Joseph E. Aoun

Last updated
Joseph Aoun
Joseph Aoun (2897155178) (cropped).jpg
Aoun in 2008
7th President of
Northeastern University
In office
August 2006 –present

Joseph Aoun (born March 26, 1953) [1] is a Lebanese-born American linguist and academic administrator who serves as the 7th president of Northeastern University since August 2006. He was previously a professor and dean at the University of Southern California. As a theoretical syntactician, he is known for his work on logical form and wh-movement.

Contents

Biography

Aoun was born in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. He earned a Masters in Oriental Languages and Literature at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut in 1975, a Diploma of Advanced Studies in General and Theoretical Linguistics at the University of Paris VIII in 1977, and a PhD in Linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981. He joined the University of Southern California (USC) in 1982 as a Linguistics Professor. During his time at USC, he served as head of the academic Senate and eventually became a Dean. His success in fund-raising allowed for the hiring of multiple professors, the creation of named chairs backed by endowments, and the creation of two new sub-departments for the study of Armenian and Korean.

He is married to his wife Zeina; the couple has two sons, Adrian and Joseph Karim. [2]

Aoun was hired by Northeastern University in Boston in 2006 to serve as university president. While at Northeastern, he and the Board of Trustees oversaw the cancelling of the Northeastern Huskies football program. The program was 8-26 in its preceding three seasons and faced declining attendance and high costs if it wished to remain competitive in recruiting. The move, while controversial, was generally considered positive in retrospect; the funding it freed up allowed for the construction of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, which played more directly into Northeastern's strengths. Aoun later said he was overwhelmed with calls from other college presidents asking how he managed the feat without enraging alumni. [3]

In 2007, Northeastern University purchased a 5-story townhouse for President Aoun at 34 Beacon Street for $8.9m. [4] Aoun's 2018 salary was around $1.5–1.8 million dollars. [5] In spring 2020, Aoun announced he would donate 20% of his annual salary (~$290,000) to new funds meant to support students facing economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support research programs related to the crisis. [6]

Robot-Proof

Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence was published and released in 2017 by MIT Press. [7] The book appeared over a year after Aoun wrote a commentary for the Chronicle of Higher Education [8] that shares the first part of the book's title.

In Robot-Proof, Aoun proposes a way to educate the next generation of college students to invent, to create, and to discover—to fill needs in society that even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence agent cannot. [9]

A "robot-proof" education, Aoun argues, is not concerned solely with memorizing facts. Rather, it fosters a creative mindset and the mental elasticity to invent, discover, or create something valuable to society—a scientific proof, a hip-hop recording, a web comic, a cure for cancer. In his book, Aoun lays out the framework for a new discipline, humanics, which builds on our innate strengths and prepares students to compete in a labor market in which smart machines work alongside human professionals.

He argues for the need for better and continuous education to keep up with changing technology, saying, "Beyond simply conferring degrees, the foundational purpose of colleges and universities must be to educate — and that means equipping people of all ages, at all stages of their careers, to build successful and fulfilling lives." [10]

Honors and awards

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</span> Private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston University</span> Private university in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodists with its original campus in Newbury, Vermont, before being chartered in Boston in 1869. It is a member of the Association of American Universities and the Boston Consortium for Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Massachusetts Boston</span> Public research university in Boston, Massachusetts, US

The University of Massachusetts Boston is a public research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. UMass Boston is the third most diverse university in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Massachusetts Lowell</span> Public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.

The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public university system and has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) since 1975. With 1,110 faculty members and over 18,000 students, it is the largest university in the Merrimack Valley and the second-largest public institution in the state. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Paterson University</span> Public university in Wayne, New Jersey, U.S.

