MIT installs first chaplain in its 146-year history

BOSTON — A “temple” of scientific inquiry embraced a new relationship with organized religion Sept. 30 when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, installed its first chaplain in the school’s 146-year history.
Robert M. Randolph, an ordained Church of Christ minister, accepted the mantle of chaplain to MIT at a late afternoon ceremony. Randolph has worked at MIT for 28 years, most recently in the role of senior associate dean.
MIT has long relied on a board of chaplains from the greater Boston area to minister to MIT students. That model currently includes 19 board members representing faith groups that range from the Assemblies of God to Vedanta. The board will remain in tact even as Randolph fulfills his new duties.

“This will offer the chaplains some institutional support,” Randolph said in a press release. He expects that by reporting to MIT, he’ll be able to put a public face on collective chaplaincy efforts and exercise “a bigger and more public role.”