Is There a New Labor Movement Afoot in the US?
Former top advisor to President Biden and Distinguished Professor of the Practice Seth Harris weighs in on efforts to unionize at Amazon, Starbucks and more and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers. Harris teaches in the Northeastern College of Professional Studies doctoral program in Law and Policy and is an affiliated faculty member and senior fellow, Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University.
What Fast Fashion Costs the World
Many clothing donations end up in an unexpected place — African landfills.
Elizabeth Cline, CPS master’s student in global studies and international relations and author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, comments on fast fashion’s labor practices and advocates for a kind of conscious consumption that she says has been lacking for some time in the West’s relationship with its clothes.
Northeastern Food Policy Expert Honored for 30 Years of Advocacy
In the time since an E. coli outbreak took his son’s life, CPS Associate Teaching Professor Darin Detwiler has advised USDA and FDA leaders, spoken at conferences, and taught, all with one goal–to prevent more families from experiencing the same tragedy.
An Accelerated Degree in Organizational Leadership
With the job market for management positions projected to grow rapidly until at least 2030—and U.S. companies eager to fill a self-described “leadership gap”—an accelerated master’s degree program centered on experiential learning prepares graduates for success in a broad range of fields.
“The new One Year Experiential Master of Science in Organizational Leadership can benefit professionals from all industries,” says Les Stein, assistant teaching professor and faculty director of the program. “This is a one-year degree that can energize graduates’ careers, make them more competitive in their individual professions, and offer opportunities to change their career trajectories or to grow within their current professional context.”
According to Stein, participants in the new program will begin with an introductory course in leadership in which they will conduct a self-inventory of their leadership skills, identifying areas of strength and opportunities for growth. In classes of 15 or fewer, students will explore a wide range of leadership styles, with special emphasis on understanding the ways digital technologies have shifted the landscape of leadership, with social media creating both new risks and new opportunities.
With sponsors from technology, healthcare, manufacturing, financial and other industry sectors providing meaningful, priority projects, and concentrations available in six categories—Coaching, Health Management, Human Resources Management, Leading and Managing Technical Projects, Organizational Communication, and Project Management—the new master’s degree program will give students ample opportunity for experiential learning. Representatives from industry partners will serve as speakers and lecturers, and students will work directly with partner employers to solve problems and connect with industry experts as they navigate the theories and techniques of leadership. The program is designed as a cohort model, offering students the opportunity to develop a network of peers, faculty, and potential employers.
“The accelerated, experiential Master of Science in Organizational Leadership will offer you valuable relationships with your program cohort as you gain firsthand experience in several industries and work alongside experts on real-world projects,” Stein said. “In just one year, you will complete your degree, add considerable connections to your professional network, and become a better candidate for your next promotion or dream job.”
The Shackles of the United Nations Security Council Veto, Explained
The Russian Federation is one of five nations that hold unilateral veto power on the U.N. Security Council–a group known as the “P5” that also includes the US, China, France, and the UK. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others argue that permanent members’ ability to obstruct resolutions has rendered the international organization irrelevant. Is it time to reform the veto power? CPS Associate Teaching Professor Fiona Creed, a U.N. scholar, explains this complex situation.
Four Students Were Named 2022 RISE Award Winners
Students, faculty, staff across Northeastern University, and industry leaders participated in the university’s annual RISE (Research, Innovation, Scholarship, Entrepreneurship) exhibition on April 14, 2022, a showcase for multidisciplinary student research and creative projects. Student competitors had the opportunity to virtually present their research to industry professionals and potential employers or investors.
This year, four College of Professional Studies graduate students were named RISE Award winners across three categories:
Category: Business and Entrepreneurship
Mary McNamara, Doctor of Education student ’22: Mentoring Others Elevates All: The Benefits of Diverse Mentor-Entrepreneur Dyads
- Mentor: Lindsay Portnoy, Associate Teaching Professor, Doctor of Education program
Corey Ortiz, MS Corporate and Organizational Communication student ’23: Feeling the Crunch: Expectations of Crunch Time in the Video Game Industry
- Mentor: Gladys McKie, Lecturer, MS Corporate and Organizational Communication program
Category: Interdisciplinary Topics, Centers, and Institutes
Asha Kiran Makwana, MPS Analytics student ‘22: KAPI (Keyboardless ASL-inspired Programming Interface)
- Mentor: Beverly Quon
Category: Social Sciences, Humanities, and Law
L’Bertrice Solomon, Doctor of Law and Policy student ‘22: Let Me Live: Corporate Environmental Exceptions, Failed Environmental Protections in Louisiana
- Mentor: J.D. LaRock, Professor of the Practice, Doctor of Law and Policy program
Congratulations to our awardees!
