On behalf of the Council for University Programs and the Office of Student Affairs, I would like to thank the more than 200 students who attended last week’s “Eye to Eye” forum with President Aoun and the members of the administration. Below are responses to the questions submitted to the Northeastern Administration before, during, and after the event. We hope to maintain an open dialogue with future Eye to Eye events, so please look for upcoming forums with the President and members of the Northeastern administration!
Scott Hultman
President
Council for University Programs
Q: Where do you see Northeastern in five years (in terms of national reputation and quality of instruction/experience)?
A: Five years from now Northeastern will have greatly advanced its reputation in all of the areas identified in the Academic Plan. Most importantly, we will have created our own path to leadership in each of these areas. Experiential education is at the heart of this institution and we will take the lead in defining for others what constitutes excellence in this realm. Similarly, Northeastern has a unique research agenda that combines fundamental and translational research in cutting areas of science, technology, and the humanities. Our focus on strengthening the academic enterprise of the university and our interdisciplinary faculty initiative will accelerate our rise to prominence in research. In the urban realm, our ability to be a model of what society can do, will be greatly enhanced by the Stony Brook Initiative. We will build partnerships with leaders in our community and together develop programs that improve the lives of our neighbors and the experiences of students and faculty.
Q: Where is our endowment invested? As a large and ever-growing research university, we have a responsibility to invest only in responsible companies, and as paying students, we have a right to know where our school invests. Can this information be made available to students?
A:. Northeastern’s Board of Trustees oversees the University’s endowment, with primary responsibility for this resting with the board’s Committee on Investments. The committee has a fiduciary responsibility to maximize investments and responsibility to see that investments are made in accordance with Northeastern's values. The Committee on Investments believes that making its investment decisions public would forfeit its trust by placing the University at a competitive disadvantage.
Q: Was Northeastern one of the schools that had to make its endowment public, and if so, what is it?
A: We are not among those schools.
Q: Is the administration taking any steps in trying to waive the increasing security costs for student organizations' programs and events?
A: In the past, our public safety division absorbed the cost of providing security at student events. Because the number and size of events have grown — itself a tribute to the increasing student spirit on campus — public safety could no longer reasonably assume those costs.
Administrators from student activities and public safety jointly decide, based on their experience and professional judgment, what events are likely to benefit from security; the costs are then placed, with the event planners. Students request grants from the student-run Budget Review Committee (BRC) to cover the cost of putting on events, but if the final costs of security exceed the grant received, they are not allowed to return to ask for the difference. Our student activities office is proposing that the BRC set aside a general “security funds” pool at the beginning of each year to cover all security costs after final bills have been received. It is now up to the BRC to decide on this proposal.
Q: What are your thoughts on the concerns raised by our neighbors about our participation (or, depending on whom you talk to, interference with) the larger community outside of Northeastern?
A: We respect our neighbors and are proud to be part of this community, and I sincerely believe that most of our neighbors return that respect and pride. Many people in the community benefit from the work of our students and faculty, and our students and faculty benefit from working with the community. We are close to unveiling a new initiative, Stony Brook, which we are optimistic, will transform and highlight the value of those partnerships and really advance goals important to all of us.
Q: What advice can you give our student group on how to be heard by the University? “Stop Unethical Expansion” is looking for the means to dialogue with the administration on Northeastern's purchase of St. Botolph Terrace Apartments.
A: Our advice is to schedule time with the appropriate member of the University’s leadership team. In this case, a facilities issue, set up an appointment with our senior vice president for finance and administration, Jack McCarthy.
Q: At Northeastern, we have some neighbors to which we are very close geographically speaking (i.e. Roxbury). I think it would be great to see Northeastern students involved with our neighbors on a weekly basis. Is there a possibility of establishing some sort of program of cultural events/arts or even a weekly market or forum as a way to build connections between students and nonstudents in the surrounding communities?
A: Northeastern students, faculty, and staff are involved in projects in all our neighboring communities—Roxbury, the Fenway, the South End and Mission Hill—and across the city, the state, even the world. The interesting, shared characteristic of these projects is that they arose out of student or faculty initiatives or partnerships with the community. The University will continue to enable and support students and faculty, in concert with our neighbors in important and relevant initiatives.
Q: Will the University have a written plan to reach climate neutrality by June 2009 as stated in the President's Climate Commitment?
A: Yes, the University plans to submit a plan within that time frame.
