After 20 years of leading Northeastern, Aoun says he’s not close to done

It is a linguist’s burden to explain the rules that govern language and why humans are uniquely capable of it. As a young doctoral student studying linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1970s, Joseph E. Aoun had many theories. 

Over time, former peers said Aoun earned a reputation in the field for his prolific writing and interesting ideas. He engaged thoughtfully in seminars and had a proclivity for asking questions. 

After graduating, Aoun took on a job as a professor of linguistics at the University of Southern California, or USC, and continued his research. Although he admitted that taking on a leadership role was not initially part of his plan, he went on to be dean of the university’s biggest college. 

Now, more than forty years after graduating from MIT, he has just finished his second decade as Northeastern’s president and is widely credited with ushering in a new era for the university. 

“Every day is different,” Aoun said in a one-hour interview with The Huntington News Sept. 2, his first in over three years. “And that’s the beauty.” 

Aoun, 73, leads Northeastern from his office on the top floor of EXP, a research building opened in 2023, which neighbors ISEC, another research building that opened in 2017. Under Aoun’s leadership, the university has grown in almost every possible metric and currently operates across 14 campuses. As compared to 20 years ago, Northeastern is coveted, highly ranked, shiny, ubiquitous — and unrecognizable. 

In the interview, Aoun discussed the university’s growth during his tenure, his interactions with students, his compensation, the senior leadership team, leading through political turmoil and his vision for what comes next. 

Aoun’s two-decade tenure is uncommon for university presidents, who, on average, spend less time in the hot seat. As of 2023, the average tenure is just under six years. Yet, his top advisers and colleagues say he has no plans to retire or leave his role anytime soon. 

“I think that the university needs him,” Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning, said. “And I think that he clearly is super enthusiastic about the continued trajectory of the institution, and the work is not done.”

Aoun smiled often, speaking with a distinct Lebanese-French lilt and returned to familiar vocabulary when talking about his university: it’s innovative. It’s global. It’s tuned into the present and the future simultaneously. It never copies what another school is doing. It invents, and then it reinvents. 

Northeastern’s growth over the past 20 years is hard to overstate. Since Aoun’s arrival, the undergraduate admissions rate to its Boston campus has dropped from 45% to 6.2%, according to data the university shared with The News. Undergraduate applications went from just above 30,000 to 105,190 between 2007 and last year, respectively. External research funds ballooned, rising from $48.7 million to $267.1 million, and, in 2015, it earned R1 research university status.

Ultimately, to Aoun, the responsibility of a president and of the university is to serve the community. “We constantly have to remind ourselves that our role as a university is to serve the students and to serve society,” he said. 

Aoun oversees a student body of more than 40,000 and 8,000 faculty and staff, who are dispersed across the globe. Aoun said he meets students daily by walking around campus, a habit he’s had since his USC days, Beth Meyerowitz, a former colleague, said.

IN RECENT YEARS, some community members have criticized Aoun and Northeastern’s administration for an alleged lack of transparency and visibility. More than 430 people joined a faculty senate meeting in January 2025 after Northeastern quietly purged its diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, language online shortly after Trump took office in favor of language centered around “Belonging.”

This March, 28 people, including several students, gave public testimonies at a Boston City Council hearing, alleging a lack of administrative transparency at many Boston-area universities, namely Northeastern. Aoun was invited to the hearing, but did not attend. (The former editor-in-chief of The News spoke at the hearing.) 

Aoun used to write frequently to the community, authoring dozens of public messages since 2006. However, since 2023, he’s written very few messages, even as the world of higher education has faced unprecedented challenges. In February 2025, Aoun authored a statement titled “Reaffirming our Mission Together” weeks after President Donald Trump took office and began a barrage of attacks on higher education.

Under Trump, the Department of Education slashed research funds, cracked down on DEI programming and required universities to sign compacts. Kaylin Daniels, a fourth-year and president of Northeastern’s Black Athlete Caucus, testified at the March City Council hearing about Northeastern’s transparency. In her testimony, Daniels, a political science and economics combined major, expressed concerns about the university’s overhaul of its DEI office and messaging.

