On May 6, 2005, Dr. Susan Hockfield was inaugurated as the 16th president of MIT. Hockfield, the first woman and the first life scientist to lead MIT, committed the Institute to sustaining its commitment to intellectual openness, as well as to increasing the numbers of women and underrepresented minorities in academia. During the ceremony, she also announced a new initiative on energy and the environment. Established in September, 2006, the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) is an Institute-wide initiative designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future.