Len Evenchik

Len Evenchik is a proud graduate of Lorain High School. During his time at LHS, he was a member of the choir and played drums in the marching and jazz bands. He was a member of the National Honor Society and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed". Len always enjoyed math and science classes and remembers some outstanding teachers who fostered his interest in these subjects. He also has wonderful memories of eating lunch with a great group of friends.

The year Len entered LHS was the year that the school installed an IBM 1620 computer, which took up almost an entire classroom. Having a computer for students was unheard of in 1969. Tom Bauer was the first computer teacher, and while many at that time thought that it was impossible for high school students to learn programming, Tom made it not only possible, but exciting and fun. In Len's senior year, students from Admiral King came to LHS to take computer classes and Len was a tutor, which he really enjoyed and probably set the stage for his career.

After high school, Len earned three degrees from MIT. He received a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in EECS, and he was awarded a patent based on his thesis work. Len also received a degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management with a focus on finance. He was a member of the lightweight varsity crew team where he rowed competitively with other Division I colleges. Len began his professional career at a research firm called BBN where he designed some of the original networking protocols for the Internet. As the Internet grew, Len managed very large communication networks. He became Director of Communications for Massachusetts and he received a Governor's Commendation for this work.

Len has been a founding team member of a number of successful high-tech startups, but he never lost his love of teaching. He started teaching at Harvard's Division of Continuing Education, and in 1997, he taught the first online education course at Harvard that used the Internet to extend the classroom to students around the world. He then joined Harvard as the Assistant Dean for Distance and Innovative Education.

As online education became more common, Len wanted to focus on teaching. He joined the faculty of Boston College's Carroll School of Management in 2015 as a Professor of the Practice, a position for those who have had distinguished careers. He teaches courses on Data Analytics and AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. One of his research projects focuses on how technology, such as AI, can be leveraged to create new assistive technology for vision, hearing, and mobility. He is also developing business models that will move these new devices into the real world quickly. He speaks at conferences and is on the organizing committee for the MIT CIO symposium.

Len was born in Lorain, and his family has lived in the Lorain area since the late 1800s. His siblings and cousins went to LHS, as did his parents, and there are some wonderful pictures of them in the 1944 Scimitar. Len and his wife, Prof. Suzanne Kirschner, live in Cambridge and their son Alex is in graduate school. Len has continued to row, and for the past few years has competed in the Head of the Charles Regatta with his son.

Len Evenchik's Induction Speech