Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,
May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.
May God Bless the Vest family. You will be truly missed but not forgotten.

Sgt. Bill Boulter, MIT Police
harbor@mit.edu
3/3/2014

When I graduated with my PhD from the MIT Sloan School in 2004, I was deeply impressed by President Vest's forceful commencement speech against the fear-mongering immigration restrictions being advocated by many in Washington. I was proud to be a member of an MIT community that had a President who fought for these principles. This is just one example of the ways that President Vest shaped the intellectual life of MIT and society more broadly.

Sarah Kaplan
sarah.kaplan@rotman.utoronto.ca
3/3/2014

Chuck Vest's principles, values and commitment inspired those who knew him and will always inspire me. His focus was never on self-promotion, always on making the most meaningful contributions and championing equity. He built bridges across cultures and institutions, and helped others to succeed in order to advance important societal goals. Working with Chuck and the extraordinary senior administration he assembled was an unparalleled experience. He wasn't sure whether a senior lawyer would dampen MIT's entrepreneurial, risk-embracing culture, but he gave me a chance and regarded me according to his merit-based standards. I think of his leadership on issues of access to higher education and STEM diversity, Open Courseware, The Broad Institute, international research and education, environmental sustainability, open research in an era of over-regulation, and quality of student life. He was a generous and wise mentor to me until his death, and the lessons I learned from him will continue to guide me. I am grateful to have known him, privileged to have worked on worthwhile endeavors under him, and miss him. My condolences to Becky Vest and the Vest family.

Jamie Lewis Keith, Vice President and General Counsel, University of Florida
jlkeith@ufl.edu
3/1/2014

I met President Vest on one, very memorable, occasion. I had the privilege of serving as the mediator in the claim arising from the tragic death of Scott Krueger. In a day that began with pervasive mistrust of MIT, President Vest, with his sensitive and heartfelt apology, was instrumental in allowing the case to settle. The parents were able to trust that the institution would make meaningful changes in freshman housing and alcohol policy, because he promised, and they were able to believe him. What began with distrust ended with a warm embrace between Mrs. Krueger and President Vest. This was 14 years ago, and it remains etched in my memory, as it does for all who had the privilege to be part of t. Please accept my condolences on your loss.

Jeffrey S. Stern
Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak and Cohen, PC
101 Merrimac Street
Boston, MA 02114.

Jeffrey S. Stern
stern@srbc.com
2/20/2014

I never had the privilege of having personal interactions with President Vest while I was an undergrad (1988-92). But since he came to campus, and after I graduated and watched MIT from a distance, I felt a great satisfaction and pride in Dr. Vest's leadership and convictions. I've always been deeply grateful and proud of MIT's commitment to enabling students of all backgrounds and financial needs to see an MIT education as something possible, and Dr Vest's principled stand on the Overlap case against the Justice Department cemented that perception. As I participated in student activities and organizations, my sense was that Dr. Vest's administration truly listened to students.

My sincere condolences to the Vest family.

Emilio Mayorga '92
2/20/2014

Our deepest condolences to the Vest family. I was a senior his first year at MIT. My future wife was a freshman. I then got to know him better from being on the Corporation. I will always remember that he placed such importance on values in thinking about how to solve problems. What are the values that we ought to uphold, then how do we get everything else in line with that. It seems simple but so few are able to do it.

I want to thank the Vest family for sharing such a wonderful leader with the MIT community for so long. We are a better place because of it.

Darcy Prather + Family
dprather@alum.mit.edu
2/19/2014

I was saddened to hear about President Vest's passing. As a member of BAMIT's board and an MIT alumna, I had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Vest several times about MIT, his vision for MIT, and diversity at MIT. I appreciated that Dr. Vest was a great listener and was sincere about making MIT a great place for all of its students, faculty, and staff to prosper. I had so much respect for him. The world has lost a great person, leader, and visionary. I send my sincere condolences to his family.

Cordelia Price
cordelia@alum.mit.edu
2/17/2014

It is with great sadness that I hear of the passing of Chuck. I remember vividly the dinner I had with Chuck and Becky in downtown Palo Alto in 2007. I had attended the dinner with no expectations. However during dinner Chuck articulated his vision for the future of MIT and it struck a chord for me. Here was an academic who had a vision beyond just education. This was the first time that I heard that the mission for MIT is to educate not just scientific and engineering leaders, but global leaders.
He saw how the world would evolve before it became accepted that the 'World is Flat'. I accepted his challenge and joined the Corporation and spent my efforts on making MISTI a strong component in the curriculum of MIT. I trust that every student that has participated in MISTI and benefited from a global experience and prospective can thank Chuck for the inspiration. He was indeed a global leader.
My thanks also goes to Becky who had to sit through that evening listening to the two of us talk through the issues even though she had just gotten off the plane and was incredibly jet lagged.
Tony

Anthony Sun
as.sunassociates@gmail.com
2/13/2014

My condolences to Chuck's Family and friends. He was an outstanding leader with the warmth that uniquely was Chuck's.
I met Chuck when he was Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan and developed a close relationship when he became the Provost there.
When he was elected President of MIT I felt MIT gained an exceptional leader with a human touch rarely possessed by persons in such positions.
I really enjoyed chairing my class' ('57) 40th reunion gift fund raiser in great part because of Chuck's motivating ways [and Paul Gray's -chairman at the time].
I am certain we all will miss him very much, particularly during our visits at MIT.