The February statement made no mention of Trump by name, but instead acknowledged anxiety about an “onslaught of daily news about changes in public policy” and said that “Northeastern is well-positioned for the future.” Weeks later, in March 2025, more than 200 university members signed onto a letter calling on Aoun to publicly condemn Trump’s executive orders. 

“We all care about this university,” Daniels said in an interview. “We all chose to be here for a reason, and I think that making yourself inaccessible to the people whose experiences you’re, I assume, trying to better, is counterintuitive.”

Molly Culot, the student body president, noted the Student Government Association is advocating for a meeting with Aoun. “It’s something that we’re really interested in doing because, as the president of the university, we think it’s going to be highly beneficial for [him] to talk to the representative body of the students, which is the Student Government Association,” she said. 

Aoun said he speaks with student organizations that request a meeting, but that he prefers meeting students organically by walking on campus, something he does on a “daily basis.” 

“We have to distinguish constantly between meeting students and meeting organizations, and that’s the difference,” he said. “I’m constantly meeting with students and interacting.” He said he never puts “things on the books for meeting with students. With organizations, it’s different. If I’m invited and sit down with them, I’ll be happy to do it.” 

THE STUDENT BODY has never been more spread out, a product of Aoun’s vision to globalize the university. A 2026 case study by Harvard Business School touted the global campus network as a potential “new model” for higher education writ large as the industry grapples with issues like the demographic cliff and college closures.

To thrive and stay ahead of these existential threats, universities have to distinguish themselves and “pick a lane,” said Rich D’Amore, who was previously chair of the Board of Trustees. “We ‘own’ the experiential lane, and it’s a big, desirable lane, and it was part history,” he said of the co-op program. “But for the last 20 years, [we’ve] been doubling down on that and expanding the definition of experiential,” through programs like Dialogues of Civilization and international co-ops, he added. 

To Aoun, creating a global university began with attracting more international students. In 2005, international students comprised roughly 9% of the student population, according to the case study. In 2023, that number was closer to 40%, according to a New York Times analysis. “We wanted to globalize the university, and we said that the globalization starts at home,” Aoun said. 

Aoun, who received the Golden Door Award in 2019 that recognizes successful immigrants, said that he still sees himself in the university’s international students. “I studied in the French system, and I came here, and English being my third language, I was struggling,” he said. “I was struggling, and it was very difficult, but people took care of me.” 

Last spring, international students were put under a white-hot spotlight as the federal government announced plans to crack down on students overstaying their visas. When more than 40 Northeastern students and recent graduates had visas revoked, which were later restored, the university communicated with the community through an unsigned FAQ page it posted following Trump’s inauguration. 

The most recent blow to international students came in July when the Trump administration announced it would limit foreign students to four years and a 30-day grace period in the U.S. for their studies. “We want to make sure that our international students get the full experience of being a Northeastern student,” Henderson said of the new fixed period of admission. “Especially in the undergraduate and graduate space, we feel pretty comfortable that we’ll be able to accommodate that for all students.” 

Critics of the ruling say it threatens the ability of American universities to attract talented students from overseas, particularly at the graduate and doctoral levels, where many programs take longer than four years to complete. In 2010, Northeastern enrolled just over 1,000 doctoral students. In 2025, it accounted for almost double that, according to data the university shared with The News. 

Aoun is no stranger to leading during moments of societal upheaval. In the past 20 years, he’s steered the university through the 2008 economic recession, the Boston Marathon bombing, a global pandemic and divisive national politics. Deciding when to wade into national or international affairs, he said, starts with the global campus network in mind, adding that the “social compact is what keeps us engaged and what keeps the community accepting us.” When asked why he stopped writing as many public statements, he said that the university continues to “communicate constantly.”

Northeastern, like many universities nationwide, found itself in headlines after it arrested 98 protesters for erecting a pro-Palestinian encampment in the spring of 2024. Months later, in October 2024, leaders grappled with the fallout of the encampment; Northeastern’s faculty senate had tense debates over the university’s academic freedom and freedom of expression policies. 

