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MIT names Keeril Makan vice provost for the Arts
He will oversee institute-wide arts strategy and build on the Future of the Arts at MIT framework.
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Staff Reporter - Fri, 30, Jan 2026
- 14:21 EST
- 21
Keeril Makan / MIT news
Indian American professor Keeril Makan has been appointed vice provost for the arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, effective February 1.
Makan, the Michael (1949) and Sonja Koerner professor of music composition at MIT, will provide institute-wide leadership and strategic direction for the arts in the new role.
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His role includes working closely with academic leaders, arts units, and administrative offices to strengthen connections between artistic practice, research, education, and community life across the Institute.
Making the announcement, Provost Anantha Chandrakasan cited Makan’s record as both an artist and an administrative leader, as well as his experience in taking on senior leadership roles at the Institute.
The appointment follows the release of the final report of the Future of the Arts at MIT Committee last September, which highlighted the role of the arts across MIT’s scientific and technological enterprise.
As vice provost, Makan will build on this framework as MIT continues efforts to integrate the arts into research, education, and public engagement.
Makan said he plans to begin his tenure with a period of listening and learning across MIT’s arts ecosystem, informed by the Future of the Arts report, before advancing longer-term priorities focused on collaboration, sustainability, and clarity.
Makan joined MIT in 2006 as an assistant professor of music. He served as head of the Music and Theater Arts Section in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences from 2018 to 2024 and was appointed associate dean for strategic initiatives in 2023. In that role, he helped guide school-level planning and led several institute-wide initiatives.
He played a key role in launching a multidisciplinary graduate program in music technology and computation and was closely involved in the development of the Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building, which opened in 2025.
Makan was also a member of the Future of the Arts at MIT Committee and chaired a working group that contributed to the creation of the MIT Human Insight Collaborative, where he currently serves as faculty lead.
A trained violinist, Makan holds undergraduate degrees in music composition and religion from Oberlin College and a doctorate in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Luciano Berio Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome. His works have been performed and recorded by ensembles in the United States and internationally.
Makan succeeds Philip Khoury, who served as vice provost for the arts from 2006 and stepped down from the role in 2025. Khoury will return to the MIT faculty following a sabbatical.
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