Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a research and educational institution located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

History

In 1861, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved a charter for the incorporation of the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Society of Natural History," submitted by William Barton Rogers, a distinguished natural scientist. This was an important first step toward establishing what Rogers hoped would become a new kind of independent educational institution relevant to an increasingly industrialized America. With the charter approved, Rogers began raising funds, developing a curriculum and appraising suitable real estate. His efforts were hampered by the Civil War, and as a result its first classes were held in rented space at the Mercantile Building in downtown Boston in 1865.

Related Topics:
1861 - Commonwealth - Massachusetts - William Barton Rogers - Civil War - 1865

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Construction on the first MIT building was completed in Boston's Back Bay in 1866. In the following years, it established a sterling reputation in the sciences and in engineering, but it also fell on hard financial times. These two factors made it a perfect fit in many peoples' eyes to merge with nearby Harvard University, which was flush with cash but much weaker in the sciences than it was in the liberal arts. Around 1900, a merger with Harvard was proposed, but was cancelled after protests from MIT's alumni. In 1916, MIT moved across the river to its present location in Cambridge.

Related Topics:
Back Bay - 1866 - Harvard University - 1900 - 1916

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MIT has been at least nominally coeducational since admitting Ellen Swallow Richards in 1870, if not earlier. For some years past, it has admitted slightly more women students than men.

Related Topics:
Coeducation - Ellen Swallow Richards - 1870

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MIT's prominence increased following World War II as the United States government began to fund projects at research universities with immediate or potential defense or national security applications (see Vannevar Bush, Lincoln Laboratory, and Charles Stark Draper Laboratory).

Related Topics:
World War II - Fund projects at research universities - Vannevar Bush - Lincoln Laboratory - Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

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During the Watergate scandal, it was revealed that President Nixon's counsel Charles W. Colson had prepared an "enemies list" tabulating people "hostile to the administration." MIT had more names on the list than any other single organization, among them its president Jerome Wiesner and professor Noam Chomsky. Memos revealed during Watergate indicated that Nixon had ordered MIT's federal subsidy cut "in view of Wiesner's anti-defense bias" (see the article on Wiesner for details){{ref|nixonenemies}}.

Related Topics:
Watergate - President Nixon - Charles W. Colson - Jerome Wiesner - Noam Chomsky

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Throughout its history, MIT has focused on invention. An illustrative 1997 report showed that the aggregated revenues produced by companies founded by MIT and its graduates would make it the twenty-fourth largest economy in the world. In 2001, MIT announced that it planned to put course materials online as part of its OpenCourseWare project. The same year, president Charles Vest made history by being the first university official in the world to admit that his institution had severely restricted the career of women faculty members, researchers, and students through sexist discrimination, and promised to make steps to redress the issue. In August 2004, Susan Hockfield, a molecular neurobiologist, was appointed as MIT's first female president. She took office as the Institute's 16th president on December 6, 2004.

Related Topics:
2001 - OpenCourseWare - Charles Vest - Sexist discrimination - August 2004 - Susan Hockfield - Neurobiologist - December 6 - 2004

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The Atlantic Monthly in 2004 ranked MIT as the most selective university in the United States. According to US News and World Reports annual ranking of US colleges, it is one of five universities to consistently receive the highest peer assessment score of 4.9/5.0, along with Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Princeton. MIT was ranked 7th overall in the 2005 US News ranking.

Related Topics:
The Atlantic Monthly - US News and World Report - Harvard - Stanford - Yale - Princeton - Washington Monthly

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For a survey of how popular culture has viewed the school, see Works which reference MIT. In addition, see MIT people for a list of prominent individuals who are or have been associated with the Institute.

Related Topics:
Popular culture - Works which reference MIT - MIT people

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