CPS Information Night
Join us for our upcoming CPS Information Night event.
Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies is excited to host our CPS Information Night on Thursday, April 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and we’d love to see you there.
At this event, guests will be invited to enjoy refreshments and light appetizers as they are welcomed by the Dean of the College of Professional Studies, Radhika Seshan. Several faculty members will join in the event to answer any of your program-specific questions. Networking sessions will be held covering various topics, including assistance with your application and registration journey.
Northeastern at AACRAO
The AACRAO Annual Meeting is an opportunity to learn, network, and advance higher education. Professionals from a variety of higher education disciplines gather together at AACRAO’s Annual Meeting to engage and discuss the ever-changing landscape of higher-ed.
Collaborate with a worldwide, higher education network as it comes together to explore, engage, and learn. Each year higher education professionals face new and unique challenges in their work and AACRAO’s Annual Meeting is the place to find solutions to those challenges.
Meet the CPS Lecture—Making Connections in Project Management
Making Connections in Project Management: What professional project management is, why companies are investing in it, and how you can grow your career.
Northeastern University in Arlington is pleased to host a Taster Lecture with the College of Professional Studies focusing on our Master of Science in Project Management.
In this class, you will have the opportunity to hear a brief overview of the discipline, why it matters, and where it is growing. You will also learn how the College of Professional Studies offers an accessible but effective degree to give students the skills they need to join this growing revolution.
After a presentation in the main room, attendees will be able to learn more about specific areas of project management in small group conversations with Northeastern faculty members in breakout rooms. Enrollment counselors and academic advisors will be available in the main room to answer questions about applying and getting started in the program.
Workshop facilitator: Shannon Alpert
Dr. Shannon Alpert spent the first 15 years of her career leading projects and teams responsible for creating learning solutions in the telecommunications and financial services industries. She also consulted with K-8 and higher education organizations on project and portfolio management while also teaching online graduate courses at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Dr. Alpert joined Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies at the end of 2014 and served for over 6 years in the Doctor of Education (EdD) program. She was the lead faculty for the Integrative Studies concentration of the EdD program, principal instructor for the Advanced Research Design course, and dissertation chair for over 30 doctoral research projects. In 2021, Dr. Alpert joined the Professional Programs domain as a principal instructor for the Bachelor of Science in Project Management. In 2022, she became Faculty Lead for Project Management programs, including the Master of Science in Project Management, Bachelor of Science in Project Management, and graduate certificate programs.
We will also have time for a Q&A, so bring any questions you have for Shannon Alpert.
Meet the CPS: A Taster Lecture – An Analytics Case Study
The importance and applications of analytics
Northeastern University in Arlington is pleased to host a taster lecture with the College of Professional Studies focusing on our Master of Professional Studies in Analytics.
In this class, we will talk about the importance and applications of analytics and the different building blocks for it. We will look at application areas and use cases. We will also discuss what the job market looks like for analytics in general and what opportunities exist.
Joseph Reilly is an assistant teaching professor in the Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Analytics program at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. Reilly acts as the innovation lead for the analytics program and provides program, faculty, student, and CPS support, as well as curricular oversight and best practices, including onboarding of new faculty. In addition to teaching a variety of analytics courses in his role as principal instructor, Reilly leads all general analytics-related operational program management, marketing, enrollment, and student-related issues, as well as advising activities. He leads academic integrity coordination across the domain, as well the development of noncredit offers, such as workshops.
Prior to joining Northeastern’s faculty, he worked as a senior product analyst and data scientist at Wayfair, where he designed semantic text extraction platforms to understand how suppliers, customers, and competitors described more than 10 million unique products. This drove a reduction in time required for suppliers to add products as well as iterative catalog cleanup efforts to remove erroneous values. He also implemented alerting and monitoring strategies for data science products to ensure product health in production, and automated human-in-the-loop processes to ensure timely, accurate review of model output.
