by Henry S. Bienen, President of Northwestern University
February 24 and 26, 1998
Thank you very much. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to give my annual assessment of the state of the university and also share with you some of my thoughts on the future of Northwestern. I know how busy all of you are, so I appreciate your taking the time to be here today. As is customary, I will answer questions at the end of my remarks, so I'll speak relatively briefly. However, let me share with you some of the highlights in regard to what I hope is our shared vision for Northwestern.
Before I do so, however, I would like to extend my thanks to all of you for your continued hard work. Your efforts, whether you are a member of the staff or the faculty, are critically important in helping achieve our educational mission. I am now entering my fourth year here at Northwestern and I continue to be impressed by the dedication and consistent efforts of our faculty and staff.
Let me discuss briefly several issues that I think are key to the University. First, I am pleased to report that Northwestern remains in excellent financial condition. Like other institutions, we have enjoyed an excellent return on our endowment investments the last few years. But we also have benefited even more from prudent financial management within the University. At a time when many American colleges and universities are facing severe financial problems, I do not want this accomplishment to go unremarked. The reality is that if we are to continue to provide an outstanding education to our students, we must have the fiscal strength to do so.
A key component of maintaining that fiscal strength is the need to increase the number and size of gifts to the university. In the past year, I have been dedicating a great deal of my time to meeting personally with potential major donors. Our development office has been working equally diligently; the results of their work are already apparent. Total gifts and grants to Northwestern last fiscal year totaled almost $125 million, up 16 percent from the previous year and an all-time record for the university. We announced earlier this month a $10 million gift to the law school from the Pritzker Foundation, the largest single gift to the law school in its history. We also recently received a wonderful gift that will enable us to significantly enlarge the Block Gallery, now renamed the Block Museum of Art. And we are hoping to announce several other major gifts in the very near future.
We also are planning to announce publicly what has been going on privately for some time now: a comprehensive fund-raising campaign for Northwestern. While we still are finalizing the total campaign goal and announcement date, I can assure you that this campaign will be a significant event, one that has the potential to transform our university both physically and academically. I'm extremely excited about the prospects for this campaign and I think you will be as well. In my discussions with potential donors, the affection and esteem that our alumni and others hold for Northwestern has truly been overwhelming. And almost all of those with whom I talk are willing to translate that affection into significant financial support. That's tremendously encouraging and I think it is a testament to this institution. As the campaign becomes public, we hope that more of our alumni -- and our faculty and staff -- join in supporting Northwestern.
Another key part of our financial plan has been to increase undergraduate tuition starting with students who will enter Northwestern for the first time next fall. We chose to do this not because we want a higher price tag for a Northwestern education, but because we intend to make significant improvements in our undergraduate education. Those improvements include adding as many as 50 new faculty positions in Evanston, increasing opportunities for international studies, developing additional cross-disciplinary courses and programs and providing more opportunities for students to engage in individual and small-group work with faculty. As I said before, we are actively soliciting gifts to help support these initiatives, but it is unrealistic to expect that all of these costs can be covered by donations alone. As a result, we will raise tuition to a level more in line with our peer institutions to help fund these improvements.
Even with the announced tuition increase, the interest in Northwestern among potential students remains very strong. Although our applications are down about 8 percent from last year's record number, this year will mark the third-highest number of applicants in the history of the university, more than 15,000 for an entering freshman class of approximately 1,900. In addition, the number of African-American applicants increased by 3 percent, and Hispanic applications were steady despite the overall decline in applicants. We are cautiously optimistic that this will translate into an increase in the number of students of color entering next fall.
More importantly, the quality of all applicants continues to improve, at least using SAT scores as a measure of quality. The average combined SAT score for applicants for next fall is 1338, the highest in the history of the University and 8 points above last year's average combined score. Just as we have for the last few years, I anticipate that we will welcome next fall an entering class of some of the most academically talented students in the country.
I'd like to discuss briefly an issue that has occupied a great deal of my attention in the past few months, the recommendation to close Northwestern's dental school. This issue has certainly been the most wrenching personally that I've faced since coming to Northwestern, and I know it has caused a great deal of concern within the Dental School, and perhaps elsewhere as well. I want to assure you that the provost and I made this recommendation only after careful review of the current status of the Dental School, the likelihood and potential cost of significantly enhancing its operations and how the school relates to the rest of the university.
