Law dean Hall appointed to top academic
post
David Hall, a law professor since 1985 and dean
of the law school for the past five years, has been named the university's
new provost, succeeding Michael Baer. He began his new duties July 1.
"I see this as a tremendous honor to be appointed
as chief academic officer of the university," said Hall, who becomes
one of three senior vice presidents at Northeastern. "I see this appointment
as an awesome responsibility that I will do my best to fulfill."
In a memorandum to the university community, President
Freeland cited Hall's advocacy on behalf of faculty and his commitment
to cooperative education and diversity as reasons for selecting him for
the university's top academic post.
"David is a person of outstanding accomplishment
at Northeastern and of significant renown beyond Huntington Avenue,"
Freeland said. "During his years of service in the School of Law,
[he] has consistently demonstrated the intellectual stature, the academic
experience, and the capacity for leadership that will bring to the provostship
a level of excellence commensurate with the university's own advances."
Freeland said Daniel Givelber, who served as dean
of the law school from 1984 to 1993, will serve as the school's acting
dean for the 199899 academic year while a search is conducted for
Hall's permanent successor.
The appointment of Hall, who becomes the university's
seventh provost and the first African-American senior vice president, was
hailed by many of his colleagues.
"He's visionary and he has the ability to
build consensus around that vision," said human resources management
professor David Boyd, who chaired the provost search committee.
"I think David brings a lot of talent and
promise to the job," added Wallace Sherwood, associate professor of
criminal justice and president of Northeastern's Black Faculty and Staff
Association. "I think we're going to be very happy with him. He works
well with people. He listens to people. And he has vision."
Hall, who did not actively seek the provost's
job when it was advertised last fall, emerged as an eleventh-hour candidate
in mid-May at Freeland's request. At the time, the president said he wanted
to add Hall's name to the list of finalists to ensure that Northeastern
had the strongest possible academic leadership for the future.
Appearing at the June 1 Faculty Senate meeting,
Boyd conceded the search committee was troubled by Hall's late candidacy
and therefore deliberated long and hard before deciding to recommend him
for the job. Members did so, he said, because they recognized that the
president has a prerogative to add candidates at any time during the search
process and because they felt it was in the best long-term interests of
the university.
As law school dean, Hall has been credited with
strengthening the school's traditional commitment to public interest by
working to imbue students with a strong sense of ethics and justice and
a lawyer's obligation to society. In 1995, he established the Urban Law
and Public Policy Institute, which aims to bridge the gap between the world
of law and the inner city to solve pressing urban problems.
Hall holds both a master of laws degree and a
doctorate of juridical science from Harvard Law School. He also earned
a master's degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma and
a bachelor's in political science from Kansas State University.
Stellar named dean of arts and sciences
Psychology professor James Stellar has been tapped by President Freeland
and provost David Hall as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Stellar, an expert in biological psychology, succeeds Robert Lowndes,
who stepped down July 1 after more than a decade at the helm of the university's
largest college.
"I hope to build on the very strong foundation that the previous
dean has left," Stellar said in an interview. "We are in good
shape attracting faculty. We continue to have better students. SAT [scores],
applications, and retention are up in the college. The college feels that
the market forces are on its side."
Stellar said his goals include promoting dual-degree programs, both
within the college and across colleges, tapping faculty research expertise,
and providing more hands-on learning opportunities for undergraduates.
He also plans to promote co-op better, encourage technology in the classroom,
and make curriculum improvements.
Stellar holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Ursinus College and
a doctorate in biological psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
He joined the Northeastern faculty in 1986 as an associate professor of
psychology and was promoted to full professor in 1992. He served as associate
dean of arts and sciences from 1993 to 1995 and as chair of the psychology
department for the past three years.
Finnegan elected chair of Board of Trustees
Neal Finnegan, BA'61, H'98, president and chief executive
officer of USTrust, began his tenure as the university's fifth chairman
of the Board of Trustees and Corporation on July 1. He succeeds George
Matthews, B'56, H'86, who has led the board since 1989.
"Neal is deeply familiar with the issues and possibilities of the
campus," President Freeland said. "He is respected by fellow
trustees and senior administrators as well as by the business community."
Finnegan heads USTrust, a $3.8 billion banking company headquartered
in Boston, and UST Corporation, its parent holding company. He's been a
member of the Corporation since 1982 and a trustee since 1989.
"I'm very humbled and I hope I can continue to take this institution
forward," Finnegan said in an interview. "Northeastern has done
a lot for me and I've always enjoyed giving back."
A father of four and resident of Cohasset, Massachusetts, Finnegan is
chairman of the Massachusetts Community and Banking Council's board of
directors and is a member of the boards of directors of the Metropolitan
Boston Housing Partnership and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable. He
also serves as a trustee of Catholic Charities, the Massachusetts Multiple
Sclerosis Society, St. Mary's Women and Infants Center, and WGBH-TV.
