UROP Fund Established to Honor Paul Parravano
Sarah Gallop, the director of MIT’s Office of Government and Community Relations, announced recently that the Paul Parravano Memorial Fund will be used to support MIT’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).
Parravano, who passed away in 2023, was former co-director of the Office of Government and Community Relations. He served MIT for 33 years, working closely with public officials, advocacy groups, and nonprofit organizations at the local, state, and national levels. In Washington, DC, he worked to help advance the cause of science and research by orchestrating regular visits with government leaders. Closer to home, he facilitated a range of visitors, from local schoolchildren to leaders and dignitaries.
Beyond his day job, Parravano was deeply involved in the MIT and Cambridge communities in ways large and small—among them, sharing with MIT biology students the experience of losing his sight to retinal cancer as a child; advocating for those with disabilities, including his work with the National Braille Press; serving on the MIT Community Service Fund and the MIT Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee; and supporting local voting and election efforts, just to name a few. He received several awards from the Cambridge community and was the inaugural recipient of the MIT Staff Award for Distinction in Service in 2022. As former President Rafael Reif said at the ceremony, Parravano was the “Mayor of MIT.”
Parravano’s family shared that they believe that UROP is a perfect fit for the fund: “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that by supporting UROP, we will be continuing Paul’s deep commitment to MIT students and their research. We are so happy to dedicate the Paul Parravano Memorial Fund to this purpose and this inspiring program. Although Paul’s UROP fund will have a preference for assistive technology research, it’s not restricted to only that — which sounds exactly like Paul to us! Finally, Paul himself helped make our decision an easy one, by naming UROP in his estate planning, and because we remember the way he would light up with enthusiasm and pride whenever he spoke about MIT student research. We welcome the MIT and Cambridge community to join us in supporting Paul’s legacy by supporting student research through UROP.”