The Bridge Leadership Program was developed at MIT by Clarence G. Williams, founding director of the MIT Black History Project, Adjunct Professor of Urban Studies & Planning Emeritus, and Former Special Assistant to the President of MIT.

The Bridge Leadership Program provides perspectives and developments of new insights based on the concept “Bridge Leadership” that emerged in Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, 1941-1999 (MIT Press, 2001). The concept developed from the investigator’s view as an important element in the educational experiences of black students and faculty members at MIT. It defined a small core of mostly non-black faculty and administrators who worked diligently, along with the limited number of underrepresented faculty and students, to bridge divisions at the university based on race. While this book focused on the black experience, a new phase of the “bridge leadership” concept was broadened over the past nine years to include not only race but culture and ethnicity as well.

The project has developed through interaction beyond MIT with over sixty former and current presidents, senior faculty and administrators at 17 major universities and educational institutions. What has surfaced from interviews and fact findings from these institutions (see lists of “bridge leaders” and “bridge leader targets”) is a core of identifiable characteristics associated with “bridge leader” professionals, both faculty and administrators who work to transform their campuses into a more welcoming, nurturing environment for minorities and other individuals from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Goal

To develop a model based on the “bridge leadership” concept; to propose a framework to increase the number of “bridge leaders,” particularly in predominantly non-minority institutions, and to lay out criteria and activities concerning what constitutes or defines effective “bridge leadership”; to analyze the usefulness of the concept in developing strategies to address several problems: tensions and conflicts on campus arising from differences in race, culture, and ethnicity; high attrition rates among underrepresented minority students; high departure and turnover rates among underrepresented minority faculty and administrators; and recruitment, retention, and motivation of underrepresented minorities for future leadership roles in higher education.

Definitions

Bridge leaders

Non-minorities—faculty members or administrators—who work to “bridge” cultural, racial, and ethnic divisions, and to help transform their universities or colleges into more welcoming, nurturing environment for minorities.

Bridge leader targets

Minorities—faculty members or administrators—who more often than not have benefited in their educational pursuits, from “bridge leadership” and usually have worked often in concert with other bridge leaders to “bridge” cultural, racial, and ethnic divisions, and to help transform their educational institutions into more nurturing environments for other minorities.

Advocate analysts

Minorities/non-minorities, often equal employment opportunity officers, senior administrators for minority and gender equities who facilitate bridge leadership and bring special insights to promote progress in the arena of diversity on their campuses–highly profiled faculty members and/or administrators identified faculty members and/or administrators on their campus as bridge leader types.

Process

These institutions—MIT, Duke University, Emory University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, Northeastern University, Tufts University, Brown University, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, University of Connecticut, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Nellie Mae Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Couincil for Minorities in Engineering—were established as sites for case studies in “bridge leadership”.

A group of “bridge leaders” was selected at these institutions. The MIT group included some individuals interviewed for Technology and the Dream, and others as well. The outside group was selected by contacts through key faculty, administrators, and board members; and in consultation with minority undergraduates, graduate students, faculty members, and administrators.

A core group of “bridge leader targets” (minority faculty, administrators and students) was identified—individuals who believe their educational experience and/or careers have been significantly impacted, positively or negatively, by the presence or absence of “bridge leaders.”

Potential interviewees were approached, outlining the project and its goals and ascertaining their willingness to be interviewed; from among those who were willing, a core group was selected.

A standard set of topics was framed for discussion in the interview, focused on theoretical and practical aspects of the “bridge leadership” concept; basic biographical research was conducted on each interviewee, so that standardized topics might be adapted to individual experiences.

Interviews of “bridge leaders” were structured in the form of oral history narratives, with an emphasis on understanding background, events, experiences, personal ideals, political ideology, and other factors that motivate one to become a “bridge leader”; also, opinions about key characteristics of the concept, and pitfalls to be avoided, etc.

Interviews of minority faculty, administrators and students were structured in the form of oral history narratives, with an emphasis on understanding events, experiences, and other factors relative to each individual’s search for a “bridge leader,” relationship with one or more “bridge leader,” overall opinions about the concept, and suggestions for how the concept might be improved.

Interviews were transcribed and edited for accuracy and completeness, with the assistance of each interviewee.

As the edited transcripts were returned, they were analyzed to further develop the “bridge leadership” concept—psychology, motivations, major themes (family and ethnic background, civil rights issues, educational philosophy, etc.), relative weighting or preponderance of themes, etc. The objective was to probe the concept; define, describe, understand, and refine it; and develop a composite of its proponents/activists/participants, with illustrations of how the idea has been carried out in educational settings.

