Top photo by Paul Upton

 By MIT President L. Rafael Reif.
This week marks the third anniversary of the death of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, who was killed while protecting our community. His loss came on a mild spring night as we struggled in shock over the bombing of the Boston Marathon.

Officer Collier was a young man with a wonderful spirit of kindness, service, curiosity and play, and an extraordinary ability to touch the hearts of everyone around him. Through the example of his life, and through our shared experience after his death, he taught us the power of community in ways that no one present at the time will ever forget.