Joseph E. Aoun, a leader in higher education policy and an internationally renowned scholar in linguistics, is the seventh president of Northeastern University.

A respected voice on the value of global and experiential education, President Aoun has enhanced Northeastern’s signature co-op program with opportunities around the world and additional flexibility.   Students are now working, studying, and conducting research in 69 countries and all seven continents.

President Aoun has strategically aligned the University’s research enterprise with three global imperatives—heath, security, and sustainability—which are addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective.  Northeastern is home to eight federally recognized research centers and institutes including  the  Center for Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats, the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing, the Center for Translational Cancer Nanomedicine, the Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems, and the Institute for Information Assurance.  Faculty are translating their research into commercial solutions.

Northeastern’s excellence in education, research, and urban and global engagement is attracting highly-talented applicants from throughout the U.S. and around the world.  This year, it received 43,000 applications for freshman admission—more than any other private institution in the United States.

President Aoun came to Northeastern from the University of Southern California’s College of Letters, Arts & Sciences where he was the inaugural holder of the Anna H. Bing Dean’s Chair. He received his Ph.D. in linguistics and philosophy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and advanced degrees from the University of Paris (France) VIII and Saint Joseph University (Beirut, Lebanon). President Aoun has published seven books and written more than 40 articles. In 2006 he was presented with the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques (Knight of the Order of the Academic Palms) by the French government. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and next year will become the Chair of the American Council on Education (ACE).