Q: Does the University have any LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects planned besides Parcel 18?
A: The Dockser Hall renovation is also a LEED project. Currently, we believe we can achieve a silver rating for that project. In addition, future roof replacement projects will consider "cool roof" designs as part of the University's sustainable efforts.
Q: When is the University planning on investing in renewable energy?
A: You can say we are in the planning stage, in the sense that we are looking at the various issues surrounding renewable energy. For example, the Renewable Energy Credits program is just one of the ways to invest and is relatively new, so we need to consider it from all of the potential angles before we take the next step.
Q: Has the University considered hiring a sustainability coordinator like other schools have?
A: As we see the need, we’ll consider it. We have numerous people who are actively working on sustainability efforts, and so far, they have been able to work well together. Facilities, purchasing, food service, as well as the provost’s office work closely in coordinating activities.
Q: Has the University considered encouraging students and faculty to reduce their personal carbon footprint? This could be done by offering reduced parking fees to those who drive hybrids.
A: We actually encourage the use of mass transit rather than cars for commuters, and we are always looking for new ways to improve in this area. Overall, we encourage students and faculty to reduce consumption of natural resources. Some of our staff actually use Segways to get around campus, and the University has acquired several small electric vehicles for use on campus by facilities personnel.
Q: Do you have any plans to create a campus that is more bicycle-friendly? Bicycling blends perfectly with other green efforts at Northeastern, lead by organizations like SEA and HEAT. Are there plans to encourage cycling, including centralized limited-access bicycle parking, covered (roofed) bike racks, reimbursements for bicycle travel, etc?
A: We continue to add bicycle racks at locations across campus, and we are also looking at the new Parcel 18 residence hall, its proximity to Renaissance Garage, and the possibility of placing bicycle storage in the garage main level.
Q: What specifically does Northeastern do about recycling? Is there anything more the school can do to promote and increase student participation?
A: Northeastern’s recycling program is more than 15 years old, and continues to be a great point of pride. Let me share some numbers with you: We recycle more than 375 tons of paper, 200 tons of corrugated cardboard, 20 tons of bottles and cans, and 65 tons of computers and electronics a year; in fact, 25 percent of our waste is recycled (compared to 13 percent for the surrounding community). And we have just begun the exciting Clean Plates initiative, a partnership of Dining Services, our food contractor, Chartwells, and the new student group GPACT. It encourages students to separate their leftover food in dining halls for composting. Dining Services’ kitchens have been composting seven to eight tons a week for some time. But that does not mean we are satisfied with our efforts; we should all be thinking every day about ways to reduce our waste stream.
Q: What is the stance of the Board of Trustees on Northeastern's role in climate change solutions?
A: Members of our governing boards are not only supportive of our environmental efforts, but often encourage the administration in exploration of new ways to “green” the campus. As you know, Northeastern graduates are heavily represented on these boards, so of course we expect innovation! Many have a long background of successful entrepreneurship, so besides knowing that fighting climate change is in everyone’s interest, they also how to go green in the most efficient ways. Their advice and support has been invaluable.
Q: Is there any way for alumni to make donations for "green" projects on campus?
A: As noted above, we have a number of green initiatives under way at the University, and are constantly looking for new and better ways to protect our environment and promote sustainability. Alumni participation, support, and leadership for these initiatives are more than welcome.
Q: You have spoken about increasing faculty research at Northeastern. Is there any plan to increase research in climate change solutions?
A: Our faculty members continue to come up with interesting approaches to addressing societal needs, including issues of climate change, and the University provides administrative and funding support. It is exciting to see the passion and innovation with which our faculty approach these issues — from taking prominent speaking roles at the recent HEAT global warming panel, to developing courses like Jennifer Cole’s “Eating and the Environment”—all aimed at giving students more information on making choices that help the environment. Of course, in many ways we are seeing leadership on this issue from students as well.
Q: What plans do you have for the Honors Program this year?
A: The Honors Program is one of our academic priorities, and we are constantly looking for ways to enhance the experience. We now have the new First-Year Inquiry Series for freshmen, with courses such as philosophy & religion chair Susan Setta’s “Theology, Ethics and Practice in the World’s Religions.” We have a new teaching assistantship initiative, involving nine upper-class honors participants, and a mentoring program, Enhancing Honors 101, that will involve 35 upper-class honors students. We offer research workshops and funding, and innovative honors seminars: professors Dennis Shaughness on microfinance, Jamie Fox on the death penalty and Harlow Robinson on Russia.
