I would like to share a little anecdote about our next honoree in the Outstanding Contributor category. Her name is Linda Mar, and she is the Associate Director for Fund Information and Stewardship in the Office of the Vice President for Finance. Linda worked tirelessly with legal counsel to petition the Massachusetts Probate Court to allow MIT to repurpose funds that were donated a very long time ago for student loans. But in modern times, all the aid MIT provides is in the form of scholarships. The court approved the petition, and today these resources — which total more than $10 million — are being awarded to students as scholarships and fellowships.
Linda leveraged her deep Institute knowledge and expertise to overcome the many obstacles that stood in the way. It is just one of many outsized challenges she solves in her work. One of her colleagues noted, “Her institutional knowledge and experience are invaluable. I know I speak for many colleagues who feel like a call or email to Linda will help move things along quickly or put us on the right path to solving a problem.”