures 3.2, Tenure Process, making excellence in mentoring and advising an explicit criterion in the tenure review process.

MIT has hired an external consultant to create a survey to assess community members’ experiences with sexual misconduct. A draft of the survey is currently under review and will be administered sometime in 2023.