MIT MLK Celebration

The Honorable Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson received the MIT MLK Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th MLK Celebration in 2024. Described by Time Magazine as “perhaps the ultimate role model for women in science,” Dr. Jackson has held senior leadership positions in academia, government, industry and research. A theoretical physicist, she holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics, both from MIT. Dr. Jackson is a Life Member of the MIT Corporation. She holds 57 honorary doctoral degrees. 

For 23 years, Dr. Jackson was president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the oldest technological research university in the United States. From 1995-1999, she chaired the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  She has also served on numerous boards, from then-President Barack Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board to the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.  

Among her many honors, Dr. Jackson was awarded the W.E.B. DuBois Medal from the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University and the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest honor in science and engineering.  

Describing her as “a national treasure,” the National Science Board selected Dr. Jackson as the recipient of The Vannevar Bush Award for “a lifetime of achievements in scientific research, education, and senior statesman-like contributions to public policy.”

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The MLK Celebration Committee presented a Lifetime Achievement Award in memoriam to Paul Parravano in 2024. Paul Parravano joined the MIT community in 1991 and at the time of his retirement was the Director of Special Projects in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer.

Prior to that appointment, for 32 years, Paul helped lead the Office of Government and Community Relations, fostering communication and understanding between the Institute and all levels of government, major constituency groups and MIT’s surrounding community. 

Locally, Paul worked to strengthen MIT’s involvement in science education with schools and nonprofits through a variety of partnerships and led MIT’s efforts to annually host the Massachusetts Science and Engineering State Fair. Among many boards, Paul served on the Arlington MA Commission for Persons with Disabilities. 

Prior to his employment at MIT, Paul worked as a legal adviser in a civil rights consulting firm in the Boston area, providing advice and consultation for corporations on the implementation of civil rights regulations. 

Paul was a longtime member of the MLK Jr. Celebration Committee at MIT.

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Dr. Harris has been a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at many different points in his career, starting at MIT in 1973. He left in 1985 to become dean of engineering at the University of Connecticut and was later vice president of the University of Tennessee and head of its Space Institute. Before returning to MIT as an inaugural MLK Visiting Professor in 1995, he was NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics. He rejoined the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty in 1996.

Dr. Harris was the very first Director of MIT’s Office of Minority Education from 1975 to 1978. He has served as head of the department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, head of house for New House residence hall and associate provost for faculty equity.

This MLK Lifetime Achievement Award honors him for his ongoing commitment to ensuring that all students achieve academically at MIT and for his tireless work on increasing diversity efforts for MIT faculty.

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