The future of Northwestern rests in the hands of an acclaimed economist, an experienced administrator – and a “Dead Head.”
“The day Jerry Garcia died, music ended for me in a certain way, and I’ve never been able to get beyond that,” future University President Morton Schapiro said in reference to the 1995 death of the Grateful Dead’s lead guitarist.
Somewhere along the line, the now 55-year-old traded in his tie-dye T-shirt for a purple tie when he became president of Williams College.
The rest has been a mix of solving Sudoku puzzles, coaching Little League baseball and researching the finances of higher education.
‘DORK’ TO PRESIDENTA Mets fan from New Jersey, Schapiro has not always had a knack for academics. In high school, he had “virtually no intellectual engagement.”
“I had some pretty cool friends who took pity on me, but I was always pretty dorky,” he said.
Schapiro received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Hofstra University in 1975 and his doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 but did not always want to go into the field, he said.
The future authority on the economics of higher education originally considered a major in art history.
“I think you can be a great art historian without being skilled at art, but it helps to be able to draw a straight line,” he said.
Schapiro became president of Williams College in 2000, but his relationship with the college – and the beginning of his collection of purple ties – started much earlier.
From 1980 to 1991, Schapiro served as economics professor and assistant provost to the college. After nine years as the dean of College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California, he returned to Williamstown, Mass., as president.
Schapiro stepped in at a time when the college needed “someone to help us come together and move forward,” said Bill Wagner, dean of the faculty at Williams.
“He’s good at jumping into a situation, listening to both sides and choosing a way,” said Stephen Sheppard, chair of the Williams economics department.
During his presidency, Schapiro increased the size of the faculty, enhanced the college’s tutorial program and supported need-blind admissions. He led a five-year fundraising campaign, raising more than $500 million for the college.
Schapiro maintained good relations with the town during his presidency, meeting monthly with government officials, Williamstown Town Manager Peter Fohlin wrote in an e-mail.
“He’s a good mentor and leader in the sense that he provides me and other members of the senior staff flexibility to do the things we think we need to do without being too intrusive,” Wagner said.
PURPLE COW TO PURPLE CATAlways an avid sports fan, Schapiro has already started following the Wildcats and still cheers on the Williams Purple Cows and the USC Trojans.
Schapiro is so immersed in student activities he practically keeps the hours of a typical college student, said Peter Nurnberg, former co-president of the Williams College Council.
In the fall, Schapiro formed a panel to speak with students directly about the budget crisis in response to students’ concerns, the economics and math major said.
He also encouraged the formation of a committee to look at how athletics affected the Williams academic environment.
But a controversial move to diversify student housing by controlling all on-campus living arrangements elicited student complaints, said Jeremy Goldstein, former co-president of the college council.
“People just focused on lack of freedom and the lack of choice, and that was pretty unpopular,” said Goldstein, a history and political science major. “Morty had an opinion on it, liked that idea and thought it a good move to make, but I don’t think people blame him for it.”
In addition to his administrative duties, Schapiro said he always tries to teach a class – a practice he plans to continue at NU.
“He’s not trying to lecture,” Nurnberg said. “He brings you in the conversation and listens to your thoughts.”
Goldstein is taking a class co-taught by Schapiro and a philosophy professor and said Schapiro has an “an open-door policy.”
“He’s a funny professor,” said Goldstein, whom Schapiro has invited to dinner in his home several times. “He jokes around with the other professor, almost as if they were frat buddies.”
THEORY TO PRACTICEThe biggest challenge Schapiro will face at NU will be adjusting to the changed economic climate, University President Henry Bienen said.
“We’ve worked it out for him in terms of the budget and what we need to do,” he said. “But he’ll come to his own conclusions.”
In a time when the university is facing tough economic decisions, it’s handy to have an economist in charge, Sheppard said.
“The good side of having an economist as president is they’re used to thinking about trade-offs, and that is the daily business of running an institution – being aware of what the trade-offs are because you can’t do everything,” he said.
The only possible downside, Sheppard joked, is “cutting through the jargon.”
Schapiro, whose work focuses on the economics of higher education, has published books with co-author Michael S. McPherson.
Not only does Schapiro have a good understanding of what it takes to run Williams, his background gives him a thorough understanding of the bigger picture of higher education, which will help him in his transition to NU’s larger research institution, McPherson said.
“There’s a tendency for people to assume the world of higher education is similar to the world around them,” he said. “In fact, you have to be very conscientious and look at higher education as a whole. I think Morty and I have learned to do that very well.”
But an effective university president needs more than just a strong academic background. He has to be able to connect with people – the faculty, the alumni, the students, McPherson said. Schapiro’s candid and informal demeanor puts people at ease, and his clear focus gets things done, he said.
Life as a college president can be a humbling experience, said Schapiro, who describes himself as not modest – just realistic.
“I mean, it’s not just the highfalutin ideals of the institution, it’s the day-to-day things, and I can’t obviously be on top of everything,” he said. “But I try my best, and when really good people are upset because they think the institution let them down, it’s my job to fix it.”
But don’t be fooled by his casual, often self-effacing demeanor, Williams economics professor Ralph Bradburd said.
“He’s a very informal person, and I think people who might meet him for the first time might be fooled by his lack of pretension,” he said. “But don’t underestimate him. He’s usually four steps ahead of everybody else in the room.”
