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Northwestern University is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chartered by the
Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
in 1851, Northwestern was established to serve the former
Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
. The university was initially affiliated with the
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
but later became
non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...
. By 1900, the university was the third largest university in the United States. In 1896, Northwestern became a founding member of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
, and joined the
Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
as an early member in 1917. The university is composed of eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, which include the
Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...
, the
Pritzker School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law schoo ...
, the
Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree p ...
, the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the
Bienen School of Music The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music is the music and performance arts school of Northwestern University. It is located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, United States. The school was previously known as the North ...
, the
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Established in 1909, the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of twelve constituent schools at Northwestern University. Most engineering classes are held in the Northwestern Technological Institute, Technological I ...
, the
Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...
, the School of Communication, the School of Professional Studies, the School of Education and Social Policy, and The Graduate School. Northwestern's
campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...
lies along the shores of
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
in Evanston. The university's
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
,
medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
, and
professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
schools, along with
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located on Northwestern University’s Chicago campus in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship campus for Northwestern Medicine and the primary ...
, are located in Chicago's
Streeterville Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan Avenue on the west, and ...
neighborhood, while
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
graduate programs are located on the
New Eastside The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...
. The university also maintains a campus in Education City, Qatar and academic centers in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Northwestern has an endowment of $16.1 billion, one of the largest university endowments in the world, as well as an annual budget of around $2.5 billion. As of fall 2021, the university had 23,410 enrolled students, including 8,817 undergraduates and 14,593 graduate students. Fielding eight men's and eleven women's sports teams, the Northwestern Wildcats represent the university to compete in the NCAA Division I
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
and has remained the only private university in the conference since 1946. Past and present Northwestern faculty and alumni have included numerous heads of state, 2 Fields Medalists, 23 Nobel Prize laureates, 43
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winners, 23
MacArthur Fellows The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...
, 28 Marshall Scholars, 94 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 19
Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
, 10 living
billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...
s, and 24 Olympic medalists.


History


Founding and early years

The foundation of Northwestern University can be traced to a meeting on May 31, 1850, of nine prominent Chicago businessmen, Methodist leaders, and attorneys who had formed the idea of establishing a university to serve what had been known from 1787 to 1803 as the
Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
. On January 28, 1851, the
Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
granted a charter to the ''Trustees of the North-Western University'', making it the first chartered university in Illinois. The school's nine founders, all of whom were Methodists (three of them ministers), knelt in prayer and
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...
before launching their first organizational meeting. Although they affiliated the university with the
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
, they favored a non-sectarian admissions policy, believing that Northwestern should serve all people in the newly developing territory by bettering the economy in Evanston. John Evans, for whom Evanston is named, bought of land along
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
in 1853, and Philo Judson developed plans for what would become the city of
Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
. The first building, Old College, opened on November 5, 1855. To raise funds for its construction, Northwestern sold $100 "perpetual scholarships" entitling the purchaser and his heirs to free tuition. Another building, University Hall, was built in 1869 of the same Joliet limestone as the Chicago Water Tower, also built in 1869, one of the few buildings in the heart of Chicago to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1873 the
Evanston College for Ladies The Evanston College for Ladies was a women's college in Evanston, Illinois between 1871 and 1873. Female students attended classes at Northwestern University, resided at the college, and attended supplemental courses such as fine arts, foreign lan ...
merged with Northwestern, and Frances Willard, who later gained fame as a
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
and as one of the founders of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), became the school's first dean of women ( Willard Residential College, built in 1938, honors her name). Northwestern admitted its first female students in 1869, and the first woman graduated in 1874. Northwestern fielded its first intercollegiate football team in 1882, later becoming a founding member of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. In the 1870s and 1880s, Northwestern affiliated itself with already existing schools of law, medicine, and dentistry in Chicago. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the oldest law school in Chicago. As the university's enrollments grew, these professional schools were integrated with the undergraduate college in Evanston; the result was a modern research university combining professional, graduate, and undergraduate programs, which gave equal weight to teaching and research.