Themes

Analysis organized by ten themes—major traits, characteristics, and qualities of “bridge leaders”; these included:

• family traditions of liberalism, social tolerance, and commitment to the concept of human equality—or conversely, family situations where bigotry, fear, or indifference provided examples of behaviors and attitudes to avoid
• an understanding of the reality (and injustice) of “white privilege” as a pervasive social phenomenon and empathy with the minority experience, sometimes through having themselves been a minority in a different society (e.g. travel abroad, periods of residence in Third World countries)
• aware of similarities and differences between the experiences of women and minorities (for example understanding differing experience bases, by culture, race, and ethnicity) in professional environments;
• self-confident in dealing with a range of people and issues, particularly those different from themselves and assume the best in people’s motivations, even where other non-minorities may be hostile or indifferent to minorities
• willing to take risks in challenging the status quo; special commitment to educational reform and innovation
• good communication skills, particularly on the listening (receiving) end; open to new experiences, innovative ways of thinking about social and educational issues
• respect for all, regardless of position, social standing, situation in the employment hierarchy, etc; integrity and candor as essential personal qualities; modest about their own strengths
• conservative in measuring success rates in race relations and diversity—sense that there is always room for improvement
• committed to diversity as a key concept in enriching the academic community
• conceive, accept, and carry out strategies to improve the racial climate and interactions on campus and including development of other “bridge leaders,” establishment of key committees, appointment of minorities to positions of broad responsibility, etc.

Interviewee: Howard W. Johnson
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: June 12, 2002

Howard Wesley Johnson was the 12th president of MIT (1966-1971). Johnson "drew upon his management acumen to guide the Institute during the tumultuous late 1960s," according to MIT News. "Johnson gained respect for listening to all sides and for combining progressive views on issues such as Vietnam and the environment with expertise in management. Johnson described those times in his book, Holding the Center: Memoirs of a Life in Higher Education." 

Long-lasting changes accomplished during Johnson’s administration include: the creation of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and the Independent Activities Period (IAP); and the change from full-letter grades to pass-no credit for freshmen.

Prior to his presidency, he served seven years as dean of the Sloan School of Management. After his presidency, Johnson served as chair of the MIT Corporation from 1971 to 1983, becoming a Corporation Life Member Emeritus in 1997. He served on numerous governmental panels and as a trustee or director of such institutions as the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Radcliffe College, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Interviewee: Paul E. Gray
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: April 3, 2002

Paul Edward Gray '54, SM '55, ScD '60 (1932-2016) was MIT's 14th president from 1980 to 1990.

Instructor, 1957-1960; Assistant Professor, 1960-1964; Associate Professor, 1964-1967; Professor in 1967; MIT Class of 1922 Professor of Electrical Engineering, 1968-1971; Associate Dean for Student Affairs, 1965-1967; Associate Provost, 1969-1970; Dean of the School of Engineering, 1970-1971; Chancellor, 1971-1980; President of MIT, 1980-1990; Chairman of the MIT Corporation, 1990-1997

Programs at MIT that Gray helped to establish: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), the Leaders for Manufacturing Program, and the affiliation with the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

Gray was chairman of the Task Force on Educational Opportunity, 1968-1973, and encouraged curriculum reforms in the 1980s that strengthened the humanities, social sciences, and biology in the undergraduate curriculum.

Interviewee: Charles M. Vest
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: July 1, 2002

Charles M. Vest was MIT's 15th president, from 1990 to 2004. He placed special emphasis on enhancing undergraduate education, exploring new organizational forms to meet emerging directions in research and education, building a stronger international dimension into education and research programs, developing stronger relations with industry, and enhancing racial and cultural diversity at MIT. 

Interviewee: Ellen T. Harris
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: March 6, 2002

Ellen T. Harris [B.A. ’67 Brown University; M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’76 University of Chicago] is Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus at MIT. She is a musicologist whose work focuses on Handel, Baroque opera, and vocal performance practice. Harris is currently President of the American Musicological Society.

Interviewee: Leon Trilling
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: April 25, 2002

Leon Trilling received his B.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (Mechanical Engineering, 1944 and Aeronautics, 1948). He taught at the California Institute of Technology and was a Fulbright Scholar in Paris before coming to MIT in 1951. Professor Trilling joined the STS faculty in 1978. He founded the Integrated Studies Program at MIT and co-directed the New Liberal Arts Program. He is a senior staff member of The Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) at MIT. His research centers on the development of jet propelled airliners and the role of science and mathematics curriculum in the middle school.

