Two veteran MIT administrators have been promoted to the rank of vice president and a third has been appointed secretary of the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation and proposed for election as secretary of the Corporation. In addition, two long-time vice presidents will take on new responsibilities and new titles.
The actions, announced by MIT President Charles M. Vest and effective June 1, follow the unexpected death last month of Vice President Constantine B. Simonides, who also was secretary of the Executive Committee and Secretary of the Corporation. Several important sections of the Institute reported to Mr. Simonides.
Promoted to vice president are Joan F. Rice, to be vice president for Human Resources, and Barbara G. Stowe, to be Vice President for Resource Development. Ms. Rice will also become the Institute's equal opportunity officer.
Appointed as Secretary of the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation is Kathryn A. Willmore. She has been director of Public Relations Services since 1986 and executive assistant to the president since 1981. Ms. Willmore will continue to hold both those posts. In addition, President Vest and Paul Gray, Chairman of the MIT Corporation, have asked the Executive Committee to recommend that Ms. Willmore be elected secretary of the Corporation and ex officio member of the Corporation. In that post, she would be one of the Institute's four corporate officers. The others are the chairman of the Corporation, the president and the treasurer.
Ms. Rice has been director of Personnel since 1984 and a member of the MIT staff since 1972. In announcing Ms. Rice's appointment, Dr. Vest said:
"It is my belief-strongly supported by the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation-that matters of personnel, equal opportunity, family and work, and the general management and enhancement of our human resources are critical to our future and require direct attention at the vice presidential and Academic Council levels.
"Joan Rice's wisdom and effectiveness in dealing with individual and institutional issues is well known, and she has commanded enormous, widespread respect as she has risen through our ranks and assumed major leadership as director of Personnel. I believe she is uniquely suited to assume this new role. I look forward to working with her and am confident in the leadership she will provide to MIT."
Ms. Stowe has been at MIT since 1981 and is currently director of Foundation Relations and Development Services. As Vice President for Resource Development, she will have responsibility for Individual Giving, the Office of Development Research and Systems, the Office of Foundation Relations and Development Services, and the Office of Corporate Relations.
In announcing Ms. Stowe's appointment, Dr. Vest said: "Barbara Stowe has distinguished herself as a member of our talented Resource Development staff, most recently serving as director of Foundation Relations and as a principal architect of our institutional activities in securing international support for MIT.
"As we approach the next century it is clear that private resources will be the key to maintaining and enhancing MIT's excellence. I am confident that Barbara's leadership and creativity will assure that we set and attain aggressive goals. I look forward to working with her in the critical years ahead."
In announcing the appointment of Ms. Willmore, who has been at MIT since 1965, Dr. Vest said: "As executive assistant to the president, Kathryn Willmore has developed an extraordinarily broad grasp of MIT, its organization and its people. She is very knowledgeable and wonderfully suited to serve as an officer of the Corporation. She will unify the flow of issues and information among the Academic Council, the MIT Corporation and its Executive Committee, striving for efficiency and effectiveness in Institute governance. She has in abundance the insight, diplomacy and communications skills required to serve as a key interface between MIT and its trustees."
The current vice presidents taking on new responsibilities are Glenn P. Strehle and James J. Culliton.
Mr. Strehle, treasurer of MIT since 1975 and vice president responsible for Resource Development since 1986, will become treasurer and vice president for finance. His responsibilities for resource development will be transferred to Ms. Stowe, and he will assume responsibility for several areas currently reporting to Mr. Culliton: the Audit Division, the Office of the Comptroller, the Lincoln Fiscal Office, the Property Office, the Office of Financial Planning and Management, and Purchasing and Stores. He will continue as treasurer, thereby coupling the investment and financial management of the Institute under a single vice president.
Dr. Vest also spoke of the "impressive leadership that Glenn Strehle has provided in his role as Vice President for Resource Development. His legacy in this regard includes a modern, effective organization, a talented staff that is second to none, and a highly successful Campaign for the future that has secured the Institute's future in many dimensions. We will continue to benefit from Glenn's multiple talents in his new role."
Mr. Culliton, who joined MIT in 1970 and has been vice president for financial operations since 1984, will become vice president for administration. He will retain responsibility for the Office of Registration and Student Financial Services (Bursar's Office, Student Financial Aid, Office of the Registrar) and the Office of Sponsored Programs, and will assume responsibility for several offices that formerly reported to Mr. Simonides: the Office of Admissions, Career Services and Preprofessional Advising, the Athletic Department and the Medical Department.
"I have asked Jim Culliton to take on the challenging task of oversight and planning for the provision of health services to the MIT community during this time of changing financial climate and federal policy," Dr. Vest said. "He also will work to better integrate the administrative aspects of admissions, student financial services and registration. Strong academic oversight of admissions, of course, will continue.
"Jim Culliton is highly respected for his administrative skills, and for his ability to foster teamwork and career development. He is a respected strategist and spokesperson at the national level for university/government affairs in areas such as sponsored research funding and administration. He also has a dedication to, and good working knowledge of, intercollegiate athletics."
Discussions are continuing regarding the best place in the organization for the MIT Press, given the rapid changes taking place in information technology, electronic publishing and intellectual property rights.
A version of this article appeared in the May 18, 1994 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 38, Number 33).
