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4w ago

Northwestern Names Henry Bienen Interim President After Schill Resigns

Trustees tapped former president Henry Bienen to steady the university during negotiations to restore roughly $790 million in frozen federal research funds.

Northwestern University President Emeritus Henry Bienen, then-President of the Poetry Foundation, at his office on June 1, 2016. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
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New York Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik displays the Anti-Defamation League's "F" campus report card grade for Northwestern as the presidents of that school, Rutgers, and UCLA testify before the committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, United States on May 23, 2024. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images/Courtesy)
President Michael Schill speaks to Northwestern University incoming students and families on Sept. 12, 2023, in Evanston. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Overview

  • President Emeritus Henry S. Bienen will serve as interim president effective Sept. 16, the board announced.
  • Northwestern is in talks with the Trump administration to reinstate about $790 million in research funding, a freeze that has already driven more than 400 job cuts, a hiring freeze, benefit changes and program closures.
  • A newly released Aug. 5 House interview shows Michael Schill acknowledged no students were disciplined for anti-Israel activity despite earlier statements, citing safety concerns that encampment participants could be armed.
  • The transcript also scrutinizes the visiting appointment of Mkhaimar Abusada, who previously met Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, with Schill noting the appointment runs through August 2026.
  • Schill described limits tied to Northwestern’s Qatar campus, including a contract that discourages criticism of Qatar, exemptions from antisemitism training and $737 million in Qatari funding since 2008.