Case Study President Of Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT)

MIT Case Study
Name
Institutional Affiliation
MIT Case Study
Case Description
Leo Rafael Reif is the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is currently in the midst of an ensuing storm on the campus. His expansive experience was a substantial point of consideration when he got the job because he has been in the institution for about four decades. The fall of the disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein, has brought to light several issues particularly those that link him to the institution (Fernandes & Greenberg, 2019). However, this dates back to the tenure of the former president, Susan Hockfield. Epstein’s financial contributions have come under the spotlight with concerns being around what his initial motives were as he made them. Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide recently while in a New York where he had been accused of child trafficking.
His relationship with the institution has unearthed other suspicious dealings. These include dealing with other corrupt political officials from the Panamanian government. Nevertheless, Reif supported Sheffi’s motion to decline the offer. Sheffi is the institution's director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics. In the same breath, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been linked to these cases. The prince is bashed for the brutal killing of a journalist, Jamal Khashhoggi, in the Turkish consulate on October 2nd, 2018 (BBC News, 2019). Inquiries related to these developments have been unwelcome as Reif has failed to provide convincing justifications on why they should business with these people. Learning institutions need capital from investors to create the best learning environment possible for the students. The range of activities includes recruiting quality teaching personnel, constructing suitable laboratories for research, and purchase of equipment. On the other hand, at times it has been difficult for MIT to find untainted donors.
Statement of the Problem
There are two major problems in this case study. One of them is the involvement of the institution’s leadership with people who have a checkered personality. Jeffrey Epstein had long been declared a child trafficker and had been a convicted sex offender. Officials in the Panamanian government are involved in major cases of corruption while Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is facing international backlash for orchestrating the murder of a journalist. Secondly, the administrators at the institution have failed to provide convincing reasons to the stakeholders. In the course of these activities, Reif has offered little insight with "shifting and confusing explanations" resulting in an unpleasant reaction (Fernandes & Greenberg, 2019).
Stakeholders
This case involves several stakeholders. First, students are the primary and most affected stakeholders. An example is a master’s student in computer science Husayn Karimi, who has rallied against the dealings from administration by mobilizing colleagues to participate rallies. Either way, students will feel that their institution is being placed between a hard place and a rock both in the public eye and market. Secondly, there is the MIT community, which consists ...