MIT’s senior leadership saw sweeping changes in 2013. Dennis Freeman PhD ’86 became the new dean of undergraduate education (DUE), Chris A. Kaiser PhD ’87 stepped down as provost, and Eric Grimson PhD ’80 announced his plans to leave Chancellorship in order to head a capital fundraising campaign. In total, nine of the twenty-six total positions in the senior administration changed or will change.

In an email to the MIT community yesterday, President L. Rafael Reif released the preliminary report of the Institute-wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education. Last February, Reif charged the Task Force to explore “bold” possibilities of the future of MIT education both on campus and for those around the world, in addition to evaluating MIT’s financial model and pricing structures. The work was split among three working groups, focused on the future of the MIT education and facilities, the global implications of edX, and a new financial model for education.

On July 23, 2013, Gang Chen, the Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering, became the head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He replaces Mary C. Boyce PhD ’87, who left MIT this summer to become the new dean of Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Professor Albert Meyer will succeed Dean of Undergraduate Education Dennis Freeman as the new undergraduate officer in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Course 6). As the undergraduate officer of MIT’s largest department, he is responsible for overseeing the undergraduate curriculum, handling MEng admissions, and maintaining the quality of education.

This summer, the third floor of the Burton side of the Burton-Conner dormitory, also known as Burton Third, saw renovations that included painting over murals and dismantling the bar area. Like two other floors which had similar renovations completed in last summer, Burton Third received new paint, had its walls repaired, and floor tiles replaced.

Starting on July 1, 2013, undergraduate and graduate students with children were able to pre-register for the new subsidized backup child care program. The new program provides students with access to caregivers on a short notice through Parents in a Pinch, a national vendor for child care services. The program will run as a pilot until June 30, 2014, when it will reexamined for renewal.

The yield for the incoming Class of 2017 is MIT’s highest ever. According to Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill ’86, 1,125 took up MIT’s offer of admission, representing 73 percent of the pool of 1,548 accepted students, who themselves made up only 8.2 percent of the 18,989 applicants. The yield is up from 2012 and 2011, when 70 percent and 65 percent of accepted students chose to enroll at MIT, respectively.

MIT has released the salaries of its highest compensated employees for the calendar year 2011, which are required to be publicly disclosed as part of its tax returns for the fiscal year 2012 (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012). During her last full year as president, Susan Hockfield was MIT’s highest compensated employee, receiving $1,199,877 in total benefits. This year is only the second time that a MIT president received total compensation exceeding one million dollars, with Hockfield receiving over a million in 2010.

Handing in math problem sets may now require more exercise. In late June or early July, the entire Department of Mathematics will be moving to E17 and E18 as their current space in Building 2 undergoes a significant renovation. Undergraduate math majors have already experienced the effects of the construction, with their undergraduate lounge moved to the Compton Room, opposite 26-100, this past January. For the duration of the construction, the lounge will remain in the Compton Room. As for the rest of the department, all faculty, staff, and graduate student offices will be moved to the new “swing space” in E17 and E18, which will be shared with the Department of Economics, whose space in E52 is also being renovated.

The head of MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (Course 2) Mary C. Boyce PhD ’87 will be stepping down in order to become dean of Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science effective July 1, 2013.