Dear faculty,

Northwestern’s non-tenure-eligible (NTE) faculty are a critical and multifaceted population, and supporting NTEs is an important goal for the Office of the Provost. That's why, during the 2024-25 academic year, I asked Associate Provost for Faculty Sumit Dhar and the Office of Institutional Research to conduct a survey of our NTE faculty. Today, I am pleased to share preliminary results from that survey.

Developed in partnership with a faculty committee that included representatives from the Faculty Senate and the Organization of Women Faculty, the NTE Faculty Survey was designed to capture important insights into the experience, workload and needs of full-time NTE faculty at Northwestern.

The results of the survey are available to Northwestern faculty and staff with a NetID on the Office of the Provost website. This report is characterized as “preliminary.” The purpose of publishing this report now is to share high-level results with the Northwestern community in a timely fashion and to illuminate initial key findings. It is our intention to publish supplementary reports, containing deeper analysis, in the coming months.

I am grateful for the excellent work put forth by the Associate Provost for Faculty team and the Office of Institutional Research as well as the dedicated members of the Faculty Advisory Group, who provided input on all aspects of the survey:

• Danny Cohen, Associate Professor of Instruction, SESP; Chair, Secure Faculty Survey Committee, Faculty Senate (2024-25)
• Lisa Del Torto, Professor of Instruction, Cook Family Writing Program, WCAS; Co-Chair, Organization of Women Faculty (2024-25)
• Catherine Fabian, Associate Clinical Professor, Communication Sciences & Disorders, SoC; Chair, Non-Tenure Eligible Committee, Faculty Senate (2024-25)
• Ceci Rodgers, Clinical Professor, Journalism, Medill
• Lilah Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Instruction, SESP
• Jill Wilson, Professor of Instruction, Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences, McCormick; President, Faculty Senate (2024-25)

Thank you to our NTE faculty and to all of our terrific faculty. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to reiterate how much the University appreciates your tremendous work. I wish you a lovely break.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Hagerty
Provost 
First Chicago Professor of Finance

News and notes

Applications are open for NNCI pillar leads

The new Northwestern Network for Collaborative Intelligence (NNCI) is up and running, and seeking to identify leaders for its three pillars — Research, Education and Infrastructure — which were identified in the recommendations of the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Steering Committee. Details about the roles can be found on NNCI’s website. The priority application deadline is Dec. 5; applications will be reviewed until the positions are filled.

Update From Office of Global Safety and Security

GeoBlue, the company that manages Northwestern's international health insurance and assistance plans for eligible students and employees traveling abroad for University purposes, has changed its name to Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Global Solutions. The University's international coverage and benefits are not impacted by this change, but returning users will notice visual changes in both their app and web portal. More information can be found on the Office of Global Safety and Security website. This plan is not impacted by Northwestern’s switch from BCBS to United Healthcare for domestic coverage.

Opportunities Through the Office of Community Enrichment

The Office of Community Enrichment (OCE) offers a variety of opportunities that aim to spark reflection, strengthen connection and nurture community across Northwestern:

• CatalystNU: Conversations that Transform – Strengthen your dialogue skills and learn to navigate hard conversations with confidence and empathy. This interactive, in-person program runs from Feb. 18 to June 8. Space is limited; apply by Dec 8.
• 30 Days of Indigenous: Re/Collecting Futures – A living syllabus curated by the OCE Education Team and Native American and Indigenous Affairs

To learn more, visit the OCE website or sign up for the OCE newsletter.

Updates from Human Resources

• Faculty who enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare medical plan for 2026 will receive updated ID cards in mid-December. Once received, employees can register for the UHC app to view their coverage. CVS Caremark will send prescription coverage details to home addresses in mid-November for employees currently enrolled in Express Scripts regardless of whether they enrolled in coverage for 2026. Delta Dental of Illinois will also issue new ID cards by mid-December.

In case you missed it

• Northwestern has announced that its 168th Commencement ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 14, 2026, at the United Center in Chicago
• A pilot program created in partnership between the Litowitz Center for Enlightened Disagreement and the Division of Student Affairs that introduces undergraduate students to the Litowitz Center's mission of harnessing the power of disagreement for good is now in full swing.
• View more news from around the University.

Faculty Support and Services

Career Development and Leadership

The Office of the Provost's Career Development and Leadership Calendar of Events is updated regularly with events targeted to specific faculty career levels. Here's a look at what's coming up:

• Dec. 5: The New and Early Career Faculty Institute will include sessions on Student Success, Navigating Promotion on the Tenure Track, and Navigating Promotion on the Teaching/Clinical/NTE Track. Get to know fellow colleagues over lunch and explore University-wide research and teaching resources at the Resource Fair. View the full schedule on the Faculty Resources website and register online by Dec. 1.

If you have any questions about the Office of the Provost’s Career Development and Leadership programs, please contact Senior Director for Faculty Joan Johnson at faculty@northwestern.edu.

Mark your calendar

Featured events

• Through Dec. 14: At the Block Museum of Art, “Pouring, Spilling, Bleeding: Helen Frankenthaler and Artists’ Experiments on Paper”
• Nov. 19, 12:30 p.m.: Roberta Buffett Visiting Professor Lecture “Wishful Thinking: How the West Got Moscow So Wrong, For So Long”
• Nov. 19: 12:30 p.m.: Office of the Ombudsperson Fall Appreciation Open House – Chicago
• Nov. 19, 3 p.m.: Pedagogical Innovations in STEM featuring Carine Nemr
• Nov. 19-21, 7:30 p.m.: “Strange Fruit.” Originally written and performed in 1999 by School of Communication Dean E. Patrick Johnson.
• Dec. 5, 12:30 p.m.: Buffett First Friday Lunch “AI and the Global Future of Work: Power, Resistance and Adaptation” with Hatim Rahman
• Dec. 15, 10 a.m.: Course Delivery Lab: Experiment with dynamic, evidence-informed instruction with the Searle Center

Key dates

• Nov. 27-28: Thanksgiving holiday 
• Dec. 5: Deadline to apply for NNCI pillar lead roles
• Dec. 8: Fall exams begin
• Dec. 15: Fall grades due 3 p.m.
• Dec. 24-Jan. 1: Winter recess
• Jan. 14: Nomination deadline for Nemmers Prizes in Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Economics and Music Composition

More resources

• Faculty Resources
  • Academic Calendars
  • Career Development and Support Programs
  • Faculty Handbook
  • Past Newsletters

Help us build future newsletters! If your school or department is working on a project that is relevant to the entire faculty, please send an email at least one month prior to the desired month of publication to faculty@northwestern.edu.