Announcing the Sherman Center’s New Leader: Ted Johnson

Tef Johnson

With a passion to instill an entrepreneurial mindset into the next generation of engineers, alumnus Michael Sherman, E’68, industrial engineering, and his wife, Ann, enabled the creation of the Michael J. and Ann Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship Education in 2014. Through their multi-million-dollar gifts, the Center has grown to offer a host of programs and resources, including semester-long courses in product innovation and design, an entrepreneurial engineering minor, an entrepreneurial mentorship program, a product development studio named Generate, a co-op program for students to work on their own new ventures, and an event series for entrepreneurial collaboration and industry networking. With the Sherman’s generous philanthropy, an expanded makerspace with co-working and prototype capabilities was also added in 2019.

Contributing to this evolution and growth from the very beginning was Ted Johnson who, through his operational excellence as assistant director, has made the Sherman Center a core part of Northeastern’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, benefiting students university-wide.

In recognition of his knowledge, commitment, and leadership, Johnson was appointed director of the Sherman Center in August 2021, reporting to Gregory D. Abowd, dean of the College of Engineering. He takes the reins from Andrew Gouldstone, professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, and associate chair for experiential innovation.

Abowd stated, “With the commitment of the Sherman’s, the College of Engineering, and our faculty and staff, the Sherman Center is now a recognized established center with a solid portfolio of offerings and resources serving an active vibrant community of Northeastern students and alumni, as well as industry collaborators. Professor Andrew Gouldstone’s creativity and innovation has been instrumental in its growth and evolution. We are excited to have Ted Johnson continue the center’s great mission and look forward to further expansion under his leadership.”

“I’m pleased to lead the Sherman Center as its director, and I am so excited to partner within and outside of the university to expand our impact,” said Johnson. “The Sherman Center strives to be an inclusive entrepreneurship community that provides personalized experiential learning to Northeastern innovators. I truly believe the Sherman Center is a special community. While we’ve grown incredibly over the last six-plus years, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Northeastern operates within a global community, and we’re poised to join that community by expanding our operations across Northeastern’s campus portfolio.”

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