Provost Cynthia Barnhart announces retirement
Barnhart, who has been faculty at MIT since 1992, will return to the Institute following a sabbatical.
On Feb. 19, President Kornbluth wrote an email to the MIT community announcing that Cynthia Barnhart SM ’86 PhD ’88, MIT’s provost since 2022, will step down on July 1. As provost, Barnhart has overseen the Institute’s academic and budgetary affairs in aspects that encompass financial organization, education, research, and international engagement.
Before becoming provost, Barnhart came to MIT as a graduate student in 1984 and joined the faculty in 1992 with a research focus on systems analysis with applications to transportation logistics. She was appointed chancellor in 2014, a role that focuses on student life and education. As chancellor, Barnhart worked to prevent sexual misconduct and improve mental health services.
As provost, Barnhart has focused on advancing MIT’s major academic priorities by launching initiatives such as the Climate Project and Generative AI Impact Consortium. After stepping down and taking a sabbatical, Barnhart plans to continue increasing educational accessibility by making MIT’s Mens et Manus approach available to a wider swath of the public.
“Cindy has been a wonderful partner in thinking and doing,” President Kornbluth said in the email. “I will be forever grateful for having been able to tap her knowledge of the Institute’s people, culture, practices and institutional systems.” She highlighted Provost Barnhart’s roles in identifying talent, improving organizations, and externally representing MIT. In the coming months, faculty can nominate themselves or others to replace Barnhart.