The following email was sent today to the Institute community by MIT President L. Rafael Reif.
To the members of the MIT community:
After a career of accomplishment in service to some of the nation's most distinguished academic institutions, including nearly seven years as MIT's Vice President for Resource Development, Jeffrey L. Newton has decided to retire. He has kindly agreed to stay on as vice president in an advisory role through January 2014.
Jeff came to MIT from Harvard Medical School where, as dean for resource development and alumni relations, he secured record levels of funding for basic science by attracting support from well beyond the school's alumni base. He began his fundraising career at The Johns Hopkins University and also served for a decade at the University of Miami.
In his time at MIT, Jeff has collaborated closely with MIT's academic and administrative leaders to secure billions of dollars in support of MIT's mission, including crucial funding for the construction of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the Media Lab Extension, the Sloan School's new home and the David H. Koch Childcare Center, as well as the renovation of Buildings 2 and E52. He also spearheaded the Campaign for Students, which raised $578 million to support student life and learning, even in the midst of the global financial downturn. The campaign's central achievement was the creation of Maseeh Hall, which allowed us to increase the number of undergraduates who can receive an MIT education.
As the Institute expanded its global engagements, Jeff launched the Office of Global Initiatives to extend MIT's fundraising reach around the world. A gifted steward of MIT's key philanthropic relationships, he also remade MIT's Resource Development organization, physically uniting many separate offices and attracting a team equipped to help MIT thrive in a future of constrained federal funding. He has been a passionate ambassador for the Institute, and I am grateful for his enthusiastic efforts to advance MIT's mission.
While the search is under way for a new VP for Resource Development, I have asked Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation Kirk Kolenbrander to oversee the day-to-day management and strategic direction of our fundraising operations.
I welcome your input on this important search. If you have insights or suggestions that will help identify the best candidates, I hope you will let me know by email (rdvpsearch@mit.edu) or letter (Room 3-208). I will treat any guidance I receive as confidential.
There will be opportunities this fall to celebrate Jeff's service to MIT. For now, please join me in expressing our gratitude for what he has accomplished and our best wishes for his next chapter.
Sincerely,
L. Rafael Reif
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