Philip Khoury to step down as Vice Provost of the Arts
Khoury has served in various leadership capacities
In an email to the MIT community on May 6, Provost Cynthia Barnhart SM ’86, Ph.D. ’88 announced that Professor Philip Khoury will step down as Vice Provost of the Arts on Aug. 31.
Khoury came to the Institute in 1981 and has served in various leadership capacities, including the dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences for 15 years and Associate Provost from 2006–-2011, where he was MIT’s first coordinator of international activities. A historian by training, Khoury’s academic background lies in the sociopolitical history of the Middle East.
Barnhart cited several of Khoury’s accomplishments as Vice Provost, including his leadership in the cross-disciplinary Center for Art, Science, and Technology (CAST), his collaboration with the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT), and most recently, his piloting of Artfinity.
Barnhart wrote that a collaborative effort encompassing herself, Khoury, Dean Hashim Sarkis, and Dean Agustín Rayo, as well as the Future of the Arts at MIT Committee, would advise MIT on “new ways to envision the place of the arts in our community,” with a draft report released in April 2025.