Megan Smith: It’s mind, hand … and heart
“One of the very most important things in our school’s history is something that’s not in the motto” — “mens et manus,” or “mind and hand” — Megan Smith ’86, SM ’88, now the chief technology officer of the United States, said today in her Commencement speech at MIT. “It’s heart,” she said. “What I mean by heart,” Smith said, “is not just love and kindness. I mean wonder and discovery, it’s openness, it’s inclusivity, creativity, passion, obsession, service.” Smith delivered her remarks as the keynote speaker at MIT’s Commencement, where 1,054 undergraduates and 1,719 graduate students received their MIT degrees under clear blue skies in MIT’s Killian Court. As Robert Millard ’73, chairman of the MIT Corporation, pointed out in introducing Smith as this year’s Commencement speaker, she was named to MIT’s board just two years after earning her undergraduate degree. “We think of Megan as pure MIT,” he said, “not just...