A brand new portrait marks the legacy of L. Rafael Reif, MIT’s president from 2012 to 2022. Painted by Jon Friedman, the portrait was unveiled at a current gathering at Grey Home, the place portraits of lots of Reif’s predecessors additionally adorn the partitions.
The revealing served as one thing of a reunion for a lot of MIT college and workers members who had labored intently with Reif at numerous factors in his 4 many years at MIT, particularly his decade as president. It additionally featured a number of generations of the Reif household and particular buddies comparable to cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Susan Whitehead, a life member of the MIT Company and life board member of the Whitehead Institute, and Ray Stata ’57, SM ’58, co-founder of Analog Units, gave remarks honoring Reif and his influence on the Institute.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth opened the occasion by welcoming the viewers to the president’s residence on campus.
“As everyone knows, Grey Home belongs to the MIT neighborhood, which signifies that every household who lives right here takes duty for stewarding the place for the long run. Which, in a grander sense, is a fairly great way of describing what it means to be president of MIT,” she mentioned.
Applauding the “many grand issues he set in movement,” Kornbluth described a number of of Reif’s impactful achievements as MIT’s seventeenth president, comparable to establishing the MIT Schwarzman Faculty of Computing, main the revitalization of Kendall Sq., and envisioning and launching The Engine, MIT’s enterprise agency for “robust tech.”
“Every of these achievements helped prime MIT for the long run, and every one has had highly effective constructive results effectively past our neighborhood too,” Kornbluth mentioned, noting that the time period “robust tech” didn’t even exist earlier than the institution of The Engine.
“MIT has been an distinctive place from the very begin, and it has had fairly just a few visionary presidents. However there isn’t any query that MIT was extra distinctive when Rafael completed than when he started. And we owe him a terrific debt of gratitude,” Kornbluth mentioned.
Extra details about the Reif presidency will be discovered on this article written when Reif introduced his determination to step down.
After the portrait was unveiled, Ma carried out a brief piece by Johann Sebastian Bach on the cello. Afterward, Stata provided a complete private and historic perspective on Reif’s wide-ranging contributions to MIT and the nation, together with his key position in establishing MIT’s footing within the semiconductor panorama, and in demonstrating and advocating for the important position of educational analysis in advancing the event of the U.S. semiconductor sector. Whitehead adopted, highlighting a spread of Reif’s accomplishments throughout his tenure as MIT president, together with establishing the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and MIT.nano, main the Marketing campaign for a Higher World, overseeing the redevelopment of the Volpe Middle in Kendall Sq., and extra.
“The entire above was made potential as a result of you’re a exceptional synthesizer and builder,” she mentioned. “We watched as you grappled with questions, listened rigorously, inside and outdoors of MIT, and then you definitely moved. You have been daring when you had synthesized. Not one of the above initiatives would have occurred with out your decisive massive considering.”
Whitehead additionally praised Reif’s kindness and empathy, noting the numerous selections he oversaw to advertise pupil wellbeing at MIT and acknowledging his management throughout tough instances, such because the demise of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. She closed by reminding the group of the Institute-wide farewell dance get together he hosted as he stepped down.
When Reif took to the rostrum, he thanked the audio system in addition to different members of the viewers, together with Company Life Member Fariboz Maseeh ScD ’90; Reif was the inaugural holder of the Fariborz Maseeh Professorship of Rising Expertise earlier than changing into MIT’s president. He additionally thanked his spouse, Christine — whose personal portrait, additionally painted by Friedman, now hangs within the Emma Rogers Room (Room 10-340) — for her help.
Reif recalled a few of his favourite recollections of residing at Grey Home, together with internet hosting his grandchildren for sleepovers at what they known as “the Citadel” and partaking in a snowball struggle with college students on Killian Court docket.
“Every certainly one of you influenced my considering, gave me mental breadth, suffered my humorousness, and formed the particular person I grew to become,” Reif mentioned. “So, no matter qualities you consider you see captured in Mr. Friedman’s portrait, please understand that each one of you might be represented there too, in your brilliance and your goodness. It has been an incredible privilege to be a part of the MIT household for all these years.”
