Last month, Richard M. Locke, PhD ’89, (John C Head III Dean at the MIT Sloan School of Management) and Kathryn Hawkes (Senior Associate Dean, External Engagement) sat for a virtual fireside chat with alumni.
They spoke about the qualities that differentiate MIT Sloan from other business schools, the MBA program’s recent top-tier ranking by the Financial Times, and Dean Locke’s priorities for the school. They also addressed alumni-submitted questions about artificial intelligence and its potential impacts, the future of management education, opportunities for alumni to support MIT Sloan, and more.
A gem of a place
MIT Sloan is a “real gem of a place” that is distinctive for two important reasons: its people and its placement within the MIT ecosystem.
“We have amazing students, staff, faculty, and alumni,” said Dean Locke. “Of course they’re bright, but they’re also doing important work, and they’re doing it in a way that is about the work and not about them. It’s not about their ego. It’s about having an impact in the world.”
The school’s integral connection to MIT helps it stand apart from other institutions. “Our role at MIT is to translate the incredible innovation that’s taking place across campus into new enterprises, new business models for existing enterprises, new ways of thinking about public policy, and new ways of thinking about the world,” said Dean Locke.
The recent Financial Times ranking is a validation of this distinctive relationship, as well as of all the work that generations of MIT Sloan students, faculty, staff, and alumni have accomplished since Course XV’s founding in 1914.
“This is MIT and MIT Sloan’s moment,” said Dean Locke. “Given all the geopolitical complexity and technological change happening today, what MIT and MIT Sloan have to offer is exactly what the world needs.”
The first half of MIT Sloan’s mission is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world. These leaders—who bring together technical depth, managerial excellence, and principled leadership—are MIT Sloan’s answer to the world’s most urgent leadership demands.
Our role at MIT is to translate the incredible innovation that’s taking place across campus into new enterprises, new business models for existing enterprises, new ways of thinking about public policy, and new ways of thinking about the world.
Leaning into MIT
Four priorities have emerged from Dean Locke’s conversations with members of the MIT Sloan community.
They include strengthening the collaborative connections between MIT and MIT Sloan, reimagining the future of management education, encouraging community in a hybrid world, and ensuring fiscal sustainability and operational excellence. “What is going to continue to make us distinctive and truly impactful? We’ve got to lean into MIT even more,” said Dean Locke.
MIT Sloan faculty are participating in and leading many of MIT President Sally Kornbluth’s strategic initiatives—from the Climate Project at MIT and the MIT Generative AI Impact Consortium, to the MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative and the MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing.
The school is also piloting new certificate programs and classes to bring together students and faculty from across the Institute to learn from one another.
“When I imagine what the future of management education could be for MIT Sloan, I see it as a seamless experience,” said Dean Locke. It’s a future, he continued, that involves traditional classroom instruction, offsite experiences with Action Learning labs, online learning, and more.
The future of MIT Sloan
Speaking of the future, Dean Locke took questions from alumni tuning in about the financial health of the school, admissions trends, the potential impacts of artificial intelligence, and what alumni can do to help.
Citing a 2025 study by Roberto Rigobon, PhD ’97 (Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management) and Isabella Loaiza-Saa, SM ’19, PhD ’23, (Postdoctoral Associate) that suggested AI is more likely to complement human workers than replace them, Dean Locke said, “With AI, we have to lean into the human side of enterprise.”
“When we’re talking about weaving AI into our curriculum,” he continued, “it’s to use this powerful tool to do the kind of information aggregation and analysis that it does so well. To free us up to be the managers and the leaders we want to be. To use the human qualities to do more advanced and rigorous work.”
Finally, Dean Locke called on alumni to serve as ambassadors by sharing their insights and advice with the community, telling the world about what MIT Sloan has to offer, hiring students in the job market, and philanthropically supporting the school.
“I hope that we can engage you, especially in this moment,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for MIT Sloan.”
