Jane and A. Neil Pappalardo ’64
A. Neil Pappalardo ’64 is a champion of teaching excellence at MIT. Born in Rochester, New York, Neil Pappalardo received the S.B. degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT. Following graduation Neil pursued his interest in clinical computing at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
A generous benefactor and friend to MIT, Neil has found numerous ways to enable students and professors to achieve excellence in their lives and work. His gifts have consistently focused on enhancing teaching tools and learning spaces in support of MIT’s mission to attract and cultivate the brightest, most creative and innovative students and faculty from across the globe.
Supporting the Department of Physics, he has helped fund the construction of the world-class Magellan optical telescope observatory on a Chilean mountaintop, provided funds to initiate and sustain the Pappalardo Fellowships in Physics, and contributed major funding for the construction of the Green Center, ensuring for the first time a common space for the Department’s various labs and programs. Neil’s support has also created an undergraduate teaching laboratory and endowed a departmental teaching book series in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
As a lifetime member of the MIT Corporation, Neil serves on several Corporation committees including the Executive Committee of the Corporation, the Risk and Audit Committee, and three visiting committees. Neil is the founder of Medical Information Technology, Inc. (MEDITECH), one of the earliest software companies. As Chairman and CEO, he has overseen MEDITECH becoming a leading supplier of information system software for hospitals in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2008 he was awarded the Bronze Beaver Award, the MIT Alumni Association’s highest honor for distinguished service to the Institute.
Today, Neil celebrates MIT’s educational goals through the Teaching Excellence Project, which strives to capture, archive, and share with the world inspiring lectures by faculty and engaging learning among students at MIT.