We are expanding formal advising for honors students to carry from freshman year through commencement, and adding new faculty-student events such as the monthly “Pizza and Profs” as well as dinners prior to cultural events. And we continue our commitment to the community-service and first-year reading projects that have been cornerstones of Honors life.
Q: What is being done concerning the retention and recruitment of black and Latino faculty, staff, and students?
A: We aggressively recruit, through formal and informal methods, faculty and staff who are both competitive in their fields and reflective of what our society looks like. Of course we can always do more, and we seek creative new ways to accomplish these goals. We have just submitted a grant application to the National Science Foundation to establish a program at Northeastern to recruit and retain female faculty in the sciences, engineering, and social sciences, with an emphasis on minority women. We also have created a strong faculty mentoring program to nurture junior faculty and prepare them for long-term success.
Q: Many minority students think that the number of minority faculty on campus is declining. Do you have a plan for increasing the diversity of the teaching staff, specifically adding minority faculty?
A: As mentioned above, we are always looking for new ways to recruit and retain faculty members of color. At Northeastern today, 4.1 percent of our faculty is African-American — significantly higher than the national average, but of course not high enough; the numbers are 8.2 percent for Asian and Pacific Island faculty — also well above the national average — and 2.7 percent for Latino/a faculty. And we have seen a slight drop in the number of minority faculty, mostly in Latino/a faculty. In a negative sort of way, this testifies to the Northeastern success story — our faculty are being noticed by, and in many cases recruited by, other institutions. On the plus side, our search efforts last year convinced three new Latino/a faculty members to join Northeastern, and a fourth came in January. In terms of the staff, the numbers are: 12.3 percent African-American, 6.3 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, and 4 percent Latino/a. As always, we should not be content with simply mirroring society; rather, we must be a model of what society can do so we will continue our focus in this area.
Q: What do you think Northeastern students can do to promote religious tolerance on campus and in the world?
A: We all need to foster a spirit of religious freedom and celebrate our diversity. Our Spiritual Life Center through Shelli Jankowski-Smith and her staff and student volunteers, through special events and their everyday presence, make it clear that our campus celebrates every individual's journey of faith. We want to stress the idea that we can have the most impact here and around the world by living our ideals, becoming role models.
Q: The Latino/a Student Cultural Center strives to increase Latino presence on campus. What is the University doing to support the Latino conference they are sponsoring on our campus, and have you thought about the advantages that this conference can bring to the University?
A: We should all be proud that the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators' Latino Student Leadership Conference has chosen Northeastern as the site of its annual meeting, to be held in March. Kudos go to our Latino/a Student Cultural Center staff for winning the bid to host this important event, which will focus appropriately on empowering future leaders in a global environment. The University will support and promote the conference, and I hope it will be an opportunity for Latino/a students to see Northeastern at its best, and for us to recruit future students, staff, and faculty from among the conference-goers.
Q: What is being done to address the recent incidences of racist graffiti/defamation in residence halls in terms of letting the campus know of the events as well as prevention of future instances?
A: Whenever any form of hate speech surfaces on our campus, it is an attack on each of us and on all of us; we condemn it in the strongest possible terms. When these incidents arise in residence halls, they are dealt with through community meetings in the hall, through investigation by Northeastern's public safety division and through the procedures laid out in the student code of conduct. We cannot and will not tolerate bigotry.
Q: I loved what your staff had to say about diversity, but you left out something important: diversity in gender expression/identity and sexual orientation. The University is becoming more open, but how will we continue to grow towards helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex students feel welcome, comfortable, and safe?
A: We should be proud that we're working to make Northeastern a place where everyone can focus on academic endeavors, not on artificial divisions. We are not there yet, but we are working toward that goal. Last fall, we hosted its first Pride Week, with high-profile speakers and entertainment, and we have a long tradition of faculty and staff providing "Safe Zones" where students with concerns can come and talk or merely feel welcomed. Our student affairs department is currently considering a proposal for a GLBT Resource Center on campus.
Q: As a school that promotes and embraces diversity, how do you account for the incredibly low percentage of minority students, and what are you doing currently to improve these numbers?