20th century

By the turn of the century, Northwestern had grown in stature to become the third largest university in the United States after Harvard University and the University of Michigan. Under Walter Dill Scott's presidency from 1920 to 1939, Northwestern began construction of an integrated campus in Chicago designed by
James Gamble Rogers James Gamble Rogers (March 3, 1867 – October 1, 1947) was an American architect. A proponent of what came to be known as Collegiate Gothic architecture, he is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia Univer ...
, noted for his design of the Yale University campus, to house the professional schools. The university also established the
Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...
and built several prominent buildings on the Evanston campus, including Dyche Stadium, now named Ryan Field, and Deering Library among others. In the 1920s, Northwestern became one of the first six universities in the United States to establish a
Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 192 ...
(NROTC). In 1939, Northwestern hosted the first-ever
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
game in the original Patten Gymnasium, which was later demolished and relocated farther north, along with the Dearborn Observatory, to make room for the
Technological Institute The Technological Institute, more commonly known as "Tech", is a landmark building at Northwestern University built from 1940 to 1942. It is the main building for students and faculty in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applie ...
. After the golden years of the 1920s, the
Great Depression in the United States In the United States, the Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and then spread worldwide. The nadir came in 1931–1933, and recovery came in 1940. The stock market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high un ...
(1929–1941) had a severe impact on the university's finances. Its annual income dropped 25 percent from $4.8 million in 1930–31 to $3.6 million in 1933–34. Investment income shrank, fewer people could pay full tuition, and annual giving from alumni and philanthropists fell from $870,000 in 1932 to a low of $331,000 in 1935. The university responded with two salary cuts of 10 percent each for all employees. It imposed hiring and building freezes and slashed appropriations for maintenance, books, and research. Having had a balanced budget in 1930–31, the university now faced deficits of roughly $100,000 for the next four years. Enrollments fell in most schools, with law and music suffering the biggest declines. However, the movement toward state certification of school teachers prompted Northwestern to start a new graduate program in education, thereby bringing in new students and much-needed income. In June 1933, Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago, proposed a merger of the two universities, estimating annual savings of $1.7 million. The two presidents were enthusiastic, and the faculty liked the idea; many Northwestern alumni, however, opposed it, fearing the loss of their Alma Mater and its many traditions that distinguished Northwestern from Chicago. The
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
, for example, was oriented toward training practitioners, and alumni feared it would lose its mission if it were merged into the more research-oriented
University of Chicago Medical School The Pritzker School of Medicine is the M.D.-granting unit of the Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago. It is located on the university's main campus in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and matriculated its f ...
. The merger plan was ultimately dropped. In 1935, the Deering family rescued the university budget with an unrestricted gift of $6 million, bringing the budget up to $5.4 million in 1938–39. This allowed many of the previous spending cuts to be restored, including half of the salary reductions. Like other American research universities, Northwestern was transformed by World War II (1939–1945). Regular enrollment fell dramatically, but the school opened high-intensity, short-term programs that trained over 50,000 military personnel, including future president John F. Kennedy. Northwestern's existing
NROTC The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 19 ...
program proved to be a boon to the university as it trained over 36,000 sailors over the course of the war, leading Northwestern to be called the "
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
of the Midwest."
Franklyn B. Snyder Franklyn Bliss Snyder (July 26, 1884 – May 11, 1958) was the 18th President of Northwestern University (1939–1949) and an American scholar of Scottish literature. Personal life Snyder was the son of a Congregational minister, Peter Miles Sny ...
led the university from 1939 to 1949, and after the war, surging enrollments under the G.I. Bill drove the dramatic expansion of both campuses. In 1948, prominent anthropologist
Melville J. Herskovits Melville Jean Herskovits (September 10, 1895 – February 25, 1963) was an American anthropologist who helped to first establish African and African Diaspora studies in American academia. He is known for exploring the cultural continuity from Afr ...
founded the Program of African Studies at Northwestern, the first center of its kind at an American academic institution.
J. Roscoe Miller James Roscoe Miller (October 26, 1905 – October 16, 1977) was the twelfth president of Northwestern University, serving between 1949 and 1970. During his tenure, Northwestern substantially increased the size of its Evanston campus, constructing ...
's tenure as president from 1949 to 1970 saw an expansion of the Evanston campus, with the construction of the
Lakefill The Northwestern University Lakefill (formally known as the James Roscoe Miller Campus) is a large area of Northwestern University land that was reclaimed from Lake Michigan in 1962–1964 by creating a seawall of limestone blocks quarried in Illin ...
on Lake Michigan, growth of the faculty and new academic programs, and polarizing Vietnam-era student protests. In 1978, the first and second Unabomber attacks occurred at Northwestern University. Relations between Evanston and Northwestern became strained throughout much of the post-war era because of episodes of disruptive student activism, disputes over municipal zoning, building codes, and law enforcement, as well as restrictions on the sale of alcohol near campus until 1972. Northwestern's exemption from state and municipal property-tax obligations under its original charter has historically been a source of town-and-gown tension. Although government support for universities declined in the 1970s and 1980s, President
Arnold R. Weber Arnold Robert Weber (September 20, 1929 – August 20, 2020) was the president of Northwestern University from 1984–1994. His tenure at Northwestern was marked by stabilizing the university's finances and enhancing the Evanston campus envir ...
was able to stabilize university finances, leading to a revitalization of its campuses. In 1996, Princess Diana visited Northwestern's Evanston and Chicago campuses to raise money for the university hospital's Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at the invitation of then President Bienen. Her visit raised a total of $1.5 million for cancer research.


