Year in Review 2021-2022 by MITSloanAlumni

2021 / 2022

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

Dear Alumni and Friends, The year 2021 brought many opportunities and changes to MIT Sloan’s campus and our wider community, testing our flexibility and challenging us to invent the future. The year brought students, faculty, and staff back to campus at full capacity. It brought us hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 attestations and tests. It saw us prioritizing and reprioritizing, creating plans and reworking them. It found us underlining our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and launching exciting new initiatives. Yet, in the midst of it all, we held fast to the things that you know to be true about the MIT Sloan community—that we are resilient, hardworking, and relentlessly ambitious—and ended the year even stronger than we started it. In 2021, we also marked the end of the Institute-wide Campaign for a Better World. In the ten years of this capital campaign, nearly 15,000 of you—our MIT Sloan alumni and friends—responded to the school’s call to action to make a better world our business, giving of your time, your energy, and your resources to bolster our many goals and endeavors. Most importantly, you supported the people of MIT Sloan: our students through your generosity to the fellowship program, and our faculty and the great minds involved in our many centers and initiatives through your investment in their ideas. It is your support that enables our people to do extraordinary work. They are tackling important challenges facing the world today in every arena, from sustainability to food security to financial systems. They are applying machine learning and analytics to medicine. They are learning and growing into the principled, innovative leaders of the future who, through the companies they start, the organizations where they work, the people they hire, and the lessons they carry forward into their lives and careers, are making—will continue to make—the world a wiser, more dynamic, more inclusive place.

Looking back on 2021 also makes me look forward to the many things that I know the MIT Sloan community can and will accomplish. MIT’s Campaign for a Better World has come to an end, yet we still find that a better world is our business, and that it will continue to be so a year, a decade, or a century from now. For this, and for the many other reasons you will find within these pages, I am proud to present the 2021 edition of our “A Year Made to Matter” report. I hope it makes you proud as well, and that you will enjoy reading about some of the major milestones our people and programs achieved last year. Please take this as an opportunity to look forward with us to what the future at MIT Sloan will bring. Very best,

Kathryn Hawkes Associate Dean Office of External Relations and Global Programs

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

SM ARTE R TO GETH E R

In his first address to the community, Bryan Thomas Jr. (Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) outlined his plan for building and maintaining a transformative space at MIT Sloan for students, faculty, staff, and alumni. “We will achieve this by continuing to support and trust one another,” he said. “The strides we are taking show me what MIT Sloan is becoming.”

From left to right: Bryan Thomas Jr. and Austin Ashe | Caitlin Cunningham Photography LLC

// MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

For Thomas, Austin Ashe (Senior Associate Director, Belonging and Culture), and the MIT Sloan Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), creating such a space is vital. They hope to accomplish this and more by expanding on the work of Ray Reagans (Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Management; Professor, Work and Organization Studies) and Fiona Murray (Associate Dean for Innovation and Inclusion; William Porter (1967) Professor of Entrepreneurship; Co-Director, MIT Innovation Initiative; Faculty Director, Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship). Thomas believes that their “startup” character is key to meeting these goals. “We’re a startup within a school, which provides us with a very unique way to think about our work,” says Thomas. “We’re building so many new things right now—and it’s important for us to reflect on this, as everyone is interacting with and trying to understand one another across many different dimensions.” We spoke with Thomas and Ashe about their work in the MIT Sloan Office of DEI. W H AT A R E S OM E O F YO U R TO P PR I O R I T I E S?

Thomas: Our main priority is understanding what we are doing well, what we can do better, and how best to communicate this to the MIT Sloan community. We want to help them understand what our narrative is as an office and as a school. To accomplish this, we need to expand our institutional knowledge to increase transparency so that everyone knows what we are doing, how we are doing it, and why. In addition, we need to make these contributions systemic, so they connect with everything else in the MIT Sloan ecosystem. Otherwise, it will not have the impact it should. This is more of an offensive game than a defensive one. Progress in higher education is typically reactionary, and we’re working on becoming proactive. We want to understand this and act on it. Ashe: We have also talked a lot about the different experiences of the MIT Sloan community. What I mean by this is, while most people are excited and happy about coming to work and going to class, there are pockets of people who have different experiences and feel invisible because they carry an identity or identities that are not represented in abundance at the school. We want to find ways to listen to those who may feel unseen and unheard. The more identities you represent, the greater the likelihood of being challenged in ways that might be inequitable. For example, a woman who is a person of color working in an entry-level position will experience MIT Sloan in ways that are very different when compared to a faculty member or senior-level administrator. So how do we make those people and others feel seen and heard? How can our office provide them with the platform to communicate their experiences to the greater MIT Sloan community? W H AT E XC I T E S YO U M OS T A BO U T T H I S WO R K?