Athletics meets key Title IX provision
The proportion of women participating in athletics
at Northeastern now matches the proportion of female undergraduates enrolled
at the university, making the school one of a select group of institutions
nationwide that have achieved gender equity in that area.
"Obviously, this is something we're really
proud of," athletics director Ian McCaw said. "It reflects the
commitment of President Freeland and the institution to comply with not
only the letter of the law but the spirit. And we're committed to continue
to advance on this front."
Substantial proportionality in athletic participation
is an important criterion that an institution must meet to comply with
Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, a federal law that requires
universities to offer athletic opportunities to women in proportion to
their numbers in the student population. In the latest reporting period,
fifty-two percent of athletes at Northeastern were men and forty-eight
percent were women-identical to the percentages found in the general undergraduate
student population.
Did you know?
With its 3,000-plus diplomas
handed out at morning and afternoon commencements this year, Northeastern
has now awarded approximately 200,000 degrees in its 100-year history,
according to university records. More than half of those have come in the
last twenty years alone, thanks to several 5,000-plus graduating classes
in the go-go '70s and '80s. The prize for most degrees awarded in one year
goes to the class of 1982, with 5,314. Other classes with bragging rights:
1951, the first to break the 1,000 barrier; 1959, the first to surpass
2,000; 1967, the first to top 3,000; and 1970, the first to hit 4,000.
Freeland vows to upgrade teacher-training
programs
Following the poor performance of Northeastern students on the Massachusetts
teacher certification examination, President Freeland has placed the university's
education programs on special administrative notice and has vowed to redouble
efforts to recruit better applicants and raise standards.
"The higher education community must shoulder much of the blame
for poor teacher-training outcomes, and Northeastern will do its part to
upgrade the quality of the Commonwealth's teacher corps," Freeland
wrote in a
July 20 letter to Massachusetts Board of Higher Education chair James
Carlin.
Freeland said he has charged provost David Hall with ensuring that corrective
actions are taken before any more students are admitted into education
programs or certified to take the state's teacher exam. He added that the
university had already begun to put mechanisms in place to raise its standards
for teacher education by recruiting better applicants and improving programs.
"We pledge to redouble our efforts," the president said in
the letter to Carlin. "But our efforts will be futile unless others
who play important roles in creating the conditions under which teachers
work take equally drastic steps with a similar sense of urgency."
State education officials reported that forty-one percent of the 1,795
candidates who took the first Massachusetts teaching certification examination
in April passed. At Northeastern, just three of the seventeen students
who took the test earned a passing overall score.
Prior to the release of the test results in July, Northeastern officials
had already moved to reshape teacher education at the university. Last
fall, Freeland initiated a complete overhaul and redesign of the university's
teacher education curriculum. Improvements were made on the graduate level
and plans are being made to enhance undergraduate teacher training. Admission
standards have also been raised, with the average SAT score for this fall's
incoming class more than 200 points higher than the average score of students
who took the test last spring.
"Higher standards will make better teachers," Freeland wrote
in an opinion piece published in the July 27 Boston Globe.
In addition to raising standards, Freeland said "more must be done
to better identify and advise those who have the intellect and ability
to teach."
Dialogue on Race produces frank discussion
As a number of mostly African-American
students voiced their concerns about possible bias on campus, President
Freeland pledged at a forum on race last spring to work to eradicate any
perception of intolerance on campus and to continue to offer a full array
of opportunities for minorities.
"I will not tolerate racism in any form,
at any time, under any circumstances at Northeastern University,"
Freeland said during the first "Dialogue on Race," held in the
Curry Center. "To ensure that this university is a racially united
rather than a racially divided community, we must work hard, we must support
one another, we must talk to one another, and above all, we must listen
to one another."
He also pledged his support for affirmative action
programs, saying, "Northeastern will not turn back the clock."
The May 18 event was inspired by President Clinton's
nationwide "Initiative on Race" and the American Council on Education's
challenge to all universities to begin to facilitate better understanding
of racial ethnicity on college campuses. Emotions ran high during the meeting
as some students protested unfair treatment in judicial affairs, cooperative
education, financial aid, and public safety. They also lamented the attitudes
of some professors, students, and administrators.
In the end, all agreed that more dialogue on race
is needed, more proactive measures should be taken to increase tolerance,
and more university resources should be allocated to enroll and retain
a larger number of students of color and to hire and support more minority
faculty.
White students who spoke at the meeting mostly
expressed support for their black, Latino, and Asian peers, and they urged
better communication among Northeastern's various student groups. "Let's
work together," said one student. "My roommate is having problems
getting a job in co-op and she's white. My other roommate is having problems
with financial aid. I don't think this is a black-and-white issue."
Sociology professor Jack Levin said the town meeting
was a good first step, but noted that much more needs to be done. "The
second step is to form a coalition of students, faculty, and staff in order
to examine these issues with great depth," he said. "The third
step is to implement changes that are recommended."
Grad pledges $6M for new health sciences
building
For the third time in four years,
a university trustee has pledged a multimillion-dollar gift to help Northeastern
erect a new building.
