About

In partnership with senior leaders, the provost’s team has broad involvement and impact across academics, research and finances, and governing bodies at MIT.

01.About the role#Section link copied to clipboard

The MIT provost promotes excellence

The provost serves as the Institute’s chief academic and budget officer, promoting excellence in academics and research.

Reporting to the president, the provost oversees academic deans, serves on Institute boards and committees, directs the Provost’s Office team, and stewards MIT’s finances and faculty growth.

View areas of oversight

02.About the person#Section link copied to clipboard

Anantha Chandrakasan

Meet Provost Chandrakasan

Anantha P. Chandrakasan is MIT’s provost and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Reporting to MIT’s president, Provost Chandrakasan serves at the Institute’s chief academic and budget officer.

A member of the Institute’s faculty since 1994, Provost Chandrakasan has served in many leadership roles at MIT, including as dean of the School of Engineering from July 2017 to June 2025 and as the Institute’s inaugural chief innovation and strategy officer from January 2024 to June 2025.

As a senior officer of the Institute, he serves on the following boards and committees: Academic Council, MIT Budget and Finance Steering Group, MIT Building Committee (co-chair), MIT Enrollment Management Group, MIT Financial Scenarios Working Group (co-chair), MIT Gift Acceptance Committee (chair), MIT Gift Policy Committee, MIT International Corporation Board (co-chair), Ragon Institute Board, Schwarzman College of Computing External Advisory Council (ex officio), and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Board (co-chair).

In his role as provost, he also oversees the MIT Office of Innovation and Strategy (OIS) which includes the following initiatives: the MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (MIT HEALS), the MIT Generative AI Impact Consortium (MGAIC), the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC), and the MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM). He currently serves as head of MIT HEALS and MGAIC and co-chair of MITHIC. MIT OIS also includes the MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance for which he serves as co-chair.

Provost Chandrakasan is also the senior executive advisor to the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) and serves as co-chair of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and the Tata-MIT Alliance, both of which he founded.

Provost Chandrakasan earned his bachelor’s (1989), master’s (1990), and doctoral (1994) degrees in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. Read Provost Chandrakasan’s full biography

03.About the office#Section link copied to clipboard

Behind the scenes, our office helps the Institute thrive

The people in the Provost’s Office work with a diverse group of leaders across the Institute to provide academic, administrative and financial resources, and support to MIT’s faculty and staff.

View people directory

The office supports the MIT community through:

  • Arts: Oversight of extra-curricular arts programming including the List Visual Arts Center, MIT Museum, Council for the Arts at MIT, and student arts programs.
  • Campus planning: Oversight of campus space management, including the Institute’s space assignments, renovations, and lease budget. The office helps to identify space for academic activities across the Institute. The office also helps to coordinate long-range campus planning and stewardship for large-scale capital projects in partnership with the Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer.
  • Faculty programs: Through the Faculty Concierge, the Office of Faculty Programs provides programs for faculty at all stages, from the first days on campus through the post-tenure transition.
  • International activities: Oversight of international policies and programs, consultation with faculty on the development of international activities, shaping of major new international initiatives, and development of strategic priorities for the Institute’s global engagement.
  • Open learning: Shaping how MIT extends its knowledge to the world, by supporting innovation and research on teaching and learning and providing platforms for digital education
  • Headquarters staff: Management of day-to-day operations in the Provost’s Office and support for school and college administrators.

04.History #Section link copied to clipboard

Previous appointees

  • Julius Adams Stratton, 1949-1952
  • Charles Hard Townes, 1961-1966
  • Jerome Bert Wiesner, 1966-1971
  • Walter A. Rosenblith, 1971-1980
  • Francis Eugene Low, 1980-1985
  • John M. Deutch, 1985-1990
  • Mark S. Wrighton, 1990-1995
  • Joel Moses, 1995-1998
  • Robert A. Brown, 1998-2005
  • L. Rafael Reif, 2005-2012
  • Chris A. Kaiser, 2012-2013
  • Martin Schmidt, 2013-2014 (Acting Provost), 2014-2022 (Provost)
  • Cynthia Barnhart, 2022-2025
My goal is to continue to facilitate excellence at MIT at all levels for the benefit of the nation and the world. To fuel that kind of impact, our work is to advance the tremendous opportunities for the Institute to lead research and drive innovation in areas including AI, semiconductors, quantum, human health, manufacturing, the humanities, and more.”
Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT Provost
Back to Top