already generational talents who are going to be responsible for making generational change, but now they have access to learning and coaching through MIT Sloan. You can have extraordinary talent, but everyone needs coaching. And now that they are in this space seeing how an entire ecosystem can work together, I think even more possibilities will open when they go into the corporate world. Ashe: We have a real opportunity to set the tone for what it means to be an inclusive community. Schools like MIT Sloan make the world go around, and we can play a part in making sure it spins the right way. What I also find exciting is what motivates me—commitment. Dean Schmittlein made a commitment by appointing Ray and Fiona as the associate deans of this work. Then we were able to grow the office by recruiting an incredible leader and visionary in Bryan. We are still growing with the addition of my position and hopefully others. Also, there appears to be a meaningful commitment from our community. The sheer number of messages wishing us congratulations that we have both received has been overwhelming—and it reflects a hunger for this kind of work by the MIT Sloan community. People are curious about how they can be helpful. We are only as good as our diversity of thought. So, if we are going to be a diverse community capable of making momentous changes for industry and for the world, we need that kind of interest and hunger for this work among the staff, faculty, students, and alumni. H OW C A N A L U M N I G E T I N VO LV E D ?

Ashe: Alumni are incredibly important in helping us connect our practice to the student experience and life after graduation. We are really going to need their support going forward. They can help us chart a course for success by sharing anecdotes from their student experiences and careers—specifically, stories that provide pragmatic examples to students and to us about what challenges and opportunities we should be on the lookout for. Relationships are so important. It’s especially important for students to have access to first-rate alumni who work in their chosen fields. We also hope alumni who return to campus to spend time with students will come by our office to say hello and brainstorm some DEI case studies with us. We want them to have a specific place where they can feel at home. Thomas: Alumni are especially critical to this work—and will continue to be a critical component of it going forward. The alumni councils, like the MIT Sloan Affinity Group Alumni Council, have been fantastic thought partners. They are very driven and have been doing this work prior to our arrival. I always want our relationship with alumni to be proactive like this, and I love it when they tap on the office door to visit and see how things are going. Whether they want to mentor students, offer internships, or host events, we will always have a space for our alumni to create these opportunities. We want them to feel valued here. We want to accomplish something they can engage with and be proud of.

Thomas: I do not think people realize how significant it is for a business school like MIT Sloan to build a team like this. Our work can be a model for others. What we are doing here provides our students with a framework for moving forward in their careers. They are

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

ADM ISS I ONS

By the Numbers After a year rife with unique challenges—many of which are still ongoing—the MIT Sloan community returned to campus for the 2021–2022 academic year. They were joined by an incoming class comprised of talented students from across the globe. This group of principled, innovative leaders is driven to solve the world’s most pressing problems. And following their time at MIT Sloan, they will set out to do precisely that.

C O U R S E 15 PA R T I C I PAT I O N sophomores, juniors, and seniors

144

majors

199 113

minors

C L A SS S I ZE

41%

O F 2 0 21 M I T G R A D UAT I N G C L A SS T O O K AT L E A S T O N E C O U R S E 15 C L A SS

U N D E RG R A D UAT E R E S E A RC H O P P O R T U N I T I E S P RO G R A M (U RO P) P ROJ E C T S O F F E R E D BY M I T S L OA N FAC U LT Y

