Northwestern University advances to next phase in search for new president

Northwestern University is moving into its next phase in the search for a new president.

The Northwestern Presidential Search Committee held 15 listening sessions with the university community this winter.

The university is looking for a leader committed to championing academic excellence, as well as someone with a competitive vision who engages in clear communication and collaborative leadership.

"I am confident this group will provide the perspectives necessary to identify a president who embodies Northwestern's core values, champions the breadth and depth of our academic and research enterprise, and reflects the tradition of excellence that defines Northwestern," Northwestern board of trustees chair Peter Barris wrote in December.

The Presidential Search Committee will now select and interview candidates.

Northwestern University President Michael Schill resigned from his post in September after three years. Schill's tenure was marked by campus protests and funding cuts from the Trump administration that prompted a hiring freeze and hundreds of layoffs.

In 2024, Schill testified before Congress at hearings about antisemitism on college campuses, and he defended the school's negotiated end to a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on campus that year.

Former Northwestern President Henry S. Beinen, who served in the role from January 1995 to August 2009, returned as interim president after Schill stepped down.