![]() Gray was “a true strategic thought partner” throughout the center’s evolution, says Jill Bassett, associate dean and director of the PKG Center. Today, the PKG Center has expanded beyond a “day of service” mindset its vision of public service is now more long-term, community-informed, and academically aligned. I was lucky enough continue to have her ‘mother’ me throughout my life with her generosity and love,” Park says. ![]() “She welcomed students with open arms then wrapped them around us so we felt at home. She always could talk about anything and it would be fun and interesting.” She recalls that Gray would regularly invite her to breakfast at the president’s house: “I loved those breakfasts with Priscilla. Park worked with Gray on the MIT quasquicentennial gala centered around the opening of the Wiesner Student Art Gallery. ![]() “Priscilla was the mother of all of us who were students at MIT,” says Hyun-A Park ’83, MCP ’85, a member of the MIT Corporation and former president of the MIT Alumni Association. The center was renamed in her honor in 2015, and is now known as the PKG Center. In 1988, while her husband was the Institute’s president, she co-founded the MIT Public Service Center with dean of student affairs Shirley McBay, and served as co-chair of its steering committee for more than 23 years. Gray also taught crewel embroidery at MIT from 1978 to 2007. With the league, she worked to help faculty wives host events in their homes for students, and then participated in other efforts, such as raising money for and helping to reorganize Elizabeth Killian Hall (Building 14), and supporting a local shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Among other activities, she joined the MIT Women’s League, later saying in an MIT Infinite History interview, “In the early years, that’s really how I got to know the Institute.” The family then moved to the Cambridge area, so that Paul could begin his PhD at MIT.Īs her family grew and Paul became an MIT faculty member and then administrator, Priscilla was an active volunteer both off and on campus. They married in 1955 and spent two years at the nearby Fort Devens Army Base, where Priscilla taught second grade and gave birth to the first of their four children while Paul completed his military service. Priscilla King Gray and Paul Gray met as college students in 1951, when Priscilla was at Wheaton College and Paul at MIT. As I'm learning, Priscilla's name is synonymous with public service at MIT - a fitting legacy for someone who believed deeply in our students and their capacity to do good in the world.” “But her spirit feels wonderfully familiar, because, from her portrait in the front hall at Gray House, where she and Paul are painted side by side, her quiet smile warms the room. “I didn’t have the chance to meet Priscilla Gray,” says MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who assumed the role on Jan. Throughout this time, Priscilla Gray made her own indelible mark at the Institute through her contributions to public service, while also being Paul’s confidante, sounding board, and occasional advisor. Paul Gray served as the dean of engineering, associate provost, and chancellor, and then as MIT’s 14th president from 1980 to 1990, followed by seven years as chair of the MIT Corporation. She arrived at MIT when her husband joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1960, and experienced Institute life with him over the next five decades as he ascended the ranks of the administration. Gray, who had been the wife of former MIT president Paul Gray ’54, SM ’55, ScD ’60 until his death in 2017, co-founded the MIT Public Service Center - since renamed in her honor as the Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center - and was a champion of public service and a leader in efforts to build community at the Institute. Priscilla King Gray, an integral part of the fabric at MIT for more than 50 years, died on Feb.
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