2023-2024
Annual Report
Advancing hospitality, wisdom and wonder.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from the Executive Director
Mission, Vision, Board of Directors & Faculty Advisors
2024 Priorities
Advancing Hospitality
Advancing Wisdom
Advancing Wonder
2024 Financials
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Octet Partners,
Another calendar year is coming to an end and with that comes the opportunity to share the latest work and engagements of the Octet Collaborative. Ours is a growingcommunity of faculty, staff, students, and alumni who are committedto "seeking the welfare of the city." Events and programs that build bridges across differences, present faith-based ethics in innovation, and encourage wonder at our vast, complex, and awe-inspiring universe are taking place and drawing attention. What inspires these engagements is our desire to extend God's goodness, truth, and beauty to the MIT community for the flourishing of all.
The importance of these engagements in our current cultural moment cannot be overstated. Members of our academic community long for meaning—opportunities to bring their whole selves to challenging conversations, to pursue just innovations, and to understand what it means to thrive in "heart, soul, mind, and strength" amidst the extraordinary academic demands.
As followers of Christ, we are prioritizing expressions of sabbath for all. This rest addresses everything we face—the current controversies that cause anxiety and conflict, performance achievement traps, moral and ethical confusion, and the breakdown of wellness and community. As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30:“Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The programming of 2023-24 academic year is an expression of this core truth. May the contents of this report bring you encouragement and hope.
"Gloria enim Dei vivens homo!"¹
Mia Chung-Yee Executive Director
¹ Irenaeus’ quote, “The glory of God is man fully alive.”
MISSION
The Octet Collaborative is a community of students, faculty, and staff at MIT, dedicated to human flourishing, formed by the historic Christian faith. It is a hub for Christian learning that embodies a holistic vision of what it means to be human within the academic vocation.
VISION
The Octet Collaborative envisions MIT as a place where Christ-centered wisdom and practices equip faculty, staff, and alumni to promote a holistic view of self and other, exercise intellectual hospitality, engage science and ethics, and pursue sabbath rest.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ruth Chang, Board Chair
David Chan, Vice Chair & Treasurer
Nathan Barczi
Paul Burke
Mia Chung-Yee
Ehi Nosakhare
David Williamson
FACULTY ADVISORS
Daniel Hastings
Interim Vice Provost for Faculty, Interim Institute Community & Equity Officer, Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics
Ian Hutchinson
Emeritus Professor of Nuclear Science & Engineering
Anne McCants
Professor of History, Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Rosalind Picard
Founder & Director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the MIT Media Laboratory, Professor of Media Arts & Sciences
Troy Van Voorhis
Robert T. Haslam & Bradley Dewey Professor, Department Head of Chemistry
2024 PRIORITIES
ADVANCING HOSPITALITY
Octet’s programming is often provided over a shared meal, but the hospitality component extends beyond breaking bread together. From Diálogos, which promotes dialogue across difference, to an IAP (January term) course that promotes freedom of expression and civil discourse, to convening faculty from far-ranging departments across campus, Octet aims to tend to the whole person with an air of collegiality.
ADVANCING WISDOM
Octet is dedicated to pursuing wisdom to guide MIT in its mission to generate and disseminate knowledge in service to the 21st century world. “What is a Better Future?” is a for-credit course offered through the MIT Media Lab that challenges students to ask what truly makes for human flourishing, and how to align their own work in science and technology with their most deeply held values. Two Jeffersonian dinners convened several dozen faculty from MIT and nearby institutions to probe the frontiers of human enhancement and human dignity in the spheres of AI and genetic engineering. And during IAP, Octet hosted its second iteration of “Science, Technology, and Ethics in the Real World,” a hybrid course engaging the community on campus and alumni around the world
ADVANCING WONDER
Octet’s contemplative prayer and lunch weekly event has proved to be a key linchpin for Octet’s community on campus. Each Wednesday, a growing number of MIT affiliates gather for an hour of free lunch and prayer. Unlike many MIT gatherings, these lunches gather faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students in one place. Together we meditate on the Word of God and pray for our community’s needs. It’s a rare chance for sabbath in the middle of the always-busy MIT workweek.
