The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has announced a gift of $100 million from the Morningside Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the T.H. Chan family, to establish an interdisciplinary center.

Building on MIT’s leadership in design-focused education, the MIT Morningside Academy for Design aims to become a global hub for design research, thinking, and entrepreneurship. Projected to open in September 2022, the academy will be housed in the School of Architecture and Planning and offer an array of public events, including symposia, lectures, and exhibitions, with a goal of engaging and welcoming a broader community to the MIT campus. The gift includes funding for graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, faculty chairs, opportunities for undergraduate students, and new awards for entrepreneurship competitions.

“The MIT Morningside Academy for Design will amplify the impact of MIT’s existing world-class programs in design,” said MIT president L. Rafael Reif. “It will dramatically enhance our ability to promote design education on our campus and elsewhere, to support our faculty and students in their daring endeavors, and to work with others to develop compelling solutions to humanity’s great challenges. We could not be more grateful for this transformative gift.”

“Gerald Chan is a visionary who sees the profound impact of design education for technology and society, and not just on the traditional areas of design but on STEM education more broadly,” said Hashim Sarkis, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning. “This is why this is an academy for the whole of MIT and not a department of design.” 

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