Dean

Northeastern University is seeking an accomplished and entrepreneurial academic leader to serve as Dean of the College of Engineering. Reporting to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean serves as the college's chief academic and executive officer and as a member of Northeastern’s senior academic leadership team. This is a remarkable opportunity for a visionary Dean to lead one of the nation’s most distinctive engineering colleges, advancing a model of experiential education that is global in reach, use-inspired in research, and deeply connected to the industries and communities shaping our world.

The Dean holds responsibility for the college’s faculty, staff, and students, as well as for its long-term strategic direction and financial health across Northeastern’s global campus network. As the college’s most visible ambassador, the Dean will cultivate and strengthen relationships with corporate, civic, and global partners, and with colleagues across Northeastern’s campuses and other nine colleges. Few engineering deans can draw on a network of this scope: across the U.S., Canada, and U.K., an experiential education infrastructure that places engineering students in 23 countries and 43 states, and a globally connected research enterprise. The successful candidate will bring a demonstrated record of leadership in a complex academic or professional environment, a deep commitment to world-class scholarship and experiential learning, and the interpersonal skill to engage and inspire a wide range of constituencies.

This is an opportunity to join a college with the institutional infrastructure, research momentum, and global reach to lead the field. Northeastern is internationally recognized for its co-op program, which integrates classroom education with professional work experience, and for its emphasis on global engagement and innovation. The university enrolls 47,367 undergraduate and graduate students across its campuses, and ranks #46 among national universities, #5 among the Most Innovative Schools in the nation, and #1 for Co-ops/Internships (U.S. News & World Report, 2026).

Founded in 1909, the College of Engineering was the first school at Northeastern to offer what would become its signature co-op program, the innovation that is now central to Northeastern’s identity. The ABET-accredited college enrolls more than 10,000 students and engages 246 tenured and tenure-track faculty across more than 110 degree programs, minors, and certificates (AY2024–25). Its programs and faculty have earned recognition for strength in artificial intelligence, network engineering, advanced wireless and computing systems, and bioengineering, areas that span both its academic programs and its research portfolio. Co-op remains central to the student experience, with 2,937 students in AY2025 hired for four- to six-month engineering co-op terms at 2,602 employer partners across sectors. 96% of Northeastern University undergraduate and graduate students are employed or enrolled in a graduate program within nine months of completing their degree (2024). 

An R1 research university, Northeastern is nationally recognized for use-inspired research that addresses real-world challenges. The College of Engineering is integral to that enterprise: it earned $104 million in external research funding in FY2024 across its research centers and institutes, 141 Young Investigator Awards (as of 2024), and 163 patents (2018–2024). Its 20 research centers and institutes span cybersecurity, wireless systems, nanosystems, and pandemic prediction, with funding across eight federal agencies.

The College of Engineering has built a distinctive model: a co-op program that has defined the field, high-impact, use-inspired research, and an engineering education infrastructure that spans the globe. For the next Dean, the opportunity is to build on that foundation by deepening that research impact, expanding global partnerships, and preparing the next generation of engineers to lead in a rapidly changing world.

Northeastern has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive recruiting firm, to assist with this search. All nominations, inquiries, and application materials should be submitted in confidence to Isaacson, Miller, which will begin reviewing applications immediately and continue to accept submissions until the position is filled.