By Ashley S. Miller
In his annual State of the University address last Wednesday, President Richard Freeland announced Northe-
astern’s jump from 142 to 127 in U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of colleges nationwide, but also said that “127 is not the same as 100.”
“We come together this fall not as aspirants, but as believers, not as strivers, but as achievers,” Freeland said. “This is not because we have done all that we want to do — far from it.”
Freeland said a few key areas that need work include graduate programs, adult and continuing education, athletics and further expansion of admissions to bring Northea-
stern out of its tier three status.
The university has an “urgent need to acquire the resources that will sustain our work at a competitive level,” Freeland said.
He said that there has been progress in increasing retention rates, but “achieving our goal of a 70 percent graduate rate by 2008 will require much continuing work.”
He also noted concerns about faculty and facilities that he expects to be addressed in the upcoming 2005 budget.
In his address, Faculty Senate Agenda Committee Chair Robert Lowndes also noted key areas in which the university needs to improve. Most importantly, he said, is the overall quality of our faculty.
“The size of the professoriate is an urgent problem,” he said.
He said that the university has bridged the gap by employing lecturers and clinical specialists.
In the College of Arts and Sciences, for example, he said less than 45 percent of courses are taught by the professoriate.
“While the full-time lecturers may contribute admirably in the classroom, it is the professoriate that we are dependent upon to enhance our academic reputation,” Lowndes said.
Lowndes also said that Northeastern needs to increase the amount of money spent on research activities.
Provost Ahmed Abdelal expressed some of the same concerns, reiterating the need to carefully place our current faculty resources, as well as an increase in tenure-track faculty.
“It is clear that in order to realize our vision for becoming one of the top 100 institutions in the nation, we need to enrich certain aspects of the academy,” he said.
He noted semester conversion and the “successful efforts in developing one of the most attractive urban campuses in the nation” as two accomplishments.
He also emphasized the importance of flexibility in our co-op program and the integration of practice-oriented education and classroom instruction.
Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Larry Mucciolo focused on improving the school’s physical assets, among other things.
“We cannot debate the paramount roll that facilities play in enabling the achievement of our strategic goals,” Mucciolo said.
Recent projects have included the construction of the SquashBusters building on Columbus Avenue and West campus buildings G and H that are set to open in the fall of 2004.
Future plans include West Village F, a one-stop residential student center in Speare Hall and expanded dining facilities in Stetson West.
Mucciolo also stressed the importance of improving retention rates, as Northea-
stern is a tuition-dependent school.
Student Government Association President Michael Romano, who attended the address, said that the administration needs to focus less on facilities.
“We have a long and challenging road ahead in creating an atmosphere where academics are as fresh and impressive as our new buildings,” Romano said.
SGA Vice President for Administration Stephanie Raveling said the university should be more student-oriented.
“A lot of people focus on the money, but I like to think their main goal is as more students come in, bettering their experience here,” Raveling said.
