Walter Alter Rosenblith was appointed associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969. In July 1971 he became provost and served in that capacity until July 1980. Rosenblith played a central role in the development of health sciences and biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in the Institute's collaboration with other universities and medical institutions.

Rosenblith's terms as associate provost and provost were marked by student-faculty protests and disruption, a slowing in the development of research programs, and funding cuts throughout the Institute, all of which diverted the office from usual concerns. It was also characterized by movement of research and teaching efforts away from military applications towards social and environmental applications. The United States Congress forced the Department of Defense to disengage from support of basic research projects not directly related to military purposes, which led to the transfer for support of the National Magnet Laboratory, the Center for Materials Science and Engineering, and the Lincoln Laboratory to the National Science Foundation.

In the fall of 1971, the Concourse Program, an integrative program for freshmen, was instituted. In 1979 Rosenblith oversaw the preparation for the decennial reaccreditation of the Institute by the North East Association of Schools and Colleges. Rosenblith organized a self-study of the Institute that followed four themes representing continuing concerns in academic policy: the basic educational requirements of the MIT undergraduate curriculum; the evolution of interdisciplinary forums, emphasizing interdisciplinary and interdepartmental labs, centers, and programs; the role of computers in MIT education; and career paths and career expectations of MIT students and alumni.