66 A PPL I C AT I O N S PE R S E AT

D E M O G R A PH I CS

C L A SS S I ZE

61%

39%

138

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C I T I ZE N

AV E R AG E G R E*

AV E R AG E E X PE R I E N C E

A PPL I C AT I O N S PE R S E AT

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C I T I ZE N

(q)

months

C L A SS S I ZE

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C I T I ZE N

15%

MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

87 %

AV E R AG E G R E*

D E M O G R A PH I CS

44%

women

AV E R AG E E X PE R I E N C E

years

D E M O G R A PH I CS

34% women

AV E R AG E E X PE R I E N C E

169 (q)

months

D E M O G R A PH I CS

C L A SS S I ZE

D E M O G R A PH I CS

33%

132

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C I T I ZE N

women

AV E R AG E E X PE R I E N C E

women

167

A PPL I C AT I O N S PE R S E AT

AV E R AG E GM AT*

728

124

A PPL I C AT I O N S PE R S E AT

43%

F I R S T-Y E A R S T U D E N T S E N RO L L E D I N 15.0 0 0 E X P L O R AT I O N S I N M A N AG E M E N T

C L A SS S I ZE

450

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C I T I ZE N

17 years

A PPL I C AT I O N S PE R S E AT

73%

20%

AV E R AG E E A*

AV E R AG E E X PE R I E N C E

154

women

14 years

Dawna Levenson

“ Incoming students want to hear from our alumni about their experiences at MIT Sloan and beyond. We greatly appreciate it when Sloanies volunteer to serve on panels for prospective students or call admitted students to offer them their heartfelt congratulations.” Dawna Levenson, SB ’83, SM ’84, Assistant Dean of Admissions

C L A SS S I ZE

22 A PPL I C AT I O N S PE R S E AT

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C I T I ZE N

D E M O G R A PH I CS

C L A SS S I ZE

95%

36%

AV E R AG E GM AT*

AV E R AG E E X PE R I E N C E

721

women

years

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C I T I ZE N

75%

D E M O G R A PH I CS

38% women

A PPL I C AT I O N S PE R S E AT

   

*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exam scores were optional for the 2020–2021 admissions cycle.

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

CAR E E R OUTCOM ES

Collaboratively Designing Outcomes

400+ 94.8%

53.5%

COMPANIES HIRED MIT SLOAN STUDENTS, BOTH AS INTERNS AND NEW GR ADUATES

$150K

OF JOB-SEEKING STUDENTS ACCEPTED AN OFFER WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF GRADUATION

OF HIRING COMPANIES HIRED SLOANIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2021

OF STUDENTS ACCEPTED POSITIONS WITH COMPANIES THAT HIRED 3+ SLOANIES

75% 6

MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

SAL ARY

TOP INDUSTRIES

28.3%

25.0%

21.4%

9.8%

CONSULTING

FINANCE

48.6%

MEDIAN BASE

TECHNOLOGY

PHARMACEUTICALS HEALTH CARE BIOTECHNOLOGY

INCREASE IN MBA s ACCEP TING FULL-TIME OFFERS IN PHAR M A/HEALTH/BIO COMPARED TO PREVIOUS CL ASS.

$109K

100%

MEDIAN BASE

SAL ARY

OF JOB-SEEKING STUDENTS ACCEP TED AN OFFER WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF GR ADUATION.

FEATURED EMPLOYERS OF CL A SS OF 2021 › › › › › › › ›

Amazon Apple Bain & Company The Boston Consulting Group Credit Suisse Danaher Corporation Deloitte Consulting Eli Lilly and Company

› › › › › › › ›

Google Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase & Co. L.E.K. Consulting McKinsey & Company Nike Spotify Vertex Pharmaceuticals

› › › › ›

Marathon Capital Netflix Pocket Gems Roku YETI

NE W HIRIN G COM PANIES › › › › › ›

A24 Chanel Houston Rockets Indeed King Arthur Baking Company Lucid Motors

SLOANIES HELPING SLOANIES

20%

OF ALUMNI COMPLETED THE INAUGURAL ALUMNI CAREER MOBILITY SURVEY

ALUMNI VOLUNTEERED AS MIT SLOAN INDUSTRY ADVISORS

STUDENTS VOLUNTEERED AS MBA CORE FELLOWS TO MENTOR FIRST-YEAR MBAS

SUMMER INTERNSHIPS WERE SUPPORTED BY ALUMNI THROUGH THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES FUND

STAY ENGAGED, STAY CONNECTED ALUMNI CAN FIND EVENTS, COACHING, AND RESOURCES FOR CAREER TRANSITIONS, SALARY NEGOTIATIONS, AND MORE ON THE YOUR CDO WEBSITE. THOSE LOOKING TO RECRUIT THEIR FELLOW SLOANIES CAN VISIT MIT SLOAN CAREER CENTRAL OR CONTACT SUSAN TODD (SENIOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, RECRUITING SERVICES/ALUMNI RELATIONSHIP MANAGER) AT STODD@MIT.EDU TO EXPLORE HOW THESE OPTIONS MIGHT MEET THEIR COMPANY’S NEEDS.