“I think that we believe in academic freedom, and that’s essential,” Aoun said of the role political activism plays on college campuses. “That’s a precious attribute that we have, and we want to keep in higher education.” 

He said he is “very much in favor” of vigorous and healthy debate, adding that “we are better off for it.” To Aoun, healthy debate is “based on respect. I can diverge from you. You can diverge from me. But we can sit down and talk, without vilifying each other,” he said. 

Barry Schein, who met the president while the two were classmates at MIT, said that Aoun never shied away from debates in their MIT linguistics seminars; “Joseph had a lot to say, and he said it.”

DURING UNFORESEEN MOMENTS, including the 2024 encampment or COVID, the university’s 29-person Board of Trustees may meet for special sessions. The board, Northeastern’s governing body with trustees scattered across the globe, wields considerable power at the university. It is responsible for setting the president’s salary, said D’Amore, the former board chair whose $60 million joint donation with fellow alum Alan McKim earned them the namesake of the university’s business school.

Last year, Aoun’s base salary was $2,220,000, with around $825,000 in deferred compensation, totaling just north of $3 million for his total compensation. Many trustees believe he should be paid more, D’Amore said. “It’s extraordinary if you look at the value delivered and the value created for the university over the last 20 years,” said D’Amore, a co-founder of North Bridge Venture Partners. 

Last year, Aoun was the highest-paid college president in Massachusetts. When asked why he thinks his role is worth $3 million, he said, “The board determines my compensation, so it’s not a question of worth.”

Six years ago, in 2020, Aoun publicly donated 20% of his salary, or around $290,000, to COVID research funds and student relief aid. When asked whether he’d consider doing it again, he said he continues to donate but avoids publicizing it. “It was a contribution to the community,” he said of his 2020 donation, “and I continue on a yearly basis to do that, and substantially, as I give back a substantial amount of my salary, but I don’t advertise for that.” 

He went on, “We needed to mention that during COVID in order to get other members of the community to do it.” He declined to go into specifics about how much he donates each year, but pointed out that he and his wife, Zeina, recently endowed a chair to support junior faculty.

AOUN WORKS CLOSELY with a senior leadership team that includes Henderson, as well as the provost and senior vice presidents for finance and external affairs, among others. In the last year, however, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs role saw quick turnover when Beth Winkelstein departed from Northeastern after less than a year, The News reported in May. 

Tom Sheahan, a longtime member of the Office of the Provost, will serve as interim provost for two years, overseeing the university’s academic and research portfolio. David Madigan, Winkelstein’s predecessor, stepped down in 2025 after five years in the role, but continues to teach and do research at Northeastern. Winkelstein didn’t respond to several requests for comment, and Madigan declined an interview. 

“It’s ultimately a fit,” Aoun said of Winkelstein’s short time in the role. “It’s a fit from both sides, and, clearly, we are very innovative. We are not a traditional university, and I think the person has to fit in this environment, and that’s it.” When asked if he has any concerns about retention for the role of provost, he said no, “because we’re very appealing as a university, and we have actually constantly people looking to join us.”  

When Aoun arrived at Northeastern, many alumni still associated it with its commuter school roots. By the late 2000s though, many were becoming reacquainted with the university. As of 2026, Northeastern has around 394,000 living alumni, a university spokesperson told The News.  

To attract donors and engage alumni, something Aoun gained recognition for at USC, he hired a colleague from his time there, Diane Nishigaya MacGillivray, to serve as senior vice president for university advancement. She said Aoun’s leadership and the ensuing growth of Northeastern have driven donations. 

“I had people who, when I first got here, weren’t interested in even taking my call,” MacGillivray said. “Five years later, people were like, ‘I love what’s happening at Northeastern. I’m so proud of my university. … Come talk to me about it.’” 

