媒体实验室在麻省理工学院（MIT）的董事辞职周六细节发表在后，纽约人揭露概述努力掩饰他的实验室和杰弗里·爱泼斯坦，被定罪的恋童癖和金融家谁把自己的生命之间的财务关系等待8月份联邦性交易指控的审判。
根据媒体实验室主任伊藤卓一向该大学的教务长和总裁发送的一封电子邮件，Ito确定他的辞职将成为最佳的行动方式，因为媒体的密切关注使得他在2008年因招募而被判入狱后重新引入学术生活。性别未成年人。
“在过去几天和几周内对此问题进行了大量思考之后，我认为我最好辞去媒体实验室主任以及该研究所的教授和员工，立即生效，”Ito据报道写道周六。
星期六麻省理工学院校长L. Rafael Reif就伊藤辞职发表声明。
“由于故事中的指控非常严重，他们要求立即进行彻底和独立的调查，”Reif的声明中写道。“今天早上，我请麻省理工学院的总法律顾问聘请一家知名律师事务所来设计和实施这一过程。我希望公司尽快进行这次审查，并向我和麻省理工学院执行委员会汇报。 ，麻省理工学院的理事会。“
Reif的陈述继续说他接受了伊藤的辞职，并且“接受爱泼斯坦的礼物涉及到判断错误。我们正在积极评估如何最好地改进我们的政策，流程和程序，以充分反映麻省理工学院的价值观并防止这些错误。未来。”
调查记者Ronan Farrow周五晚上发表的纽约人故事发现了伊藤撰写的电子邮件和其他通信，试图隐瞒爱泼斯坦对媒体实验室的好处，了解他的肮脏过去。
据说伊藤告诉工作人员确保爱泼斯坦的贡献“被称为匿名”。据报道，虽然爱泼斯坦在麻省理工学院的捐赠者名单中被标记为“被取消资格”，但媒体实验室继续与他保持共生关系，据报道，由于现金的涌入而增加了润滑油。
据报道，爱泼斯坦通过其他渠道向实验室捐赠了至少750万美元。
当Ito与爱泼斯坦 - 法罗发现会面时，他会在日历中注明爱泼斯坦的首字母而不是写出全名，就像他与其他捐赠者一样。伊藤也显然将爱泼斯坦称为“伏地魔”或“不能被命名的人”，这是对哈利波特系列的提及。
周三，伊藤透露爱泼斯坦过去的捐款总额为120万美元用于投资目的，525,000美元用于实验室预算。
该大学的一位发言人告诉纽约人，它正在“查看有关杰弗里·爱泼斯坦给学院的礼物的事实。”
伊藤也是“纽约时报 ”企业老板的董事会成员。目前还不清楚他是否会继续保留这一职位。
媒体实验室是一个极具声望的研究机构，将技术发展与设计和道德相结合。
根据该实验室的网站，其资金主要来自80多名“会员”，他们提供大部分运营预算。
该网站指出：“媒体实验室得到了80多个成员的支持，其中包括一些世界领先的组织。” “我们的会员提供实验室大约7500万美元的年度运营预算，其业务范围从电子产品到娱乐，时尚到医疗保健，从玩具到电信。我们在高度协作和反学科的环境中开展研究。”
The director of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) resigned Saturday after details were published in a New Yorker exposé outlining efforts to concealthe financial relationship between his lab and Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile and financier who took his own life while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in August.
According to an email from Media Lab director Joichi Ito to the university's provost and president, Ito determined that his resignation would be the best course of action to take after intense media scrutiny implicated him in Epstein's reintroduction to academic life following a 2008 jail sentence for soliciting a minor for sex.
"After giving the matter a great deal of thought over the past several days and weeks, I think that it is best that I resign as Director of the Media Lab and as a Professor and employee of the Institute, effective immediately," Ito reportedly wrote on Saturday.
On Saturday MIT President L. Rafael Reif issued a statement on Ito's resignation.
"Because the accusations in the story are extremely serious, they demand an immediate, thorough and independent investigation," Reif's statement read. "This morning, I asked MIT's General Counsel to engage a prominent law firm to design and conduct this process. I expect the firm to conduct this review as swiftly as possible, and to report back to me and to the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation, MIT's governing board."
Reif's statement went on to say he accepted Ito's resignation, and that "the acceptance of the Epstein gifts involved a mistake of judgment. We are actively assessing how best to improve our policies, processes and procedures to fully reflect MIT's values and prevent such mistakes in the future."
The New Yorker story, published Friday night by investigative reporter Ronan Farrow, discovered e-mails and other correspondence authored by Ito which attempted to conceal Epstein's beneficence to the media lab, knowing about his sordid past.
Ito allegedly told staff to make sure Epstein's contributions were "accounted for as anonymous." Though Epstein was reportedly marked as "disqualified" in MIT's donor list, the Media Lab continued to have a symbiotic relationship with him, according to the report, greased by the influx of cash.
Epstein reportedly facilitated the donation of at least $7.5 million to the lab from other sources.
When Ito would meet with Epstein—Farrow discovered—he would note Epstein's initials in his calendar instead of writing out the full name, as he did with other donors. Ito also apparently referred to Epstein as "Voldemort" or "he who must not be named," a reference to the Harry Potterfranchise.
On Wednesday, Ito revealed past contributions from Epstein totaling $1.2 million for investment purposes and $525,000 for the lab budget.
A spokesperson for the university told the New Yorker that it is "looking at the facts surrounding Jeffrey Epstein's gifts to the institute."
Ito is also on the board of directors of The New York Times' corporate owner. It is unclear whether he will continue to retain that position.
The Media Lab is a highly prestigious research institute that couples technological development with design and ethics.
According to the lab's website, its funding is mainly derived from over 80 "members" who provide the majority of its operating budget.
"The Media Lab is supported by more than 80 members, including some of the world's leading organizations," the site notes. "Our members provide the majority of the Lab's approximately $75 million annual operating budget, and their businesses range from electronics to entertainment, fashion to health care, and toys to telecommunications. We conduct research in a highly collaborative and antidisciplinary environment."