In no way do we consider the education offered by the Dental School to be deficient. We simply felt that the direction and purposes of the University and that of the Dental School had diverged in recent years and that without a significant recurring subsidy from other university resources, the Dental School would not be able to change its direction to align more closely with the rest of the University. The Board of Trustees will make a decision on the recommendation next week; we will inform the campus community of the board's action as soon as it is made. If the board decides to close the school, we anticipate that a majority of the staff members will be retained for several years, until the closure is complete. Our Human Resources office has done preliminary planning on how to make the transition as smooth as possible, and they will meet individually with all Dental School faculty and staff in the near future, should the board decide to close the school.
I also want to emphasize that we are not considering taking similar action for any other area of the university. This is not the first step in a planned "downsizing" of the university. On the contrary, as I said in a meeting with our women's staff group recently, we expect several other areas of the university to grow in the coming years.
At this time, let me turn to something that I always enjoy: recognizing members of our faculty and staff for their outstanding accomplishments. While the past year has resulted in distinguished work by a great number of our faculty members, some of their achievements have brought national attention. Let me list just a few:
- Rebecca Blank, professor of economics and a member of the Institute for Policy Research, has been named to the president's Council of Economic Advisers.
- Lynn Johnson, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science, and Shelby Habermann, professor of statistics, were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- James Van Ness, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
- SonBinh Nguyen, assistant professor of chemistry, was one of 20 young scholars nationally to be awarded a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. These grants go to the most promising young professors in the country to pursue science and engineering research.
- Thomas Geraghty, director of the legal clinic, helped lead an effort that resulted in a unanimous reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court of the conviction and death sentence of a man whose trial was presided over by a judge who later was convicted of federal racketeering charges.
- Frank Galati, professor of performance studies, is directing the play "Ragtime," which just opened on Broadway to great reviews.
- Jerry Goldman, associate professor of political science, has received national recognition for his innovative use of the World Wide Web to make recordings of historic Supreme Court decisions and political events come alive for today's students.
- Also, kudos to Northwestern University Press for publishing a book of poetry by William Meredith that won the National Book Award this year.
I'd also like to recognize and extend my thanks to the many staff members who have served so diligently on campus committees on employee benefits, implementation of the HRIS system, parking and other issues. Your contributions provide valuable counsel on where the university should direct its efforts in the coming years. I know that serving on a university committee can sometimes be tough slogging, but I assure you that your input is indeed valued.
These are just a few of the many individuals and groups who have made significant contributions to advance Northwestern and improve our community. For example, I was pleased to recognize recently 15 members of our staff for their multiple Service Excellence awards received during 1997. I know that by mentioning these few specific individuals and groups, I inevitably leave out others. But that does not mean your work is any less important. Northwestern is a place where a great deal of wonderful things occur every day. And, as I said at the start of my talk, that is the direct result of your efforts.
The accomplishments of these individuals, and many others, help increase the national stature for Northwestern. As most of you know, last fall U.S. News & World Report again ranked us ninth in the country overall among major research institutions for undergraduate education and many of our graduate programs were ranked in the top 25 in the country by U.S. News. In the past year, we also have received national recognition, including articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, for the use of technology in teaching on the part of our faculty. This good publicity is certainly gratifying, but more importantly, it brings national attention to the university as a place where innovative teaching and research are occurring.
Let me also give you a quick status report on several key personnel appointments that have occurred this year. First, we have four new deans:
- Harvey Colten, who became the dean for the School of Medicine last year, has already established himself as an imaginative and strong leader.
- Eric Sundquist and Penelope Peterson, both of whom joined us last fall, are providing wonderful leadership to the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education and Social Policy, respectively.
- And Ken Bode recently came on board as dean of the Medill School of Journalism, bringing a new national perspective to that post.
In addition, Lydia Villa-Komaroff has been named vice president for research and graduate studies. A first-rate researcher and an extremely capable administrator, Lydia already is providing us valuable guidance in an area that is increasingly important to the University.
And I would be remiss in not mentioning Steve Fisher, who this year became associate provost for undergraduate education. This new position reflects the increasing emphasis we are placing on the undergraduate experience here at Northwestern.
I am very pleased with the quality of these recent hires, along with other key administrative and faculty appointments that have been made in the past year. I am confident that they will provide strong leadership for the university in the years to come.
