Biography - James R. Turner, Jr., LA’71
Originally an engineering student, James R. Turner switched his major to psychology and graduated from Northeastern in 1971. Throughout his studies, he witnessed firsthand the turbulent times on campus in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, including riots and protests due to the Vietnam War and civil rights.
James experienced co-op at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, DC, where he spent his childhood. He was hired by HUD upon graduation, where he remained through 1978. He joined the United States Department of Labor that same year, becoming a senior executive in 1995 and continuing in that position through 2006. Subsequently, James accepted the position of director of global diversity for the Boeing Company, one of the world's foremost aerospace companies and a leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft.
James Turner in the 1971 Cauldron yearbook.
James serves on Northeastern's governing board as a member of the Corporation. He is a longstanding and generous donor to The Northeastern Fund, and also supports scholarships for African-American students through the Black Alumni Scholarship fund.
James currently resides in suburban Chicago.
Photos: Powell Photography, Inc., and University Libraries and Special Collections Department.