Affirmative Action Office

The seed of Affirmative Action was planted by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act banned discrimination in employment due to race, color, religion, sex or national origin. In 1972, educational institutions were forbidden from discriminating against women and others who had been historically underrepresented. Universities and colleges were required to create and submit annually an affirmative action plan, documenting how they would comply with the equal education and employment legislation and respond to discrimination complaints.

From 1972 until 1975, Dean John A. Curry (president of Northeastern from 1989-1996) and Phyllis M. Schaen, assistant to the dean of academic services, served as Northeastern’s acting affirmative action officers. On April 1, 1975, Ann M. Duncan Glasgow became Northeastern’s first director of affirmative action. She was succeeded by community activist and former director of Freedom House, Ellen S. Jackson, in 1978. That same year in the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that while admissions quotas were unacceptable, race could be considered a factor in university admissions.

Affirmative Action Newsletter
"Dr. Duncan-Glasgow Named Affirmative Action Director"
Affirmative Action Brochure