Welcome to the MIT Class of 1978!

Hoping this website will strengthen the MIT Class of 1978 community and celebrate our experiences. This website is a gateway to activities and news for the Class of 1978, a way to find out what your fellow alumni are doing and stay connected.

Class of 1978 Gift Giving

Class of 1978 Online Reunion Book

Discussion Network - 30th Reunion - Class of 1978

Class of 1978 Member Websites

Roy W. Haygood III '78
haygood@alum.mit.edu
Class Webmaster

Report on Class of 1978 Fellowships

From: Alison Hynd [mailto:hynd@MIT.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 1:51 PM
To: paul@edeltech.com
Subject: Report on Class of '78 Fellowships

Hi Paul,

I have attached a report on the Public Service Fellowships for the academic year '08-'09, with a focus on the Fellowships funded by the Class of 1978 in that time. Please share this with your class members as you feel appropriate.

Two more Fellows were supported by the Class of 1978 fund this summer and we expect more over IAP, and you will receive a full report on all their work at the end of next academic year.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

All best wishes,

Alison

Alison Hynd, Ph.D.
Fellowships and Internships Coordinator
MIT Public Service Center
MIT Room W20-549
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

Report on Class of 1978 Fellowships

MIT Class of 1978 Sponsored Fellows

Subject: MIT Class of 1978 Sponsored Fellows
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:31:10 -0500

Dear Class of '78 representatives,

I'm happy to be sending you an update on the progress of the first two Class of '78 sponsored Fellows:

Forrest Funnel ('09, Physics)

Kendra Johnson ('09, Civil and Environmental Engineering)

Forrest has traveled to Kenya and Tanzania to develop the business plan and local infrastructure for Worldwide Mobility, a non-profit he co-founded with other MIT students and alums which will connect US donors with wheelchair workshops and wheelchair riders in developing countries.

Forrest recently reported: "Today is the second day that I have been working with APDK and it is amazing how much we have been able to get done. Today we held a meeting with the key people I will be working with: Peter, the accountant, the admin assistant, a social worker, and an orthopedic specialist. I then met with them separately to figure out details in each department. The accounting will actually be very straightforward as APDK has a transparent and effective system set up.

I am truly impressed with the operations here at APDK. Everyone is very professional and friendly. APDK has the capacity to accept a wide range of funding levels from us, and I am glad to have started off my trip with them. I am currently thinking about how I will take the methods and operations that are used here and apply them to some of the smaller, less organized shops that we will be working with in the future."

Kendra Johnson and her teammates will continue a clean water project they started three years ago with the village of Santa Ana in the Ecuadorian Amazon. When Kendra and her team began working in Santa Ana three years ago, the village had no piped water supply or water management. Today, thanks to the students' work, the village has a largely functioning water supply and a very active water board who are now training to be water consultants for surrounding communities, starting with the village of Encaýada.

Kendra writes: "Things are going really well in Encaýada. We are essentially superfluous, which is the whole idea. The team we are working with from Santa Ana is doing an amazing job. Basilio has taken the lead in the technical side of the installation of rainwater tanks in Encaýada, and it is a pleasure to watch him work with the others from Santa Ana and Encaýada. We have all of the elevated platforms built, and one system almost installed.

Leticia did a fantastic job on the household health surveys, making astute observations and asking all the right follow-up questions to find out why people don't use their bathrooms (because they are clogged, they don't have water to flush them, etc). She also did a great job helping with the coliform testing, and teaching Bryon from Encanada how to do it. Esteban and Melida together did a great job on the water and health workshops with both the kids in the schools and with the adults." All the people she mentions are Santa Ana residents.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and I'll look forward to sharing more stories with you later.

All the best,

Alison Hynd, PhD
Fellowships and Internships Coordinator
MIT Public Service Center

Spotlight on the MIT Public Service Center (PSC)

MIT Class of '78 Reunion
Spotlight on the MIT Public Service Center (PSC)

Friday, June 6, 2008
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Rm 32-141

For the agenda, click the following ...

