Richard M. Freeland Explained

Richard Middleton Freeland
Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education
Term Start:	2008
Term End:	2015
Successor:	Carlos E. Santiago
Title1:	6th President of Northeastern University
Term Start1:	1996
Term End1:	2006
Predecessor1:	John A. Curry
Successor1:	Joseph Aoun
Birth Date:	May 13, 1941
Birth Place:	Orange, New Jersey
Alma Mater:	Amherst College, University of Pennsylvania

Richard Middleton Freeland (born May 13, 1941) was president of Northeastern University from 1996 to 2006^[1] and served as the Commissioner of Higher Education for Massachusetts from 2008 until 2015.^[2]

Freeland grew up in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, and was a 1959 graduate of Mountain Lakes High School; he was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2014.^[3] He was granted a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Amherst College and a doctorate in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania.^[4]

Freeland is married to Elsa Nunez, and has two children. Freeland's maternal grandmother Georgie Boynton Child was the author of The Efficient Kitchen: Definite Directions for the Planning, Arranging, and Equipping of the Modern Labor Saving Kitchen; A Practical Book for the Homemaker (1914)

During Freeland's tenure, Northeastern University went through major institutional changes, including becoming a more selective institution, moving to semesters from quarters, and the opening of over $400 million worth of new facilities.^[5]

Educational positions

• Clark University – Worcester (2007–2009)
  • Mosakowski Professor of Higher Education ^[6]
• University of Massachusetts Boston (1970–1992)
  • Assistant to the president
  • Assistant to the chancellor
  • Director of the Office of Educational Planning
  • Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
• City University of New York (1992–1996)
  • Vice chancellor for academic affairs
• Northeastern University
  • President (1996–2006)
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Higher Education
  • Commissioner of Higher Education (2008–2015)

Other positions

• Vice-chair, board of trustees for the Boston Plan for Excellence
• Director, American Council on Education
• Director, Boston Museum Project
• Director, Boston Private Industry Council
• Director, Globe Newspaper Corporation
• Director, Jobs for Massachusetts
• Governing board member, John Adams Innovation Institute
• Member of the board of trustees, WGBH
• President, board of governors in the World Association of Cooperative Education

Books

• The Truman Doctrine and the Origins of McCarthyism (1972)
• Academia's Golden Age: Universities in Massachusetts, 1945-1970 (1992)

References

1. Web site: Biography of Richard M. Freeland . 2007-05-06 . 2006-09-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060903111703/http://www.freeland.neu.edu/bio.html . dead .
2. Web site: High education commissioner Richard Freeland to step down - the Boston Globe. The Boston Globe.
3. https://hs.mlschools.org/our_school/alumni_hall_of_fame/2014_inductees/richard_freeland Alumni Hall of Fame Richard Freeland Class of 1959
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231236/http://www.tbf.org/tbfgen1.asp?id=1713 The Carol R. Goldberg Seminars: Steering Committee Biographies
5. Web site: Northeastern University . 2007-05-06 . 2007-04-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070428121504/http://www.neu.edu/president/presidents.html . dead .
6. Web site: Clark University Mosakowski Institute . www.clarku.edu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080706202401/http://www.clarku.edu/research/mosakowskiinstitute/faq.cfm . 2008-07-06.