Phillip L. Clay

Professor Phillip L. Clay, PhD served as the Chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ​ (MIT)​ from 2001 until 2011. ​He also held other leadership positions at MIT and was Department Head at ​the Department of Urban Studies & Planning where he has been a faculty member since 1976.

Professor Clay is widely known for his work in U.S. housing policy and urban development. His current interests include organizational capacity in community-based nonprofits as well as the role of anchor institutions. Growing out of his work on MIT international strategies, he is also interested in the increasing role higher education can play in national development strategies in less developed and emerging nations.

Professor Clay is Chair of the Board of The Community Builders, Inc., one of the nation’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing. He is a member on several foundation and nonprofit boards, including The Kresge Foundation. Professor Clay also has experience in public higher education as a member of the board of the University of North Carolina. He is a member of the board of the Aga Khan University.

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a doctorate from MIT.