 MIT faculty members have often been recruited to lead other colleges and universities . Founding faculty member Charles W. Eliot was recruited in 1869 to become president of Harvard University , a post he would hold for 40 years , during which he wielded considerable influence on both American higher education and secondary education . MIT alumnus and faculty member George Ellery Hale played a central role in the development of the California Institute of Technology ( Caltech ) , and other faculty members have been key founders of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in nearby Needham , Massachusetts . 
