The recent edition of The Education View magazine features Richard Larson, Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who provides knowledge to future generations with passion and a profound commitment to mentorship. Richard’s most important asset is that he is both a teacher and a mentor. He doesn’t just seek knowledge but actively seeks the opportunity to share and motivate others while doing so. Mentoring him causes him to extend the radius of influence even when inner circles are abandoned.
It is his flexibility, honesty and willingness to question the traditional way of doing things that makes him the man that he is. They motivate those around him to create a culture of life long learning and meaningful action.
Richard’s life inspires the next generation of leaders to think hard, reach far and touch society. A product of an academy, his is a template that gives form to difference-making leadership, shaping society and a legacy that matters.
In the course of his five-decade membership of the MIT faculty, he has enjoyed a rare experience in learning, teaching and mentoring. Throughout this time, his research work and academic endeavors evolved significantly to the level of membership in five various academic home departments. He is now a firmly established member of the inter-disciplinary MIT Institute for Data, Systems and Society (IDSS). IDSS’s journey towards becoming increasingly more inter-disciplinary combined with data, systems and societal issues is exactly what Richard has achieved with his research work and academic endeavours.
As he served for years, the most fulfilling experience for Richard has been seeing that “aha” moment when students discover something new and do something amazing, indicative of his desire to grow the next generation of inventors and leaders.
During his career, Richard has had many leadership positions aside from the typical teaching and research. The positions are eloquent regarding his dedication to leading the vision of the institution and maintaining academic excellence.
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