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SARAH GALLOP: While the COVID-19 pandemic
has prevented many of us from physically being at MIT,
there has been a lot of activity on the campus.
Not only in labs, classrooms, and student meeting spaces,
all in a safe way of course, but also on our construction sites.
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While we've been away, the undergraduate residence hall
on Vassar Street and the graduate residence
hall in Kendall Square have been completed.
In addition, the office building that
will house the MIT Museum next to the new Kendall Gateway
is complete, and the lab building
connected to the Kendall Clock Tower building has taken shape.
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DAVID FRIEDRICH: It's hard to imagine an MIT that actually
stops, and we got I think as close to that
as you can imagine, but that couldn't last very long.
We very quickly had to turn the corner
and begin thinking about how do we continue to move forward,
how do we respond to this incredible challenge.
And when I think about the world that we're
in as it relates to the residential experience
and projects in housing in particular,
that 2020 was a huge year for us.
New Vassar is the newest addition
to the undergraduate residential community.
It will open this spring for the first time
to undergraduates as residents of the building,
and we're really excited to see that community come to life.
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I've spent a lot of time working with students
on various stages of the planning and design process,
and they've done a terrific job thinking about the values that
will guide the community.
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There's a strong focus on well-being.
Well-being is probably our highest priority
and it needs to permeate everything
that we do, from the programs that we offer, to the spaces
that we are responsible for maintaining.
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MIT is a big place, and what we often hear from our students
is the anchor that the residential experience offers
of finding that connection, that group of people that become
lifelong friends oftentimes.
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On the graduate side, we know that students relocate
to MIT to pursue their degree.
They're looking for a place to live for themselves,
sometimes for themselves and their families,
and they're seeking community and connection as well.
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And so we'll be offering more housing in close relationship
to the campus, helps us offer things
that we know our students are looking for.
JESSIE SCHLOSSER SMITH: MIT's campus, of course,
has so many wonderful outdoor open spaces.
Of course you think of Killian Court as this incredibly
iconic, special place.
One of the spaces that I'm thinking about a lot
is the Kendall open space.
It's located just adjacent to the MIT medical building
and very close to the MIT Kendall T stop.
So what used to be parking lots, is now
going to be this beautiful, mixed use space.
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So when people come back to campus who haven't been there
for a year or so, they're going to see
this whole area transformed.
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SARAH GALLOP: We want to create a place that's not just
for some people but is for all people.
I have great confidence in MIT and in Kendall Square
with regard to the future.
We don't know exactly what it will look like post COVID,
but we will be there.
We'll be there safely, we'll be there collaboratively,
and we'll be there in a way where
we can continue to advance science
and research all together in this very critical innovation
ecosystem.
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