John Psarouthakis
drjohnps@hotmail.com
2/11/2014

Chuck Vest was a friend and colleague, and I greatly grieve his death. I knew him from his work in holographic interferometry and his book on that subject, which serves as a standard for excellence in scholarly writing. We often met at conferences, and we met last at a meeting of the Society for Experimental Mechanics celebrating the 60th anniversary of the discovery of holography in Springfield, MA, where he was awarded the title of Holoknight. I recall meeting him at the celebration in memory of Steve Benton at MIT back in 2003, while he was president. I only learned of his illness at the Fringe 2013 conference in Stuttgart last September, and it seems sad to go to a celebration in his memory only a little over 10 years later.

Karl A. Stetson
kastetson@holofringe.com
2/10/2014

For me, Dr. Vest remains the standard with respect to college presidents. I had the privilege of his mentorship when I was pursuing my doctorate at Harvard while working as Special Adviser to the Provost at MIT. It was during the period of antitrust litigation of the overlap case. When I asked Dr. Vest why he chose to fight the Justice Department in court, he replied that for too long higher education had backed down at every turn whenever the Justice Department threatened, and he added that "sometimes when you're right you have to fight, and we were bound and determined to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court." His commitment was that MIT had to do its best to make its limited resources serve the greatest possible number of admitted students who had financial need. In the Justice Department's settling of the case (dropping the law suit), Dr. Vest's magnanimity was evident in the care that he took to safeguard the ability of not only the ivy institutions but also other non-profits to share necessary information in the interest of serving the greater good. He was a wonderful role model and mentor who showed the courage of his convictions. A man of great integrity who will long be remembered.

Judy "JJ" Jackson
jj@uky.edu
2/10/2014

President Vest "commissioned" MIT's Leader to Leader program after he's been at the Institute a short while. He continued to support this MIT initiative visiblyduring his presidency. Most of all, he understood and modeled great leadership.

Margaret Ann Gray
mag@mit.edu
2/10/2014

Thanks for being so open, approachable, and friendly. Your demeanor set the culture for all of MIT to be open and sharing and that's what makes us the best 'tute in the world. Thank you for your leadership. You will be missed!

Anjum Sharma MIT '06
2/10/2014

Chuck was a great President for MIT. He helped us move on in many ways and he was a man of courage and convictions. I thought his stands on women and the overlap case were so right. He was always kind and pleasant to me and I enjoyed interacting with him.

Daniel Hastings
hastings@mit.edu
2/9/2014

My condolences to the family of this wonderful person.
Chuck showed his brilliance while taking a math class from his father at the University of West Virginia where he received an A.
When we welcomed him to the presidency of MIT at the Museum of Fine Arts, my assignment was to don a judicial robe and sentence Chuck to serve 10 years as president. For good performance, the MIT Corporation tacked on an additional four years.
When I was class president, our class inducted Chuck as an honorary member of the class of 1951.
He once told me that I had the best of two worlds, an MIT education and a Harvard degree.

Chuck Hieken VI-A 1951
cph@alum.mit.edu
2/8/2014

My condolences to the Vest family. Dr. Vest made the Institute a better place.

Holly Simpson
hollyl@alum.mit.edu
2/8/2014

I attended MIT as an undergraduate from 1997-2001, and President Vest was a true delight to have as a leader and to see on campus. I used to draw a comic strip for The Tech, and included a little shout-out to our wonderful president in this comic: http://www.leftunattended.com/comics/duck/416.jpg

My thoughts and prayers go to his family.

Jennifer DiMase
jensd@alum.mit.edu
2/6/2014

One of my first memories of MIT as a freshman was meeting President Vest in person, with my family, as he made himself available to greet all freshmen and their families. Nearly 20 years later, we still have the picture of that moment in our home. Thank you, Dr. Vest, and my deepest condolences to your family.

Felix Dashevsky, BS '99
2/3/2014

Chuck was a leader with a personal and thoughtful vision. He also enjoyed talking to students, as I remember a nice dinner we had with him and his wife at German House.

Andrew Tan '98
atyy@alum.mit.edu
2/2/2014

As President of the Institute for 14 years, Charles Vest was key in making MIT what it is today. His advocacy for research, diversity, and openness will always be remembered and valued.

Our deepest condolences to the Vest family and to the MIT community at large.

MIT Arab Alumni Association
hazem@zureiqat.com
1/31/2014

Chuck Vest was great in leading MIT in international areas. People like him create better understandings between cultures, religions and governments. After all recent developments, basic mathematics and physics are still the corner stone of developments.
May Charles Vest's memory and works be remembered forever!

Gregory G. Gagarin '43
gcubed@alum.mit.edu
1/31/2014

Chuck was the best of MIT. He had an uncanny ability to always see and do the right thing, and inspire others to do the same.

Neil Gershenfeld
1/31/2014

I'll never forget the "Johnson Games and Inaugural Picnic" that MIT sponsored when Vest took over as President back in 1991. I still have the faded green shirt they gave us. It was such a fun day, complete with an obstacle course on Briggs field and a picnic in front of Kresge. They had a trivia contest as part of the games, and Mrs. Vest was on our team, so we were able to answer all of the questions about President Vest and his family :-). The amazing day culminated in a trip to the 6.111 lab to try to finish Lab 4. :-)

President Vest was extremely friendly and approachable. He will be missed.

Ravi Soundararajan
ravi@alum.mit.edu
1/31/2014

Dr. Vest helped shape a generation of scientists, engineers, and leaders. He will be greatly missed.

Jeb Keiper, '99
jkeiper@alum.mit.edu
1/30/2014

What I remember most about Dr. Vest is from his 1996 commencement speech, wherein he stated that the purpose of an MIT education is "to become dedicated to finding the truth." (paraphrase) I never had any direct contact with Dr. Vest before or after, but the memory of his words at my 25th class reunion struck a chord that will always resonate.

Andy Howell
1/30/2014

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