Susan Hockfield Court - MIT Women Lead in Higher Education

In December 2004, Susan Hockfield became the First Woman and Life Scientist to lead MIT. As MIT’s 16th president, she championed the convergence of the life sciences with the engineering and physical sciences, oversaw the establishment of the MIT Energy Initiative, advanced MIT’s regional and global engagement, and fostered the burgeoning Kendall Square innovation cluster, among other visionary initiatives. “It’s particularly meaningful to have this courtyard chosen as a legacy of my leadership. [...] The walkways link buildings, departments, schools and disciplines, and facilitate one of MIT’s signature promises: ‘Turning footpaths of collaboration into superhighways.’”³

In 1871, the same year Ellen Swallow Richards (Class of 1873) entered MIT, Elizabeth Willard became the first woman college president in the US, heading the Evanston College for Ladies in Illinois until its merger with Northwestern in 1873. At the time, women accounted for 15% of bachelor’s degrees and fewer than 1% of doctorates in the United States. A decade later, Ellen Swallow Richards and Marion Talbot (Class of 1888) founded the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to help women break through educational barriers to attend and graduate from college. By 2021, women earned 46% of U.S. doctoral degrees. However, the proportion falls by 10-20 points for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. Today, 33% of college presidents are women. Although the proportion falls to 22% for doctorate-granting institutions like MIT.^2,17,18 For over a century, MIT women have served and continue to serve as leaders in Higher Education.

In 1929 Katharine Blunt (Class of 1903) became President of Connecticut College, a women’s college in New London, and the first woman to lead a Connecticut college. After earning an AB from Vassar College in 1898, Katharine attended MIT from 1902-03 and completed her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1907. Like Ellen, Katharine specialized in home economics, food chemistry, and nutrition. As President, Katharine established a more scientific curriculum and advanced graduate education in Home Economics and oversaw Connecticut College’s most extensive infrastructure expansion. As a civic leader, she believed a college education should prepare women to be political participants, not observers. Their intent to serve must not “evaporate into vague benevolence, but develop into well-considered action.”¹⁵

The proportion of doctorates awarded to women peaked at 15% during the 1940s. With the influx of men into degree programs after World War II, the percentage plunged and did not recover until 1970. Xie Xide (1951 Ph.D. Physics) began her career at Fudan University in 1952 by teaching Physics. Promoted in 1983, she became the first woman president of a Chinese University. “Many Chinese take it for granted that a university president must be a man.” ¹⁹ During her career, Xie taught physics, founded the Fudan Institute of Modern Physics in 1977, made critical contributions to solid-state physics, and pioneered developments and research laboratories in surface physics. Her book, Semiconductor Physics, was one of the most widely used physics textbooks in China. As someone who had studied abroad, Xie promoted international student exchange programs.

With steady gains through the 1970s and 1980s, women had received about 36% of U.S. doctorates by 1990. In 1999, Shirley A. Jackson (1968 S.B., 1973 Ph.D. Physics) became the 18th President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the first Black woman to lead a top-ranked research university. “It’s not just that I got here, but what did I do here? I think we do minorities and women a disservice when we don’t talk about what they do.”⁹ She and Jennifer Rudd (S.B. 1968, Biology) were the first Black women to graduate from MIT. Shirley continued at MIT as a graduate student and became the first Black woman to receive a doctorate from MIT. As a graduate student, Shirley co-founded the Black Student Union and Interphase Edge. In 1975 she was elected as a member of the first cohort of the newly created “Members from Recent Classes” and became the first Black woman to be a Member of the Corporation (MIT’s Board of Trustees). Her work in Theoretical Physics improved the fundamental understanding of semiconductors. “Throughout my tenure [as president of RPI], the Institute has transformed into a vibrant community, with significant investments in new and existing academic, research, and residential facilities.”¹²

Mary Frances Wagley (1947 S.B. Chemistry) worked to open the way for Alumnae Leadership within the MIT Alumni Association (MITAA). After graduating from MIT, Mary earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Oxford College in 1950. In 1961 she became the first alumna to be an Educational Counselor and, nine years later, the first woman to serve on the MIT Corporation. Today, women represent 50% of the membership. "I do think doors were opening to women in the 1970s. Whether this was a product of the restiveness of the 60s or not, I don't know. But certainly, doors were opening [...] there was this feeling in the era that we need to have a woman's voice in our deliberations."⁸ In 1984, Mary became the first woman President of the MIT Alumni Association.

