Dean, Sloan School of Management
Rick Locke PhD '89 will become the next John C Head III Dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management, effective July 1, 2025. Rick's appointment is the next chapter in a transformative career that has taken him from MIT to Brown University to Apple Inc. and, fortunately for us, back to MIT.
After earning his PhD from MIT in political science, Rick served the Institute with distinction for 25 years, including as head of the Department of Political Science and as MIT Sloan's deputy dean. A point of pride Rick cites from these years is his role in co-developing and co-teaching the Global Entrepreneurship Laboratory (G-LAB) with Professor Simon Johnson. G-LAB combines classroom discussions with intensive internships at international start-ups, opening students' eyes to the global economy through a lens of entrepreneurship. The course became very popular and influenced the development of other action learning labs focused on sustainability, healthcare, and marketing.
At Brown, Rick brought insights gleaned from MIT to his role first as director of the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs and then as provost. During his tenure, Rick created new strategic plans that shaped major fundraising efforts. He also increased Brown's research output, hired exceptional faculty, and created a new office of industry engagement and technology licensing.
In his current role at Apple, as vice president and dean of Apple University, Rick is responsible for educating and training a workforce that spans the globe. He has focused on further integrating the university with different lines of business and leveraging Apple's technology to launch easily accessible and personalized educational programs to empower employees with the knowledge and skills to succeed in their roles. I am excited by the insights that Rick has gained in his time at Apple, which will help invent the future of business education programs at MIT Sloan.
As members of the faculty search advisory committee put it, Rick's depth of experience makes him a once-in-a-generation leader who will "hit the ground sprinting." The committee and I were impressed by his vision for removing frictions that slow research efforts, his exceptional track record of raising substantial funds to support academic communities, and his strong grasp of and attentiveness to the interests and needs of MIT Sloan's constituencies. Rick's extensive international experience, inclusive leadership style, and knack for setting and achieving goals will enable MIT Sloan to raise its profile and extend the school's reach and impact.