State of the Institute forum looks at finances
Discussion of the Institute’s finances and of future cost-cutting measures dominated Wednesday’s hour-long State of the Institute event at Kresge Auditorium, which was broken into three segments of roughly equal length. The first was an address by President Susan Hockfield; in the second, a panel including the president, Provost L. Rafael Reif, Chancellor Phillip Clay, and Executive Vice President and Treasurer Theresa M. Stone answered questions submittedonline; and in the third segment, the same panel answered questions from the audience. Hockfield opened with some good news. Undergraduate applications were up 17 percent after two years of roughly 8 percent increases, she said, demonstrating that “an MIT education is more sought-after than ever.” And as of June, she said, “of those planning to work, 88.8 percent of undergraduates and 81.4 percent of graduates had accepted a job.” Nationally, she added, the average was just 19.7 percent. Among other items...