Board of Directors

Martin A. Schmidt

Provost, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In February 2014, Martin Schmidt was appointed Provost of MIT. Beginning in 2008, he served as Associate Provost, managing the Institute’s space and the renovation/renewal budgets. Since January 2012, he also assumed responsibilities for “all things industry” as the senior administrative officer responsible for MIT’s industrial interactions. In this capacity, the Technology Licensing Office and Office of Corporate Relations report to him. Beyond his regular responsibilities, he also co-led the Institute’s Task Force on the Budget in response to the 2008 financial crisis. He has played an active role as MIT’s faculty lead in support of the MIT president’s role as co-chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP), a national effort bringing together the federal government, industry, universities, and other stakeholders to identify and invest in emerging technologies with the potential to create high-quality domestic manufacturing jobs and enhance the global competitiveness of the United States.

A member of the MIT faculty since 1988, he has been a faculty member in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, and from 1999 to 2006, he served as the director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) at MIT. MTL is an interdepartmental laboratory that provides shared research infrastructure for all of the campuses’ activities in micro and nanotechnology, and supports the research of approximately 500 students and staff.

His teaching and research is in the areas of micro and nanofabrication of sensors, actuators and electronic devices, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), design of micromechanical sensors and actuators, and micro/ nanofabrication technology. He is the co-author of more than 80 journal publications and 120 peer-reviewed conference proceedings. He is also an inventor on more than 30 issued U.S. patents. More than 25 students have completed their PhD degrees under his supervision.

He is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award and has an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Denmark. He was elected as a fellow of the IEEE in 2004 for contributions to design and fabrication of microelectromechanical systems. He has received the Ruth and Joel Spira Teaching Award and the Eta Kappa Nu Teaching Award at MIT.

In addition to his academic pursuits, he is active in consulting with industry in the commercialization of technology. His research group has transferred a number of new technologies to industry, and he has co-founded or has been the co-inventor of the core technology of six start-up companies.

Professor Schmidt received his BS degree from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1981 and his SM and PhD degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983 and 1988, respectively.


Whitney T. Espich

Chief Executive Officer, MIT Alumni Association

Whitney T. Espich is the chief executive officer of the MIT Alumni Association. In this role, Espich directs the strategic effort to engage MIT’s 136,000-plus alumni with the Institute and with each other—to ensure that the global MIT community continues to make a meaningful impact on the world. Previously, she served as executive director of communications, events, and donor relations in MIT's Resource Development group, where she played a significant role in launching the public phase of the MIT Campaign for a Better World. Before joining MIT, Espich worked in Harvard University’s alumni affairs and development office, first as director of university development communications initiatives and then as senior director of strategic marketing and communications. Earlier in her career, she held positions at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Citigate Cunningham, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (Monticello), and Mary Baldwin College. Espich holds a BA from Indiana University-Bloomington and master’s degrees from the University of Virginia and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.


Jerome I. Friedman

Institute Professor, Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jerome Friedman was born in Chicago in 1930. He received his A.B., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago in 1950, 1953, and 1956, respectively. After spending a year as a research associate at the University of Chicago, he went on to a three year appointment as a research associate at Stanford University. In 1960, he was hired at MIT as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Professor in 1967. At MIT he has served as Director of the Laboratory for Nuclear Science and Head of the Physics Department. In 1991, he was appointed as Institute Professor. He is an experimental particle physicist whose research has included studies of particle structure and interactions with high energy electrons, neutrinos, and hadrons.

He received, jointly with Henry Kendall and Richard Taylor, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 and the W.H.K. Panofsky Prize in 1989 for the experimental discovery of quarks. He also received the Alumni Medal of the University of Chicago. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He has been a member of numerous advisory committees for the DOE and various laboratories, including the Cambridge Electron Accelerator, Princeton-Penn Accelerator, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Fermilab, Wilson Laboratory, MIT-Bates Linear Accelerator, the Superconducting Super Collider, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. He also served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of the University Research Association and as a member of the Board of Physics and Astronomy of the National Research Council. He was President of the American Physical Society in 1999 and Chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents in 2001. He was also a member of the Scientific Policy Committee of CERN and is currently serving on the Council of the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization of Japan.


David C. Schmittlein

Dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management

David Schmittlein joined the MIT Sloan School of Management as John C Head III Dean in October, 2007. His focus, since arriving on campus, has been to broaden MIT Sloan’s global visibility, work with the faculty to create new high-quality management education programs, develop enhanced educational opportunities for current students, and to develop and disseminate business knowledge that has impact and will stand the test of time. He has also reached out to the many members of MIT’s alumni community to gain their valuable insights on MIT Sloan and management education.

Prior to his appointment at MIT Sloan, Dean Schmittlein served on the faculty at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from 1980 until 2007. While at Wharton, he was the Ira A. Lipman Professor and Professor of Marketing. He also served as Interim Dean during July 2007 and as Deputy Dean from 2000-2007. In addition, he was chair of the editorial board for Wharton School Publishing. Dean Schmittlein received a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Business from Columbia University and B.A. in Mathematics (magna cum laude) from Brown University. His research assesses marketing processes and develops methods for improving marketing decisions. He is widely regarded for his work estimating the impact of a firm’s marketing actions, designing market and survey research, and creating effective communication strategies.

