Intelligent Machines
Michele Kearney
Washington, DC
Michele
Kearney met her late husband, Joe, in 1975, when both worked at the
White House Office of Management and Budget, specializing in energy and
the environment. A charitable remainder unitrust that she recently
established will now be invested in the MIT endowment to support a
graduate fellowship in nuclear engineering in his name.
“The
Institute played a major role in nurturing Joe’s creativity and
entrepreneurial talents,” she says. “The gift allows me to honor my
husband and to do something worthwhile for MIT. I’m pleased to give back
on his behalf.”
The
gift, she adds, has many benefits. A unitrust provides a steady income
stream, generates tax efficiencies, and is an excellent method of asset
diversification. And because it is invested in the endowment, it
provides a good balance of growth and stability. “The future strength of
the economy will come from innovation and new areas of technology,” she
says. “In the long term, I believe that the MIT endowment is a better
place for making these kinds of investment decisions than the investment
banks on Wall Street.”
Joe
Kearney’s career in the energy business spanned 25 years. He earned a
master’s degree from MIT in 1969 and a PhD in 1973, both in nuclear
engineering. At the time of his death in 1998, he was president and CEO
of U.S. Generating, one of North America’s largest independent power
producers, and senior executive vice president of Pacific Gas &
Electric.
“The
need for competent, entrepreneurial nuclear engineers to satisfy the
demands of future generations is huge,” Michele says. “One of the best
places to be trained in this field is MIT, which brings together myriad
disciplines to problem-solve. Throughout his career, Joe emphasized the
importance of team building–grounding he got at MIT.
“I
would rather give the money to the Institute, where I know it will be
put to good use, than give it to the government. This is a remarkable
institution with global reach. I don’t think another place can match it.
Donors
can now establish trusts invested in the MIT endowment and benefit from
its diversified investment portfolio. The income paid by such trusts
has the potential to increase over time as the endowment does.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/421417/michele-kearney/
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