Richard M. Locke

Richard M. Locke is the John C Head III Dean at the MIT Sloan School of Management. A scholar of international labor standards and comparative political economy, Locke began his appointment as dean in July 2025. This also marked his return to MIT, where he previously served as the Class of 1922 Professor of Political Science and Management and the Alvin J. Siteman Professor of Entrepreneurship for 13 years, as well as MIT Political Science department head and MIT Sloan’s Deputy Dean. Locke began his career as an assistant professor of international management at MIT in 1988. 

Prior to his deanship appointment at MIT Sloan, Locke served as the Dean of Apple University, which focuses on internal leadership and management education for Apple, Inc. Before this, Locke was Brown University’s Provost, a position he held for nearly eight years. During his time in this role, he oversaw implementation and ongoing assessment of the University’s strategic plan and was responsible for spearheading a number of initiatives to encourage cross-campus and interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts, sciences, and entrepreneurship, and to spur research growth. He joined Brown’s faculty in 2013 as a Professor of political science and Director of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.  

As he begins his tenure as dean at MIT Sloan, Locke envisions the school charting the future of management education with a focus on how new technologies will impact education, industry, and the workplace. He is also committed to exploring opportunities for international growth and impact through MIT Sloan’s global corporate and educational partnerships. Central to Locke’s vision is the ongoing development of partnerships and engagement with key initiatives at MIT which are focused on health, climate, AI, policy, and more.  

Bridging theory and practice throughout his career, Locke has advised a broad range of organizations, including the U.S. Department of Labor, Nike, and Oxfam USA. He also served on the Advisory Committee at the Better Work Program and as Chair of the Apple Academic Advisory Board. He has authored and co-authored several books, including The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting labor standards in a global economy (2013), and has had articles published by numerous peer-reviewed journals, such as American Journal of Political Science, Management Science, and the Industrial and Labor Relations Review. Locke has won awards for both his teaching and research, several during his previous tenure at MIT — including the Jamieson Prize for Excellence in Teaching  and the Faculty Pioneer for Academic Leadership Award from the Aspen Institute — as well as a number of fellowships. 

Locke has been a visiting professor at several international institutions, including Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, Saїd Business School at Oxford University, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and, in September 2016, the Society for Progress awarded Locke with an inaugural Progress Medal for Scholarship and Leadership on Fairness and Well-being. 

Locke received his BA from Wesleyan University in 1981, an MA in Education from the University of Chicago in 1990, and his PhD in Political Science from MIT in 1989.