2024-2025 Legislative Actions

The Faculty Senate endorsed the following letter on May 7, 2025: 

We come together as concerned faculty to ask that you take forceful steps to meet the challenges of the current crisis and strongly defend Northwestern against the ongoing and intensifying attacks on higher education. Bedrock principles of a democratic society, due process, and the rights of free expression and association are now at stake. These attacks threaten Northwestern and other institutions across the United States. In light of this assault, we urge Northwestern’s leadership to take these steps:

1. Legally contest the federal funding freeze and refuse to comply with unprecedented demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance. Freedom from political interference has allowed US universities to stand as leaders in producing cutting-edge knowledge across fields—medicine, science, humanities, engineering, and social sciences, among others. The entire country, indeed the world, benefits from the scientific and medical innovations produced by American universities. We call on you to stand up against intolerable threats to interfere in the conduct of teaching and research, and to refuse any further requests to turn over personal data and academic, disciplinary, and personnel records to the federal government.

2. Be a leader among peer institutions in condemning attacks on universities. In addition to condemning attacks, use all opportunities to assert the value of higher education visibly and publicly. Be forceful in making the case for the enduring values that are central to institutions of higher learning and the many contributions the sector makes to our society. Insist on the importance of independent voices to a functioning democracy and civil society, highlight the value of the diversity that exists in our institutions, and encourage free expression and vigorous debate within our community.

3. Support our international students, staff and faculty by taking the following steps: avoid voluntary cooperation or information sharing with Immigration and

Customs Enforcement or other federal agencies charged with facilitating deportation or other forms of immigration enforcement; maintain the enrollment of international students in the event of visa revocation, legal status termination, detention, and/or deportation; allow any such students and scholars to continue their studies and research remotely, if necessary, ensuring that if enrollment is contingent upon funding through teaching or fellowships, they can continue their coursework, research, and teaching appointments; communicate timely information to international students and scholars, including immediate notification of changes in their legal status; and provide legal counsel for students and scholars whose visas have been revoked without due process.

4. Work purposefully and proactively with other universities andNorthwestern’s alumni networks, taking and creating opportunities to developcoordinated opposition to these anti-democratic attacks.

Thank you for your efforts to stand up for Northwestern and our shared values.

The Faculty Senate passed the following resolution, an amended version of the Rutger's Mutual Defense Compact, on May 7, 2025: 

Resolution to Establish a Mutual Defense Compact for the Universities of the Big Ten Academic Alliance in Defense of Academic Freedom, Institutional Integrity, and the Research Enterprise

Whereas, recent and escalating politically motivated actions by governmental bodies pose a significant threat to the foundational principles of American higher education, including the autonomy of university governance, the integrity of scientific research, and the protection of free speech;

Whereas, the Trump administration and aligned political actors have signaled a willingness to target individual institutions with legal, financial, and political incursion designed to undermine their public mission, silence dissenting voices, and/or exert improper control over academic inquiry;

Whereas, the Big Ten Academic Alliance represents not only athletic competition but also a longstanding tradition of academic collaboration, research excellence, and commitment to democratic values and shared governance;

Whereas, the Big Ten Academic Alliance includes 18 universities with thousands of instructors serving over 600,000 students;

Whereas, the preservation of one institution’s integrity is the concern of all, and an infringement against one member university of the Big Ten shall be considered an infringement against all;

Be it resolved that the Northwestern University Senate urges the president of Northwestern University to formally propose and help establish a Mutual Academic Defense Compact (MADC) among all Big Ten Academic Alliance member institutions with the shared objective of protecting academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and the integrity of the research enterprise against unlawful legal, financial, and governmental interference.

Be it further resolved that under this Compact, participating institutions shall commit resources, including legal, financial, and public affairs support, to coordinate collective, strategic responses on behalf of its member universities.

The Faculty Senate approved the following resolution on May 7, 2025: 

Whereas, scientific research benefits society and is central to the academic mission of Northwestern University;

Whereas, federal grants are the primary funding mechanism supporting scientific research at Northwestern University and other universities in the United States of America;

Whereas, most scientists and trainees at Northwestern are paid from federal grants;

Whereas, a large fraction of Northwestern’s federal research funding has been subject to stop-work orders or otherwise withheld by the federal government;

Whereas, Northwestern’s Board of Trustees and President have continued to fund many scientific projects impacted by the federal government’s stop-work orders and funding freeze to Northwestern University;

Whereas, many scientific projects have continued that would have collapsed without funding;

Whereas, many scientists remain employed that would have lost their jobs without funding;

Be it resolved that the Northwestern University Faculty Senate thanks Northwestern University’s Board of Trustees, President Michael Schill, and other central administrators for their indispensable support in this difficult time.