During his doctoral work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Reilly wrote and implemented novel technology-based science curricula that could formatively assess student performance and provide dynamic feedback for students as well as teachers. He also spearheaded the experimental design, implementation, and analysis of a multimodal learning analytics laboratory study that collected eye tracking, electrodermal activity, and posture observations on participants in a collaborative setting. Before pursuing his doctorate, he taught middle school science and high school chemistry for six years in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
We will also have time for a Q&A, so bring any questions you have for professor Reilly.
Curriculum Plus Experiential Learning Equal an Innovative Education
Northeastern University Toronto’s experiential learning model has greatly impressed Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities on her first visit to the campus.
Several faculty, administrators, alumni and students, including CPS master’s student Emmanuel Nsamu, met with the minister to discuss how experiential learning helps students gain necessary skills to succeed and often leads to opportunities for full time jobs, all while contributing to the economy throughout the province.
CPS Launches Master’s Degree in Applied Logistics
In an era of disruption, new credential will position graduates for success in diverse markets
With business leaders increasingly focused on overcoming the challenges of global disruption, a new degree in logistics promises to prepare graduates for success in multiple fields. Integrating multiple knowledge areas with advanced technology, the Master of Professional Studies in Applied Logistics will train students to respond nimbly to challenging circumstances, leveraging the increasingly important role of logistics and supply chain professionals in daily operations and strategic projects across industries.
“In today’s fast-paced and disrupted market, employers demand graduates ready to hit the ground running, graduates who have mastered the practical side of the complex and sophisticated field of supply chain management,” said Ammar Aamer, Ph.D., associate teaching professor in the Project Management Programs. “In response, the new applied logistics degree focuses on the day-to-day understanding and execution details of logistics and distribution operations within supply chain management. The curriculum is infused with data analytics, emerging technologies, project management, and leadership skills to prepare students to be creative and adaptive in an ever-changing world.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market for logisticians—whose median pay in 2021 was $77,030—is projected to grow 30 percent from 2020 to 2030.
Students in the program will learn to handle unexpected challenges and develop leadership and project management skills to help communicate with customers, avoid reactionary responses, work collaboratively to find innovative solutions, and effectively collaborate across supply chains. Using project-based learning and short-term experiential projects, students will train to plan for the worst and lead confidently, responding to disruption without becoming overwhelmed.
The new degree is designed to prepare learners for professional roles that might include transportation, warehouse, and distribution manager; supply chain manager; distribution-center or warehouse operations supervisor; logistics or supply chain analyst; logistics specialist/analyst/manager; purchasing manager; inventory specialist; operations manager or project manager.
Like many CPS programs, the MPS in Applied Logistics was developed in consultation with corporate leaders. Drawing on the expertise of supply chain professionals from companies including Carhartt, Gulfstream, Gap, Inc., and Transportation Insight, faculty consulted a range of employers to better understand their hiring needs, deepening industry connections as they researched industry standards and practices. Then, they built essential professional skills into the curriculum.
Based on this research, the program integrates technical expertise with systems thinking. Students will learn to use descriptive analytics in real time, responding to variables such as changing customer profiles, sales trends, and unusual conditions in supplier networks as they learn to manage inventory, change packaging based on customer demand, and optimize routing among distribution centers as markets shift.
Graduates will thus benefit from a program focused on the applied science of distribution—one that employs a three-part approach to develop awareness and proficiency in existing and new technologies that impact distribution; builds skills and proficiency to holistically analyze and manage the dynamic interactions of the end-to-end supply chain components; and provides students with the tools they will need to confront disruption and confidently manage people and projects in highly fluid and dynamic environments.
Northeastern Grad Student Puts Together Art Auction for Ukraine
Daria Koshkina, a Northeastern graduate student working toward her master’s degree in digital media with a concentration in 3D at the College of Professional Studies, curated an online auction, The Art Auction for Ukraine, in collaboration with Boston Cyberarts, Digital Silver Imaging and BarabásiLab at Northeastern.
The auction showcases artwork of Ukrainian artists and will benefit two non-profit organizations that provide humanitarian aid to Ukrainians.
