President Maud S. Mandel highlighted the importance of “core principles” such as courage, empathy and “deep, deep listening skills” in classroom instruction amid rapid changes in the political, cultural and technological landscapes impacting higher education. 

Mandel joined the presidents of Northeastern and Harvard universities on June 24 at the International Boys’ School Coalition’s 2025 Conference at Belmont Hill School. The discussion covered topics including the role of international students, the value of viewpoint diversity and the future of learning in an AI-driven world. The panel was moderated by Belmont Hill graduates Carl Martignetti, president of Martignetti Companies, and Jonathan Kraft ’86, president of the Kraft Group and a Williams College trustee emeritus.

Stressing the value of those core principles, especially during a critical moment in history, Mandel noted that the classroom environment is “where you bring people together to question assumptions. Gifted, well trained educators should be able to teach a broad range of people from a diverse range of points of view, perspectives and backgrounds, no matter what they themselves believe and think.”

Read more about this wide-ranging discussion in Northeastern Global News. 

Photo at top: President Mandel, second from left, joins a discussion on the role of higher education today. Photograph by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University