Instilling a Passion for Data Analytics in Boston High School Students
In June 2021, Alice Mello, Ph.D., was granted an award to develop and run a novel program, ‘Data Analytics Workshop: Empowering Minority High School Students with In-Demand Career Skills’ – from the Northeastern Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She also has leveraged support from the College of Professional Studies to support this high-impact initiative.
Mello’s interest was to ignite a passion for data analytics among the participating students through this preparatory course led by four graduate student mentors selected from the Master of Professional Studies in Analytics program, where Mello serves as an assistant teaching professor.
Called “Storytelling with Data,” the program was launched in three local schools: Edward M Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, where an in-person calculus class of 12 students studied data sets on Boston hospitals and COVID; Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, where two computer science classes attended virtual classes to study data sets on the chosen topics of games, movies, and Halloween; and Boston Day and Evening Academy, an alternative school for high school students, which attracted 13 math students for in-person learning. Students at the Academy first asked to study the war in Ukraine, but since data sets for this were hard to come by, they opted for public transportation instead.
Mentors began classes by explaining how data can be used to tell stories, by providing the context for any number of situations to show what is happening behind the scenes – and then how facts can create a visualization of patterns using the data visualization tool, Tableau. The climax of the story comes when the data reveals conflicts – which the data can also help resolve, using dashboards within Tableau.
The main goal of the program is to empower students to enter the field of data analytics, with a view to addressing the lack of diversity in the analytics field by inspiring students to continue their education at Bunker Hill Community College, the largest and most diverse community college in Massachusetts. This past year, CPS formed an agreement with BHCC that allows an easy transfer pathway for interested students, while offering Lowell Institute School scholarship support, depending on their financial needs.
“I am delighted at the success of this experience so far, both for the high school students and our MPSA graduate students (Teach to Learn and Learn to Teach!),” says Mello. “I’m committed to finding grant opportunities to offer this program on a yearly basis and I’m hopeful that we’ll see some of these students in our Bachelor of Science in Analytics or Bachelor of Science in Information Technology programs in a few years’ time!”
Northeastern’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society Teams Up with AG and School Leaders to Address Hate and Bias in School Athletics
In response to the recent rise in hate-based incidents in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey announced a new partnership with state and school leaders that aims to create positive change and a safe and healthy environment for young people in school sports throughout the Commonwealth.
The collaborative initiative, whose members first convened in April 2022, will expand programming and provide additional resources for school and athletic leaders at an in-person conference in late August / early September 2022 to help prevent hate and bias on the field and in locker rooms. During Fall 2022, Northeastern’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society will deliver 12 regional trainings across Massachusetts as part of the project. The interactive two-day sessions, with at least one held in each of the nine sports districts organized by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, will aim to empower attendees to bring what they learnt back to their schools and communities and train others.
“Sport is an impact engine of inclusion. It has the power to elevate conversation, inspire individual and collective change agency, and create true, sustainable change. AG Healey, her office, and all the committed stakeholders in this initiative, see and embrace sport as a pathway to positive youth engagement, social-emotional development, and the collective community inherent in teamwork. Hate and hurt have no place in sport, and we remain grateful to AG Healey for her responsive proactivity in creating such an intentional program of hope and healing. We are honored to contribute and be part of the team,” said Dan Lebowitz, Executive Director of The Center for the Study of Sport in Society.
Founded in 1984, and based at the College of Professional Studies, The Center for the Study of Sport in Society specializes in non-degree education and training that “connects the world of sport with social-justice-driven research, education, and advocacy through programming and global community engagement”. The Center developed curriculum and delivered training to hundreds of high schools, police departments, Major League Baseball, the NFL, and at the South African World Cup, among many others.
Novel Biomanufacturing Apprenticeship Program Helps Diversify Talent Pipeline for Life Sciences Industry
The MassBioEd Apprenticeship Biomanufacturing Program, launched in 2021, meets a significant industry demand by connecting unemployed or underemployed people to high paying, stable jobs in a growing field that is in need of diverse talent.
Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies has collaborated with MassBioEd to be the educational partner, teaching apprentices basic content in biology, chemistry, biotechnology, lab math, and more. “This innovative workforce development program pays learners to participate and guarantees a job at the end of the apprenticeship,” explains Liz Zulick, Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Dean, Research, Innovation, Development and Entrepreneurship. “Learners can continue their studies and enroll into our bachelor’s degree in biotechnology with eight credits from the apprenticeship program.”
How to Cope with Constant Bad News
The past two years have presented what feels to many to be a constant onslaught of heavy news.
“It’s just been one thing after another. We’ve been sitting with challenges that most of us in our lifetime haven’t necessarily seen before. It’s a lot to process, make sense of and adapt to,” says Kristen Lee, teaching professor of behavioral science at Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies.
But, she says “healing is within our reach. We can heal through atrocity.”