After former Northwestern President Michael Schill announced his sudden resignation, some NU faculty commended his performance navigating unprecedented pressures. Restoring federal funding remains a primary concern among many faculty as the search for the next University President begins.
Faculty Senate President and political science Prof. Ian Hurd expressed sympathy for the extreme pressures facing university presidents in the current political environment.
“The ‘crisis’ was really manufactured by the government in order to make life difficult at the University, and I think that was pretty easy to see,” Hurd said. “The faculty could understand that the government was trying to create difficult circumstances for university presidents, and that gave even more sympathy for Schill.”
Schill’s three-year term as president required navigating through several challenges. In May 2024, Schill testified in front of the House Committee on Education and Workforce on negotiations surrounding NU’s pro-Palestine encampment. NU has also been navigating a $790 million cut in federal research funding since April.
For Hurd, Schill was committed to upholding the basic functions of the university: teaching students and doing research. Hurd said he hopes the next president will continue to prioritize students and research.
On Sept. 9, NU announced Henry Bienen as the interim president as the University hunts for new leadership. Bienen previously served as president from 1995 to 2009.
Philosophy Prof. Mark Alznauer said bringing Bienen back as the interim president reassured him and other faculty members as a recognizable figure with prior experience.
“It helped make people feel like at least there’s somebody who knows the institution and has the institution’s best interests at heart, who is at least standing as president now,” Alznauer said.
Among faculty, expectations are high for the next president in order to uphold the University’s academic functions amid the overwhelming threat of restoring the funding.
Feinberg Prof. Melissa Simon said she hopes faculty members who have a vested interest in the next president’s decisions on research funding will have input in the selection.
“The huge factor right now is, will the interim president and the Board of Trustees really include faculty voices from across all the schools, and not just hand select people — faculty and staff that they know will say yes, will be head nodders,” Simon said. “We need a balance of diversity of thought on this.”
As a faculty member at NU’s Chicago campus, Simon said she feels even more removed from the process.
Simon advocates for the University to avoid striking a deal with the Trump administration, warning that the government might cut funding again later.
However, Simon said opinions are mixed among faculty about how to restore funding, making the next president’s strategic approach that much more important.
“I really hope that the people on our Board of Trustees do not sell out Northwestern and lose sight of why Northwestern is Northwestern to begin with,” Simon said.
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