Thomas P. Glynn III is a senior official at Harvard University overseeing th
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 Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports—Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—and public terminals i ...

, former general manager of the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

and

United States Deputy Secretary of Labor The United States deputy secretary of labor is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Labor. In the United States federal government, the deputy secretary oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department of Lab ...

Education

Glynn attended

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, where he majored in economics and was a campus activist. He took an active role in protests against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

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 , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

Early career

Glynn began his career in government as a policy analyst for Massachusetts Governor

Francis W. Sargent Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 – October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd Lieutenant Govern ...

. In 1977 he moved to

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, where he served as policy director for

ACTION Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and later as staff director for Vice President

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

's commission on youth employment issues. He returned to Massachusetts in 1981 to become associate dean at Brandeis' Heller School of Social Welfare. He also served as an issues manager during

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

' 1982 gubernatorial campaign. 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. He then served as a political advisor to Dukakis during his 1988 presidential campaign and as general manager of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformat ...

MBTA

In 1989, Dukakis appointed Glynn to the position of chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. During his tenure at the MBTA, ridership increased and small customer services, including more telephones and change machines, were installed at MBTA stations. Glynn also oversaw the Authority during the 1990 Back Bay, Massachusetts train collision, which injured 453 people, and another crash on the Green Line that same month in which an operator was found to have been under the influence of alcohol. In 1991, Glynn resigned to become senior vice president for administration and finance at Brown University.

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 The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

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 Mass General Brigham (MGB) is a Boston-based non-profit hospital and physician network that includes Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), two of the nation's most prestigious teaching institutions. It was f ...

, the second-ranking position in Massachusetts' largest hospital network. He left in 2010 to teach at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

and become a senior fellow at the

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive offic ...

. He also served as an informal health care adviser and labor dispute mediator for Boston Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...

Massport

In 2012, Glynn was named chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority, the agency that runs

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...

and the

Port of Boston The Port of Boston ( AMS Seaport Code: 0401, UN/LOCODE: US BOS) is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of the principal ports on the East Coast of the Unite ...

. 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.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glynn, Thomas P Heller School for Social Policy and Management alumni Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Brandeis University faculty Brown University faculty Harvard Kennedy School faculty Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority people Massachusetts Port Authority people People from Belmont, Massachusetts United States Deputy Secretaries of Labor Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Clinton administration personnel