(2019-08-23) Head Of Mit Media Lab Faces Crisis That Tears At Lab He Helped Elevate

Head of MIT Media Lab faces crisis that tears at lab he helped elevate. Last week, Joi Ito acknowledged that he had extensive personal and professional ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who committed suicide in prison this month while facing federal charges of sex trafficking of underaged girls.

Since then, a well-known professor and a visiting scholar have both announced they will quit the lab in protest.

Despite questions and concerns raised by students, Ito hasn’t offered a complete explanation of why he got involved with Epstein.

Late Thursday, MIT president L. Rafael Reif said the school had received about $800,000 over two decades via foundations controlled by Epstein

Ito said he first met Epstein in 2013, five years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution and served a year in jail.

“Ito was a little bit of a breath of fresh air,” Bender said. “He comes from very much of a business focus, an entrepreneurial focus, and that certainly had an impact on the lab.”

But his fund-raising has sometimes been controversial. The lab recently cut ties with the private foundation run by Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman.