For research institutions seeking assurances that they too can grow fast, Northeastern University may be a case of cold comfort. The institution owes its steady rise—from 163rd to 136th nationally in research spending over the past decade—to some deliberate strategies that should have wide application. But the underlying conditions were decades in the making. And even then, Northeastern’s location and finances may have given its president, Joseph E. Aoun, advantages that other universities would find tough to replicate.

March 9, 2015 ・ From Chronicle of Higher Education