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

STU DE NT E XPE RI E N C E

The Power of the Pivot This past June, a new crop of 20 teams entered MIT delta v, the educational startup accelerator run by the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Each had a different problem in its sights, from the difficulties amputees face in controlling prosthetics to wasted space in airplane cargo holds. Over three months, teams reframed these problems, honed solutions, and mapped paths to market. In September, they took to the stage at Kresge Auditorium for MIT delta v’s annual Demo Day to pitch companies that were, in many cases, significantly different from what they had envisioned at the start of the summer. According to Carly Chase (Senior Lecturer; Director, MIT delta v 2021) “One thing we always hope is that teams will have the confidence to pivot.” Since 2012, MIT delta v has helped aspiring entrepreneurs build that confidence. All teams include at least one current MIT student, and the program is designed to be part of the full MIT experience. As Bill Aulet, SF ’94, (Professor of the Practice, Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management; Managing Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship) put it in his Demo Day remarks: “We’re an educational program trying to create entrepreneurs, not necessarily companies.” Along the way, it has nurtured both. Among MIT delta v’s many success stories are wastewater epidemiology venture Biobot Analytics, robotic restaurant Spyce, and space propulsion developer Accion Systems. For 2021 MIT delta v participant and MBA student Claire Beskin, MBA ’22, the goal of starting a health tech company has shaped her time at MIT. Classes at MIT Sloan taught her how to structure term sheets and decipher startup law. She teamed up with Ruizhi (Ray) Liao, SM ’17, PhD ’21, after they met in 2020 at a Trust Center event. She and Liao applied for support from the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund each semester and sought guidance through the Venture Mentoring Service. Last summer, through MIT delta v, everything came together—complete with a pivot of their own. Originally, Beskin explains, the machine learning algorithms they intended to commercialize through their startup, Empallo, were designed to help radiologists assess pulmonary edema in chest x-rays. But her early market research indicated sales would

be difficult. By Demo Day, Liao had built on his research to create a new product that could predict hospital readmission risk or other adverse events for heart failure patients. Interviews they conducted during MIT delta v confirmed this information would be actionable for a range of end users, such as clinicians who might adjust plans for a patient’s care after discharge from the hospital or keep a patient for an extra day to lower the risk of readmission. Over the summer, Empallo had access to the Trust Center’s Entrepreneurs in Residence and a “pod” of fellow teams, as well as a mock board of directors that included experts from the health sector. “We made a lot of progress because we were held accountable during these board meetings,” Beskin says. The monthly encounters could unlock funding up to $20,000, and beyond that, she adds, “Our board members are people we want to impress and maintain relationships with. The stakes definitely felt real.” When Beskin watched Liao take the stage on Demo Day to introduce their company, that too felt real. “It was encouraging to see interest from potential investors and employees who might want to join our team,” she says. Entering 2022, Empallo’s founders are focused on further developing their tech and forging partnerships with hospitals. Validation in the form of FDA clearance and paying customers is likely a year or more away. For now, says Beskin, the excitement of their MIT delta v debut will help keep them going. “That’s what I’ll reflect on when things get tough.”

“ We made a lot of progress because we were held accountable during these board meetings. Our board members are people we want to impress and maintain relationships with. The stakes definitely felt real.” Claire Beskin, MBA ‘22

MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Demo Day 2021

Bill Aulet

Demo Day 2021

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

E PI C E NTE RS OF I NVE NTI ON

Expanding MIT Leadership Leadership combines the confidence to confront big challenges with the humility to know you can’t solve them alone. This is the driving concept behind the MIT Leadership Center—because the future demands it. MIT’s brand of leadership is less interested in the various definitions of the term leadership and more interested in enabling diverse individuals to collaborate in solving the world’s toughest problems. Rigor, innovation, and getting things done matter more than the appearance of success. Nelson P. Repenning

