Brent D. Ryan and Anne White named as new associate provosts
White will also be serve as Associate Vice President for Research Administration
Brent D. Ryan PhD ’02 and Anne White assumed the role of MIT Associate Provost Nov. 18, Provost Cynthia Barnhart PhD ’88 and Associate Vice President for Research Maria T. Zuber announced in an email to the MIT community. White was also appointed Associate Vice President for Research Administration.
Communications Director for the Office of the Provost Catherine Williams wrote that the associate provosts “work within the Office of the Provost to support the day-to-day operations of the Institute” in an email to The Tech.
Ryan, an associate professor of urban design and public policy, is currently head of the City Design and Development group in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Prior to joining MIT’s faculty in 2009, Ryan held professorships at Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, and worked as a city planner and urban designer.
As associate provost, Ryan’s primary responsibilities will be “long” and “short-term campus planning.” He will oversee “supporting departments and units to serve student research-related activities at the local level.”
White, a Distinguished Professor of Engineering, is currently head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering. White has “served on several Institute-wide committees” and co-chairs MIT Climate Nucleus, a faculty committee responsible for managing and implementing Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade according to the email.
As associate provost and Associate Vice President for Research Administration, White will oversee offices supporting “the administrative and financial functions of the research enterprise at MIT,” including the “Research Administration Services, Research Administration Systems and Support…, Research Development, and the Office of Strategic Alliances and Technology Transfer.”
Williams stated that the selection process for the associate provosts involved consultation “with selected academic council members; department, lab, and center heads; staff members leading and supporting MIT’s research administration and space space management and campus planning functions.” Williams added that “interested faculty and students” were able to voice input.
With Sally Kornbluth to assume MIT’s presidency Jan. 1 2023, Williams said that the associate provosts will work in conjunction with Barnhart “to support Dr. Kornbluth’s initiatives and priorities related to research administration and space management and campus planning.”