21st century

As admissions to colleges and universities grew increasingly competitive in the 1990s and 2000s, President
Henry S. Bienen Henry Samuel Bienen (born 1939) is an American academic and administrator. He was named President of the Poetry Foundation in 2015, and is President Emeritus of Northwestern University, where he served from 1995 to 2009. Life and career Bienen re ...
's tenure saw a notable increase in the number and quality of undergraduate applicants, continued expansion of the facilities and faculty, and renewed athletic competitiveness. In 1999, Northwestern student journalists uncovered information exonerating Illinois death-row inmate Anthony Porter two days before his scheduled execution. The Innocence Project has since exonerated 10 more men. On January 11, 2003, in a speech at Northwestern School of Law's Lincoln Hall, then Governor of Illinois George Ryan announced that he would commute the sentences of more than 150 death-row inmates. In the 2010s, a 5-year capital campaign resulted in a new music center, a replacement building for the business school, and a $270 million athletic complex. In 2014, President Barack Obama delivered a seminal economics speech at the Evanston campus. In 2015, Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands visited Northwestern to announce research collaborations between Northwestern and several Dutch institutions focused on the study of aging. In late 2021, an additional $480 million was donated to Northwestern by the Ryan Family to be applied to research at the
Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...
and
Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree p ...
, as well as for renovating
Ryan Field Ryan Field may refer to: * Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, also known as Ryan Field, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States * Ryan Field (airport), also known as Ryan Airfield, in Tucson, Arizona, United States * Ryan Field (sportscaster) (born ...
.


Campuses


Evanston

Northwestern's Evanston campus, where the undergraduate schools, the Graduate School, and the Kellogg School of Management are located, runs north–south from Lincoln Avenue to Clark Street west of Lake Michigan along Sheridan Road. North Campus is home to the
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
quads The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...
, athletics facilities including the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Norris Aquatics Center, the
Technological Institute The Technological Institute, more commonly known as "Tech", is a landmark building at Northwestern University built from 1940 to 1942. It is the main building for students and faculty in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applie ...
, Dearborn Observatory, the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Hall for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly, and the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center among others. South Campus is home to the university's humanities buildings, music buildings like the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, the
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art The Block Museum of Art is a free public art museum located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The Block Museum was established in 1980 when Chicago art collectors Mary (daughter of Albert Lasker) and Leigh B. Block (f ...
, and the sorority quads. In the 1960s, the university created an additional for the campus by filling in a portion of Lake Michigan. Buildings located on the resulting
Lakefill The Northwestern University Lakefill (formally known as the James Roscoe Miller Campus) is a large area of Northwestern University land that was reclaimed from Lake Michigan in 1962–1964 by creating a seawall of limestone blocks quarried in Illin ...
include University Library, the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, the Regenstein Hall of Music,
Norris University Center The Norris University Center is the student union of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the C ...
(the student union), the Kellogg School of Management Global Hub, and various athletics facilities. The Chicago Transit Authority's elevated train running through Evanston is called the Purple Line, taking its name from Northwestern's school color. The
Foster Foster may refer to: People * Foster (surname) * Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor * Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player * Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player * John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), American ...
and Davis stations are within walking distance of the southern end of the campus, while the
Noyes Noyes is an English surname of patronymic origin, deriving from the given name Noah. Notable people with the surname include: * Albertina Noyes (born 1949), American figure skater * Alfred Noyes (1880–1958), English poet * Arthur Amos Noyes (18 ...
station is close to the northern end of the campus. The
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
station is close to
Ryan Field Ryan Field may refer to: * Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, also known as Ryan Field, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States * Ryan Field (airport), also known as Ryan Airfield, in Tucson, Arizona, United States * Ryan Field (sportscaster) (born ...
, Northwestern's football stadium. The Evanston Davis Street Metra station serves the Northwestern campus in downtown Evanston and the Evanston Central Street Metra station is near Ryan Field. Pace Suburban Bus Service and the CTA have several bus routes that run through or near the Evanston campus.