Over the past four years, this innovative approach to leadership development has been refined and solidified under the direction of Nelson P. Repenning, PhD ’96 (Associate Dean of Leadership and Special Projects; School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies; and Faculty Director, MIT Leadership Center). The MIT Leadership Center has expanded its curricular offerings and advanced its distinctive leadership framework, combining traditional classroom teaching with hands-on Action Learning and one-on-one coaching. The MIT Leadership Center believes that leadership is a practice that anyone can learn, and offers a developmental sequence of courses, programs, and coaching for MIT Sloan’s MBA students, Executive MBA students, and Sloan Fellows. From orientation and guest speakers to clubs and activities, all students are exposed to MIT’s brand of leadership. Lead yourself. Lead with others. Change the world. This is the motto of the MIT Leadership Center and describes the model behind its signature course series: ID Lab, Teams Lab, and Organizations Lab. Students who complete these classes learn to maximize leadership performance on three levels—individual, team, and organizational— with the end goal of leading for impact.

MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

ID Lab: Individual Development and Interpersonal Dynamics (15.336) is taken during a student’s first year in the MIT Sloan MBA program. In the course, students examine the role that compassion and empathy for self and others plays in being an effective leader in a complex world. They pursue personal transformation by engaging with themselves and others to identify patterns and learn how to disengage from habits that do not yield desired outcomes. “ID Lab was where I found the opportunity to put in the work; to understand more deeply how I wish to live and lead,” says Steven DeSandis, MBA ’21. “The class and faculty provided structure, intentionality, time, and space to better understand myself. The value of ID Lab was developing a deeper understanding of my values as a leader, and those of others.” Teams Lab: Leading Effective Teams (15.337) moves the focus from individual development to team effectiveness. Through a mix of traditional lectures and hands-on practice, students start by developing the ability to seek and value diverse perspectives. Later, the focus turns to the skills necessary for leveraging conflicting opinions and ideas for innovation.

Organizations Lab (15.335), co-taught by Bridget Scott Akinc, EMBA ’13 (Senior Lecturer), and Repenning, confronts the challenge of leading at scale. How do you guide an organization and its surrounding ecosystem when you can’t be in every meeting and don’t have a personal relationship with every member of the organization? Building on the Dynamic Work Design framework developed at MIT Sloan, students learn to influence the direction of an organization by changing its structure. Students cultivate these design skills by working with a local nonprofit on a semester-long project focused on improving one or more core work processes. “Our culminating class in the leadership course sequence equips emerging leaders with the skills necessary to make a positive impact in the world through the important organizations and initiatives they lead,” says Akinc. “As organizations grapple with their response to challenges ranging from a changing global climate to structural racism, this class provides students an opportunity to consider how leaders serve all of their stakeholders, including customers, employees, and the community.” Executive coaching is also a core component of the MIT Leadership Center’s integrated model. All MBA students who participate in the ID Lab and Teams Lab courses will work with a professional executive coach who is dedicated to helping them understand their journey, chart a course for the leader they want to become, and learn the skills and self-regulation to get there.

While executive coaching has historically been a part of the Sloan Fellows MBA and the Executive MBA programs, over the past four years the MIT Leadership Center has been working to more directly integrate individual and team coaching into the curricula. This past fall, Nicki Roth joined the team as Executive Coaching Lead. Roth brings decades of experience in leadership development, management consulting, organization and team dynamics, and human resources to the role. “I’m so impressed with the foundational work the MIT Leadership Center has done over the years. Executive coaching is an integral part of the students’ learning and is the place where they are able to assimilate the coursework into their own leadership approach. I look forward to working with the whole team to make the coaching an even richer experience.” Recent history has taught us that conventional approaches to leadership are no longer adequate in addressing the challenges that organizations face today. If leaders want to solve the world’s most urgent problems, such as systemic inequality and environmental sustainability, they need to understand how to lead themselves, lead teams, and lead organizations. The MIT Leadership Center combines MIT’s world-renowned analytical capacities with science-based insights on active leadership. It’s an unbeatable combination for preparing the next generation of leaders to take the helm.

