MIT Presidents
Andrew Barnes
Claudia Chuber
Joy Matos
Jim Thompson
Dale Twomey
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In 2005, MIT held its 143rd Commencement exercises.
How many Honorary degrees has MIT awarded in its
history?
A.Zero
B. 98, but 2 were subsequently revoked
C. 122: one to every Commencement
speaker except elected officials
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William Barton Rogers
1804 - 1882
Founder of MIT
The Rogers Plan, was rooted in three principles:
1. the educational value of useful knowledge,
2. the necessity of “learning by doing”
3. integrating a professional and liberal arts
education at the undergraduate level
MIT was a pioneer in the use of laboratory instruction
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William Barton Rogers
Educated at the College of William and Mary but apparently did
not receive a degree
Professor of natural philosophy and chemistry at the College of
William and Mary
Chair of natural philosophy at the University of Virginia
Leader of the first geological survey of the state of Virginia
Moved to Boston in 1853 to create an institution for technical
and scientific education
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Beginning in 1947, the American Economic Association
recognized the lifetime achievement of an individual
economist with an award named after an MIT president.
It was discontinued in 1982 after the creation of the Nobel
Memorial Prize in Economics made it superfluous.
This MIT president was:
A. James Killian
B. Richard Maclaurin
C. Francis Amasa Walker
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Francis Amasa Walker (3)
1840 – 1897
President of MIT 1881–1897
Economist
Statistician
Journalist
Educator
Academic administrator
Military officer in the Union Army
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Which of these famous scientists did the 4th president of
MIT James Mason Crafts serve as an assistant to while
studying in Germany?
A. Robert Bunsen
B. Benjamin Franklin
C. Louis Pasteur
D. Albert Einstein
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Why did Henry Smith Pritchett the 5th president of MIT
travel to New Zealand for the Transit of Venus Expedition?
A. To study the New Zealand’s
transportation system
B. To observe the passing of Venus
between the Earth and the Sun
C. To study newly discovered
carnivorous plants on New Zealand
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This President financed his first year of college (U Illinois)
with the sale of a colt.
He was also the first director of the National Bureau of
Standards serving for twenty-one years.
He died on Oct 18,1931 while dictating a tribute to his old
friend Thomas Edison, who died earlier that day.
A. Karl T. Compton
B. Ernest Fox Nichols
C. Samuel W. Stratton
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Samuel W. Stratton (8)
1861-1931
Term Jan 01, 1923 – June 30, 1930
In January 1923, he became the eighth
president of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and served for seven
years; he then became the first
chairman of the MIT Corporation.
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Recognized for his legendary gift of teaching, which
president transformed both the administrative and
academic structure of MIT, strengthened the scientific
curriculum, and developed a new approach to education in
science and engineering?
A. James Rhyne Killian
B. Karl Taylor Compton
C. Julius Adams Stratton
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Karl Taylor Compton (9)
1887-1954
Karl Taylor Compton
MIT’s 9th President: 1930-1948
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Under the administration of which president were the
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of
Industrial Management, the Center for International Studies
and Lincoln Lab established?
A. Paul Edward Gray
B. James Rhyne Killian
C. Samuel Wesley Stratton
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James Rhyne Killian (10)
1887-1954
MIT’s 10th President: 1948-1958
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This President, an expert in management and personnel
relations, helped guide MIT through its most turbulent
chapter, bringing a degree of calm and conciliation to the
Cambridge campus at the height of the Vietnam War
protests.
During his tenure, the Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program (UROP) was launched, believed by
many to be the major curriculum innovation of its time.
A. Julius A. Stratton
B. Howard W. Johnson
C. James R. Killian
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Howard W. Johnson (12)
1922 – 2009
Term July 01, 1966 – June 30, 1971
Howard Johnson became the 12th President of MIT in 1966
after serving seven years as dean of the Sloan School of
Management.
Johnson went on to serve as chair of the MIT Corporation
from 1971 to 1983 and served on numerous government
panels and as a trustee or director of such institutions as
Radcliffe College, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston
Symphony Orchestra.
He was a Corporation Life member since 1997.
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This President left MIT in 1961 to serve as special assistant
to President John F. Kennedy for science and technology and
chairman of the President’s Science Advisory Committee.
A. Jerome Bert Wiesner
B. Paul Edward Gray
C. Julius Adams Stratton
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Jerome Bert Wiesner (13)
1915-1994
MIT’s 13th President
(1971-1980)
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This President was named the recipient of the 2010 IEEE
Founders Medal in recognition of an “exemplary career of
leadership in education, research and public policy,” the
IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional association.
A. Charles Vest
B. Paul Edward Gray
C. Susan Hockfield
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Paul Edward Gray
1932 –
MIT’s 14th President
(1980-1990)
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MIT Presidents
1862–70
William Barton Rogers
1930–48
Karl Taylor Compton
1870–78
John Daniel Runkle
1948–58
James Rhyne Killian, Jr.
1879–81
William Barton Rogers
1959–66
Julius Adams Stratton
1881–97
Francis Amasa Walker
1966–71
Howard Wesley Johnson
1897–1900
James Mason Crafts
1971–80
Jerome Bert Wiesner
1900–07
Henry Smith Pritchett
1980–90
Paul Edward Gray
1909–20
Richard Cockburn Maclaurin
1990–2004
Charles Marstiller Vest
1921–22
Ernest Fox Nichols
2004–
Susan Hockfield
1923–30
Samuel Wesley Stratton
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