Chicago

Northwestern's Chicago campus is located in the city's
Streeterville Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan Avenue on the west, and ...
neighborhood near Lake Michigan. The Chicago campus is home to the nationally ranked
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located on Northwestern University’s Chicago campus in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship campus for Northwestern Medicine and the primary ...
, the
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
, the
law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...
, the part-time MBA program, and the School of Professional Studies. Medill's one-year graduate program rents a floor on Wacker Drive, across the river from Streeterville and separate from the rest of the campus. Northwestern's professional schools and a number of its affiliated hospitals are located approximately four blocks east of the Chicago station on the CTA Red Line. The Chicago campus is also served by CTA bus routes. Founded at varying points in the university's history, the professional schools originally were scattered throughout Chicago. In connection with a 1917 master plan for a central Chicago campus and President Walter Dill Scott's capital campaign, of land were purchased at the corner of Chicago Avenue and
Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive, and called DuSable Lake Shore Drive, The Outer Drive, The Drive, or LSD) is a multilevel expressway that runs alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan, and adjacent to ...
for $1.5 million in 1920. Architect
James Gamble Rogers James Gamble Rogers (March 3, 1867 – October 1, 1947) was an American architect. A proponent of what came to be known as Collegiate Gothic architecture, he is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia Univer ...
was commissioned to create a master plan for the principal buildings on the new campus, which he designed in
collegiate gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...
style. In 1923, Mrs. Montgomery Ward donated $8 million to the campaign to finance the construction of the Montgomery Ward Memorial Building, which would house the medical and dental schools, and create endowments for faculty chairs, research grants, scholarships, and building maintenance. The building would become the first university
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
in the United States. In addition to the Ward Building, Rogers designed Wieboldt Hall to house facilities for the
School of Commerce A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
and Levy Mayer Hall to house the School of Law. The new campus comprising these three new buildings was dedicated during a two-day ceremony in June 1927. The Chicago campus continued to expand with the addition of Thorne Hall in 1931 and Abbott Hall in 1939. In October 2013, Northwestern began the demolition of the architecturally significant Prentice Women's Hospital. Eric G. Neilson, dean of the medical school, penned an op-ed that equated retaining the building with loss of life.


Education City

In Fall 2008, Northwestern opened a campus in Education City, Doha, Qatar, joining five other American universities:
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Texas A&M University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Through the
Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...
and School of Communication, NU-Q offers bachelor's degrees in journalism and communications respectively. However, some have questioned whether NU-Q can truly offer a comparable journalism program to that of its U.S. campus given Qatar's instances of censorship and strict limits on journalistic and academic freedoms. The
Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sha ...
, a private charitable institution founded by former emir
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 u ...
and his wife and mother of the current emir Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, provided funding for construction and administrative costs, as well as support to hire 50 to 60 faculty and staff, some of whom rotate between the Evanston and Qatar campuses. Northwestern receives roughly $45 million per year to operate the campus. In February 2016, Northwestern reached an agreement with the Qatar Foundation to extend the operations of the NU-Q branch for an additional decade, through the 2027–2028 academic year. Like other universities with campuses in Doha, Northwestern has received criticism for accepting money from a country with a poor human rights record.


Organization and administration


Governance

Northwestern is privately owned and governed by an appointed
Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, which is composed of 70 members and, , has been chaired by William A. Osborn '69. The board delegates its power to an elected president who serves as the chief executive officer of the university. Northwestern has had sixteen presidents in its history (excluding interim presidents). The current president, economist Morton O. Schapiro, succeeded Henry Bienen whose 14-year tenure ended on August 31, 2009. The president maintains a staff of vice presidents, directors, and other assistants for administrative, financial, faculty, and student matters. Kathleen Haggerty assumed the role of interim provost for the university in April 2020. Students are formally involved in the university's administration through the Associated Student Government, elected representatives of the undergraduate students, and the Graduate Student Association, which represents the university's graduate students. The admission requirements, degree requirements, courses of study, and disciplinary and degree recommendations for each of Northwestern's 12 schools are determined by the voting members of that school's faculty (assistant professor and above). The graduate Medill School shares no connection to the rest of the Chicago campus, though it is also based downtown. Northwestern University had a dental school from 1891 to May 31, 2001, when it closed.


Endowment

Northwestern maintains an endowment of $16.1 billion, one of the largest university endowments in the world. The endowment is sustained through continued donations and is maintained by investment advisers at the university's Investment Office. In 2003, Northwestern finished a five-year capital campaign that raised $1.55 billion, exceeding its fundraising goal by $550 million. In 2014, Northwestern launched the "We Will" campaign with a fundraising goal of $3.75 billion. As of December 31, 2019, the university has received $4.78 billion from 164,026 donors.


