Northwestern’s first president, Clark Hinman, died before a single student enrolled at NU – a death his colleagues attributed partially to his excessive fund-raising efforts.
On Wednesday, 150 years later and in the middle of a $1.4 billion capital campaign, University President Henry Bienen joked in his annual State of the University Address that he sees “disconcerting” parallels between Hinman and himself.
Speaking at McCormick Auditorium, Bienen emphasized the importance of fund raising in university development and said he hopes Campaign Northwestern’s fund-raising success will continue despite a flagging economy.
“I do not at all think the goal is a slam dunk,” he said. “I’m confident we’ll reach our goal, but it will require a great deal of effort on the part of many of us. Like President Hinman, I’ll be traveling in the coming months, probably farther afield than he went, talking with alumni and other friends of the university.”
Bienen discussed several other aspects of the university in his address, from undergraduate research and degree auditing to faculty diversity and town-gown relations.
In the coming months, Bienen said NU plans to hire additional faculty, increase financial support for graduate education, encourage undergraduate research and finish nearly a dozen construction projects.
Already, he said, NU has created programs to get undergraduates more involved in research projects and has nearly finished construction of an addition to the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. NU will start building an addition to Kresge Hall this summer, he said.
Another priority in the coming year will be raising endowed funding for students’ financial aid, Bienen said.
NU spends a sizeable chunk of its operating budget on financial aid, but universities with larger endowments can use revenue from their investments instead, he said.
“We’re not at the top of the heap of wealthy institutions,” he said. “I am not crying poor, but there are other universities that have greater resources on a per capita basis.”
And though financial aid for graduate students still lags behind undergraduates, he said, NU is taking steps to attract more funding.
Despite NU’s fund-raising success, the university is facing problems increasing faculty and student diversity, he said.
“I don’t want to be Pollyanna-ish,” he said. “I am not satisfied with the progress we’ve made. There’s no magic wand to wave here. I strongly believe that Northwestern’s institutional responsibilities include creating an environment that welcomes students, faculty and staff of all races.”
NU also will complete its degree-auditing program this year, Bienen said. The program allows students and their advisers to see which degree requirements a student has and has not fulfilled.
Bienen also addressed the lawsuit between the university and the city over the Northeast Evanston Historic District, saying that NU decided to sue only as a last resort.
The Evanston City Council’s efforts to pass a “head tax” are part of an effort to extract property tax payments from NU, Bienen said. And without paying property taxes, he said, NU already contributes enough to the city.
“The university is a tremendous economic engine in many ways, including being the largest employer in the city,” he said. “We do not believe it is appropriate for Northwestern to provide annual unrestricted operating subsidies to the city.”
