Richard Michael Locke (born April 22, 1959) is an American political scientist who is currently provost of Brown University, a position he has held since July 2015. Locke became Brown's fourth Provost in six years, after his predecessor, Vicki Colvin, announced her resignation after less than one year in the position. A scholar on labor rights and corporate social responsibility, he previously served as the Howard R. Swearer Director of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown, and the deputy dean of MIT's Sloan School of Management.