Nicki Roth

“ I’m so impressed with the foundational work the MIT Leadership Center has done over the years. Executive coaching is an integral part of the students’ learning and is the place where they are able to assimilate the coursework into their own leadership approach. I look forward to working with the whole team to make the coaching an even richer experience.” Nicki Roth

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

E PI C E NTE RS OF I NVE NTI ON

// MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

AT T H E I N T E R S E C T I O N O F FI N A N C E A N D P O L I C Y

Financial policies can create ripples of change across industries. Over the past year, faculty, staff, and students at the MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy (GCFP) have advanced their mission of serving as a catalyst for cross-disciplinary engagement through convening events and conducting research around climate change, racial equity, public health, and other critical issues. At the annual GCFP conference, “Financial Policy and the Environment,” leading academics, market participants, and policymakers discussed the role of financial policy in creating a more environmentally sustainable future. BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink offered his perspectives at the timely event: “We are seeing a rapidly changing universe of investors who are looking for a durable portfolio that will withstand the whole issues of climate risk. This is just the beginning.” On the topic of creating an industry-wide standard for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures, Fink shared, “I’m a big believer in transparency. We’re not dictating how a company goes forward; we’re asking each company to be transparent and tell us their pathway.” Climate change is only one of the social impact issues that intersects with government and financial policy. Edward Golding (Senior Lecturer, Economics, Finance, and Accounting; Executive Director, MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy) conducted groundbreaking research on Black homeownership inequities in the United States. His work unpacks the many factors that inhibit Black homeowners from building generational wealth, such as higher annual mortgage interest costs, mortgage insurance premiums, and property taxes. The paper, “The Unequal Costs of Black Homeownership,” delineates how mortgage loan companies’ risk-based pricing—models that depend on individual buyer characteristics such as credit score—disproportionally restrict Black homeowners. Compared to white homeowners, Black Americans are less likely to have access to familial wealth, and therefore less likely to receive favorable loans. Despite these findings, Golding is encouraged by recent housing policies, including the White House’s ambitious plan to increase affordable housing supply. “Decent housing is a fundamental right, and there is a renewed effort,” says Golding. The GCFP hosted numerous events focused on important topics within the nexus of finance and policy— such as the Annual Meeting of the Central Bank Research Association, which was co-organized with the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research. The discussion explored topics such as monetary policy, macro-finance, and green finance. Among the speakers were President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis James Bullard, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, PhD ’79, Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn, Bilkent University’s Refet Gürkaynak, and World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart. The GCFP also hosted the virtual conference of the Society for Financial Studies, currently led by Antoinette Schoar (Stewart C. Myers-Horn Family Professor of Finance; Research Affiliate, MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy). The conference featured 135 research papers, as well as keynote addresses from University of Chicago’s Eugene Fama and Amir Sufi, PhD ’05. To close out the year, the GCFP named esteemed economist Stanley Fischer, PhD ’69—who served as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, governor of the Bank of Israel, and chief economist at the World Bank— as the inaugural Miriam Pozen Prize recipient. Named in honor of the late mother of Robert Pozen (Senior Lecturer, Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management), the prize recognizes an outstanding researcher or practitioner in financial policy. At the prize ceremony, Fischer discussed his research around how central banks played a critical role in stabilizing markets in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A distinguished panel of economists then paid tribute to his extraordinary impact on the field.

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

E PI C E NTE RS OF I NVE NTI ON

S H A R PE N I N G O U R V I E W O N A S US TA I N A B L E FU T U R E

The MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative continues to embody the Institute’s motto, “mens et manus,” or “mind and hand,” through its impact-driven research that applies academic rigor to real-world problems of sustainability. In the past year, the team has driven global action around net-zero emissions policies and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, all while advancing the careers of MIT students who are passionate about creating a better future. M I T C L I M AT E PAT H WAYS PROJ E C T

