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Date December 8, 2022
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Photos: Brown Provost Richard M. Locke’s decade of distinguished leadership

After 10 years at Brown and seven as the University’s 13th provost, Locke will begin a new role as dean and vice president of Apple University next month.

Richard M. Locke
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At a December event celebrating his seven years as Brown provost, Richard M. Locke told colleagues — and especially the University’s staff members, to whom he offered a special shout-out — that he’d take with him the “lessons learned from all of you and the magic of Brown as I begin this new adventure.” Photo by Adam Mastoon.

Richard M. Locke
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In 2016, Locke (center) joined physics professor Gang Xiao (left) and University President Christina H. Paxson (right) in celebrating the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Brown’s J. Michael Kosterlitz. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Tricia Rose and Richard M. Locke
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Throughout his years at Brown, Locke worked closely with deans, faculty and administrative colleagues across the institution, championing Brown’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to research and education to address pressing societal issues. Here, he’s pictured during a 2019 "Faculty in Focus" podcast interview with Professor of Africana Studies Tricia Rose. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Richard M. Locke
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Brown President Christina H. Paxson said Locke, pictured here during Commencement 2022, is an exceptional academic leader whose legacy of collaboration and dedication will leave a lasting impact across the University. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Richard M. Locke
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As part of the Lemley Family Leadership Lecture Series, organized by the Office of the Provost, Locke interviewed Brown Ph.D. graduate Guido Imbens, who won a share of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Richard M. Locke
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More than 300 faculty and staff gathered in the Engineering Research Center’s Hazeltine Commons for a celebration in Locke’s honor in early December, shortly before his transition to Apple University. Photo by Adam Mastoon.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A talented, innovative and mission-driven leader, Brown Provost Richard M. Locke has helped to shape and shepherd critical University initiatives that have enhanced academic excellence, strengthened fiscal sustainability, and supported a vibrant and cohesive academic community.

Following nearly a decade of distinguished leadership at Brown, Locke will take his talents to Apple University at the end of December. There, he’ll serve as vice president and dean, an opportunity that will enable him to bring together and apply his scholarship, experience and drive to make a difference in new and innovative ways at the global technology company based in California.

Locke’s colleagues at Brown — where he arrived in 2013 as a professor and as director of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and has served since 2015 at the University’s 13th provost — have found ample ways to recognize his impact since his move to Apple was announced in August. In early December, more than 300 faculty and staff gathered in the Engineering Research Center’s Hazeltine Commons for a celebration in Locke’s honor.

“Since first visiting this campus, I found Brown to be a truly magical place. And now as I prepare to transition away from the University, I'm all too aware that over the last decade, this sense of wonder has in fact not diminished at all. In fact, it keeps on growing stronger.”

Richard M. Locke Brown University Provost, 2015 to 2022
 
Richard M. Locke

In remarks at the event, Brown President Christina H. Paxson shared the story of the decision to bring Locke to Brown from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he chaired the political science department, served as deputy dean of the Sloan School of Management and had a scholarly focus on global supply chains.

“Rick saw the potential in Watson and he saw the potential in Brown,” Paxson said. “He could imagine in very short order all that Watson could do, he decided he wanted to work with the community to make it happen, and he did. And that energy and optimism, the ability to really imagine what's possible, has stayed with Rick during his entire time as provost.”

Paxson said that well beyond Locke’s long list of accomplishments — from building and strengthening academic units at Brown, to recruiting exceptional faculty, staff and students, to advancing the University’s goals in diversity and inclusion — his drive toward excellence, his vision, his work ethic and his ability to bring people together are the qualities that truly made him one of a kind.

“Academics love to talk about legacy, but I think the human connections he created are just as important a part of Rick’s legacy,” she said. “And the great thing is these are things that can, and I have no doubt will be sustained through time.”

Richard M. Locke
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Locke, pictured here during the University’s 2021 Veteran’s Day ceremony, has been a regular presence at Brown ceremonies, celebrations, lectures, discussions and other events for nearly a decade. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Richard M. Locke at U-FLi Center Opening
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In 2016, Locke (left) joined student leaders and University administrators to celebrate a new, dedicated space for Brown’s Undocumented, First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center, the first of its kind in the country. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Sen. Jack Reed, Richard M. Locke
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A champion for research at Brown — and a key architect of the University’s new Operational Plan for Investing in Research, released this fall — Locke joined U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (left) and colleagues on a tour of Brown engineering laboratories in 2017. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Richard M. Locke
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Locke spoke at a 2016 signing ceremony in which University and U.S. military leaders formally restored Brown’s participation in the Naval and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Richard M. Locke
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In addition to his role as provost, Locke served as a professor of political science, international and public affairs, a role in which he interacted frequently with students, including during a First Readings seminar in 2015. Photo by Nick Dentamaro.

Richard M. Locke
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While serving as director of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs from 2013 to 2015, Locke elevated its profile and impact through strategic growth in faculty, postdoctoral fellows and programming. Photo by James P. Jones and Amie Jones.

Locke told the audience that Brown’s focus on making a positive impact in the world through scholarship sold him on the transition from MIT, and he found an academic community in which individuals from a full array of experiences and perspectives are seen, respected and valued as they pursue studies and work.

“Since first visiting this campus, I found Brown to be a truly magical place,” Locke said. “And now as I prepare to transition away from the University, I'm all too aware that over the last decade, this sense of wonder has in fact not diminished at all. In fact, it keeps on growing stronger.”

Locke attributed much of that to tangible things — Brown’s beautiful Ivy League campus, sounding bells between classes, the next generation of student leaders holding a rally on the College Green.

“But it's also the intangibles, right?” Locke said. “It's the very idea of Brown that attracts curious, talented, independent individuals and empowers them to have an impact in the world. I really love Brown. And while I'll miss working with all of you, I will take with me the lessons learned from all of you and the magic of Brown as I begin this new adventure.”

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Building on Distinction Faculty and Staff Provost

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