Welcome Message from the Provost

In 2015 we embarked on the strategic planning process that led us to “Northeastern 2025.” This plan heralded the arrival of the age of artificial intelligence and the profound global changes that are now unfolding. It called for Northeastern to lead a “revolution in higher education that ensures the era of intelligent machines is one of expanding opportunity.” On every dimension much progress ensued.

But the world has changed. Nationalism has reemerged, inequality has dramatically accelerated, and a pandemic has wreaked global havoc. Like never before, society should be looking to the great universities to lead solutions to the central problems of our age and Northeastern must rise to this challenge. Leveraging Northeastern 2025, and working together, we will develop a new strategic plan. We will double down on our core values—experiential just-for-you learning, agile global networks powered by diversity, and world-leading translational research—to become the world’s leading problem-solving University. Our “university clusters”—problem-inspired world-leading mini-universities—will provide an organizational structure to drive us forward.

As in 2015, our planning process will involve the entire Northeastern community. We will work in groups and complete our work in the Spring. Tackling systemic racism and inequality will infuse the work of every group.

Please join us on our journey.

David Madigan

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs