During interim President Henry Bienen’s first tenure as Northwestern’s leader from 1995-2009, he never recalled missing a day of work, he told The Daily in an interview May 11. 

That mindset hasn’t changed much in his second tenure as president, which began in September 2025 after former President Michael Schill’s resignation.

Bienen said he was recovering from a cold the day he spoke to The Daily. 

“Sometimes, even when you have a cold, you just go and do your job,” Bienen said. “You need to be a workhorse in this job.”

With Purdue President Mung Chiang set to begin his term as the University’s 18th president July 1, Bienen will soon return to being part of an exclusive group of living former NU leaders. The trio currently consists of Bienen, Schill and former President Morton Schapiro.

Bienen said the next University president will face a slew of challenges, such as managing the budget and working to secure federal research funding. 

Beyond having a strong work ethic to navigate those tasks, Bienen emphasized the importance of  the president being interested in different disciplines. 

“Not everybody is knowledgeable about everything,” he said. “That’s impossible. But you ought to be interested in everything the University does.”

When Bienen retired from the post for the first time, he spent time preparing his successor, Schapiro, who served as NU’s 16th president from 2009-2022. 

Schapiro recalls Bienen introducing him to University donors and stakeholders in summer 2009, he told The Daily on Friday. During that time, he said, his office was down the hall from Bienen’s.

“Learn as much as you can from Henry,” Schapiro said. “I did. July and August of ’09 is a long time ago, but boy, did I learn a lot from Henry Bienen.”

For Schapiro, known as “Morty” to most, being a visible face on campus didn’t only help him earn goodwill among students — it also sustained him through his 13-year presidency, he said.  

He often attended NU sporting events and co-taught an undergraduate class with Slavic languages and literatures Prof. Gary Saul Morson, even if doing so wasn’t part of his required duties as president. 

“Have fun,” Schapiro said. “Figure out something that you really enjoy, and do it. And if somebody tells you you can’t do it, you tell them, ‘I’m the president. I’ll tell you what I can do and not do.’” 

Even though undergraduates’ financial contributions comprise only a thin slice of the University budget, he said he hopes the next president will value them. 

Schapiro said the president also should work to foster strong relationships with the Evanston officials, especially those who approve building projects.

After Schapiro announced his intention to leave NU in March 2021, Rebecca Blank, who was initially announced as Schapiro’s successor in October 2021, announced the following July she would step down after being diagnosed with cancer. Schapiro remained as president until Schill took the mantle as Blank’s replacement in August 2022.

But Schapiro said he knew Schill before the latter began his tenure at NU. The two were seated next to each other at Association of American Universities meetings due to their last names starting with the same three letters. 

Schill’s ties to Bienen go back even further. Bienen taught him in a class he took as a sophomore at Princeton University, Schill said.

Now, Schill said he lives two floors above Bienen in the same Chicago apartment building, and they occasionally see each other in the gym or lobby.

To Schill, a University president’s success entails not requiring constant attention from others. 

“Part of being president is to let other people shine,” Schill told The Daily on Monday. “That is, not to have all eyes on you all the time.”  

When the moment calls for it, Schill said it’s necessary for the University president to make decisions that might not be considered popular. 

Schill faced a series of challenges during his three-year tenure, including federal scrutiny of alleged antisemitism on campus and the Trump administration’s freeze on $790 million in research funding.

But both Schill and Schapiro — who said there was something he’d do differently every day of his presidency — said they don’t spend much time dwelling on the past. 

Neither does Bienen.

“There are lots of things I never think about, and my legacy is one of them,” Bienen said. “It’s not for me to say what my legacy would be. I let others worry about that, honestly.”

Bienen credited his stable family life, particularly support from his wife, Leigh Buchanan Bienen, to sustaining him through his presidential tenures. 

Like Schapiro, he was able to enjoy his role to a certain extent.

“I’ve liked my job,” Bienen said. “I’ve had fun doing it, more fun than I expected.”

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