William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeastern University</span> Private university primarily in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Northeastern University is a private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1898, it was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association as an all-male institute before being incorporated as Northeastern College in 1916, gaining university status in 1922. With more than 38,000 students, Northeastern is the largest university in Massachusetts by enrollment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Meehan</span> American politician (born 1956)

Martin Thomas Meehan is an American academic administrator, politician, and attorney. Since July 2015, Meehan has served as the President of the University of Massachusetts after serving as Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell since September 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Nazarene College</span> Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) is a private, Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts. Established as a holiness college in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1900, the college moved to Rhode Island for several years. With its expansion to a four-year curriculum, it relocated to Wollaston Park in 1919. It has expanded to additional sites in Quincy and, since the late 20th century, to satellite sites across the state. Its academic programs are primarily undergraduate, with some professional graduate education offered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheelock College</span> Former private college in Boston Massachusetts

Wheelock College was a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States from 1888 to 2018. The college was founded in 1888 as the Miss Wheelock's Kindergarten Training School and was merged into Boston University as part of the university's Wheelock College of Education and Human Development in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phi Kappa Phi</span> International collegiate nonor society

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education". It was the fourth academic society in the United States to be organized around recognizing academic excellence, and it is the oldest all-discipline honor society. It is a member of the Honor Society Caucus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley University</span> Private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018–19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Caret</span> American academic

Robert Laurent Caret is an American academic and university administrator. He is the former chancellor of the University System of Maryland and former president of San José State University, Towson University and the University of Massachusetts System.

Jamshed Bharucha is an Indian-American cognitive neuroscientist who has served in leadership roles in higher education. He is the founding vice chancellor of Sai University, Chennai, and is a member of the board of advisors of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Francis</span> American academic

Norman Christopher Francis is an American academic who served as president of Xavier University of Louisiana from 1968 to 2015. He was the first Black and first lay president of the school, and the second African American to ever serve as president of a Catholic university in the United States.

John A. Curry was an American academic administrator who was the President of Northeastern University from 1989 to 1996. Prior to serving as president, Curry was the University's Executive Vice President. Curry was the first alumnus to serve as Northeastern's president.

Claire Van Ummersen was an American scholar and academic administrator, who served as President of Cleveland State University from 1993 to 2001. She was also national leader in career flexibility in higher education and women's advancement and leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael E. Haynes</span> American politician and minister (1927–2019)

Michael E. Haynes was an American minister and politician in the state of Massachusetts. His parents, Gustavus and Edna, were immigrants from Barbados.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Keith Motley</span>

James Keith Motley is a former academic administrator who served as the eighth chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex</span> Research Facility, Classroom, Laboratory in Massachusetts, United States

The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) is a 234,000 square-foot building at Northeastern University designed for collaborative research, laboratory access, and classroom learning. The building is located on the University's central campus at 805 Columbus Ave, Boston, Massachusetts. The building initially opened on April 3, 2017.

Northeastern University School of Journalism and Media Innovation is the journalism school of Northeastern University, a private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the school's undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Northeastern's flagship cooperative education program allows students to alternate semesters of full-time study and semesters of full-time, professional work in newsrooms, public relations firms, advertising agencies and non-profit organizations.

References

  1. 1 2 "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  2. ↑ Pamela J. Johnson (22 June 2006). "Trojans Bid Farewell to Joseph Aoun". USC. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Pennington, Bill (December 27, 2019). "Adding Football Saved One College. Dumping It Boosted Another". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  4. ↑ "NU buys $8.9m home for president". The Huntington News. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  5. ↑ According to Northeastern's 2018 IRS Form 990.
  6. ↑ Charlie Wolfson (21 April 2020). "Aoun to give 20 percent of salary to student aid and COVID-19 research". The Huntington News. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence". Barnes and Noble.
  8. ↑ Aoun, Joseph (27 January 2016). "Robot-Proof: How Colleges Can Keep People Relevant in the Workplace". Chronicle. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Aoun, Joseph. "Robot-Proof". Robot-Proof. MIT Press. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "Robot Proof, Sept 12 2017". c-span.org. C-SPAN. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  11. ↑ "Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun receives France's highest honor". News @ Northeastern. 28 September 2018.
Academic offices
Preceded by 7th President of Northeastern University
2006-present		Incumbent
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.