Dr. Phillip L. Clay Professor
City Planning and ex-Chancellor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Phillip L. Clay, Professor of City Planning, was the Chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from June 2001 to March 2011. He is currently on sabbatical until 2012,
Phillip L. Clay, Professor of City Planning, was the Chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from June 2001 to March 2011. He is currently on sabbatical until 2012, when he will return to his faculty responsibilities in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT.
Prior to his position as Chancellor, Professor Clay held several other positions at MIT. A member of the MIT faculty since 1975, Professor Clay served as Associate Provost in the Office of the Provost from 1994 to 2001. He was the Head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning from 1992 to 1994 and its Associate Department Head during 1990 to 1992. From 1980 to 1984, Professor Clay served as the Assistant Director of the Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard.
Outside of MIT, Professor Clay is widely known for his work in U.S. housing policy and community-based development and has been involved in several studies that received national attention. He later served on the national commission that recommended the policy that became part of the Housing Act of 1990. His research and writing continue to explore U.S. housing and urban policy.
Professor Clay is a founding member of the National Housing Trust that continues to address the issue of housing preservation. He is also President of the Board of The Community Builders, Inc., the nation’s largest nonprofit developer of affordable housing. He served as Chairman of the Board of Roxbury Community College from 2002 to 2006. Additionally, he has served as a consultant to numerous agencies and foundations. He also maintains extensive involvement in community and professional activities, including memberships on other local and national boards and committees. He serves as a member and Vice Chair of the MasterCard Foundation board. In addition, he serves on the Kresge Foundation Board, and on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Among other works, his publications include two books, Neighborhood Renewal: Middleclass Resettlement and Incumbent Upgrading in American Neighborhoods, and Neighborhood Politics and Planning (with Rob Hollister).
Professor Clay is a native of Wilmington North Carolina. He received the AB degree with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968 and his Ph.D. in City Planning in 1975 from MIT.
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