Richard Middleton Freeland (born May 13, 1941, in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

) was president of

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

from 1996 to 2006 and served as the Commissioner of Higher Education for Massachusetts from 2008 until 2015. Freeland grew up in

Mountain Lakes, New Jersey Mountain Lakes is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 4,160,Mountain Lakes High School Mountain Lakes High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Mountain Lakes, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Mou ...

; he was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2014. He was granted a bachelor's degree in American Studies from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

and a doctorate in American Civilization from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. 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.

Educational positions

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

– Worcester (2007–2009) ** Mosakowski Professor of Higher Education *

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

(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 The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

(1992–1996) ** Vice chancellor for academic affairs *

** 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'' (1992)

References

1941 births Living people Amherst College alumni Clark University faculty Mountain Lakes High School alumni People from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey People from Orange, New Jersey University of Massachusetts Boston faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni Presidents of Northeastern University {{US-academic-administrator-1940s-stub