��ݮ��Ƶ

Timothy Libretti, Ph.D. has been appointed Dean of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), effective July 1, 2025.

“The College of Arts and Sciences features great programs and world-class faculty who do amazing work with our students, offering a wealth of opportunities for our students to prepare them for successful lives,” Dr. Libretti said. “I am excited to work under and with our current smart, compassionate, and committed leadership and with our faculty to further strengthen our programs in creative and resourceful ways.”

Dr. Libretti joined Northeastern in January 1996 as a part-time Instructor in the Department of English and became a tenure-track faculty member in Fall 1996. He was awarded the rank of full Professor in 2005. As a faculty member, Dr. Libretti received multiple Faculty Excellence Awards for his research. He served on the Faculty Senate, the Senate Steering Committee, the Faculty Academic Affairs Committee and many other key committees.

He was Chair of the Departments of English and Linguistics from 2008 until he began working in the CAS Dean’s Office in July 2018 as an Acting CAS Associate Dean. He was promoted Associate Dean in March 2022. Dr. Libretti served as CAS Acting Dean in July 2023 and was appointed Interim CAS Dean in August 2024.  

Aside from the many roles Dr. Libretti has held at Northeastern,  he has published more than 100 academic and journalistic articles and continues to write, having earned awards for his scholarship and journalism from the Working-Class Studies Association, the , the and the . One of his biggest professional thrills was being invited to share his scholarship on author Carlos Bulosan at the Library of Congress. Additionally, Dr. Libretti is a long-time league bowler who has earned the nickname "Joe Bowler" and his team has won championships in Chicago. He is also a championship little league coach.

Whether in personal or professional settings, Dr. Libretti is always seeking ways Northeastern can share its resources and serve the communities that surround the University.  

“We have to engage communities in our region as robustly as possible to fulfill our many responsibilities as a regional public comprehensive university,” Dr. Libretti said. “This includes engaging with our communities to understand their needs and help to address them as well as partnering with organizations who share our values to help them as they help us fulfill our mission.” 

In his roles as Chair and working in the CAS Dean’s office, Dr. Libretti helped forge important partnerships with area school districts to provide access to graduate education for high school teachers. He helped spearhead dual enrollment and dual credit initiatives to give high school students a jump start on college, and initiated and cultivated strategic partnerships and relationships with organizations such as the world-renowned , the (the charitable arm of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky), and the , among others. He also serves on the board of directors of the , a nonprofit organization committed to community development in Albany Park and Mayfair in the areas of housing, culture, health and safety, economic development and more.

“I take a lot of pride in the work we collectively do at Northeastern, and I think it's hard to imagine a world — a Chicago — without NEIU,” Dr. Libretti said. “Our mandate, our reason for being, is to serve the communities in our region by bringing to bear all the resources we have at our disposal, which I believe are formidable. I think — if we work cooperatively and avail ourselves of the abundance of expertise, innovative thinking, and energy we have in the College of Arts and Sciences — we will further our success in creating opportunities and career pathways for our students to share their gifts with our world and address social challenges to make life better for everyone, which is the purpose of public higher education.”

Top photo: Dr. Timothy Libretti (center) teaching a course.