A: We do not have incredibly low percentage of minority students on campus. In 2007, 24 percent of our undergraduates declared themselves to be U.S. native minorities, and that is separate from our large population of international students. And our percentage of minority students has been on the rise for the last 10 years. That said, we see the need for progress in this area, and so we continue to recruit qualified students heavily. Scholarship programs like Torch, Ujima, and others play a large role in helping with this effort. However, we are moving in the right direction to provide a role model of diversity to the larger society.
Q: Can we encourage Northeastern students to go into academia? We've certainly got some future professors here!
A: Nothing could speak louder about the vitality of our academic program than finding future faculty stars among our own student body. In fact, Northeastern has a strong tradition of nurturing students' academic careers. Two of our top academic administrators , Jack Greene , Interim Vice Provost and Dean Chris Hopey at the School of Professional and Continuing Studies were alumni, and several faculty members, including brand-new interdisciplinary professor Hillary Farber. We are proud of our own!
Q: We have many different scholarship programs reaching out to many different people of diverse backgrounds. What is Northeastern doing to reach out to members of the armed services? Aside from the ROTC program, will you consider sponsoring a scholarship for veterans and current servicemen?
A: We are open to working with alumni and others to explore the options of scholarship aid specifically for military veterans. The point of contact would be Philomena Mantella, SrVP for Enrollment Management and Student Life. Northeastern has a long and very proud history of supporting the armed forces. Our ROTC program is more than a half-century old, and is one of only four in Greater Boston. Northeastern researchers in many fields work closely with the military and defense contractors, and many of our students and alumni have gone on to distinguished careers in the military, and too many have made the ultimate sacrifice; our new Veterans Memorial honors them.
Q: There have been issues keeping co-op students connected with campus life; do you have any ways to keep these students more involved during their internships?
A: Co-op Connections was created specifically for this purpose: to bring all the services of student affairs to students on co-op, regardless of where they are in the world. We can always do better, and we will. Our new vice provost for experiential education, Jack Greene, is now working to create support systems in every city where we have co-ops in the world — systems that might include alumni, study-abroad partners, co-op employers, visiting faculty, and any other resources we can leverage to make sure a co-op student is never alone.
Q: Why is graduation on Friday?
A: We moved graduation this year to May 2 out of respect for Holocaust Memorial Day, which we mark on Saturday, May 3.
Q: There is a written agreement between the University and student media recognizing our fundamental right to print and broadcast free from censorship and threat of reprisal. Do you believe it is more appropriate for the University to honor this agreement and never interfere with our publishing; or to limit our freedom of speech and press through prior review because the University is afraid of what we might publish?
A: Though Northeastern is a private institution, we treasure the ideals of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits government censorship of media. As an academic institution, we value the free exchange of ideas in a spirit of intellectual progress. We must also consider, though, that we are the guardians of Northeastern University’s name and reputation, under which student media groups publish; it's hard to argue that we must tolerate harmful, obscene, or degrading speech, including hate speech, on our campus and in our name.
Q: What do you plan to do about the lack of workers and therapists at University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) needed to accommodate all the students? The UHCS also tries to push students away from the University for therapy without realizing it could take weeks to find someone qualified and close enough to campus. Also, there is a bias on how often UHCS will see students. This situation makes students' problems feel inferior to others. Besides that, so much can happen between the two to three weeks later that the student is seen. Some students feel this can lead to another Virginia Tech, if not something similar or worse. The school is paying more money on making the school look good rather than providing more care for students. Northeastern is expanding; so should UHCS.
A: University Health and Counseling Services is designed to serve the individual medical and behavioral health needs of our students. Any student with a behavioral health emergency will be seen immediately, assessed for his or her safety and the safety of others, and a plan of care initiated.
Students coming to UHCS with behavioral health needs are provided evaluation by a licensed behavioral health clinician. Depending on their specific needs, students may continue to be seen in counseling at UHCS for short-term psychotherapy and/or referred to a UHCS psychopharmacology clinician for medication evaluation. UHCS imposes no specific session limit for behavioral health care although we are not in a position to offer long term or residential care. No limit for medication management is imposed. If ongoing long-term treatment is recommended, students may be referred to a clinician in the community consistent with most major universities. When a referral to the community is deemed by the student's UHCS clinician to be in the best interest of the student, UHCS works with the student on making that transition both as safe and comfortable as possible.
Q: Would you be willing to host controversial world figures such as the President of Iran or Hugo Chavez? How about the University hosting Dr. David Ray Griffin here?