Sustainability

In January 2009, the
Green Power Partnership The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that supports the organizational procurement of green power by offering expert advice, technical support, tools and resources. It provides public hea ...
(sponsored by the
EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
) listed Northwestern as one of the top 10 universities in the country in purchasing energy from renewable sources. The university matches 74 million
kilowatt hour A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
s (kWh) of its annual energy use with Green-e Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). This green power commitment represents 30 percent of the university's total annual electricity use and places Northwestern in the EPA's Green Power Leadership Club. The Initiative for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), supporting research, teaching, and outreach in these themes, was launched in 2008. Northwestern requires that all new buildings be LEED-certified. Silverman Hall on the Evanston campus was awarded Gold LEED Certification in 2010; Wieboldt Hall on the Chicago campus was awarded Gold LEED Certification in 2007, and the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center on the Evanston campus was awarded Silver LEED Certification in 2006. New construction and renovation projects will be designed to provide at least a 20% improvement over energy code requirements where feasible. At the beginning of the 2008–09 academic year, the university also released the Evanston Campus Framework Plan, which outlines plans for future development of the university's Evanston campus. The plan not only emphasizes sustainable building construction but also focuses on reducing the energy costs of transportation by optimizing pedestrian and bicycle access. Northwestern has had a comprehensive recycling program in place since 1990. The university recycles over 1,500 tons of waste, or 30% of all waste produced on campus, each year. All landscape waste at the university is composted.


Academics


Admissions

Northwestern is among the most selective universities in the United States, and admissions are characterized as "most selective" by '' U.S. News & World Report''. Northwestern received a total of 47,633 applications for the Class of 2025 and admitted 3,239 students for an acceptance rate of 6.8%. For the Class of 2023, the interquartile range (middle 50%) on the post-2016 SAT was a combined (verbal and math) 1450-1550 out of 1600. ACT composite scores for the middle 50% ranged from 33 to 35 out of 36, and 92% ranked in the top ten percent of their respective high school classes. In April 2016, Northwestern became one of 15 Illinois universities to sign on to the Chicago Star Partnership, a City Colleges initiative aimed at increasing opportunities for students in the city's public school district. Through this partnership, the university provides scholarships to students who "graduate from Chicago Public Schools, get their associate degree from one of the city's community colleges, and then get admitted to a bachelor's degree program." Despite having one of the lowest acceptance rates in the United States, Northwestern, among other prestigious colleges such as Vanderbilt, has come under scrutiny for "artificial deflation" of their acceptance rate, with more than 50% of the class being accepted in the binding Early Decision round.


Education and rankings

Northwestern is a large, residential
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
, and is frequently ranked among the top universities in the United States. The university is a leading institution in the fields of materials engineering, chemistry, business, economics, education, journalism, and communications. It is also prominent in law and medicine. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the respective national professional organizations for chemistry, psychology, business, education, journalism, music, engineering, law, and medicine, the university offers 124 undergraduate programs and 145 graduate and professional programs. Northwestern conferred 2,190 bachelor's degrees, 3,272 master's degrees, 565 doctoral degrees, and 444 professional degrees in 2012–2013. Since 1951, Northwestern has awarded 520 honorary degrees. Northwestern also has chapters of academic honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa (Alpha of Illinois), Eta Kappa Nu,
Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...
, Eta Sigma Phi (Beta Chapter), Lambda Pi Eta, and Alpha Sigma Lambda (Alpha Chapter). Northwestern is known for its focus on interdisciplinary education, extensive research output, and collaborative student culture. The university provides instruction in over 200 formal academic concentrations, including various dual degree programs. The four-year, full-time undergraduate program comprises the majority of enrollments at the university. Although there is no university-wide core curriculum, a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences are required for all majors; individual degree requirements are set by the faculty of each school. The university heavily emphasizes interdisciplinary learning, with 72% of undergrads combining two or more areas of study. Northwestern's full-time undergraduate and graduate programs operate on an approximately 10-week academic quarter system with the academic year beginning in late September and ending in early June. Under the regular academic calendar, each quarter contains a four-day Reading Period in between the end of classes and the beginning of finals. Undergraduates typically take four courses each quarter and twelve courses in an academic year and are required to complete at least twelve quarters on campus to graduate. Northwestern offers honors, accelerated, and joint degree programs in medicine, science, mathematics, engineering, and journalism. The comprehensive doctoral graduate program has high coexistence with undergraduate programs. Despite being a mid-sized university, Northwestern maintains a relatively low student-to-faculty ratio of 6:1.


