Correction added.
William Banis, who has worked at Northwestern for 16 years, including 10 as vice president for student affairs, will retire by the end of the 2010-11 academic school year, according to a message sent to the NU community early Tuesday morning.
The message, sent by Provost Daniel Linzer as part of a “Northwestern News” e-mail, said Banis will step down no later than Aug. 31, 2011, and a search committee will be formed soon.
“Vice President Banis cares deeply about our students and has done so much for them over his illustrious Northwestern career,” NU President Morton Schapiro wrote in an e-mail the DAILY. “The next vice president will undoubtedly build upon Bill’s fine legacy.”
Banis is the second senior member of the administration to retire since Schapiro was named president. Mary Desler, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, retired in July.
Banis, the former director of career services, took over at the higher position on an interim basis in the spring of 2000, before being named to the job permanently the next year.
In his message, Linzer highlighted some of Banis’s accomplishments, including the creation of additional offices for student services, campus safety initiatives and other student life improvements.
“Northwestern University is deeply grateful to Bill Banis for his outstanding leadership,” Linzer wrote. “He has served Northwestern extremely well since 1994, and I hope you will join me in the coming months in thanking Bill for his leadership and service to Northwestern.”
(Read the letter here.)
Newly elected Associated Student Government President Claire Lew, who has worked with Banis on several initiatives, said he has done a “phenomenal job.”
“It’s a tough job, and you’re never going to make 100 percent of people happy,” the SESP junior said. “But his service to Northwestern over the past decade has been remarkable.”
Lew said ASG will work with the administration on transitioning to Banis’s successor.
Check back for more updates throughout the day.
An earlier version of this article contained the correct final date for Banis’s retirement, but listed the wrong school year that would be his final one at NU. Banis will be retiring after the 2010-2011 academic year. The DAILY regrets the error.