A: Speakers are invited by academic departments or by recognized student groups, which also accept the associated costs and responsibilities of hosting those speakers. As a philosophy, we are a university committed to an open exchange of ideas and to free speech, although in special cases we might consider whether having a speaker poses a safety risk to our students, faculty, and staff, or promotes hate speech.
Q: Will students be able to take better advantage of a more available interdisciplinary studies program? Frequently, major breakthroughs in biomedical advances have been at the crossroads of several majors. Could an undergraduate program be established to allow students in biology, physics, and electrical engineering to pursue a degree incorporating the related concentrations?
A: In fact, we have three degree programs that incorporate those fields: biomedical physics; applied physics; and the joint BS/MS program in applied physics and engineering. Broadly speaking, we encourage interdisciplinary study and research wherever possible, because the future of knowledge creation cannot be contained by traditional academic distinctions. Preparing students for a life of fulfillment and accomplishment is not merely our mission, but our passion; we want students to be ready not just for multiple careers, but for personal growth and intellectual inquiry throughout their lives.
Q: What will be done to establish merit-based financial aid?
A: Northeastern does offer financial aid to the top 25 percent of every incoming freshman class based on academic merit. We also have scholarship programs that award financial aid to upperclassmen based on merit, such as the Presidential Scholarships. Like every other institution, we are always seeking to increase the amount of aid we can offer to attract and retain excellent students.
Q: As technology becomes an increasingly essential aspect of the education here (i.e. BlackBoard and classroom integration), to what extent should this technology remain a "privilege" of the University's constituents (i.e., students and faculty) and not a right, as it states in the Appropriate Use Policy, 2007-2008.
A: This is simply a matter of legal exactitude; as a private institution, we don’t issue “rights,” but “privileges.” While we want to expand cooperation and dialogue using all forms of new technology, we also reserve ownership and control of those media to protect the entire community.
Q: What do you think about adding more one- or two-credit electives for people who are forced to take 16 out of 18 credits? This will allow for more diverse learning and allow student to get their money's worth.
A: The standard number of credits per semester at Northeastern is 16 — four courses at four semester-hours each. Some majors do offer labs, studios, or practica at one semester-hour, to accompany standard courses, but these are exceptions. We believe these standards make sense for our student body overall.
Q: How do you think that Northeastern can improve upon the fact that its janitors are among the lowest paid at a Boston-area school, making $5,000 less per year in comparison with janitors at other Boston colleges?
A: Custodians don't work directly for the University; they work for a company with whom we contract for services. The custodians do have union representation when negotiating with their company, and have recently agreed to a five-year contract with pay increases every six months, additional vacation days, sick time, and pension-fund payments. We expect appropriate business and employee practices from our contractors and affiliates.
Q: Does the administration have any intention of providing a safe alternative to house parties (ie MIT's registered parties, UPenn's registered Greek parties, etc.).
A:The Residential Life staff in collaboration with the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution, and University Legal Council, have an annual process each Spring where all university policies, such as those related to student behavior, alcohol consumption, etc., are reviewed and changed as deemed appropriate. During this annual review, questions like this are raised and there are a lot of risk factors that would need to be thoroughly explored before new policies like this could be put into place. For example in the question of an on-campus registered party:
Student leaders do attend and participate in the policy review process annually. Ideas like this should be raised to that team for review each Spring.
Q: Does the administration have any intention on creating a Greek Housing row or provide floors or possibly buildings, managed by Northeastern, that could house student groups of sufficient size and interest?
A: While we continue to grow our housing inventory and grow as a residential campus, our housing supply still does not meet the demand for housing on campus. Therefore, we continue to strive to make our housing selection process as fair and equitable as possible to all students; so that no one student has an advantage over the other because of what group they might belong to, or their GPA, or their participation in extra curricular activities. Over the last several years, due to the construction of new residence halls, we have been able to move from a 1-year guarantee to a 3-year housing guarantee for all students. Our priorities have been to house our youngest populations first, assuming that juniors and seniors are more prepared to move off campus if needed -- if they are not granted on campus housing. While we have received requests to create Greek Housing for upperclass students and other types of "themed" housing, we hesitate to create an allocation process where not all students have equal access to all of the housing inventory, since we are still short in supply at this time. As the building program continues over the next few years, and if we become positioned to guarantee housing to all students for 5 years, programs like this can be reviewed more thoroughly.
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