President Barack Obama will visit Northwestern on Thursday to give a speech on the economy, the White House confirmed Tuesday.

Obama, who will be in Chicago to attend an event with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, will speak at Cahn Auditorium at 1:15 p.m. Obama will detail the steps his administration has taken to help America recover from the recession, a White House senior adviser said in a statement.

“We’re excited by the opportunity to welcome President Obama to our campus for his speech to students from the University and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management,” University President Morton Schapiro said in a news release.

A White House official told The Daily the president will arrive in Chicago on Wednesday and he will leave on Thursday after speaking at NU.

On Monday afternoon, helicopters landed on The Lakefill. University spokesman Bob Rowley said the helicopters were part of a police exercise, but he would not comment on whether the exercise was related to Obama’s visit to campus.

The speech will be live streamed on the White House website.

This story was updated at 12:08 p.m. on Sept. 30.

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