Marilyn Richardson joined the MIT faculty in 1980 and taught courses in essay writing, fiction writing, women's studies, and African American Literature. A writer and curator, she came up for a promotion and re-appointment review before a writing program committee in 1986, but was denied reappointment. She charged that her case illustrates MIT's lack of action towards achieving its stated interest in a racially-integrated faculty:

While I will give credit to the Institute for its willingness to address racial problems in the Racial Climate at MIT report and others, the writing and literature departments at MIT have made less-than a good faith effort to recruit and keep such minority faculty as they once recruited.

Richardson would teach at MIT under different appointments until 1998.

Boyd, Annabelle. "Dismissed prof sparks controversy." The Tech Vol. 109, No. 3 (14 February 1989).