Prof. W Eric L Grimson

The vice president for open learning is responsible for shaping a coherent vision for an educational model that blends the best in learning science with the best of online learning. The vice president for open learning oversees a residential education unit that works to integrate best practices in learning and digital innovation might become integral parts of MIT students' on-campus education; strategic and research initiatives focused on teaching and learning in different contexts around the world; and online educational resources and courses including OpenCourseWare, MITx, MIT xPRO, Bootcamps, and Horizon.

The chancellor for academic advancement is one of the Institute’s senior academic officers and a central advisor to the president on resource development strategy. This ad hoc position plays a key role in gaining the sustained input of faculty and students to set MIT's fundraising priorities and bringing these priorities to alumni and donors around the world.

In addition to research in computer vision and medical image analysis, Professor Grimson teaches introductory Computer Programming courses, including an online MITx course. In all, he has taught some 15,000 MIT undergraduates and served as the thesis supervisor to almost 50 MIT PhDs. A Fellow of AAAI, of ACM, and of IEEE, he earned a BSc in mathematics and physics from the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada and a PhD in mathematics from MIT, and holds a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) from Dalhousie University and a Doctor of Science (honoris causa) from University of Saskatchewan, and from the University of Regina.