Dr. Schmittlein has served as a consultant on these issues for numerous firms, e.g. American Express, American Home Products, AT&T, Bausch & Lomb, Boston Scientific, Ford Motor Company, Gianni Versace S.p.A., Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Pfizer, Revlon, Siebe PLC, The Oakland Raiders, The Quaker Oats Co., and Time Warner. He has over forty publications, most in leading journals in Marketing, Management, Economics and Statistics. He has been an area editor for Marketing Science and a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Interactive Marketing,Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing, Fortune, NPR’s Marketplace, People’s Daily Online, Reuters, The ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings,The Economist, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times,The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Schmittlein has done extensive consulting work for corporate clients in a wide variety of industries, including consumer products, computer software, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, manufacturing, and management consulting. For a full list of Dr. Schmittlein’s consulting work, visit Dean’s Corporate Consulting engagements page.

Dr. Schmittlein is a member of the American Statistical Association and the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS).


Alan G. Spoon

MIT Corporation Member, Partner Emeritus, Polaris Partners

Prior to joining Polaris, Alan served as President and Board member of The Washington Post Company, a multimedia and education corporation. Earlier he served as Chief Financial Officer, President of Newsweek, and held top marketing and finance positions at The Washington Post. At The Post Company, Alan also led investments in a successful portfolio of early stage companies in cellular (Cellular One), distance learning (Kaplan), and educational software, digital media (washingtonpost.com, WebTV) and e-commerce (Cars.com). Alan began his career at, and later became a partner of The Boston Consulting Group, an international consulting firm specializing in corporate strategy.

Current outside Board seats include Danaher Corporation (DHR) and IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI). In his not-for-profit activities, Alan is Regent Emeritus (former Vice Chairman) of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents. He is a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Corporation and serves as a board member at edX.org (Harvard/MIT online education platform). He is co-chair of the Smithsonian’s National Capital Campaign and a member of The Council on Foreign Relations.

Alan’s prior business board service included Getty Images, Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Ticketmaster, International Data Group (IDG) and American Management Systems, Inc. Prior not-for-profit board service included WETA (Washington, DC public television and radio) and the Norwood School (Bethesda, MD), where Alan served as chairman.


Peter Caruso, ESQ.

Co–managing partner, Caruso & Caruco

Peter Caruso II is a co–managing partner of Caruso & Caruso, LLP in Andover, Massachusetts. In his role Peter counsels print and digital media clients on a wide range of issues. He has been involved, along with his father Peter Sr., in many groundbreaking media cases, including the Pamela Smart case, Willie Horton furlough matter affecting the Dukakis presidential campaign, and the NHL Players Association scandal exposing Alan Eagleson. Peter has represented regional and national media clients such as Time magazine, People magazine, Wine Enthusiast, and Gatehouse Media, advising them on articles that have garnered multiple awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. Peter started his career at Caruso & Caruso and spent eleven years as a partner in a Boston firm’s national media and intellectual-property practice before returning to Andover. Additionally, for seven years he served as an adjunct professor of arts administration at Boston University, instructing future art and cultural curators, gifting officers, and executives. He is a graduate of Phillips Academy Andover, Colby College, and Suffolk University Law School.


Glen Shor

Vice President Finance, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Glen Shor joined MIT in January 2015 as vice president for finance. He oversees the activities of the Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF), which reports to the executive vice president and treasurer and plays a critical role in the thoughtful stewardship and effective deployment of the Institute’s resources. The office’s responsibilities include assembling MIT’s budget, preparing its published financial statements and tax filings, advising senior leadership on endowment support for operations and other key financial dynamics, executing borrowings, managing liquidity and working capital, recording ¬gifts, and overseeing payroll, procurement, insurance, and other services that enable research, education, and innovation at MIT. In addition to leading VPF’s 170-person staff of finance professionals, Shor is a member of MIT’s Academic Council and 401(k) Oversight Committee; cosponsors its Research Administration Coordinating Council; and serves on the management boards of the MIT Press and MIT Medical.

Prior to his work at MIT, Shor served in 2013 and 2014 as secretary of administration and finance (A&F) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under former governor Deval Patrick, overseeing the state’s operating and capital budgets and its agencies charged with tax collection, information technology services, facilities management, procurement, and human resources. As secretary, Shor drove improvements to government operations, implemented “pay for success” initiatives providing skills and job training to young people and housing to the homeless, and strengthened the state’s fiscal practices by significantly increasing its contribution toward public pension obligations and reducing its use of reserves to meet recurring budgetary needs.

Shor was profiled in the Boston Globe Magazine in 2012 as one of “12 Bostonians Changing the World” for his contributions to health reform in Massachusetts while serving in the Patrick administration. He played a leading role in implementing programs and policies that have expanded coverage to hundreds of thousands of the Commonwealth’s residents starting as a policy director and assistant secretary within A&F (2007-2010) and then as executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector (2010-2012) and chair of its board (2013-2014).

Before serving in the Patrick administration, Shor was senior policy counsel and assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts, a senior policy aide to former U.S. Representative Martin T. Meehan, chief counsel to U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, and a public interest attorney who participated in the McConnell v. FEC campaign finance case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Shor holds a BA in history from Yale University, awarded in 1993, and earned a law degree from Harvard University in 1996.