When former Northwestern President Michael Schill suddenly resigned on Sept. 4, NU students returning to campus were faced with uncertainty about the year ahead.
The news came as a surprise, Weinberg senior Carter Sampson said, especially since it came just two weeks before classes began.
As a family ambassador already on campus to prepare for Wildcat Welcome — an event where the University President usually gives several speeches — Sampson said he felt uncertain about the sudden resignation.
“It’s awkward, because it’s like, what does this mean for us now?” Sampson said.
Soon after Schill announced his resignation, NU announced former University President Henry Bienen as NU’s interim president while the University searches for new leadership. Bienen previously served as University President from 1995 to 2009.
Sampson said he believes the Board of Trustees’ selection of Bienen was due to his experience dealing with controversy and student activism during his presidency.
In 1995, 17 students started a hunger strike to pressure the University into starting an Asian American Studies Program. Four years later, the department was established.
“He was the president during the hunger strikes for the Asian American Studies Program, and he survived that controversy,” Sampson said.
Schill’s resignation comes after a short presidential term wrought with challenges. In his first year, the University made national headlines when news broke of a hazing scandal in the football program.
In May 2024, Schill testified in front of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, focusing on negotiations surrounding NU’s pro-Palestine encampment. NU has also been navigating a $790 million cut in federal research funding since April.
SESP freshman Elena Newsom said she thought his resignation was upsetting, though not surprising, due to the conflicts during his presidency.
“I thought it was unfortunate. He was supporting what he believes Northwestern represents, which I think is wonderful,” Newsom said. “Being the face of Northwestern is a big ask, and I think he did a wonderful job of representing the desires of the Northwestern community.”
Multiple students also speculated that Schill’s resignation was due to federal pressure.
NU Graduate Workers president and third-year anthropology Ph.D. candidate Mounica Sreesai said she was worried about the motivation behind Schill’s resignation and what it would mean for NU’s future.
The union had disputes with University administration over several policies during Schill’s tenure, Sreesai said, but NUGW could concentrate those grievances on Schill. With the University facing pressure from the federal government, administrators could use the lack of a clear figurehead as an excuse to defer authority, she said.
“We’re bracing ourselves for worse times ahead, just given the political climate in the U.S. right now,” Sreesai said.
Sreesai characterized NUGW’s relationship with Schill during his tenure as a “typical boss-versus-workers” struggle, including when the union negotiated with administrators for a contract in 2024.
The NU Postdoctoral Union is set to begin its bargaining process on a contract for the first time after postdoctoral researchers and research associates voted to form the organization in August. Union member and postdoctoral researcher Valentina Olivera Pasilio wrote in an email to The Daily that the union was looking forward to bargaining with the new administration in good faith.
“We unionized because we want Northwestern to be the best educational and research institution possible,” Olivera-Pasilio wrote. “We are confident that we will agree on a fair contract after bargaining.”
Sreesai said she hopes collaborations with other unions, faculty and undergraduate students will increase in the face of rising scrutiny on higher education.
“Ideally, we would hope from any administration that there is a strong stance against what’s wrong, and not capitulating, right?” she said. “That is what’s going to give confidence and strength for people to also fight back.”
For Newsom, one of the core elements of universities is having their own beliefs, which don’t have to align with the federal government’s.
“I think it’s very unfortunate and not at all constitutional to hold a school to the politics that a certain political person or certain political administration may want, as opposed to those of what the people that it affects may desire,” Newsom said.
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