George Behrakis, P'57, H'98, president and chief
executive officer of Muro Pharmaceutical of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, plans
to give Northeastern $6 million for construction of a new health sciences
building. President Freeland called the donation, which matches the largest
private gift ever received by the university, "a wonderful act of
faith in and support of Northeastern."
"This is the third enormous act of generosity
from an alumnus and trustee that will make possible an additional key facility
for the campus," Freeland said, referring to earlier naming gifts
by the families of Richard Egan, E'61, H'95, and Roger Marino, E'61, H'96,
which helped fund construction of a new science/engineering research facility
and a recreation center on campus.
Freeland said the new building, which is expected
to cost $20 million to $40 million, would help fill the university's "urgent
need" for more instructional space in the health sciences.
In addition to pledging $6 million for a health
sciences building, Behrakis has also designated an additional $1.3 million
in previously donated funds toward a trustee professorship in pharmaceutical
sciences-one of eight in various colleges and disciplines the university
is seeking to establish.
Other graduates who have recently pledged $1.5
million to endow professorships are:
· Frederick Brodsky, BA'66, a member of
the Board of Overseers and president and owner of Fred Brodsky Company,
who is endowing a professorship in international business
· Robert Brooks, E'58, a trustee and the
retired founder and chairman of Brooks Riber Properties, who is endowing
a professorship in community policing
· The family of the late Russell Stearns,
former director of Colonial Stores.
Calling the professorships his "most ambitious
developmental priority for the university," Freeland said they will
bring top national scholars to Northeastern.
Take a BOW!
Terry Baker, professor of chemistry, received the Catalysis Society
of Metropolitan New York's 1998 Award for Excellence in Catalysis in recognition
of his pioneering work in the area of heterogeneous catalysis with controlled
atmosphere electron microscopy.
Jeffry Ross, a June graduate from Warwick, Rhode Island, was named the
outstanding student in his field by the International Eta Kappa Nu Association,
the country's leading electrical engineering honor society. He is believed
to be the first N.U. student to receive the honor.
Carol Warner, professor of biology, was named the university's newest
Matthews distinguished professor in June. The award, named for former trustee
chairman George Matthews, BA'56, H'86, and his wife, Kathleen Waters Matthews,
carries up to a $10,000 cash prize and release time from teaching to pursue
research interests.
Here and There
Here:
Donnie Perkins, former director of diversity and affirmative
action and executive assistant to the president at Central Connecticut
State University, began work June 1 as Northeastern's new dean of affirmative
action and diversity. He succeeds Ellen Jackson, who held the post from
1978 to 1997.
Linda Allen, MEd'76, associate registrar, was promoted to registrar
on August 1. She succeeds Edmund Mullen, LA'63, MEd'68, who retired last
month after twenty-three years in the job. He will continue to teach at
N.U.
There:
Robert Vozzella, LA'61, MA'63, AGS'78, EDD'87, vice president of cooperative
education since 1995, announced he will retire in January after thirty-three
years of service to the university. He plans a sabbatical in the fall.
George Harris, UC'77, vice president for information services, retired
in June after twenty years with the university. He oversaw the establishment
of the university's $50 million computer network and laid the groundwork
for the NUWay project, which will integrate office computer systems throughout
campus.
Magazine cited for editorial, design excellence
Northeastern University Alumni Magazine recently received seven national awards
for editorial and design excellence.
In June, the magazine won the top design award and was named a finalist
for best overall adult publication by the Educational Press Association
of America. President Freeland's 1997 annual report, produced by the university's
publications department, earned the top prize in the same competition.
In May, the magazine won two writing awards-a gold medal for Herbert
Hadad's "Journey through the Land of the Gaels" and a bronze
medal for Marguerite Del Giudice's "Racing toward a New Hong Kong"-from
the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Both articles
appeared in the September 1997 issue.
CASE honored the magazine with three additional awards for cover design
and use of illustration.
Freeland honored by alma mater
President Freeland was awarded an honorary doctor of
laws degree by his alma mater, Amherst College, at its 177th commencement
in May. A 1963 graduate of the western Massachusetts college, Freeland
was recognized for contributing to Amherst's record of graduating students
who have become educational leaders.
"Since your graduation from Amherst thirty-five years ago, you
have honored and strengthened this record with a devoted career as educator
and scholar, and today you give that tradition new luster as the dynamic
president of one of our country's great urban universities, Northeastern,"
Amherst president Tom Gerety said at the ceremony.
Gerety noted Freeland's undergraduate career at Amherst, where he was
class president, played attack on an undefeated lacrosse team, and wrote
a thesis on poetry and anarchy. "You showed early promise as a popular
student leader and scholar at Amherst," Gerety said.
He also cited Freeland's scholarly and administrative work in academia.
"Higher education, you insist, should push back against economic forces
that divide us, the social forces that weaken us as a people, and do its
part to ensure opportunity for every citizen," Gerety said. "In
that effort, President Freeland, we cheer you on."
Return to top of page