Northeastern University
- This article is about the American institution. For the Chinese institution of the same name, see Northeastern University (Liaoning).
Northeastern University is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts. Its athletic mascot is the Husky.
It is located on 360 Huntington Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Arts, and is accessible by the T through the Green (Northeastern and Symphony stops) and Orange (Massachusetts Avenue and Ruggles stops) Lines.
Northeastern began in 1898 as an "Evening Institute for Younger Men" hosted at the Huntington Avenue YMCA, and catered to the large immigrant population of Boston. Within a few years of its formation, it offered classes in a diverse spectrum of subjects ranging from law to engineering to finance. In 1909 the school began offering day classes and it moved to a new location on Huntington Avenue in 1913. The new location grew further with the purchase of the Huntington Avenue Ground (former Boston Red Sox ballpark). The school was officially organized as a college in 1916, and in 1922 it was renamed to "Northeastern University of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association." Today it enrolls over 26,000 students.
In Northeastern University a typical degree program may take five years (rather than the more common four) because of its Co-op program. The Co-op program enables a student to use entire semesters for participating in an internship-type experience that is often paid employment; relates to the student's field of study; and ties back into the unversity's programs for evaluation of acquired experience. Most of the school's undergraduate students take part in this program.
The college sports a well-traveled network of underground tunnels connecting major campus buildings for easier travel during inclement or winter weather. It is also unique for its sprawling growth integrated into a dense commercial area, with two four-lane city thoroughfares and a pair of street-level light rail tracks (plus an elevated light rail bridge) running through the campus. The school and its residences occupy a considerable swath of land between the upper-middle-class neighborhood of the Fens and the urban working class neighborhood of Roxbury. This has led to a uniquely challenging level of interaction and concession with diverse local urban communities.
In recent years the university has continued its growth, converting parking lots to green parks and walkways, adding numerous new residence halls, and increasing the quality of its academic and research resources.
Presidents
Presidents of Northeastern (with years of tenure and campus buildings named in their honor):
- Frank Palmer Speare (1898-1940, Speare Hall residence hall)
- Carl Stephens Ell (1940-1959, Ell Building, once believed to be named Ell Student Center)
- Asa S. Knowles (1959-1975, Knowles Hall law school building)
- Kenneth G. Ryder (1975-1989, Ryder Hall arts and humanities classroom building)
- John A. Curry (1989-1996, Curry Student Center)
- Richard M. Freeland (1996-present).
Colleges
The university consists of six colleges:
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Bouvé College of Health Sciences
- College of Business Administration
- College of Computer and Information Science
- College of Criminal Justice
- College of Engineering
The university also includes a law school.
Notable alumni
- Alex Garcia
- Shawn Fanning (dropped out freshman year)
- Gregory Jarvis
- James Franklin Jeffrey
- Lyndon LaRouche
- Albert Sacco