Richard Locke P’18, Brown’s former provost, will step down as vice president and dean of Apple University to become the dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management effective July 1.
Prior to his role as dean of Apple University, the tech company’s corporate leadership school, Locke served over seven years as Brown’s 13th Provost before stepping down in December 2022.
As Brown’s chief academic and budget officer, Locke advanced initiatives that emphasized a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion including supporting undocumented students and increasing financial aid, according to a University press release about his departure from Brown.
He also contributed to a number of initiatives including University operational plans and the BrownTogether fundraising campaign.
A search committee has conducted an extensive search for the position over the last several months, according to an MIT press release, seeking and receiving feedback from MIT faculty, staff, students and alumni.
“We think he is going to be great at connecting Sloan even further to the rest of MIT, around grand challenges such as climate, AI and health care,” said Kate Kellogg, who co-chaired the committee, in the release.
For Locke, this appointment marks a return to MIT.
He earned his PhD in political science at MIT in 1989 and was a part of the MIT faculty from 1993 to 2013 in various roles, including as the head of the department of political science and deputy dean of MIT Sloan. He left the role and later became the director of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown.
Even during his recent years at Brown and Apple University, Locke maintained ties with MIT as a member of the university’s Corporation.
“I loved my time at MIT Sloan because of its wonderful mix of ambition, energy and drive for excellence, but also humility,” Locke said in the press release. “We knew that we didn’t always have all the answers, but were curious to learn more, and eager to do the work to find solutions to some of the world’s great challenges.”
“Now as dean, I look forward to once again being part of this wonderful community,” he added.
