For three decades Rolf Engler was the beloved and revered AO for the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Karen was his assistant for only a year before he passed away last fall and Karen faced the daunting task of stepping into his shoes.
Her nominator writes: “Karen is a person of enormous and selfless integrity. She toiled long hours in the background to make sure that the work got done, never taking credit, never asking for more recognition or compensation. She refused to take the title or the credit as long as Rolf was alive, even when he was hospitalized and no longer able to come in to work...Karen has figured out a way to keep us moving into the 21st century without in any way diminishing how Rolf’s ways of doing things sustained us through the latter part of the 20th century… we are all grateful for the grace and intelligence with which Karen has led us through it.”
We are pleased to honor Karen with an MIT Excellence Award for Bringing out the Best.