In 2006, the university received $20 million from about 20,000 donors; this year, donations total about $120 million to date from 38,068 donors, the university shared with The News. To attract donors, MacGillivray said Aoun meets with people individually and often travels across the world. “It’s relationship building because we’re in a relationship business,” she said. 

In 2020, tech entrepreneur Dave Roux donated $100 million to establish an institute in his home state of Maine that focuses on tech, life sciences and artificial intelligence, or AI. When he was initially looking for a university to partner with, many turned him down or wanted the money for existing programs, but Aoun bought into the idea. By Roux’s account, Aoun saw the institute’s focus on tech fitting well within his ongoing vision about how higher education will change with the rise of AI. 

Aoun had notably forecasted AI’s potential in higher education years before it infiltrated classrooms and society at large in his book “Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” which was originally published in 2017 with an updated 2024 version. He continues to write at length about the importance of how people can hone innate skills to remain competitive in an AI-driven society, a concept he’s dubbed “humanics.” 

In the book, Aoun recalls how humans used to compare themselves to animals, but lately, erroneously compare themselves to computers and machines. “Now, people are starting to think of themselves as robots or as an AI machine,” Aoun said. However, he thinks it’s not a fair comparison. “We are way more complex, way more interesting. Machines don’t even get close to capturing our complexity.” 

Aoun has continued to speak about humanics in both essays and interviews, while also urging universities to rethink their curricula for the age of AI. The president, and Northeastern by proxy, has led the charge in higher education in embracing the technology; it recently replaced all of its undergraduate data science majors with an AI degree. 

SPENDING TWO DECADES in the role is extremely rare for university presidents, as their leadership faces a never-before-seen amount of scrutiny. Kyle Beltramini, a senior research fellow at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, said public pressure has contributed to the declining tenure of university presidents. 

“Higher education has kind of become more vulnerable to day-to-day shocks to the economy,” said Beltramini, who also testified at the March 23 City Council hearing. “As that happens, and as institutions become more and more competitive in seeking out new students, you’re going to have the problem of presidents becoming more visible and more blamed when their institutions aren’t doing particularly well.” 

Despite the evolving landscape of higher education and the demanding nature of the job, when asked if he has any idea of when he’ll step down, Aoun offered a resounding no, saying, “As long as we continue to innovate [and] reinvent higher education, I’m in.” 

Richard Freeland, Aoun’s predecessor who spent ten years as president, called Aoun’s tenure remarkable. “It’s a major achievement, and it’s very unusual,” he said. “I think very few presidents have the kind of energy to keep going at the pace that’s required for 20 years.” 

The utilitarian buildings on the Boston campus, including Richards and Hurtig Halls, are some of the only vestigial structures of the university’s humble origin story. Looking ahead to the next 20 years, Aoun sees “a university in tune with reality, trying to impact reality for the better and then to shape the reality based on that.” 

In interviews, people close to Aoun consistently described him as being inquisitive, a trait he partly attributes to his training as a linguist. Ralph Martin, who spent 11 years as Northeastern’s senior vice president and general counsel, often saw Aoun’s thinking in action. 

“Someone was presenting an issue or a potential project at a senior team meeting, and after they finished, [Aoun] said, ‘Look, I know nothing about the substance of this issue, but here are my thoughts,’” Martin recalled. “Then, at the end, he said, ‘Tell me if I’m wrong.’ He likes to play with ideas, and he likes other people on his team to play with ideas, to look at it from different dimensions.”

Norbert Hornstein, a longtime linguistics collaborator of Aoun’s, described him as a great writer and recalled how he’d interact with his adviser, Noam Chomsky, the groundbreaking yet controversial professor. 

“I think that Chomsky understood that he was not an acolyte in the sense [that] he’s going to toe any line,” Hornstein said. “Rather, he’s someone who’s going to take the general ideas and run with them in his own way.” 

In linguistics, Aoun said, “You don’t take anything for granted. It’s pure scientific research. You question. It’s never linear.” He went on, “I like that very much because it’s always a humbling experience that allows you to think differently about the world.”

This piece was originally published by The Huntington News on September 10, 2026.