Professors Harriet Fell and Viera Proulx of the College of Computer and Information Science were honored at separate receptions hosted by Dean Carla E. Brodley ahead of their retirements. Fell has spent 44 years at Northeastern, while Proulx retires after 38 years at the university. Both played important roles in the founding of CCIS.

“When I came here, it was one of the ugliest campuses anywhere,” Fell says, laughing while recalling her early years at Northeastern more than four decades ago. “It was all parking. It is so much nicer now. There is so much more support to serve the students better, the faculty better. The environment is also gorgeous.”

At a reception held on April 27, Dean Brodley detailed Professor Fell’s distinguished career that began with a PhD in mathematics earned at MIT in 1969. Fell joined Northeastern in 1971 as a mathematics professor before receiving tenure in 1979, then went on to help found CCIS in 1982. Since then, Fell has played a role in developing an award-winning computer science curriculum for freshmen, worked with a professor of speech-language pathology and audiology to design software for users with disabilities, and as principal investigator of a team funded by a National Institute of Health grant, developed a technology to identify infants with speech impairments.

“Harriet has served on just about all the committees CCIS has to offer,” Dean Brodley said, noting Fell’s involvement with extracurricular life on campus that included serving as president of the Northeastern chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Professor Proulx also joined Northeastern as a mathematics professor in 1977, but was the first faculty member with a PhD in computer science, which she earned at Columbia University. Proulx played an active role in shaping CCIS, helping found it before taking the lead in developing the computer science honors curriculum. Dean Brodley noted the leadership and innovation that have been constants in Proulx’s career: joining a taskforce to develop high school curricula for computer science, founding Northeastern’s section of the Consortium for Computing in Colleges, and joining the Program by Design group where the software she developed to address the lack of tools to teach computer science fundamentals has been used at hundreds of educational institutes around the world.

“Viera’s service to the college goes far beyond academics,” Brodley said, discussing the breadth of Proulx’s contributions to the college, including its first accreditation in 1994 and re-accreditations in 2000 and 2006, as well as her role in helping navigate the university’s shift from quarters to semesters.

When it comes to their post-Northeastern lives, both professors’ plans underscored the same themes: more time for family and the ability to pursue leisure activities more freely – and more work.

Fell is working on a freshman text on Discrete Structures with CCIS Professor Javed Aslam. Beyond her academic pursuits, Fell wants to pick up a paintbrush and hit the road on her bicycle. And of course, visit family. “I want to visit my kids, who are far away,” she says. “One’s in California, and one’s in Wisconsin. And my mother, who’s 103 and lives in Florida. It’ll be nice to have the time to just do more traveling. Enjoy.”

Proulx also isn’t ready to give up academia, and plans to update her second freshman course on computer science fundamentals, which she says has been neglected as a result of hectic teaching schedules. Outdoor activities were also pushed aside because of the difficulties of planning travel while confined to strict semester schedules: “I’m going to have a more flexible schedule and more time, which is really hard to come by when you’re teaching.” First up, after visiting children and grandchildren in Colorado and California, is skiing and hiking. “Wherever the ski slope, I want to go,” she says.

Future plans aside, both women agree that what they’ll miss most about Northeastern is the students. They’ve seen Northeastern grow and change, but the interactions with students are what they’ll carry with them into retirement.

“It has been amazing to watch the transformation, to be part of it and hopefully contribute to that,” Proulx says.