We also have begun the search process for two other dean's positions. Carol Simpson Stern has announced her intention to return to the faculty ranks after serving ably as dean of the Graduate School. And Don Collins, who has been a strong advocate for non-traditional students here at Northwestern, plans to retire as dean of University College at the end of next year. I thank Carol and Don for their dedication in their respective posts.
I am also pleased to announce what I think will be good news regarding pay and benefits for faculty and staff. One of the concerns with the university's relatively modest salary increases over the past few years has been that it prevents us from recognizing those individuals who truly do outstanding work. As a result, we will this year establish an additional pool of funds for merit increases above and beyond the normal range of salary increases. In this way, we can provide appropriate recognition to those deserving individuals.
We also plan to extend the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program. As some of you know, this program, which provides confidential counseling services and resource assistance, was initiated on a pilot basis for the past two years. It has been well-used by both faculty and staff and those who have used the various services give it high marks. As a result, we will be extending this program indefinitely.
In addition, the University will address an issue that I know is important to those parents who struggle with it, child care for children when they get sick. As most of you know, the University already provides a matching fund program for regular child care. We now will add a program where Northwestern will provide subsidies for in-home care for sick children. If a staff or faculty member uses the service, the University will reimburse a portion of the cost of such care. The Human Resources office and faculty and staff committees looked at a variety of options for providing this type of child care, and it appears that this option offers the greatest flexibility to both staff and faculty.
I probably would be remiss in this speech if I didn't at least mention the issue of parking, which I know is often a concern for both faculty and staff. We are in the midst of a comprehensive study of parking needs and alternatives on the Evanston campus. In Chicago, we have had some very fruitful discussions with Northwestern Memorial Hospital on how we might address this problem jointly. On both campuses, we are considering the possibility of building an additional garage to provide greater convenience for our faculty, staff and students. But I must add that doing so is a very expensive proposition, and the costs would likely have to be covered, at least in part, by increased parking fees.
I also note that parking is an issue that currently is creating some conflict between us and the city of Evanston in our desire to construct a new Transportation Center and provide appropriate parking for it. I won't go into the details, but I think it's important to note that we spend a great deal of time working with the community. Most of the time, our interests and those of the city are identical, but as is the case with any relationship, there can occasionally be some differences of opinion on specific issues. We will continue to be good neighbors in both Evanston and Chicago, while at the same time, being strong advocates for the University.
Now if I could just take a few moments to share with you some of my thoughts on directions for the University in the next few years. I truly believe Northwestern has a rare opportunity to become a leader in American higher education. Our strengths -- the rare combination of top-flight research and outstanding undergraduate education, wonderful cross-disciplinary opportunities, and commitment to teaching and learning -- will be increasingly valued in the next century. By focusing on these strengths, along with being willing to be innovative and take risks at the appropriate times, we can make this university an even greater institution. I am very encouraged by some of the recent successes we have had in recruiting and retaining top faculty in a variety of fields. These are people who are the leaders in the country in their particular discipline, and they are coming to Northwestern or staying here despite some great offers from other institutions, because they too see this as a place where they can do important, exciting research and teaching.
Under the guidance of the provost's office, a group of faculty and administrators has crafted a working document entitled, "The Highest Order of Excellence." We will be sharing the document with faculty, staff and with our alumni and other friends of the University in the coming months, and I thank all of those involved in its creation for their excellent work. I was particularly struck by a phrase in it that said, "We can anticipate even greater success in the coming decades." Perhaps because it echoed a slogan, "Expect Victory," that served a part of this University well a couple years ago. I do anticipate success. I do expect victory. I know that it will not be easy. Attracting top faculty and staff, retaining those that we already have, and providing first-rate facilities and services is an expensive proposition. The challenges will face us daily. But I am confident that we can not only meet those challenges, but rise beyond them to a new level of success here at Northwestern.
As some of you may know, I'm teaching an undergraduate seminar this quarter. Doing so reinforces for me how fortunate we are to have such an exceptional group of young men and women who come to Northwestern. And I believe our mission -- to educate, challenge and guide them so they will succeed in life and benefit their communities and society at large -- is critically important. We are joined in this common purpose, and I extend my appreciation to all of you for being part of it.
Thank you.