Celebrating Northwestern’s 175th Year
Dear Northwestern Faculty and Staff Colleagues,
This morning I marched through the Arch alongside our new undergraduate students. I was in Group 18, and then high-fived many other students under the Arch. Their enthusiasm and optimism while embarking on the Northwestern journey is infectious.
And as I continue my listening tour in Evanston and Chicago as a first-year Wildcat myself, each day I gain deeper appreciation of the history and character of our University. Our Purple is truly unique: elite without being elitist, comprehensive without rigid silos, excellent yet still without limit to our potential.
In the coming months, I will continue to visit with many parts of the University, including every college and school in Chicago and Evanston, every URIC, leadership teams of every functional unit, many athletic games and performing art events, group lunches with hundreds of faculty members, conversations with many staff groups and simply running into you walking around campus. I know I will continue to be inspired by what you do each day.
Since our founding days, Northwestern University has aspired to achieve “the highest order of excellence, as a complete university.” Complete, indeed, in the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, medicine, law, journalism, education, business, entrepreneurship and athletics.
Today we remain as hopeful and ambitious as the University’s founders were 175 years ago. Generations before us have navigated numerous challenges and elevated the institution over and over again. In the next two quarters, we will celebrate Northwestern 175, reflect on the milestones achieved through the years and chart our paths toward the bicentennial.
As a key element of Northwestern 175, we are launching an initiative to raise $175 million of philanthropy over the coming months to expand endowed professorships and related funds across the academic units. This effort will further strengthen the institutional ability to recruit, retain and reward faculty talents.
Indeed, faculty and staff at Northwestern worked tirelessly each day against headwinds and uncertainties, leading to a successful Fiscal Year 2026 concluded two weeks ago. Most of the past fiscal year was under the leadership of Interim President Henry Bienen, whose whole-hearted dedication to our University is deeply appreciated, as is your hard work despite the myriad challenges and financial constraints.
As we enter the new fiscal and academic year, our budget stability is back, our research resources are back and our faculty hiring is back (117 tenured or tenure-track positions approved for searches). We are bringing back the interdisciplinary Domain Dinners and other celebrations of excellence in scholarship, teaching and artistic creation (I’m personally looking forward to reading many of the books and publications by our colleagues). And, together, let’s bring back the stability and calmness needed for you to be the best at what you choose to do.
As we write a new chapter in the enduring chronicle of Northwestern, our Purple is back.