In January 2023, when MIT welcomed Sally Kornbluth as the 18th President, its highest-ranking leaders were now women: President; Provost Cynthia Barnhart (1986 S.M., 1988 Ph.D. Civil & Environmental Engineering); Chancellor Melissa Nobles; and Chair of the MIT Corporation, Diane Greene (1978 S.M. Ocean Engineering). When asked about the number of women in senior leadership at MIT, Sally Kornbluth remarked: “I think we’ve reached a point, or I hope that we have, where we’re selecting the top talent and tapping into the full range of human talent. I think all of the leaders at MIT, and I hope I’m included, have been selected for their skills.”¹⁶

1. All Members | The MIT Corporation. https://corporation.mit.edu/membership/all-members. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
2. “American College President Study.” American Council on Education, 2023, https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/American-College-President-IX-2023.pdf. Accessed 18 May 2023.
3. “Hockfield Court Naming Ceremony | MIT’s 16th President | Susan Hockfield.” https://hockfield.mit.edu/hockfield-court-naming-ceremony. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
4. “Install Miss Blunt as College Head.” New York Times, 17 May 1930, p. 10. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/05/17/96124235.html?pageNumber=10. Accessed 12 Dec. 1930.
5. Jarvis, Michaela. “Mary Frances Wagley, Dedicated Educator and the First Woman to Join the MIT Corporation, Dies at 93” | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 Nov. 2020, https://news.mit.edu/2020/mary-frances-wagley-obituary-1113. Accessed 10 Jan. 2023.
6. Oka, Takashi. “Xie Xide - the Gentle President of China’s Fudan University - CSMonitor.Com.” The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 1984, https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0326/032608.html. Accessed 14 Dec. 2022.
7. Mary Frances Wagley (interviewed by Katherine Cherry Liu), 1999 June 3, 1, Box: 3. Interviews of the Margaret MacVicar Memorial AMITA Oral History Project, MC-0356. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections. https://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/74358. Accessed Jan. 10. 2023.
8. “Mary Frances Wagley Interview.” MIT Infinite History Project, YouTube, 8 Mar. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Borh3cMWU. Accessed 10 Jan. 2023.
9. Moore, Kathleen. “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Rejects Trailblazer Label.” Times Union, Times Union, 10 Jan. 2022, https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/shirely-ann-jackson-outgoing-rpi-president-17230349.php. Accessed 3 Feb. 2023.
10. “Newspaper Article about Katharine Blunt | MIT Museum.” MIT Museum, https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/object/GCP-00002368. Accessed 19 Jan. 2023.
11. “Past Presidents · Connecticut College.” Connecticut College, https://www.conncoll.edu/at-a-glance/history-traditions/past-presidents/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
12. “Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson To Step Down in 2022, Concluding Historic Tenure | News & Events.” Rensselaer News | News & Events, https://news.rpi.edu/content/2021/06/25/rensselaer-president-shirley-ann-jackson-step-down-2022-concluding-historic. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
13. “Report of the President - 1962.” MIT Libraries, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1962. https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/mithistory/presidents-reports/1962.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan. 2023.
14. Shirley Jackson (Interviewed by Madeleine Kline), 2018 June 09, 1, DigitalStorage: 2020_034acc-c1444aee-5fc0-4231-ae24-124453361b20; Box: 4. Interviews of the Margaret MacVicar Memorial AMITA Oral History Project, MC-0356. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections. https://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/189237. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
15. Sicherman, Barbara and Green, Carol Hurd Green. Notable American Women. Harvard University, 1993, pp. 87–88, https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw00sich_0/page/87/mode/2up. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
16. Soroff, Jonathan. “The Interview: MIT President Sally Kornbluth.” Boston Magazine, 20 Dec. 2022, https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2022/12/20/sally-kornbluth/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2023.
17. Snyder, Thomas D., editor. “120 Years of American Education: A Statistical Portrait.” U.S. Department of Education: Center for Education Statistics, Jan. 1993. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93442.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan. 2022.
18. “The Number of American Women Earning Research Doctorates Drops for the Fourth Year in a Row: Women In Academia Report.” Women In Academia Report, 26 Oct. 2022, https://www.wiareport.com/2022/10/the-number-of-american-women-earning-research-doctorates-drops-for-the-fourth-year-in-a-row/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.
19. “Xie Xide: A Life of Devotion Is Worth Living.” 复旦大学 Fudan University, https://www.fudan.edu.cn/en/2021/0325/c344a108254/page.htm. Accessed 13 Dec. 2022.
20. Welcome | MIT’s 16th President | Susan Hockfield. https://hockfield.mit.edu/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
21. “Celebrating Frances Elizabeth Willard.” National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), https://www.nacubo.org/about/womens%20history%20month. Accessed 18 May 2023.