At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), world leaders met to forge a new global agreement that meets ambitious climate goals. MIT community members, including Bethany Patten, EMBA ’13 (Lecturer, Sustainability; Senior Associate Director, MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative), were on hand to advocate for transformative change that builds a future with a rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, increased preparedness for climate change impacts, and an outsized empowerment of the most vulnerable among us. That’s where the Sustainability Initiative’s Climate Pathways Project comes in. Using the En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator, co-developed by the Sustainability Initiative and nonprofit think tank Climate Interactive, decision-makers can test how various policies—such as deforestation, energy efficiency, and a price on carbon—will impact the economy and the environment. The project is led by Patten, John D. Sterman, PhD ’82 (Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management; Professor, System Dynamics and Engineering Systems; Co-Faculty Director, MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative; Director, MIT Systems Dynamics Group), Michael Sonnenfeldt, SB ’77, SM ’78, Andrew Jones, SM ’97, and Ben Wolkon, MBA ’16. Along with a growing group of ambassadors trained on model facilitation, the team has briefed senior policymakers and negotiators around the world—including dozens of U.S. senators, over 100 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, governors, and other elected officials. To date, more than 100,000 people in over 90 countries have used the simulator. The Climate Pathways Project team is now conducting presentations for policymakers who stand divided on issues of climate change and reaching net-zero emissions with hopes to bridge gaps and facilitate urgent climate-related policies. In partnership with the UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative, the Sustainability Initiative is studying the efficacy of the simulation and measuring its influence on policymakers’ thoughts and actions. “Whether it’s through expanding and sharing our insights from the model or better understanding its effectiveness with leaders in business, government, and civil society, the Climate Pathways Project team has been working hard to progress our goal of advancing evidence-based climate policy,” says Patten.

100K 14

MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

PEOPLE IN 90+ COUNTRIES HAVE USED THE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS SIMULATOR

“ Whether it’s through expanding and sharing our insights from the model or better understanding its effectiveness with leaders in business, government, and civil society, the Climate Pathways Project team has been working hard to progress our goal of advancing evidence-based climate policy.” Bethany Patten

AG G R E GAT E C O N FUS I O N PROJ E C T

Where the Climate Pathways Project helps to model future scenarios, the Aggregate Confusion Project (ACP) is measuring performance on climate change and a full spectrum of ESG issues. The ACP’s first paper, “Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings,” co-authored by Roberto Rigobon, PhD ’97 (Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management; Professor, Applied Economics; Co-Faculty Director, MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative), continues to have far-reaching impact. The team has released two additional papers: one that develops a methodology for reducing noise in ESG ratings to better predict stock performance, and another that confronts the opaque way that some rating agencies revise historical ESG data. The research shows how careful measurement can lead to better investment, management, and alignment of firms’ behavior with societal priorities. The authors advocate for transparency and suggest that companies and investors partner with independent rating agencies and regulators to set standards and publicize consistent data. Five investment firms—Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, MFS Investment Management, AQR Capital Management, Qontigo, and Asset Management One—recently formed a membership consortium, run out of MIT Sloan, to tackle measurement and related ESG challenges. Together, the ACP consortium will develop transparent methodologies that will result in more reliable integrations of ESG priorities. “Working in tandem with investors will help ensure that our research is actionable and shapes the ways investors and firms assess social and environmental performance. Better measurement can inform shareholder engagement, ensure better management, and ultimately solve real-world problems. It can also help investors better manage these risks and optimize their portfolios,” says Jason Jay, PhD ’10 (Senior Lecturer, Sustainability; Director, MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative). M I T S LOA N S US TA I N A B I L I T Y C E R T I FI C AT E

As the Sustainability Initiative celebrates a decade of its Sustainability Certificate, a record 83 students from across MIT earned a certificate in 2021, bringing the total number of recipients to 446. Certificate graduates have gone on to implement sustainable strategies across industries, playing a key role in advancing a pillar of the Sustainability Initiative’s mission to empower leaders everywhere to take action.

83 446

NUMBER OF MIT STUDENTS WHO EARNED A SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATE IN THE LAST YEAR TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE EARNED A SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATE IN THE LAST DECADE

A YEAR MADE TO MATTER

FI NAN C E

A Year by the Books We are pleased to share MIT Sloan’s consolidated balance sheet for fiscal year 2021. Thanks to the support of the alumni community, MIT Sloan was able to return to normal operations with restrictions this past September while leading with health and safety for our community. The school continued to offer an onsite COVID-19 testing facility, delivered new “hyflex” format courses, and increased technical support for remote classes. Additionally, MIT Sloan provided hardship funding for all students and supported 48 summer internships with the generous support provided by alumni and friends for the Immediate Needs and Emerging Opportunities Fund. O P E R AT I N G R E S U LT S ($M)

F Y2 0

F Y21

SOURCES OF REVENUE Net Tuition and Non-Degree Fees

151.9

146.7

Net Investment Income

34.4

35.0

Expendable Gifts

16.8

14.8