DIÁLOGOS: DINNER & DISCUSSIONS
Diálogos dinners are a chance to bring the university community together for shared curiosity, humility, and engagement. These events attract faculty, students, staff, and alumni alike to listen to thoughtful perspectives, discuss over a shared meal, and experience music together. It’s a rare space that feels at once safe and brave: exploring the challenges of the world side-by-side, rather than pitted against one another.
October 19, 2023
Joshua Swamidass, Washington University in St. Louis
“Science for the Common Good”
December 15, 2023
Alan Love, University of Minnesota
“Conversations Across Disagreement, Difference & Disciplines”
February 15, 2024
Jennifer Herdt, Yale University Divinity School
“Are We in This Together? Cultivating the Virtues in a Pluralistic Society”
April 29, 2024
Nancy Hill, Harvard University School of Education
“The Adolescent Transition to Adulthood”
Attendee Feedback:
“This is a relevant offering to the community about topics that are clearly relevant to our times ”
“Everything about the evening was fantastic! It was just what I needed at the end of a very difficult semester on many fronts What a blessing to offer this on a university campus, especially in troubled times such as ours ”
50 Average Number of Attendees Per Event
INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES PERIOD (IAP) DISAGREEING WELL COURSE
In these polarized times, what does it mean to disagree well? This course, offered in January 2024, equipped students with skills of empathic intelligence. Building on a curriculum developed by the Ideos Institute and producers of the documentary film “Dialogue Lab: America,” participants focused on questions pertaining to the sensitive and challenging time we are experiencing on campus regarding events in the Middle East.
“Nathan was a wise, patient, and supportive learning facilitator and guide ” Attendee Feedback:
“I want to participate in more facilitated groups after this course.”
“[The course] really made me reflect on having generative dialogue ”
17
Faculty, Staff & Student Participants
As a result of the course content, participants said they plan on incorporating this content into their:
Research/Writing Work/Studies
Teaching Personal Conversations/Readings
FACULTY RETREATS
In fiscal year 2024, Octet hosted two retreats to aid faculty in exploring their vocation and shared mission at MIT.
Faculty members discussed how we might encourage wisdom in our teaching, research, and engagements as a faith community.
06 Participants from MIT
Attendee Feedback:
Faculty members met to discuss the doctrine of creation and its impact on a vocation in the sciences.
08 MIT Faculty Members
“To meet with colleagues who are concerned about ethical questions as related to our various areas of expertise is such a rare pleasure. Thank you for making this kind of forum possible!”
“Great to meet with people for substantive discussion on important issues ”
“This was an excellent opportunity to expand relationships and model helpful discussions within the body. I look forward to discussing other topics.”
08 Theologians from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
A VIEW FROM THE DOME MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
The monthly e-newsletter serves as Octet’s digital home, connecting partners around the world to the kingdombuilding work taking place on MIT’s campus. The newsletter features a monthly essay; updates on Octet’s programming and events; conversations on faith with faculty and staff; and scholarly, Institute, and ministry news.
INFINITE CORRIDOR PODCAST
Octet released six podcast episodes during the fall of 2023, sharing stories of faith and discovery from the halls of MIT and beyond.
FEATURED PODCAST GUESTS:
Deborah Haarsma, President of BioLogos, MIT Alum
Cullen Buie, MIT Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Rosalind Picard, Professor of Media Arts & Sciences at MIT Media Lab, Director of Affective Computing Research Group, MIT Alum
Jack Collins, Professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary, MIT Alum Scott Francisco, Founder & Director of the Pilot Projects Design Collective, MIT Alum
Eva & Rocklyn Clarke, Co-Founders of Life Church Boston, MIT Alumni
INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES PERIOD (IAP) SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ETHICS IN THE REAL WORLD
MIT is a literally world-changing institution, equipping its students, faculty, and alumni to innovate in science and technology for a better future. But what sort of future should we be building? In this January-term mini-course, participants examined frameworks for thinking about what sorts of technologies we should be building, asking questions of meaning, purpose, and ultimate goals. In addition to learning about both religious and secular frameworks, participants discussed realworld case studies of ethical dilemmas faced by the MIT community.
