By Stephanie Vosk

In addressing the Faculty Senate Monday, President Richard Freeland described his efforts to improve the university under semester conversion, the goal of which is to close the gap between the university’s award-winning cooperative education program and its lagging classroom education.

“One of the major reasons we undertook semester conversion is to raise the bar in terms of curriculum,” President Freeland said. “Despite our rhetoric, we don’t really deliver [between classroom instruction and cooperative education].”

Freeland said he anticipates the change will help Northeastern make its way into the U.S. News and World Report’s list of the 100 best colleges and universities.

“I am convinced this is a goal we can achieve, in addition to a goal we must achieve,” Freeland said.

With the school ranked 142nd, Freeland said that “getting semester conversion right and continuing the work with students on graduation rates and retention rates” are the two essential focuses this year.

He reiterated the fact that attending to students one by one as they plan their post-semester conversion lives must be “job one for the faculty.

“There is a lot of apprehension about what it’s going to mean [for individual students],” he said. “We owe it to them, we owe it to ourselves.”

Freeland called the task of planning a successful curriculum and providing the best advisement “absolutely urgent and essential.” He said he recognizes the university’s opportunity to advance through semester conversion as a “window that is going to close.”

Other issues related to semester conversion included the quality of the honors program and the dwindling size of the professoriate.

Members of the faculty senate also posed questions about the issue of converting faculty salaries under semesters and providing equal periods of teaching in the conversion year.

Director of University Communications Ed Klotzbier expressed the faculty’s viewpoint.

“If I decide to work this summer, what are you going to give me?” he said.

“Normally, faculty teach three out of four quarters in any given year and since we are in a fiscal year, we will have one quarter, two semesters and one summer term,” said Vice Provost for Faculty and Budget Pat Meservey. “What we will do is, on a person by person basis, we will find out what is the best way to adjust their work load.”

Another highly overlooked aspect of the university that could bring it through to the top 100 is the graduate program, according to Freeland.

“We need an initiative this year to really focus on the quality of graduate programs, college by college,” he said. “Too many are really in the bottom [levels]. It’s not a place we can live.”

Last year, Northeastern lost $100 million of its endowment, which dropped from $530 million to $430 million. As a result, the university’s borrowing capability has been limited and building projects such as West Campus buildings G and H, for which $90 million was borrowed, are being affected.

The university’s capital campaign goal is to raise $200 million, primarily through alumni gifts. According to Freeland, $114 million has already been raised, but the more difficult $86 million still awaits.

“We’ve got to get giving to Northeastern up to a whole other universe,” he said. “There are certain things that only a president can do. Fundraising at this level is one of those things.”

He says it is important that alumni understand Northeastern is “an institution that deserves their help.”

Another issue addressed was the plans for building site F. Set to be built where the O’Bryant African-American Institute stands, the question was raised about what to do with the new building and how to incorporate the current institute into the plans.

“The O’Bryant Institute will be given space within building F,” said Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Larry Mucciolo. “What else is included in F is not yet determined. It could contain student residences, classrooms or perhaps new space for academic programs. We must, however, make sure that our financial situation is strong enough to justify spending $30 million or more.”