Interviewee: Desiree Ramírez
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: May 13, 2002 

Desiree Ramírez '02 of Carmichael, CA was a chemical engineering major and president of LUChA (La Unión Chicana por Aztlán) at MIT at the time of this interview. She had been a teaching assistant and freshman associate advisor to Clarence C. Williams for the past two years, leading discussions on racial and culturally sensitive topics. 

In confirming her nomination to the 2001 MIT MLK Leadership Awards, Williams, her freshman advisor, wrote:

Her leadership in the freshman seminar was one of the finest examples of student teaching and individual growth in the arena of race and culture that I have witnessed during my tenure of teaching in this area...After her freshman year, she was determined to make a difference in the MIT Latino student community...She, along with several other female students, founded a Latina sorority (Phi Delta Upsilon, La Fuerza de Damas Unidas) aimed at creating positive interaction among female students in the Latino community, and the MIT general community. Desiree's leadership has been in the forefront of this movement.

Ramírez went on to earn an MS in Chemical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles and a JD from University of California, Berkeley.

Interviewee: Phillip L. CLay
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: September 18, 2002 

Phillip L. Clay PhD '75 joined the MIT faculty in 1975. As former Head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP, 1992-94), Clay was the first black professor to head any department at MIT. He also served as the Chancellor of MIT from 2001 until 2011. Other MIT positions: assistant director, MIT-Harvard Joint Center for Urban Studies; professor of city planning, 1992-present; 1980-84; associate provost, 1994-2001; founding member, National Housing.

Clay is widely known for his work in U.S. housing policy and urban development. His current interests include organizational capacity in community-based nonprofits as well as the role of anchor institutions. Growing out of his work on MIT international strategies, he is also interested in the increasing role higher education can play in national development strategies in less developed and emerging nations.

Interviewee: Donald Brown
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: February 6, 2003

Donald Brown had been director of the Office of AHANA [African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native-American] Student Programs at Boston College since 1978 at the time of this interview. He began his career in higher education as director of Upward Bound at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Brown later served as director of the Boston Region of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services; president of Christian Soldiers, Inc.; co-director of Bridging Bridges, a program that brings together several organizations serving African-American men in the Boston area.

At Boston College, Brown was also credited with initiating the following programs: the Options Through Education Transitional Summer Program (OTE), the Thea Bowman Scholars Program, and the Benjamin Elijah Mays Mentoring Program, among others. He was instrumental in the development of many university-wide initiatives including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee and the Affiliates Program.

The Dr. Donald Brown Award was established in his honor by the Office of AHANA Student Programs (now the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center) at Boston College. The annual Award honors "a senior who throughout his/her undergraduate career has made extraordinary contributions to the greater Boston College campus, particularly with the AHANA community, in the areas of leadership, service, and academic development."

Interviewee: J. Keith Motley
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: April 4, 2003

James Keith Motley was the eighth chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston, the only public research university in Greater Boston. He served from 2007 to 2017, following over three decades of experience in higher education administration. Motley holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northeastern University, a PhD from Boston College, and an honorary degree from Northeastern University.

Interviewee: John B. Slaughter
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: August 11, 2003

John Brooks Slaughter is an electrical engineer whose work focused on development of computer algorithms for system optimization and discrete signal processing. At the time of this interview, he had served as president and chief executive officer of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) since 2000. Slaughter began his career as an electronics engineer in private industry and government. He later served as provost of Washington State University (1979-80). Slaughter then served as the first African-American director of the National Science Foundation (1980 to 1982), then as chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park (1982-1988) and President of Occidental College (1988-1999). He holds a BS in electrical engineering from Kansas State University (1956), an MS in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (1961), and a PhD in engineering sciences from the University of California, San Diego (1971).

Interviewee: Shirley A. Jackson
Interviewer: Clarence G. Williams
Date: November 22, 2003

Shirley Ann Jackson '68, PhD '73 of Washington, D.C. was one of the first black women to earn a Bachelor's degree and the first to earn a PhD from MIT. During her undergraduate and graduate years at the Institute, Jackson advocated for the recruitment and retainment of black students. Her efforts included co-founding the Black Students' Union in 1968 and working with the Administration to advance racial equity at the Institute. Since 1999, Jackson has served as the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a permanent member of the MIT Corporation.

Career: research physicist, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, 1973-74; European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland, 1974-75; and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, 1975-76; member of technical staff (MTS), AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1976-91; professor of physics, Rutgers University, 1991-95; and chair, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1995-99.

FOR MORE BRIDGE LEADERSHIP INTERVIEWS, VISIT: http://bridgeleadership.mit.edu/

To view video interviews, visit MIT ODL Video Services.