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For nearly 30 years, Mary Gallagher has aided award-winning faculty members and their laboratories much like she nurtures the earth beneath her garden. In both endeavors, she combines hard work and experience with an appreciation for how interconnected ecosystems enhance the growth of a plant or an idea, planted in the right environment.
Gallagher, a senior administrative assistant in the Department of Biology, has dedicated much of her career to MIT. Her expertise in maneuvering through the numerous duties required by administrators, as well as her capacity to forge relationships, have uplifted and advanced everyone she encounters, both at the Institute and beyond.
Oh, the individuals you’ll meet
Gallagher’s career did not commence at MIT. Her initial position after graduating from the University of Vermont in the early 1980s was at a nearby community arts center, where she collaborated with a man who would become a prominent figure in American politics.
“This individual had just been elected mayor, surprisingly, of Burlington, Vermont, by fewer than 100 votes, defeating the incumbent. He went in and established this arts council and youth office,” Gallagher reminisces.
That political novice was none other than a young Bernie Sanders, currently the longest-serving independent senator in U.S. congressional history.
Gallagher joined MIT in 1996, becoming an administrative assistant (or “lab admin”) in what was then known as the MIT Energy Laboratory. Shortly after her arrival, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems Ernest Moniz transformed the laboratory into the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI).
Gallagher quickly realized how adaptable the work of an administrator can be. As MITEI rapidly expanded, she interacted with individuals from across the campus and its vast scope of disciplines at the Institute, encompassing mechanical engineering, political science, and economics.
“Admin roles at MIT are quite hectic due to the depth of tasks we are willing to undertake to support the institution. I was initially hired for secretarial duties, and before I knew it, I was traveling frequently, organizing a five-day, 5,000-person event in D.C.,” Gallagher reflects. “I developed remarkable computer and event-planning skills.”
Though such responsibilities may appear overwhelming to some, Gallagher has been delighted by the opportunities she’s encountered to meet numerous individuals and acquire various new skills. As a lab admin in MITEI for 18 years, she excelled in navigating MIT administration, lab finances, and technical support. When Moniz transitioned to lead the U.S. Department of Energy under President Obama, she moved to the Department of Biology at MIT.
Mutual flourishing
Throughout the years, Gallagher has nurtured the development of students and colleagues at MIT, and vice versa.
Friend and former colleague Samantha Farrell recalls her first days at MITEI as a somewhat anxious and very “novice” temp when Gallagher presented her an exquisite cappuccino from her new Nespresso coffee machine.
“I cherish her friendship and wisdom,” Farrell states. “She taught me everything necessary about being an admin and working in research.”
Gallagher’s experience has also positioned faculty across the Institute for success.
According to one principal investigator she currently assists, Novartis Professor of Biology Leonard Guarente, Gallagher is “incredibly influential and, in summary, an ideal administrative assistant.”
Likewise, professor of biology Daniel Lew appreciates her extensive MIT experience as he transitioned his lab to the Institute in recent years. “Mary was crucial in establishing and managing the lab, teaching at MIT, and coordinating meetings and workshops,” Lew notes. “She is a reservoir of knowledge about MIT.”
A readiness to share knowledge, resources, and occasionally a cappuccino, is just as essential as an eagerness to learn, particularly at a teaching institution like MIT. Thus, it is evident that MIT students have also influenced Gallagher — including instructing her on how to format a digital table of contents on her very first day at MIT.
“Interacting with undergrads and graduate students is my favorite aspect of MIT. Their kindness leaves me in awe,” Gallagher expresses. “Regardless of how busy they are, they’re always ready to assist another individual.”
Campus community
Gallagher points to the decline in community following the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown as one of her most substantial challenges.
Before Covid, she remarks, “MIT had this remarkable sense of community. Everyone had projects, volunteered, and participated. The campus was alive; it was a blast!”
She cultivated that community, from active involvement in the MIT Women’s League to orchestrating an award-winning revival of Artist Behind the Desk. This subset of the MIT Working Group for Support Staff Issues hosted lunchtime recitals and visual art exhibitions to unite staff artists around campus, for which the group received a 2005 MIT Excellence Award for Creating Connections.
Furthermore, Gallagher is a vital part of the smaller communities within the labs she supports.
Professor of biology and American Cancer Society Professor Graham Walker, yet another faculty member in the Department of Biology that Gallagher assists, states, “Mary’s warmth and constant smile have brightened my lab for many years, and we are all thankful to have such an excellent colleague and friend.”
She aims to revive the sense of community that the campus once had, yet understands that yearning for past days is in vain.
“You can never return to the past and recreate the future as it once was,” she explains. “You must envision how we can make ourselves remarkable in a new manner.”
Extending her roots
Gallagher’s life has been profoundly influenced by the Institute, and MIT, in turn, would not be what it is without Gallagher’s eagerness to impart her insights on the intricacies of administration alongside the “joie de vivre” of her garden’s butterflies.
She recently purchased a home in rural New Hampshire, exchanging the lively campus atmosphere for the hum of local honeybees. Her work ethic is evident in her ongoing dedication to curiosity, as she explores native plant life and documents pollinating insects as they navigate her flowers.
Just as she can appreciate each insect and flower for its role in the greater ecosystem, Gallagher has participated in and contributed to a culture that values the significance of every individual within the whole.
“At MIT’s core, there is a belief that everyone contributes something unique,” she states. “I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t worked at MIT and encountered all these remarkable individuals.”
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