Susan Hockfield selected as 16th president of MIT

DANA MEAD: It appears that everyone here has heard some news. So, but I'll be redundant. I'm Dana Mead, the Chairman of the MIT Corporation. And of course this morning, upon the recommendation of the executive committee, I should say the unanimous recommendation, a corporation met this morning and elected Professor Susan Hockfield, who's currently the Provost of Yale University as MIT's 16th president.

SUSAN HOCKFIELD: I would guess that many of you are wondering how I imagine the future for MIT. First, I have to reassure you, I am not going to bring a kennel of Yale bulldogs with us. My overarching goal is to help MIT to be an even greater MIT, to become even better at education, research, and invention. Part of this goal will be met by ensuring that anyone who has the extraordinary talents and ambition to make the most of what MIT has to offer has a fair chance to join this community. And I will do all I can to maintain MIT's leadership in setting the agenda for national policy and research and education, as well as to build bridges with academic centers and other nations.

What do I want to see in MIT's future? I can distill this into a very simple picture. I want MIT to be the dream of every child who wants to make the world a better place.