1950 - 1999 Timeline: Northwestern University

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Northwestern People

Aerial view of North Campus in 1950. Photographer: John Hill. Courtesy of University Archives.

Sargent Hall is completed.
The Computer Center opens and features a newly purchased 650 IBM mainframe computer.

Northwestern's football team appears on television for the first time.

Shepard Hall is completed.

Kresge Centennial Hall and Bobb and McCulloch Halls are built.

Warren Beatty appears in a Waa-Mu Show.
Gary Marshall graduates from Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and becomes a TV and movie producer.

Daily Northwestern staffers first paint the Rock.

English professor Edward Hungerford starts the forerunner of Northwestern's TriQuarterly literary journal.

Elder Hall is completed.

Allison Hall is built.
Ann Margret performs in a Waa-Mu Show.
Jerry Reinsdorf graduates from the School of Law.

Searle Student Health Center opens.

Richard Gephardt graduates from the School of Speech and later becomes a Congressman.

Jacquelyn Mayer becomes Northwestern's first Miss America.

Alice Millar Chapel is completed.

Vogelback Computing Center opens.
Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is founded at Northwestern.

Northwestern University Medical Center is organized from seven hospitals affiliated with the University.
Professor Myron L. Bender supervises the first known synthesis of a fully functioning enzyme.

Rebecca Crown Center is built.
Black students occupy University business offices to protest for improvement in the racial climate on campus.

Graduate School of Management is formed and undergraduate School of Business is discontinued.
Associated Student Government is formed out of the Student Senate.
Shelley Long appears in a Waa-Mu Show.

University Library and Engelhart Hall built.
From May 6 to 13, campus is shut down in protest of Kent State shootings; this is the longest the school has ever been closed.

The University's affirmative action program established.

Norris University Center, Francis Searle Building and Foster-Walker Complex are completed.
Wesley Memorial Hospital and Passavant Hospital merge to form Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The first five residential colleges established.

Bloomquist Recreation Center is built.
The football stadium gets artificial turf.
Patrick Quinn is named the first University archivist.

Pick-Staiger Concert Hall is completed.
The first Dance Marathon is held.

Women's Basketball wins its first Big Ten title.

Mary and Leigh Block Gallery opens.
Women's Basketball wins their second Big Ten title.

The football team's 32-game losing streak ends.

Arnold Weber becomes University President.

Jennifer D. Averill named the nation's outstanding hockey player.
Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park begins operation.
The Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Dellora A. and Lester J. Norris Aquatics Center open.

The Rock is moved 30 feet to the east as part of a beautification project in the plaza between Harris Hall and University Hall.
Penn State joins the Big Ten.

The sorority and fraternity run is moved from new student week to the Winter quarter.

Wrestler Mike Funk becomes Northwestern's first 4-time All-American.

Leon Forrest, professor of African American Studies and English publishes Divine Days.
Charles Deering McCormick donates $10 million to establish endowed professorships that recognize outstanding teachers.

Garry Wills wins the Pulitzer Prize for his book Lincoln at Gettysburg.
The NUNet computer network installed.

Henry Bienen becomes University President.
Northwestern ranks third in the nation in football, wins Big Ten, and loses to the University of Southern California in Rose Bowl.

Princess Diana visits Northwestern.

The football stadium restored to natural grass surface.

Professor John Pople is awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

History of Northwestern