MIT Would Like a Word With Stephen Colbert

Richard Hersh, a former university president, appeared on the Colbert Report not long ago and said that MIT is one of the U.S. schools that’s “doing it right.” To which Colbert responded: “MIT is just like a tech school. It’s like the Harvard of DeVry’s.” And that’s where things got interesting. Stu Schmill, dean of admissions at MIT, Lego fanatic, and Colbert fan, was not pleased with Colbert’s assessment and decided to retort in a blog post:

“Stephen … had some unkind words about MIT, and moreover didn’t seem to really ‘get’ what makes this such a special place. Now, I know such complex concepts may be difficult for him to grasp (after all, truthiness will only get you so far), but, as someone who cares deeply about education, I felt compelled to try.”

… and this video: