MIT Endowment Has 3.2 Percent Yield, Even As U.S. Markets Slide
Despite the faltering economy, MIT’s endowment increased by $88 million, or 3.2 percent, according to figures for fiscal year 2008 released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management Company. The endowment now stands at $10.1 billion as of June 30, 2008.
Ig Nobels Reward Quirky Research
Spermicidal cola, archeological armadillos, and lap dancers were the talk of the evening at last night’s Ig Nobels, where a weird ceremony feted the weirdest science of the past year.
Does Your Vote Count? It Depends On Who’s Counting Your Votes
While the debate over who America will vote into the Oval Office is in full swing, so too is the discussion about how the voting will happen. The November elections will feature unprecedented levels and varieties of electronic voting.
Study on Accuracy of SAT Prompts Schools To Accept Other Tests
For the 5,500 college admissions officials and high school guidance counselors who gathered here over the weekend, there were discussions, debates and analyses of things like the ethics of tracking student applicants on Facebook and “Why Good Students Write Bad College Essays — and How to Stop It.”
Many Colleges Wake Up to the Problems of Sleep Deprivation
It’s an age-old predicament: Caffeine-fueled college students cramming for exams and writing papers until the crack of dawn, then skipping or snoozing through classes. Sleep deprivation has long been considered a rite of passage, a point of pride, even.
Credit Crunch Limits Universities’ Access To Short-Term Funds
In a move suggesting how the credit crisis could disrupt American higher education, Wachovia Bank has limited the access of nearly 1,000 colleges to $9.3 billion the bank has held for them in a short-term investment fund, raising worries on some campuses about meeting payrolls and other obligations.
Grad Rat Redesigned for First Time Since 2003
MIT graduate students packed into Walker Memorial on Wednesday night to celebrate the unveiling of the first new Grad Rat ring design since 2003.
50 Years Ago, Smoot Made a Lasting Mark on Cambridge
After decades of cheering pedestrians during the long trek across the Harvard Bridge, the Smoot marks turn fifty tomorrow, and MIT students and alumni are gearing up to celebrate a tradition that spans generations with a shoreline cleanup, a concert by famed oldies group “The Platters,” and a 1950s-themed party.
Police Log
<i>The following incidents were reported to the MIT Police between Sept. 4 and Sept. 30, 2008. This summary does not include incidents such as false alarms, general service calls, or medical shuttles.</i>
News Briefs
Forty-one of the 74 women who registered for recruitment pledged the new MIT chapter of Pi Beta Phi. New members were greeted by sisters of other national Pi Phi chapters at a bid day celebration on Sunday.
Business Schools Counsel Grads in Financial Crisis
Last week, Harvard Business School mounted its own emergency rescue mission on Wall Street.
MIT’s Soljacic and Ochsendorf Win MacArthur Prizes
A Harvard neurobiologist who regularly does surgery on fruit fly brains smaller than a poppy seed, and an MIT structural engineer who searches for modern design principles in Gothic churches, are among the 25 winners of the $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grants announced last week.
MIT E-Voting Project To Analyze Experience Of Voters in Election
As the election approaches, a question lingers with increasing urgency on the minds of concerned citizens: to e-vote or not to e-vote?
Shift From Double Degrees to Double Majors Removes Extra 90 Units Req.
Two years after a recommendation by the Task Force on the Undergraduate Educational Commons, MIT is transitioning from double degrees to the double major program which eliminates the need for 90 additional units for the second degree program in an effort to make the study of two fields less constraining for students.
Hockfield Delivers State of the Institute, Discusses Endowment
President Susan J. Hockfield delivered the State of the Institute address in Kresge Auditorium yesterday, highlighting MIT’s continued growth amidst troubled times. Her message was echoed by the other speakers, Provost L. Rafael Reif, Chancellor Phillip L. Clay PhD ’75, and Executive Vice President and Treasurer Theresa M. Stone.
EmTech Conference Attracts 900, Features Cutting-Edge Products
Did you notice the swarm of people in suits taking over Kresge Lawn with their huge white tent and fancy LCD name tags?
News Briefs
After 21 percent of undergraduates voted to elect 26 new members to the Undergraduate Association Senate this fall, East Campus faced a tie for the second seat in the senate. The run-off election to break the tie between Harrison Bralower ’11 and Sarah Dee ’10 ended on Tuesday, Sept. 23. One hundred and thirty-four East Campus residents voted in the run-off, which resulted in Dee becoming the twenty-seventh new member of the Senate. Dee was a write-in candidate.