Skip to main content

Looking Forward

Building a Better Future, Together

As an institution, it is our responsibility to reflect on our history and understand our current challenges and to focus our efforts on creating a more positive future in which all individuals have the same opportunity to thrive.

Northwestern embraces key challenges ahead.

Supporting the student experience so all feel like they belong

To maximize the potential of each of our students — including women, womxn and gender-diverse individuals — we must ensure all students are living and learning in a healthy, supportive and inclusive environment.

One example is the University's Undergraduate Student Lifecycle Initiative, which is developing recommendations to better support students, especially those who have been historically underrepresented or marginalized on our campus.

Strengthening our research excellence and intellectual eminence with more diverse faculty

We must bring a rich diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences if we are to challenge our assumptions and broaden our understanding of the world. We must increase the diversity of the faculty, especially faculty from historically marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds.

One way Northwestern enhances faculty growth is through the Faculty Pathways Initiative, which provides development across all career stages. 

Providing opportunity, growing and developing all of our people for success

To achieve our aspirations, we must develop our people and continue to further diversify our community at all levels of the organization. This includes elevating and supporting more women, womxn and gender-diverse individuals to achieve leadership roles across Northwestern.

For example, the Women’s Emerging Leaders Program, developed in partnership with the Association of Northwestern University Women (ANUW), is one way Northwestern supports women, womxn and gender-diverse individuals. 

Research for Impact

The issues facing society today are complex, and so are their solutions.

At Northwestern, teams of people work collaboratively to address these challenges in an interdisciplinary environment – bringing together faculty and students across departments and schools to advance knowledge related to important issues concerning equity, equality, perceptions, representation, political agency and many more topics.