Research

Northwestern was elected to the
Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
in 1917 and is
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
as an R1 university, denoting "very high" research activity. Northwestern's schools of management, engineering, and communication are among the most academically productive in the nation. The university received $887.3 million in research funding in 2019 and houses over 90 school-based and 40 university-wide research institutes and centers. Northwestern also supports nearly 1,500 research laboratories across two campuses, predominantly in the medical and biological sciences. Northwestern is home to the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Northwestern Institute for Complex Systems, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, Materials Research Center, Center for Quantum Devices, Institute for Policy Research, International Institute for Nanotechnology, Center for Catalysis and Surface Science, Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies, the Initiative for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern, and the Argonne/Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center among other centers for interdisciplinary research.


Innovations and entrepreneurship

In 2013 alone, Northwestern researchers disclosed 247 inventions, filed 270 patent applications, received 81 foreign and US patents, started 12 companies, and generated $79.8 million in licensing revenue. The Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) has been involved in creating the Center for Developmental Therapeutics (CDT) and the Center for Device Development (CD2). Northwestern files hundreds of patents each year, ranking among the top 20 universities in the world in terms of U.S. utility patents. One of the university's most successful current patents is pregabalin, a synthesized organic molecule developed at the university by chemistry professor Richard Bruce Silverman (for whom Silverman Hall was named). It was ultimately marketed as
Lyrica Pregabalin, sold under the brand name Lyrica among others, is an anticonvulsant, analgesic and anxiolytic medication used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, restless leg syndrome, opioid withdrawal and generalized anxiety dis ...
, a drug sold by Pfizer, to combat epilepsy, neuropathic pain, and fibromyalgia. Northwestern has an extensive history of producing prominent businessmen and entrepreneurs. Notable companies founded by Northwestern alumni include Groupon, The Blackstone Group, Booz Allen Hamilton,
U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...
, Kirkland & Ellis, Guggenheim Partners,
Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
, Aon Corporation, and AQR Capital. The university also runs The Garage, and interdisciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship space and community for student-run startups.


Libraries and museums

The Northwestern library system consists of four libraries on the Evanston campus including the present main library, University Library, and the original library building, Deering Library; three libraries on the Chicago campus; and the library affiliated with Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. The University Library contains over 4.9 million volumes, 4.6 million microforms, and almost 99,000 periodicals. The University Library is the 22nd-largest university library in North America based on total number of titles held. Notable collections in the library system include the
Melville J. Herskovits Melville Jean Herskovits (September 10, 1895 – February 25, 1963) was an American anthropologist who helped to first establish African and African Diaspora studies in American academia. He is known for exploring the cultural continuity from Afr ...
Library of African Studies, the largest Africana collection in the world, an extensive collection of early edition printed music and manuscripts as well as late-modern works, and an art collection noted for its 19th and 20th-century Western art and architecture periodicals. The
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art The Block Museum of Art is a free public art museum located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The Block Museum was established in 1980 when Chicago art collectors Mary (daughter of Albert Lasker) and Leigh B. Block (f ...
, a major art museum in Chicago, contains more than 4,000 works in its permanent collection. It dedicates a third of its space to temporary and traveling exhibitions. The Holocaust Educational Foundation, which had previously endowed the Theodore Zev Weiss – Holocaust Educational Foundation Professorship in Holocaust Studies, became part of Northwestern in 2011. Northwestern, along with 15 other universities, participates in digitizing its collections as part of the Google Book Search project.


Student life


Student body

Northwestern enrolled 8,186 full-time undergraduates, 9,904 full-time graduates, and 3,856 part-time students in the 2019–2020 academic year. The freshman retention rate for that year was 98%. 86% of students graduated after four years and 92% graduated after five years. These numbers can largely be attributed to the university's various specialized degree programs, such as those that allow students to earn master's degrees with a one or two-year extension of their undergraduate program. The undergraduate population is drawn from all 50 states and over 75 foreign countries. 20% of students in the Class of 2024 were Pell Grant recipients and 12.56% were first-generation college students. Northwestern also enrolls the 9th-most
National Merit Scholars The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...
of any university in the nation. In Fall 2014, 40.6% of undergraduate students were enrolled in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, 21.3% in the
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Established in 1909, the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of twelve constituent schools at Northwestern University. Most engineering classes are held in the Northwestern Technological Institute, Technological I ...
, 14.3% in the School of Communication, 11.7% in the
Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...
, 5.7% in the
Bienen School of Music The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music is the music and performance arts school of Northwestern University. It is located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, United States. The school was previously known as the North ...
, and 6.4% in the School of Education and Social Policy. The five most commonly awarded undergraduate degrees are economics, journalism, communication studies, psychology, and political science. The
Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...
's MBA, the School of Law's JD, and the
Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree p ...
's MD are the three largest professional degree programs by enrollment. With 2,446 students enrolled in science, engineering, and health fields, the largest graduate programs by enrollment include chemistry, integrated biology, material sciences, electrical and computer engineering, neuroscience, and economics.


