thoughtful approach to change. Following an economic downturn, a 1991 trustee committee report described the situation as "life threatening to Northeastern," warning of a $17 million budget gap with no funding mechanisms to cover it. That year President John A. Curry formulated a new strategy of transforming Northeastern into a "smaller, leaner, better place to work and study," describing unacceptable compromises in the quality and reputation of the university that had been made in the quest for more students. Staff were terminated and admissions targets were reduced, with applicant numbers beginning to rise and attrition rates fall by the end of Curry's tenure.
When Curry left office in 1996, the university population had been systematically reduced to about 25,000. Incoming President Richard M. Freeland decided to focus on recruiting the type of students who were already graduating as the school's prime demographic. Freeland focused on improving academics and restructuring the administration with a goal of …
