Thomas P. Glynn

Thomas P. Glynn III is a senior official at Harvard University overseeing the Harvard Allston Land Company, a new entity to develop commercial real estate in the Allston land owned by Harvard. He is the former chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority, former general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and United States Deputy Secretary of Labor. From May 2023 to October 2024, he served as chair of the MBTA's board of directors.

Education Glynn attended Tufts University, where he majored in economics and was a campus activist. He took an active role in protests against the Vietnam War and "white racism". In 1968 he was chosen to be that year's Mr. Tufts, the highest honor for an undergraduate student. He later earned a master's degree and doctorate in social policy from Brandeis University. From 1983 to 1988 he was the deputy state welfare commissioner, where he helped develop the Employment and Training Choices program for mothers on public assistance.

Glynn chaired the public transportation committee of governor-elect Maura Healey's transition. On April 21, 2023, he was appointed by Healey to be the non-executive chair of the MBTA's board of directors. Glynn left the post in October, 2024, to be replaced by former Lynn mayor and fellow board member Tom McGee.

Deputy Secretary of Labor In 1993, Glynn was nominated to be United States Deputy Secretary of Labor. He was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on May 24, 1993. He resigned on April 15, 1996. At the time of his resignation, Glynn was one of the longest serving Deputy Secretaries of Labor in modern department history.

Private sector Glynn left the Department of Labor to become chief operating officer of Partners HealthCare, the second-ranking position in Massachusetts' largest hospital network. He left in 2010 to teach at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and become a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He also served as an informal health care adviser and labor dispute mediator for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. In August 2018, Glynn announced that he would step down as chief executive officer, after six years.

Harvard University Glynn previously served as the chief executive officer of the Harvard Allston Land Company, overseeing Harvard University's non-institutional development of its Enterprise Research Campus in Allston. He is now an adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and teaches a course on making state and local government work.