Undergraduate housing

Northwestern offers both traditional residence halls and residential colleges for students who share a particular intellectual interest. The residential colleges include Ayers College of Commerce and Industry,
Chapin Hall Chapin Hall (July 12, 1816 – September 12, 1879) was a Republican United States Representative from Pennsylvania. He served as Representative from 1859 until 1861. Biographer Chapin Hall was born in Busti, New York. He attended the c ...
(Humanities), East Fairchild (Communications), Hobart House (Women's), Jones Residential College (Fine and Performing Arts), the Public Affairs Residential College, the Residential College of Cultural and Community Studies, Shepard Residential College (multi-thematic), Slivka Residential College for Science and Engineering, West Fairchild (International Studies), and Willard Residential College (multi-thematic). Residence halls include Allison Hall, Bobb-McCulloch, Elder Hall, Foster-Walker Complex (commonly referred to as Plex), Rogers House, and Shapiro Hall (formerly known as 560 Lincoln) among others. An estimated 20% of undergraduates are affiliated with a
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
or sorority. Northwestern recognizes 21 fraternities and 18 sororities.


Athletics

Northwestern is a charter member of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. It is the conference's only private university and possesses the smallest undergraduate enrollment (the next-smallest member, the University of Iowa, is roughly three times as large, with almost 22,000 undergraduates). Northwestern fields 19 intercollegiate athletic teams (8 men's and 11 women's) in addition to numerous club sports. 12 of Northwestern's varsity programs have had NCAA or bowl postseason appearances. Northwestern is one of five private AAU members to compete in NCAA Power Five conferences (the other four are Duke,
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
,
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
, and Vanderbilt) and maintains a 98% NCAA Graduation Success Rate, the highest among Football Bowl Subdivision schools. In 2018, the school opened the Walter Athletics Center, a $270 million state-of-the-art lakefront facility for its athletics teams.


Nickname and mascot

Before 1924, Northwestern teams were known as "The Purple" and unofficially as "The Fighting Methodists." The name Wildcats was bestowed upon the university in 1924 by Wallace Abbey, a writer for the Chicago Daily Tribune, who wrote that even in a loss to the University of Chicago, "Football players had not come down from Evanston; wildcats would be a name better suited to oach Glenn Thistletwaite's boys." The name was so popular that university board members made "Wildcats" the official nickname just months later. In 1972, the student body voted to change the official nickname to "Purple Haze," but the new name never stuck. The mascot of Northwestern Athletics is Willie the Wildcat. Prior to Willie, the team mascot had been a live, caged bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo named Furpaw, who was brought to the playing field on game days to greet the fans. After a losing season, the team decided that Furpaw was to blame for its misfortune and decided to select a new mascot. Willie the Wildcat made his debut in 1933, first as a logo and then in three dimensions in 1947, when members of the Alpha Delta fraternity dressed as wildcats during a Homecoming Parade.


Lacrosse

The women's lacrosse team holds several scoring records and was undefeated in 2005 and 2009, winning five consecutive
NCAA national championships Listed below are the colleges or universities with the most NCAA Division I-sanctioned team championships, individual championships, and combined team and individual championships, as documented by information published on official NCAA websites. ...
during those years. It also won NCAA championships in 2011 and 2012, giving them a total of 7 NCAA championships in 8 years.


Football

Northwestern's football team has made 73 appearances in the top 10 of the AP poll since 1936 (including 5 at #1) and has won eight Big Ten conference championships since 1903. At one time, Northwestern had the longest losing streak in Division I-A, losing 34 consecutive games between 1979 and 1982. They did not appear in a bowl game after 1949 until the
1996 Rose Bowl The 1996 Rose Bowl was the 82nd Rose Bowl Game. It was the 50th game in the series featuring the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference. The USC Trojans defeated the Northwestern Wildcats, 41–32, on the strength of two touchdown passes ...
. The team did not win a bowl since the
1949 Rose Bowl The 1949 Rose Bowl was the 35th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Saturday, January 1. The seventh-ranked Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Nine Conference defeated the #4 California Gold ...
until the
2013 Gator Bowl The 2013 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on January 1, 2013, at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida in the United States. The 68th edition of the Gator Bowl began at noon EST and aired on ES ...
. Following the sudden death of football coach Randy Walker in 2006, 31-year-old former All-American Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald assumed the position, becoming the youngest Division I FBS coach at the time.


