On Tuesday, Morton Schapiro made his first public appearance on Northwestern’s campus since being named University President Henry Bienen’s successor Dec. 16. Schapiro’s itinerary included a speech to the NU community, a reception in Norris University Center, dinner in the Allison Hall dining room and a fireside chat in Shepard Residential College.
During a question and answer session after his speech in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, a student asked if Schapiro, currently president of Williams College in Massachusets, would become the cliché university president, one who students see twice – at convocation and at graduation.
“The dinner at the dorm and the fireside chat are going to be the beginning of a regular thing, not just show and tell for my first week,” Schapiro said.
The speech also outlined his plans to improve the university’s “access and affordability” by creating a diverse academic community that prepares students to compete in the struggling economy and an increasingly globalized society.
Despite NU’s student body being about five times the size of Williams College, he said personal interaction with students will be a priority when he replaces Bienen in September.
“I love the faculty, I love the townspeople, but there’s nothing like the students,” he said.
SESP junior Shari Lewis came to see Schapiro speak on a “whim” and said she was optimistic of what Schapiro’s leadership would do for NU’s reputation.
“I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I’ll be doing in the future,” she said. “With him as a president, I think Northwestern will only get better.”
Schapiro received a unanimous vote from the presidential search committee, committee member Leslie Donavan said. As president of the NU alumni association, Donavan said she felt Schapiro would be an effective and visionary leader.
“He’s going to build upon what President Bienen did and we truly feel that he’s going to take us upwards and onwards to the next level,” she said.
Read more about Schapiro’s visit in tomorrow’s Daily.
