Skip to content ↓

Bill Gates to visit MIT on April 21

In a presentation at Kresge Auditorium, the philanthropist will discuss the importance of service.
Press Inquiries

Press Contact:

Jen Hirsch
Phone: 617-253-2700
MIT News Office

Media Download

Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
Download Image
Caption: Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
Credits: Photo courtesy of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

*Terms of Use:

Images for download on the MIT News office website are made available to non-commercial entities, press and the general public under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license. You may not alter the images provided, other than to crop them to size. A credit line must be used when reproducing images; if one is not provided below, credit the images to "MIT."

Close
Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
Caption:
Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
Credits:
Photo courtesy of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will discuss the value of service during a presentation on Wednesday, April 21, at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium.

Watch the archived webcast

Gates’ visit to MIT is part of a three-day tour of five universities across the country. At each campus, he will give a short talk aimed at inspiring students and teachers to focus on issues of inequity.

Gates last spoke at MIT in March 2004, when he talked to students about the allure of computer science. It was during that same spring that MIT’s Ray and Maria Stata Center for Computer, Information, and Intelligence Sciences opened. The center, which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helped fund, houses the William H. Gates Building.

“Bill Gates brings the same dedication and enthusiasm to philanthropy that he brought to the computer industry he transformed,” said MIT President Susan Hockfield. “His deep commitment to helping solve the world’s most pressing problems will powerfully resonate with the MIT community, and I look forward to welcoming him back to campus.”

Gates’ presentation in Kresge, “Giving Back: Finding the Best Way to Make a Difference,” will be followed by a Q&A session with audience members.

Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 but left his full-time duties at the software giant in 2008 to focus on running his foundation. With an endowment of $33.5 billion, the foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people — especially those with the fewest resources — have access to the opportunity they need to succeed in school and life.

Tickets for the presentation, which will run from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., will be distributed via a lottery. To register, please visit http://web.mit.edu/surveys/event/.



Related Links

Related Topics

More MIT News

On a dark stage, Jordan Rudess performs on keyboard in front of a kinetic sculpture featuring a grid of white petals

A model of virtuosity

Acclaimed keyboardist Jordan Rudess’s collaboration with the MIT Media Lab culminates in live improvisation between an AI “jam_bot” and the artist.

Read full story