Spotlight on the MIT Public Service Center

Giving Back/Looking Forward

Message from 30th Reunion Co-Chairs

Greetings classmates,

Thirty years? It's hard to believe. Spouses, careers, kids, yard/house work; the time flies. Our 30th reunion is an opportunity to slow down, reflect on and appreciate our lives, remember our time at MIT, and consider the impact the Institute has had on us and that we can have on it.

As your 30th reunion planning Co-Chairs, we have chosen the theme "Giving Back/Looking Forward" to convey our hope that many of us are now, or will soon be, able to devote more of our attention and resources to supporting institutions and individuals that have helped us, or help others, to have a better life.

In keeping with this theme, we plan to showcase and allocate a portion of our class gift in support the work of the MIT Public Service Center (PSC) before, during, and after our reunion weekend on June 5th through 8th. The PSC creates opportunities for MIT students, alumni, and community members to provide innovative service to worthy organizations locally and around the world. It was founded in 1988; so many members of our class are unaware of its existence. Between now and the end of the reunion, you will learn more about the PSC and how gifts from members of our class are helping it to achieve its noble mission.

While public service can add meaning to our lives, coming to Cambridge for the reunion also means good times, good food, and the chance to reconnect. As you read this, reunion planning committee members are working hard to organize a terrific line up of events including an informal dinner buffet in the Next House courtyard on Friday and a Saturday night bash in the new Stata Center. There will be something for everyone including great food, music, dancing, and quiet, comfortable areas where you can hear each other talk.

Keep checking this website for more updates and information about the reunion. Meanwhile, mark your calendars, make your travel arrangements, and prepare to have a terrific time. We look forward to seeing see you again this June.

Paul Edelman '78
Kim Francis '78
30th Reunion Co-Chairs

30th Reunion Gift Campaign

Message from 30th Reunion Gift Campaign Committee Co-Chairs

Our 30th Reunion Gift Committee will be contacting as many classmates as
possible. We look forward to talking with you!

Our Class Projects continue to be focused on support for MIT students. Please
consider making a special gift this year in honor of our 30th reunion (can it
really have been that long?) and designating your gift to one or both of our
projects:

Class of 1978 Student Aid Fund

Currently, class contributions total $713,933 and the fund itself has grown
to be worth over $2,456,903. Three students were the recipients of our
scholarship this past academic year.

Class of 1978 PSC (Public Service Center) Fellowship Fund

This new fund supports MIT students who want to do projects focused on
sustainable effort, mostly in developing countries, over fall, IAP, spring or
summer.

Since 1990, the Public Service Fellowship program has provided MIT students
with the opportunity to use their education, skills, and talents to address the
needs of underserved communities around the world. Past Fellows have worked to
build capacity for communities and organizations in 22 countries on four
continents.

An example is Amos Winter who spent time in Tanzania assessing wheelchair
technology for the Tanzania Training Center for Orthopedic Technologies (TTCOT).

Another example is Rebecca Oman who worked behind the scenes at the Food Pantry in her home county to improve the pantry's reach and the quality of their services, so that the organization is better able to help their 5000 regular clients.

Any size gift is welcome, but please consider a gift of $2,500 which would
cover an IAP fellowship for a student, or $5,000 which would cover a summer
project.

For more information on fellowships and past examples, visit
http://web.mit.edu/mitpsc/fellowships/

Of course, you may have your own favorite fund, or you may prefer to keep
your gift undesignated. All gifts made from July 1, 2007-June 30th 2008
to any designation will be counted in the 30th Reunion Gift Campaign.

Our goals for our 30th Reunion Gift Campaign are:
Participation: 45%
Dollars: $3,000,000

Years: 3 x 10

Dollars: 3 x 1000000

Supporting current and future MIT students: Priceless!

While our goals are ambitious, they are consistent with our class giving in
the past few years. Every gift is important. Please join in to make this reunion
gift a special one that will continue to support MIT students for many years to
come. If you would like to make a donation online, please click the following
link:
Class of 1978 PSC Fellowship Fund (2740808)
The Class of 1978 Fund will support non-academic fellowships awarded for public service in the community.

John Begg '78
Teresa Nolet '78
Reunion Gift Co-Chairs

MIT Public Service Center (PSC)

The MIT Public Service Center exists to motivate, facilitate, and celebrate the ethic and activities of public service at MIT. MIT Public Service Center