Joseph Elias Aoun (born March 26, 1953) is a Lebanese-born American linguist, currently serving as the 7th president of

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

since August 15, 2006. He was the eighth highest-paid private college president in the United States during the 2022 fiscal year. He was previously a professor and a dean at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Early life and education

Aoun was born in the Lebanese capital of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. He received a masters's degree in oriental languages and literature at the

Université Saint-Joseph Saint Joseph University of Beirut (; French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', commonly known as USJ) is a private Catholic research university in Beirut, Lebanon, founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Go ...

in Beirut in 1975, a Diploma of Advanced Studies in General and Theoretical Linguistics at the

University of Paris VIII Paris 8 University (), or usually the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis or Paris 8, is a public university in the Paris Metropolitan Area, Greater Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public ...

in 1977, and a PhD in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1981.

Career

Aoun joined the

(USC) in 1982 as a faculty member in linguistics. 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 chair A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...

s backed by endowments, and the creation of two new sub-departments for the study of Armenian and Korean.

Northeastern University

Aoun was named the 7th president of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on June 1, 2006. He assumed office on August 15, 2006. In July 2007, Northeastern University purchased a 5-story townhouse for President Aoun at 34 Beacon Street for $8.9 million. In November 2009, Aoun 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 The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) is a 234,000 square-foot (21,700 m2) building at Northeastern University designed for collaborative research, laboratory access, and classroom learning. The building is located on the Un ...

, 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. Aoun's 2018 salary was around $1.5–1.8 million dollars. 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. In 2021, his salary reached $2.7 million.

Published book

Aoun's book ''Robot-Proof'' was published by the

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

on August 14, 2018. The book was published over a year after Aoun wrote a commentary on ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

'' sharing its first part of the title. In the book, Aoun argues that to thrive alongside increasingly capable AI, education must shift from rote memorization to fostering what he calls "humanics": a blend of creativity, critical thinking, and empathy that enables students to invent, discover, and create value in ways machines cannot. He outlines a framework for continuous lifelong learning that equips people at every career stage with the adaptable skills needed to build fulfilling lives and meet society's evolving needs.

Personal life

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

Honors and awards

*Chevalier de La Légion d’honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor): French Government, 2018 *Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, 2010

References

External links

Higher education for the AI age: Let’s think about it before the machines do it for us The Washington Post 10.27.16Doubling Down on Innovation for Success, The Chronicle of Higher Education 10.10.16Hybrid Jobs Call for Hybrid Education, Harvard Business Review 4.12.16Robot-Proof: How Colleges Can Keep People Relevant in the Workplace, The Chronicle of Higher Education 1.27.16
* ttp://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2014/11/11/education_veterans_mission_1130.html An Education Mission for Our Veterans, Real Clear Education 11.11.14br>The Global Eduplex, Boston Globe 9.26.14Beyond the limits of traditional learning, Times Higher Education 6.26.14To Meet President Obama's Jobs Goal, Involve All Colleges, Bloomberg Businessweek 1.29.14
* ttps://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/11/17/shakeup-higher-education/Wi5FQz2JYstDnYDlUaUfdI/story.html A shakeup of higher education, Boston Globe 11.17.12br>Northeastern president makes wise use of YouTube, Boston Globe 11.11.12Northeastern president named to Homeland Security council, Boston Globe 03.04.12President Aoun talks about the cost and value of higher education in America, 90.9 WBUR Radio Boston, 02.08.12Joseph Aoun On Northeastern University’s National Expansion, 90.9 WBUR Radio Boston 11.04.11
* ttp://chronicle.com/article/Northeastern-U-Opens-the/129592/Northeastern U. Opens the First in a Planned Series of Graduate Campuses Across the U.S., The Chronicle of Higher Education 11.01.11br>Northeastern putting down stakes across the country, Boston Globe 10.31.11
* ttp://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/06/30/peter-theil-college President Aoun and Entrepreneur Peter Thiel Debate the Value of College, 90.9 WBUR Radio Boston 06.30.11br>A college education is your best bet, CNN 6.9.11Learning Today: the Lasting Value of Place, The Chronicle of Higher Education 5.8.11The costs of cutting higher ed, Boston Globe 12.15.10Game Changer, The Presidency (American Council on Education Magazine) Fall 2010Expand students' global experiences, Politico 8.24.10Protect Unpaid Internships, Inside Higher Ed 7.13.10Saving Public Higher Ed, Inside Higher Ed 10.1.09Millions more going to college?, Boston Globe 7.16.09Fast-rising NU reexamines its identity, Boston Globe 4.6.09Joseph Aoun: Finding Opportunities in the Recession, The Chronicle of Higher Education 1.30.09Boston and its colleges need to nurture unique partnership, Boston Globe 2.17.09
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aoun, Joseph 1953 births Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Lebanese emigrants to the United States 21st-century linguists Living people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Scientists from Beirut University of Southern California faculty Academic staff of Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis University of Paris alumni American expatriates in France Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the Linguistic Society of America Presidents of Northeastern University Arab linguists Members of Phi Kappa Phi