By By Maggie Cassidy, News Staff

‘ FT. MYERS, Fla. ‘- Before the baseball team’s annual exhibition matchup against the Boston Red Sox at City of Palms Park Feb. 28, dozens of alumni congregated outside the field at a barbeque luncheon hosted by the Office of Alumni Relations. Graduates from throughout the decades enjoyed live music and a buffet of ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs, as well as the opportunity to reconnect with old friends.
But it wasn’t all fun and baseball games, as President Joseph Aoun used the day to pitch the university’s anti-retrenchment ideology in an uncertain economy. Speaking to the crowd, he pointed out hiring freezes at other universities nationally and in Boston, saying Northeastern would not follow the same path.
‘Other places are retrenching, saying ‘let’s not focus on quality as much,’ et cetera,’ he said. ‘We don’t want that. We are taking over the world. It’s a great time for us. Everybody’s retrenching and we’re moving forward.’
A part of that is expanding the Northeastern community, and the school is on the hunt for 46 new professors, according to a January article in the Boston Globe. Northeastern spokesperson Mike Armini declined to release a full list of hirings, but Higheredjobs.com, a job search website for institutions of higher education, had 26 faculty postings at Northeastern including positions in the College of Arts and Sciences and 10 positions in the College of Engineering, as well as three positions in the Bouv’eacute; College of Health Sciences, one in the School of Law and one in Criminal Justice.
Some, meanwhile, came to enjoy baseball as well as hear Aoun speak.
Although the Huskies went on to lose the game 14-0 after the barbecue, the day was a success, said some alumni like Andrew Potter, who graduated in 2000 with friend Josh Riley. The pair drove from Connecticut to Ft. Myers for their third Red Sox-Huskies exhibition game and first alumni luncheon.
Potter, who graduated with a degree in engineering, said he appreciated President Aoun’s message of moving the university forward despite uncertain economic times.
‘You have to keep the school on top,’ he said. ‘It’s a great school. Whatever’s best for the school is where we’re at.’
Michael Gaines, a 2003 graduate who has since moved to Ft. Lauderdale, agreed that more hires was the best way to advance the university and that education should be a top priority.
‘I think that’s a great message, especially in this economy that we have now,’ Gaines said. ‘It’s good to focus on education and keep investing in education because it’s the only way we’re going to grow.’
George DeShaw, who attended night school and earned an associate and bachelor’s engineering degrees in 1968 and 1972 respectively, said he thought Aoun had ‘the right message, absolutely.’
‘I think it’s a great time for the university,’ said DeShaw, who said he reconnected with old friends that decided to meet up at the game. ‘The university has changed so much since I was there in the ’60s and the ’70s. It’s got a great reputation.’
Vice President for Student Affairs and alumni Ed Klotzbier, who was at the event with his two sons, said the yearly affair is a powerful way to increase school spirit and alumni involvement.
‘It grows because of word of mouth,’ he said. ‘Everyone hears what a good time it is. ‘hellip; A lot of these people are probably people who have not been that engaged, but now they’re going to get engaged, start paying attention to the mailings, start paying more attention to Northeastern.’
‘ Plus, he said, it’s a hard to deal to beat.
‘Tickets are hard to come by,’ he said, ‘so this is a great way to see a Red Sox game.’