The Faculty Senate endorsed and approved signing on to the following statement at the Faculty Senate meeting on April 9, 2025:

Statement in Support of the Core Mission and Values of Higher Education in the United States of America

Private and public higher education institutions in the United States have for over three centuries contributed to the public good, and the nation’s global leadership position, through the advancement and sharing of knowledge, and by providing pathways for workforce development.

Research funding in universities is judiciously used to drive innovation, providing an exceptional return on investment that advances economic growth, health and well-being, scientific breakthroughs, national security, and cultural and civic development. Academic research and scholarly expertise are also vital to excellent teaching and training, ensuring that the U.S. workforce of the future remains globally competitive.

Higher education in the United States continuously sets standards for international excellence and attracts students and colleagues from all over the world. The contributions of international scholars, staff, and students to U.S. higher education are integral to its leadership position.

U.S. higher education’s global excellence and public impact require working and learning environments that ensure opportunities for all. Initiatives that reduce discrimination are part of that imperative.

As recent challenges to funding and programming threaten to dismantle the core values and mission of higher education, at great detriment to the public at large and the U.S.’s international reputation, the undersigned faculty governance bodies affirm the following: 

1. Public and private universities serve the public good and contribute to the U.S.’s national and global excellence, through teaching, research, and service.
2. Cuts to research funding in higher education will undermine scientific innovation, health, societal progress, and the U.S.’s leadership position, with long-lasting detrimental
3. Academic scholarship and research, through peer review and professional accreditation, lead to evidence-based expertise, not partisan viewpoints.
4. We support academic freedom and free speech, and those who exercise their rights thereto, citizens and non-citizens alike.
5. We oppose the targeted harassment of faculty members for their
6. We support the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which guarantees the right of people to peaceably assemble. All community members who engage in peaceful assembly, regardless of viewpoint or citizenship status, should have the opportunity to do so without retaliation.

7. We agree with the Department of Education that discrimination based on race, color, or national origin (Title VI), sex (Title IX), and disability (ADA) is reprehensible, affirming our legal and moral obligation as educational institutions not to discriminate based on these or other identifying characteristics. Initiatives that help to reduce such discrimination, when grounded in best practice, increase opportunities and ensure real meritocracy for all.
8. We affirm the essential role of transparent and collaborative shared governance in maintaining the integrity of our universities, and commit to its continued
9. Lastly, we call upon faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community partners of our universities to unite in support of the core mission, values, and academic freedoms of higher education in the U.S.

The Faculty Senate approved the following members of the Committee on Cause on October 16, 2024: 

• Tom Hope, Professor, Cell and Molecular Biology (Feinberg) — Chair
• Mark Johnson, Professor, Biomedical Engineering (McCormick)
• Caryn Ward, Professor, Journalism Undergrad (Medill)
• TJ Billard, Assistant Professor, Communication Studies (SoC)
• Faisal Akkawi, Faculty Director, information Systems (SPS)
• Julia Oliver Rajan, Associate Professor of Instruction, Spanish and Portuguese (WCAS)
• Heather Risser, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behav. Sciences (Feinberg)
• Susan Pearson, Professor, History (WCAS)

The Faculty Senate approved the following slate of standing committee chairs on October 16, 2024: 

• Michael Fishman, Professor, Finance (Kellogg)
• Tom Hope, Professor, Cell and Molecular Biology (Feinberg)
• Jacqueline Babb, Senior Lecturer, Int. Marketing Communications (Medill)
• Anne Zald, Librarian (University Libraries)
• Mark Alznauer, Associate Professor, Philosophy (WCAS)
• Ceci Rodgers, Professor, Non-Tenure (Medill)
• Cat Fabian, Clinical Assistant Professor, Non-Tenure (SoC)
• Swati Kulkarni, Professor, Surgery (Feinberg)
• Ian Horswill, Associate Professor, Computer Science (McCormick)
• Danny M. Cohen, Associate Professor of Instruction, Non-Tenure (SESP)
• Rebecca Zorach, Professor, Art History (WCAS)
• Ana Maria Acosta, Professor, Phys. Thpy. and Hum. Mov. Sci. (Feinberg)