Melissa Nobles Appointed Chancellor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Melissa Nobles was appointed chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The provost and chancellor are the Institute’s two most senior academic appointments; both report to the president of MIT. The chancellor oversees matters including admissions, teaching and learning, residential life, student support, and efforts to prevent sexual harassment and misconduct.

Since 2015, Dr. Nobles has led the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at MIT. During her 26-year career, at MIT, she has served as associate chair of the faculty and later as head of the department of political science. She will take on her new role on August 18.

“Human societies face very serious challenges, and the world’s issues seem quite immediate and pressing, sitting here at our doorstep,” says Professor Nobles. “Our responsibility to educate our students in order to face these challenges is more important than ever. It’s an honor to serve as chancellor and to continue building on MIT’s work to create a healthy and respectful learning environment — one that nurtures intellectual curiosity and emotional maturation.”

Dr. Nobles is the author of Shades of Citizenship: Race and the Census in Modern Politics (Stanford University Press, 2000) and The Politics of Official Apologies (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Her current research is focused on building a database of racial killings in the U.S. South, from 1930 to 1954, an archival project developed with the Northeastern University Law School’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice law clinic.

Dr. Nobles is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in history. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

New Report Sets the Baseline for Future Studies on the Effect of Texas’ DEI Ban on College Campuses

"Ensuring all Texas students have the opportunity to succeed will directly strengthen our workforce and economy," write the report's authors. "While it’s too early to assess the impact of SB 17, continuous monitoring of student outcomes is critical to improving efficiency and maximizing the potential of our future workforce."

Robert Jones Named the First Black President of the University of Washington

Dr. Jones is slated to become the University of Washington's first Black president on August 1. He comes to his new role from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he has served as the institution's first Black chancellor for the past nine years.

Study Uncovers More Evidence That Black Students Are Overrepresented in School Discipline

In an examination of six different kinds of school discipline and punishment, three comparison groups, and 16 subpopulations, a new study has found that "no matter how you slice it, Black students are overrepresented among those punished and excluded."

Jermaine Whirl Selected to Lead Savannah State University in Georgia

“Savannah State has a rich history of producing world class artists, educators, scientists, military leaders, corporate executives and public policy advocates," said Dr. Whirl. "I look forward to working with the students, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater Savannah community to continue the legacy of the state’s first public HBCU.”

Featured Jobs