Executive Affairs oversees the executive division of the University. Its principle role is to build an integration and alignment of activity across a set of key functional areas associated with the presidency of the University.

Mark Putnam
Senior Vice President for Executive Affairs
m.putnam@neu.edu

Mark Putnam serves as the senior vice president for executive affairs and provides leadership for the executive division of the university. In this capacity he is responsible for coordinating with the Office of the President on strategic planning, University partnerships, institutional research, and community initiatives; marketing and communications; crisis management; and affirmative action and diversity. Prior to joining Northeastern, Mark served in a series of senior administrative positions at Connecticut College between 1993 and 2000, including vice president for planning and enrollment management and later as vice president and secretary of the College. His career in higher education began at Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary in enrollment management and student affairs beginning in 1983. Mark is a member of the Executive Committee for the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC) and serves as a frequent evaluator for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. He was appointed as an adjunct assistant professor at Teachers College, Columbia University teaching courses on the organization and administration of higher education and literature of higher education in 1996 and 1997. He received his bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Nyack College, and holds master of arts, master of education, and doctor of education degrees in higher education administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Kay Onan
Special Assistant to the President
k.onan@neu.edu

Kay Onan, former associate dean for faculty and director of the graduate school of the College of Arts and Sciences, has served as special assistant to the president since September 2000. She leads initiatives that originate in the Office of the President. These include matters of planning, reaccreditation, crisis management and other, university-wide projects. As a research scientist, Onan's work has encompassed the X-ray crystallographic determination of structures of many types of small molecules. She holds a bachelor's degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and a doctorate from Duke University.

Linda Bekerian
Commencement Coordinator
l.bekerian@neu.edu

As Commencement Coordinator, Linda Bekerian implements the various components underlying all university academic ceremonies. She has been with the University for 16 years.

Clare Horn
Presidential Communications Officer
cl.horn@neu.edu

Working collaboratively with university marketing and communications, Clare Horn is responsible for researching, preparing, and managing a majority of the president's written materials. This includes op-eds, feature articles, public remarks, communiqués to internal and external audiences, and correspondence. Prior to this position, Horn was a senior writer in Northeastern's creative services department. Before coming to Northeastern, she worked as a magazine editor and then as a freelance journalist and as a communications writer for several universities. She has been with the University since 2006.

Donna Fitzpatrick
Administrative Assistant
do.fitzpatrick@neu.edu

Donna Fitzpatrick helps facilitate the work of the senior vice president for executive affairs and provides support for the Office of the President as needed. She has been with the University since 2006.