Leaving Northeastern – My Letter of Resignation

Dear Friends and Colleagues –

I’ve loved being a part of the Northeastern and College of Engineering community – from my start as a student in 2007 through my current employment in the Center for STEM Education. As a student, I benefited greatly from the hands-on coursework led by truly invested and dynamic faculty members, many of whom continue to provide me with guidance to this day. The summer of 2010 was my most memorable as a student; I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel with Dan Saulnier and the EWB team to Honduras, after which I joined the late Prof. Bruce Wallin from the Political Science Department on a Dialogue of Civilizations to Japan and Meiji University, and ended the summer in the Netherlands studying sustainable transportation with Prof. Peter Furth at TU Delft. After graduating from the Civil Engineering program, I continued working full time at the Center for STEM Education, supporting K-12 outreach events such as the BPS Science Fair, middle and high school summer programs, and community engagement with individual students and student groups. I have been blessed to work alongside Claire Duggan, Christos Zahopoulos, and many other tremendous colleagues since I first joined the Center for STEM as a camp counselor in 2008.

I have been blessed to work alongside Claire Duggan, Christos Zahopoulos, and many other tremendous colleagues since I first joined the Center for STEM as a camp counselor in 2008.  After seven rewarding years of involvement with the COE and broader community, it saddens me to announce that I will be resigning from my position effective October 2nd, 2015. I have come to this decision primarily due to my personal aspirations to explore entrepreneurial initiatives. I’ve always had a deep appreciation for civic engagement, and will be pursuing a program to support public participation in legislative and political initiatives during and after the 2016 Presidential Elections.

I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has supported me along this journey.These two words hardly express the gratitude and appreciation I have for the support and guidance you’ve all provided, and I hope to return the months and years ahead.

To my colleagues at Northeastern: The COE provides a great pillar of support for K-12 and community engagement, and it is exciting to see the College and University increasingly embrace and support these efforts. I thoroughly believe that all students should be encouraged to engage with and serve the community, and I look forward to hearing about the continued successes of the faculty, staff and students supporting the people of Greater Boston and beyond.

At the Center for STEM, we have helped bring thousands of K-12 students to the University for STEM outreach activities – to engage them in hands-on projects with faculty and student groups, bring them to research labs, introduce them to various STEM fields, and get them excited about pursuing higher education in the future. For many of these students, it is their first interactive experience on a college campus. The kids are highly impressionable, and when they visit NU I always hear, without fail, their expression of interest in coming to study at Northeastern in the future. Whether they eventually attend Northeastern or another institution, these programs inspire them to succeed – and it gives Northeastern a great reputation and standing with the community in the process!

As I transition out from Northeastern, I ask for your help once more in vocalizing the need for the programs and services which are facilitated by the Center for STEM. Any advocacy that you can provide to leadership in the University or the COE will help build the case for greater investment in and support for Claire, Mary, Nick, Maureen and the rest of the STEM team. I greatly appreciate your help in continuing to support the team and the program efforts.

I look forward to my continued interaction with and support for the Northeastern community and the Greater Boston region, and appreciate the many years of education and professional experience that I was afforded here.

Very Respectfully,
Daniel Allan Sullivan

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Japan Compilation Video

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of traveling to Japan 4 times over the past 6 years.  This video is a compilation of footage taken from the 2014 and 2015 Northeastern Dialogues to Japan and Meiji University.   Thank you to all of my friends and colleagues to supported this program, and the partnership between Meiji and Northeastern.  Thank you to the late Prof. Bruce Wallin, who gave me the opportunity to participate in this program when I was a student in 2010.   I look forward to my return to Japan – the day cannot come soon enough!

Japan Dialogue – Tokyo, Nagano, Kyoto and Hiroshima – 2010-2015 from Daniel Sullivan on Vimeo.

In Memory of Prof. Bruce Wallin (1948-2011). Words will never be able to express my gratitude.