Vice President for Research Eric Perreault will step down from his position by the end of April, Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced Wednesday.
Perreault assumed the role in September 2023. In April 2025, the Trump administration froze $790 million in federal funding for Northwestern.
The freeze lasted until NU struck a deal with the Trump administration to restore funding in October 2025. Annual sponsored research funding exceeded $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2025, according to a Wednesday news release from the McCormick School of Engineering.
Perreault, who is also a McCormick and Feinberg professor, joined NU’s faculty in 2002. He has previously served as chair of biomedical engineering and associate dean for research administration and oversight at McCormick.
Associate Provost for Faculty Sumit Dhar, also a Communication professor, will serve as interim Vice President for Research starting May 1, according to the Wednesday news release.
Like Perreault, Dhar will report to Hagerty in the interim position. In October, Hagerty announced plans to step down by the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
Perreault will return to serving as faculty full-time, according to the news release.
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