MIT OpenCourseWare Press Conference (April 4, 2001)

On April 4, 2001, MIT President Charles Vest leads a press conference to announce the establishment of MIT’s OpenCourseWare (OCW), the web-based program to provide free access to MIT course content, including lecture notes, problem sets, exams and videos. Vest describes OCW as a “natural marriage of American higher education and the capabilities of the World Wide Web”, and a reflection of MIT faculty’s “deeply ingrained sense of service” and “incredible idealism.” The discussion covers issues of access, costs, copyright, motivations, and expectations, and the long-term implications of the project. Other panelists include Prof. Steve Lerman (Chairman of the Faculty), Prof. Hal Abelson (EECS) and Prof. Dick Yue (Associate Dean of Engineering). For current information, visit OCW.