Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Karl W. Reid ’84, SM ‘85 steps down
Reid: " I did my best to build bridges”
Photo courtesy of Corbin Swain
On Feb. 7, President Kornbluth sent out an email stating that Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Karl W. Reid ’84, SM ’85 decided to step down from his position. As Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Reid was responsible for promoting “inclusive excellence” at MIT and overseeing the Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO). Furthermore, Reid was involved in directing the execution of the Institute’s Strategic Action Plan for Belonging, Achievement, and Composition.
Previously, Reid served as the executive director of the Office of Engineering Outreach Programs at MIT from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, he was appointed Director of the Office of Minority Education and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education. Outside of MIT, Reid has taken on senior leadership roles at nonprofit organizations that focus on increasing educational opportunities, including the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) from 2008 to 2014 and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) from 2014 to 2021. More recently, Reid was the Chief Inclusion Officer at Northeastern University from 2021 to 2024.
Reid’s term ends on Feb. 28, and Vice Provost for Faculty Paula Hammond will temporarily oversee the ICEO staff from March 1 to the summer. Reid’s decision comes amidst the Trump administration’s recent executive orders banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, which have led to sweeping changes in universities across the U.S.
In order to comply with the new policies, some universities have been closing or renaming DEI programs and initiatives, including Northeastern University and the University of Pennsylvania. The executive order has also impacted MIT, as some department and research center websites have removed their DEI pages, including the Koch Institute and the Biology Department.
Over email, Reid responded to The Tech’s request for comment regarding his decision to step down and his role as Vice President for Equity and Inclusion. Answers have been edited lightly for clarity.
TT: What factors motivated you to step down from this position?
Reid: As President Kornbluth wrote in her statement, the decision to resign was driven by a desire to return to my professional roots: to work with national organizations and programs that broaden pathways for students who are not afforded high-quality STEM opportunities for a variety of structural reasons. Never has this work been more important than it is now.
TT: What do your future plans entail, and how will this work differ from your past work at MIT, UNCF, and Northeastern?
Reid: My future efforts won’t differ much from my past and some aspects of my present work. The only major difference is its scale. For instance, I serve on a board of a non-profit (Engineering for Us All) that is introducing engineering curricula in high schools across the country, and another (Saga Education) that provides high dosage tutoring in algebra for students in schools and districts that serve low-income students.
For more than 50 years, MIT has been successful at forging one-off partnerships with organizations like these. However, I believe a future opportunity is to bring these efforts to scale nationally (and internationally) in order to create systemic partnerships that will dramatically increase access to, and opportunities for high-quality STEM education.
TT: Looking back, what have been your major accomplishments as Vice President for Equity and Inclusion? As a whole, what are your proudest achievements in your work of promoting DEI in higher education?
Reid: It was an honor to return to my alma mater to play a part in fulfilling the Institute’s mission to serve the nation and the world. For generations, MIT has been a beacon of innovation and a magnet for thousands of talented people from across the globe. MIT stands as a shining example of inclusive excellence. I owe so much to the Institute both educationally and professionally.
I am proud of the work the ICEO team does to help fulfill this mission, both prior to my arrival and since then. During my tenure, we built on the work that Dan Hastings started in refining the ICEO’s mission and reinforcing its programs and worked closely with senior leadership all along the way. We’ve hosted dozens of listening sessions to learn what is working, and explored opportunities for increased impact in creating a more welcoming campus community.
My proudest moments are the instances when I’ve interacted with members of our community, and particularly when I helped them to be seen, valued, and heard. Whether it was speaking with students in the Asian Christian community about resilience and faith, having meals with Jewish faculty, staff, and students, hearing from Black and Latino students about admissions, brainstorming with Palestinian and Arab alumni, holding space with both politically conservative and progressive alumni, or celebrating festivals with Indigenous faculty, staff, and students, I did my best to build bridges.
In every situation, even when meetings were contentious, the ICEO team and I saw the power of dialogue to make everyone better and more understanding. I learned from everyone. This is the work that I will never forget.
TT: Anything else you would like to share with The Tech?
Reid: MIT has defined excellence and community as two of its core values. It’s no coincidence that over the past five decades, the Institute has become more outstanding along many metrics while also becoming more diverse and inclusive. At MIT, diversity and excellence do not exist in tension, but rather coexist in the community.
As President Kornbluth has said, the degree to which we can continue to attract and retain exceptional people from across the country and around the world, solve the most complex and difficult problems, and train the next generation of leaders depends on our continued ability to foster an environment that allows and equips everyone in our community to do their best work.
As I’ve recently written in citing Dr. Martin Luther King’s last book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, I echo his call to action to prioritize community-building.