President will be announced tomorrow

MIT will announce its 17th president tomorrow morning after a special meeting of the MIT Corporation, according to a press release from the MIT News Office. The Corporation will elect Susan J. Hockfield’s successor, who has been picked after a 3-month long search process conducted by a joint faculty-Corporation committee.

The election itself is a formality. Historically, once the Corporation is given a nominee, that person is never actually turned down.

The election meeting will be followed by a press conference at 10:30 a.m. in the Media Lab. MIT Corporation Chairman John S. Reed and the president-elect will field questions from the press. The Institute will also stream the conference live at http://amps-web.amps.ms.mit.edu/public/MIT/2011-2012/2012may16-Press_Announcement/ .

Reed told The Tech earlier this month that the search process was on-track to conclude by the June 7 Corporation meeting, and that once the president is elected it could be a matter of months before he or she officially takes office. The transition would likely happen sooner if the Corporation elects somebody who already works at MIT, which Corporation officials have said is likely.

In an email to the community this evening, Hockfield said a “special community meeting” would be held at 2 p.m. in 10-250, followed by a reception and a chance to meet the new president in Lobby 10. The meeting will be streamed live via a link on MIT’s webpage.