After newly appointed Northwestern interim President Henry Bienen ended his first presidency, he stayed in Chicago with his wife, getting involved in the boards of community organizations throughout the city.
Bienen served as the University’s president from 1995 to 2009. His term was marked by the addressing of a wide range of student concerns and the broadening NU’s global presence. After he resigned, Bienen was involved in public work, serving on multiple education-related boards over the past 16 years.
The University announced Bienen’s appointment as interim president of NU on Sept. 9 in the wake of former president Michael Schill’s resignation. Bienen will lead the University until a new president is selected.
Bienen announced his resignation from NU in 2009, officially resigning on August 31 that same year
In June 2009, Bienen was honored alongside former Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick Ryan at a reception for their contributions to NU. At the reception, Bienen said he looked forward to the continued success of NU.
A different kind of presidency
Six years later, Bienen was invited to join the Poetry Foundation as its interim president; as standing president, one of his responsibilities was aiding in the search for the new president.
In December 2015, Bienen became the Poetry Foundation’s permanent president. In an interview with Better Magazine, Bienen said he was originally unsure of taking on the position, as he didn’t think he “wanted to do any more running of anything at that point.”
At the time, he said his goals included expanding the foundation’s partnerships and getting involved in multimedia endeavors.
However in 2020, Bienen resigned from the position of president amid controversy.
In the midst of Black Lives Matter protests across the country, the foundation put out a statement on June 3, 2020 expressing “solidarity with the Black community.” The public ridiculed the statement for being barebones and lacking urgency.
More than 1,800 poets signed an open letter to the foundation criticizing the statement. It was described in the letter as “worse than the bare minimum.”
“We demand that the Poetry Foundation and Poetry Magazine do more and do better,” the letter stated. The letter included a list of specific demands, including that the president of the foundation be replaced.
The letter called for “an official, public response” within a week. Several days after the letter was sent out, the Poetry Foundation announced that Bienen and the board’s chairman would be stepping down.
Getting involved in Chicago communities
Although his extended family doesn’t live in Chicago, Bienen and his wife stayed in the city after his resignation. His wife Leigh Buchanan Bienen was still working at Pritzker School of Law and both were serving as board members at local theatres.
“When I stepped down from the presidency of Northwestern in August 2009, I wanted to do public service,” Bienen said in a 2013 interview with Chicago Magazine.
At the time of his resignation, Bienen was already serving on several boards. From 2001 to 2011, Bienen served on the executive committee of the Council on Foreign Relations board, an American think tank focused on U.S. foreign policy and international relations. He also sat on the Steppenwolf Theatre’s executive committee and is an Honorary Life Director for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
In 2011, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked Bienen to join the Chicago Public School’s Board of Education. Bienen told Chicago Magazine that he saw the opportunity as an “interesting challenge” and emphasized the importance of the health of public schools. Bienen is no longer on the board.
He also became Chair of the Rasmussen College Board of Directors in 2011, a board dedicated to guiding and governing the university according to its core values. Bienen stepped down from the role in 2023 and is now a Public Member of Rasmussen’s Board of Directors; he has been a member of the board since 2005.
The following year, Bienen joined the Board of Directors of Ryan Specialty Group, an international insurance firm. He continues to serve on the Audit Committee and the Compensation & Governance Committee.
Bienen returned to NU’s campus as a Chicago Public School board member in October 2013. He was a panelist at a talk titled “Education in our Communities,” a panel focused on education in Chicago’s marginalized communities. Bienen discussed funding obstacles the CPS board was facing at the time.
In 2015, Bienen chaired the search committee for a new director of the Buffett Institute for Global Studies. The Buffet Institute website still lists Bienen as a member of the Board of Advisors.
Bienen also previously served as Chairman of the Crown Center on Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, resigning in 2023. He has also previously served on the Advisory Board for the Qatar Foundation, which, in partnership with NU, started NU-Q during Bienen’s presidency.
Bienen has also served on the boards of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts, MetroSquash, Hedge Fund Guided Portfolio Solutions, Grosvenor Multi-Strategy Funds and Vistria Group education investments.
Email: [email protected]
X: @caylalc
Related Stories:
— Henry Bienen announced as interim president of Northwestern following Schill resignation
—Northwestern faculty express sympathy for Michael Schill’s resignation, hope for future leadership
