Leslie Regan

Academic Administrator, Mechanical Engineering
School of Engineering
Serving the Client
Award presented by
Provost Martin Schmidt

Our next recipient for Serving the Client goes to Leslie Regan. She is the Graduate Office Senior Advisor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. One colleague described what sets Leslie apart. “If our graduate students are so successful—at MIT and beyond—it is in large part because of Leslie. She has shaped thousands of lives.”

In fact, Leslie has been shaping lives at MIT for more than 45 years. Alumni and staff remember her as a seminal influence in their MIT careers decades after they’ve left campus—and when they return to MIT, she is the first person they want to see.

The superlatives poured in from the many colleagues and students who supported her nomination. They call her a superstar, a living legend, a model, and an inspiration …the most effective administrator they’ve ever met…AND a genius at navigating complex bureaucracies. They told us that her name is synonymous with an extraordinary level of trust and excellence. And that she has always been the best friend any graduate student could hope for.

As one student wrote, “Whenever Leslie comes up in conversation among a group of graduate students, every single person will have a story to tell about how she saved the day for them.”

Leslie, for all the times you’ve saved the day, congratulations on your Excellence Award.