With the influx of new students arriving this fall, East Campus residents will have one more new person in their midst: their housemaster.
MIT professor Rob Miller ‘95 teaches computer science in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department (EECS), and is a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). Additionally, he is a Margaret MacVicar Faculty Teaching Fellow, an EECS co-education officer, and winner of multiple undergraduate teaching awards.
“I'm excited to join the East Campus community,” Miller said. “East Campus residents are an energetic, eccentric, caring bunch of people, with a strong sense of who they are and some of the deepest-held traditions on campus, but who are also constantly reinventing themselves. It's a concentrated microcosm of the MIT culture and ethos, and I'm really looking forward to being part of that.”
"Rob’s energy and enthusiasm are a good fit for East Campus," said Chris Colombo, dean of Student Life. "He is a well-respected educator who works well with undergraduates. And he was an East Campus resident for four years as an undergraduate, which gives him valuable perspective on the dorm’s culture and traditions.”
MIT housemasters are faculty who reside in the undergraduate and graduate residential halls and fill an important role in each house’s community. Part advisor and advocate, part mentor and neighbor, housemasters work closely with their area director, graduate resident tutors (GRTs), their house’s student government, and the Division of Student Life to advise students, provide leadership for the house, and foster community life at the Institute.
Miller replaces Tom and Kate Delaney, former faculty in Writing and Humanistic Studies, who retired from MIT this past spring. They had been the East Campus housemasters since fall 2006.
Jessica Parker ’15, president of East Campus and a search committee member, thanked her fellow residents who participated in the search. “Throughout the housemaster selection process, East Campus residents were noteworthy for their dedication, actively attending interviews even though they were occurring close to finals and project deadlines,” she said. “(Rob's) dedication and enthusiasm for the position rival that of the students who participated in the search, and as an exec team we are looking forward to working with him."
Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science and housemaster of McCormick Hall, chaired the search committee, which consisted of students and a GRT from East Campus; housemasters; faculty; and staff. “East Campus is a vibrant, engaged living community,” he said. “We were unified in trying to understand their distinct needs, and to have the community’s voice be heard. I am excited that in Rob Miller, East Campus will have a housemaster who is just as vibrant and engaged.”
Opened in 1925, East Campus has the second-largest population of any MIT undergraduate residence hall, and a very active student government. It is made up of two buildings divided into 10 smaller communities by floor, each with its own GRT.