Feeling Overwhelmed? Try Microdosing Bravery
To overcome anxiety and cultivate resilience, CPS behavioral science professor and psychotherapist Kristen Lee recommends taking small, strategic risks on a day-to-day basis that align with our values.
In her new book, Worth the Risk: How to Microdose Bravery to Grow Resilience, Connect More and Offer Yourself to the World, Lee offers a practical toolkit designed to help readers build confidence and invite a deeper level of satisfaction into their lives.
What Freedom of Religion Should Look Like in Public Schools After a Recent Supreme Court Decision?
As students are set to return to classrooms for a new school year, the Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District is raising fears that the ruling undermines the traditional separation of church and state in public education.
Karen Reiss-Medwed and Noor Ali, professors in the Graduate School of Education at CPS, argue that K-12 schools need to do better in recognizing and honoring the identities of students who belong to religious minorities.
Dr. Priscilla H. Douglas Spoke of Interconnectivity, Perseverance, and the Power of ‘Not Yet’ to the Class of 2022
Douglas is author of Woke Leadership: Profits, Prophets and Purpose
Dr. Priscilla H. Douglas shared the wisdom she has earned in decades of government and business leadership with the bachelor’s and master’s degree graduates of the College of Professional Studies at the graduation ceremony on the Boston campus at Matthews Arena, on May 20, 2022. She spoke with a distinct focus on the experience that students have gained through tumultuous times. The business leader, executive coach, author, speaker, and Double Husky who held executive roles at General Motors, Xerox, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, drew upon her life experiences at Northeastern, and urged the graduates to change their perspective of the future by harnessing the power of the term “NOT YET.”
“The mindful answer is ‘not yet,’” Douglas said. “Keep your future open by answering ‘not yet.’ Keep your dreams alive and don’t fall back on the automatic ‘no.’”
While Douglas has over 30 years of experience in business and government, she took this opportunity to share her times at Northeastern and her worldly experiences using the power of ‘not yet’. “Don’t be too quick to answer no. I didn’t. I raced motorcycles, I competed in bodybuilding, [and] rode my bike from Boston to New York three times. I’m a scuba diver and get this, while earning my doctorate at Harvard. I was a cheerleader for the New England Patriots,” Douglas said as the graduates cheered.
Douglas also spoke about the power of her network that started at Northeastern University, “Network for Life. Consider that success,” she proclaimed. “Reciprocity and love will hold your network together.” She challenged the graduates to “surround yourself with the most eclectic bunch of folks that you can find. They are your pathway, your portal, and your gateway to the future.“
She reminded the graduates that we live in an interconnected global economy in which “relationships are our most valuable resources.”
“We are so grateful to have Dr. Douglas speak to our graduates,” David Fields, Interim Dean of the College of Professional Studies added, expressing his gratitude for Douglas’ ability to galvanize and excite the CPS graduates. Dr. Fields added, “Dr. Douglas spoke to the value of the power of the Northeastern network and the perseverance our alumni will need as they transform the fast-paced, diverse, global business landscape and society.”
“Hold fast to your dreams,” Douglas said as she ended her remarks, “They feel the purpose and passion and they got you here today. But you know what? That passion and purpose—it’s not finished with you. It is not through with you. Not yet!”
Douglas has worked extensively in state and federal government on both sides of the aisle. In her role as Commonwealth of Massachusetts Assistant Secretary for Public Safety, Douglas launched the Domestic Violence Commission and Hate Crimes Task Force, publishing the state’s first hate crimes report in 1991. She was also the first Black woman to serve in the Massachusetts Cabinet when she was named Secretary of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
Douglas has deep roots at Northeastern. She is a Northeastern University Corporator Emeritus and played a key role in the founding of the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute at Northeastern University. Douglas is the Chair of the Boston Public Library’s Board of Trustees and serves as a member of distinguished boards — American Repertory Theater, the Boston Museum of Science, Leader Bank, and the International Womens’ Forum Massachusetts.
Douglas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in English and History, and a Master of Education, both from Northeastern University, and a Doctor of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.