THE COURSE INCLUDED:
Presenters in Academy
Panelists
in Industry
Attendee Feedback:
As a result of the course content, participants said they plan on incorporating this content into their:
Research/Writing
Work/Studies
Teaching
Personal Conversations/Readings
“Inspiring to know that others are interested in this topic that has driven my career.”
A BETTER FUTURE
A Better Future is a multi-year initiative to advance wisdom within the practice of science and engineering by opening space for MIT students, faculty, and staff to step back and ask what kind of future is truly worth building, and what it means to orient research and innovation within questions of ultimate meaning and purpose. A forcredit course, co-taught by Professors Rosalind Picard and Sherry Turkle, as well as Nathan Barczi of the Octet Collaborative, explores multiple philosophical and faith traditions to probe ultimate questions, followed by case studies of how to apply such questions within specific areas of science and engineering.
Class Profile of For-Credit Students:
- 4 Media Lab students
- 1 Math PhD
- 1 Chemistry PhD
- 1 Sloan MBA
- 2 MassArt undergraduate students
*Plus, 15 auditors (listeners)
Student Feedback:
“Thank you so much for an unforgettable course where I have learned a lot and most importantly, where I have learned different ways to think about the future!”
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity in this class to explore ideas which I don’t often bring into my academic life, and to have been part of the rich discussions and classroom community. Thank you!”
“I realized that when designing a product, it is more important to consider not only the needs of the user and the business benefits at the moment, but also the long-term impact of the product on people and society.”
JEFFERSONIAN DINNERS
Faculty from MIT, Harvard, Boston College, Wellesley College and Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary gathered on two occasions to exchange ideas, discuss the current state of play, and foster intellectual hospitality and inter-department dialogue.
NOVEMBER
18, 2023:
A BETTER FUTURE
The passion to build a better future is a powerful driver of innovation at MIT, but rarely do its students and scholars have the opportunity to take a step back and ask what sort of future is truly worth building to promote the flourishing of all. In preparation for the for-credit course, Octet explored this question from a variety of philosophical and faith perspectives with faculty from MIT and GCTS.
12 Participants from MIT & GordonConwell Theological Seminary (GCTS)
MARCH 18, 2024: SCIENCE & VIRTUE WITH ROSALIND PICARD
19 Participants from MIT, Harvard, Boston College, GCTS & Wellesley College
Over the past decades, new possibilities have emerged in both the life sciences and computing for human enhancement, going beyond therapeutic remedies for disease and injury and providing capabilities beyond what is normally available to healthy human beings
Attendees discussed the following questions: What is the current state of developments in areas including genetics and artificial intelligence? What benefits and concerns do these technologies raise? How can we draw a line between therapy and enhancement?
SABBATH MIDWEEK
The weekly contemplative prayer and lunch gathering is a respite for MIT faculty, staff and students Not only does the time together offer a brief sabbath during the busy week, but individuals from varying corners of MIT come together to break bread and meditate on Scripture.
Participant Feedback
“I am so grateful for Sabbath Midweek. I look forward to this lunch and the respite it provides. I also appreciate the time to connect with faculty who are also believers. It is always so encouraging!”
“It’s life-giving to have a space where Christians at MIT can connect and share faith, life, and work ”
“It has been a joy to meet, eat, and spend time in the Word with brothers and sisters here.”
FINANCIALS
INCOME
Income in the 2024 fiscal year increased 25% to $272,618 from $217,658 the previous year. Assets at the end of the 2024 fiscal year totaled $339,191.
*Miscellaneous Revenue of $350.00 not included in pie chart.
EXPENSES
The 2024 fiscal year budget grew 27% from $146,990 the previous year to $186,506 as Octet expanded its programming and team. Program expenses accounted for the bulk of the increase at a 40% increase while administration expenses increased by 5% and fundraising increased by 12%.
