‘This is a dream I never dared to imagine’
“I cannot tell you that this is a dream come true,” L. Rafael Reif said shortly after his election Wednesday morning as MIT’s 17th president, “because this is a dream I never dared to imagine.”Reif — who grew up in Venezuela and spoke no English until arriving at graduate school in his early 20s — said at a press conference announcing his selection by the MIT Corporation, “As a kid it’s impossible to think that any of these things are achievable.” But after seven years as the Institute’s provost, he said, “I am standing here ready, eager, excited and inspired to lead one of the most remarkable academic institutions in the world.”“My story is not too different from that of many at MIT,” Reif said, describing his family as “wealthy in integrity and principles and values, but poor in everything material.” Coming from that background, he said, “What happened in...