By Ian Thomsen
News at Northeastern
Based on a decade of expansion through a network of campuses across the US and beyond, Northeastern University, which also includes tech entrepreneur David Rowe, is launching a graduate education and research campus in Portland, Maine.
The Roux Institute at Northeastern University is designed to train generations of talent for the digital and life sciences fields and drive sustainable economic development in Portland, Maine and northern New England.
The venture was envisioned by David and his wife Barbara Roux to benefit his hometown. Inspired by Northeastern's leadership in preparing citizens for the societal challenges posed by rapid advances in technology, the couple has invested $100 million in the university to support the future activities of the Roux Institute.
The Roux Institute, scheduled to open in the spring, will partner with leading employers in Maine and across the United States. Graduate degree and certificate programs will focus on the practical application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the digital and life sciences to prepare people for high-demand jobs and drive research that meets industry needs—goals the Rouxes are pursuing here and years. The Roux Institute will not offer undergraduate degrees.
“The entire Northeastern community is grateful to Dave and Barb Roux for their vision and for this transformative investment in Maine's future,” said Joseph E. Aoun, Northeastern's president. “Their vision is perfectly aligned with Northeastern's signature approach to education and research. The impact of the Roux Institute will reverberate throughout the region for generations to come. It will serve as a national model for expanding growth and innovation and reducing inequality.”
Ten leading companies have signed on to become founding partners, which will enable the Roux Institute to quickly help individuals in the workforce adapt to the changes created by the evolving economy.
“In this country, ambition and ability are widely distributed, but opportunity is not,” said Roux, a native of Lewiston, Maine, who is president of BayPinea private investment firm, and its co-founder, former chairman and co-CEO Silver Lake, the largest technology-focused private equity firm in the world. “This new institute will address this stark inequality. It will be an opportunity engine for Maine people and businesses at just the right time. And Northeastern is the ideal academic partner to make that happen. We couldn't be happier to have the university join us in this mission.”
The mission of the Roux Institute is at the heart of the university's strategic plan, Northeast 2025—a blueprint for lifelong and experiential learning that frees students from outdated career models and gives them the opportunity to thrive throughout their lives.
The Portland campus will be part of Northeastern's global university system, which includes campuses in London, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, the Bay Area, the University of Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Nahant and Burlington, and Charlotte North Carolina.
Recognizing that Maine needs more talent in the digital and life sciences, Roux has made it his goal to invest in a research and innovation ecosystem that will enable Maine-based companies to jumpstart the digital age by encouraging American businesses to relocate activities to the state and the creation of start-ups.
David and Barbara Roux spent two years researching universities across North America for the right partner. Aoun, whose vision for expanding Northeastern's research impact has focused on industry and government partnerships, embraced the initiative from the start. Aoun and Roux, along with a team of Northeast European experts, have been developing plans for the institute over the past year.
The Roux Institute will leverage Northeastern's collaborative capabilities across the board—a combination of online and in-person learning for students, with a research program that creates new ideas that enable companies to thrive and grow.
The Roux Institute curriculum will be developed in close collaboration with corporate partners. The research teams will be supported by world-class facilities and technology, fulfilling the Rouxs' dream of creating an innovation and life sciences corridor that stretches from Boston to Portland and beyond.
Founding corporate partners include:
- Bangor Savings Bankthe second largest bank in Maine.
- IDEXXa leader in pet healthcare innovation providing veterinary products and services worldwide.
- Jackson Laboratoryan independent, not-for-profit biomedical research institution based in Maine with facilities in Connecticut, California and Shanghai, China.
- LL Beanan internationally recognized outdoor retailer.
- MaineHealththe largest health care organization in Maine.
- PTCa global software company with 6,000 employees in 30 countries.
- Thornton Tomasettia New York-based engineering consulting firm that has designed many of the world's tallest buildings.
- Tilsonan international provider of network development and professional services to telecommunications, construction, utility and government clients.
- Unuma Fortune 500 company providing benefits to employees of 193,000 businesses worldwide.
- WEXa global leader in financial technology serving millions of companies.
Corporate partners have agreed to collaborate with the Roux Institute on educational and research offerings. sponsor and fund participation by employees who demonstrate high potential for advanced educational offerings; fund applied research projects and innovation initiatives; and establish institute innovation labs where faculty and industry experts can collaborate on projects.
The initial portfolio of programs will span two broad disciplines: In digital technology, degree programs will include applied analytics, computer science, data science, data visualization and machine learning. in advanced life sciences, topics will cover bioinformatics, biotechnology, genomics, health data analytics, and precision medicine.
Portland, the largest city in Maine with a metropolitan population of over 500,000, boasts a growing tech economy, affordable real estate and ready access to transportation.
“The Roux Institute represents an important extension of our model,” Aoun said. “In the past, we've established campuses that were originally focused on lifelong learning, like Seattle, and other campuses that were originally focused on research, like Burlington. This is the first campus to integrate these two models from day one.”