By Keerthi Ramesh,
Keeril Makan, an Indian American composer and longtime leader in music education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been appointed the Institute’s next vice provost for the arts to provide leadership and strategic direction for the arts across the Institute.
In his new role, Makan, who is the Michael and Sonja Koerner Music Composition Professors at MIT, will guide the institute’s arts strategy and serve as a key liaison among faculty, students and administrative units spanning disciplines from theatre to visual art and music
“Keeril’s record of accomplishment both as an artist and an administrative leader makes him exceedingly qualified to take on this important role,” said Provost Anantha Chandrakasan in a campus announcement citing Makan’s skill and enthusiasm in managing complex leadership responsibilities.
Makan succeeds Philip Khoury, the Ford International Professor of History, who served as vice provost for the arts since 2006 and stepped down in 2025 to return to teaching and research.
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In his new role, Makan said he hopes to advance artistic excellence while ensuring that creative practice remains deeply integrated into MIT’s broader mission of innovation and discovery.
Makan said he plans to spend his early months listening and learning. He intends to meet with artists, scholars and students across the Institute to better understand how creative work intersects with research, education and campus life.
“At MIT, the arts are a vital way of thinking, making and convening,” he said describing the arts as essential to the institute’s intellectual culture and emphasized collaboration and long-term sustainability as guiding principles.
His appointment follows the release of the Future of the Arts at MIT committee’s final report last fall, which called for expanding the visibility, infrastructure and impact of the arts across campus. Makan is expected to help translate those recommendations into action by strengthening ties among the arts, science, technology and public engagement.
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Makan joined MIT’s faculty in 2006 as an assistant professor of music after initial training as a violinist and composer. From 2018 to 2024, he served as head of the Music and Theater Arts Section in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. In 2023, he was appointed associate dean for strategic initiatives for SHASS.
During his tenure, Makan helped establish a multidisciplinary graduate program in music technology and computation, a collaboration that bridges artistic practice and engineering research. He also played a central role in the planning and development of the Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building, a state of the art performance and teaching facility that opened last year.
Beyond campus, Makan is an internationally recognized composer. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Luciano Berio Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome.
His works have been performed by ensembles including the Kronos Quartet and presented at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood. His opera Persona has been staged in galleries and opera houses across the United States.