CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- MIT Senior Associate Dean Isaac M. Colbert has been promoted to Dean for Graduate Students and will become a member of the Institute's Academic Council, effective July 1.
"We are in a period of challenge and change for MIT's 5,000-plus graduate students, with respect to their housing, their funding and enhancement of their sense of community," said Dean Colbert, who has been Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education since 1996. "I look forward to joining the school deans and working with them on these concerns."
Dr. Colbert, a 1968 graduate of the Johns Hopkins University, earned an MA (1971) and a PhD (1974) from Brown University in experimental psychology. He grew up in Baltimore and was senior class vice president of the special college preparatory class at Baltimore City College in 1964. The son of James W. (deceased) and Rosa Lee Colbert of Baltimore, he attended the Charles Hamilton Houston Junior High School in that city.
He came to MIT in 1977 as senior consultant/trainer in personnel development, and has been an assistant equal opportunity officer (1979-81), manager of faculty and staff information services (1981-85), project manager of the strategic plan for administrative computing (1985-86), assistant to the vice president for financial operations (1986-88), associate dean of the graduate school (1988-95), team captain and a member of the core team for reengineering of administrative services (1994-95), acting dean of the graduate school in 1995 and senior associate dean for graduate education since 1996.
"Ike Colbert is tireless in his advocacy for graduate students and in his efforts to promote graduate education," said MIT President Charles M. Vest. "I look forward to his future contributions and participation on Academic Council."
Dean Colbert will report jointly to Vice President for Research J. David Litster and Chancellor Lawrence S. Bacow, who made the announcement last week. At the same time, they announced that the Graduate Education Office will be renamed the Graduate Student Office.
In commenting on the changes, Chancellor Bacow noted, "We are fortunate that Ike Colbert is willing to take on this new role. He brings great energy, wisdom, and compassion to the role of Dean of Graduate Students. His appointment will be good for both graduate students and for MIT."