Basketball

The
Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
named the men's basketball team the 1931 National Champion. In 2017, the men's basketball team earned an NCAA berth for the first time in the program's history. They won their first-round matchup against Vanderbilt University but lost to number-one seed Gonzaga in the second round. In 1998, two former Northwestern basketball players were charged and convicted for sports bribery, having been paid to shave points in games against three other Big Ten schools during the 1995 season. The football team became embroiled in a different betting scandal later that year when federal prosecutors indicted four former players for perjury related to betting on their own games. In August 2001, Rashidi Wheeler, a senior safety, collapsed and died during practice from an
asthma attack Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
. An autopsy revealed that he had ephedrine, a
stimulant Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...
banned by the NCAA, in his system, which prompted Northwestern to investigate the prevalence of stimulants and other banned substances across all of its athletic programs. In 2006, the Northwestern women's
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team was suspended and coach Jenny Haigh resigned following the release of images of alleged
hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
.


Traditions

* Northwestern's official motto, "''Quaecumque sunt vera''," was adopted by the university in 1890. The Latin phrase translates to "Whatsoever things are true" and comes from the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians (), in which St. Paul admonishes the Christians in the Greek city of Philippi. In addition to this motto, the university crest features a Greek phrase taken from the Gospel of John inscribed on the pages of an open book, ''ήρης χάριτος και αληθείας'' or "the word full of grace and truth" (). * "Alma Mater" is the Northwestern Hymn. The original Latin version of the hymn was written in 1907 by Peter Christian Lutkin, the first dean of the School of Music from 1883 to 1931. In 1953, then Director-of-Bands John Paynter recruited an undergraduate music student, Thomas Tyra ('54), to write an English version of the song, which today is performed by the Marching Band during halftime at Wildcat football games and by the orchestra during ceremonies and other special occasions. * Purple became Northwestern's official color in 1892, replacing black and gold after a university committee concluded that too many other universities had used these colors. Today, Northwestern's official color is purple, although white is something of an official color as well, being mentioned in both the university's earliest song, ''Alma Mater'' (1907) ("Hail to purple, hail to white") and in many university guidelines. * The Rock, a 6-foot high quartzite boulder donated by the Class of 1902, originally served as a water fountain. It was painted over by students in the 1940s as a prank and has since become a popular vehicle of self-expression on campus. *
Dillo Day Dillo Day is an annual all-day music festival at Northwestern University that takes place at the end of spring quarter on the Lakefill. Started in the 1972/73 school year, it is organized by Mayfest Productions, a Northwestern student group, and ...
is the largest student-run music festival in the nation, hosted annually on the Lakefill. The festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022. * ''Primal Scream'' is held every quarter at 9 p.m. on the Sunday before finals week. Students lean out of windows or gather in courtyards and scream to help relieve stress. * In the past, students would throw marshmallows during
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
games, but this tradition has since been discontinued.


Philanthropy

One of Northwestern's most notable student charity events is
Dance Marathon Dance marathons (or marathon dances) are events in which people dance or walk to music for an extended period of time. They started as dance contests in the 1920s and developed into entertainment events during the Great Depression in the 1930s. ...
, the most established and largest student-run philanthropy in the nation. The annual 30-hour event is among the most widely attended events on campus. It has raised over $1 million for charity every year since 2011 and has donated a total of $13 million to children's charities since its conception. The Northwestern Community Development Corps (NCDC) is a student-run organization that connects hundreds of student volunteers to community development projects in Evanston and Chicago throughout the year. The group also holds a number of annual community events, including Project Pumpkin, a
Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
celebration that provides over 800 local children with carnival events and a safe venue to trick-or-treat each year. Many Northwestern students participate in the Freshman Urban Program, an initiative for students interested in community service to work on addressing social issues facing the city of Chicago, and the university's Global Engagement Studies Institute (GESI) programs, including group service-learning expeditions in Asia, Africa, or Latin America in conjunction with the Foundation for Sustainable Development. Several international nongovernmental organizations were established at Northwestern, including the World Health Imaging, Informatics and Telemedicine Alliance, a spin-off from an engineering student's honors thesis.


Performing arts

Northwestern is a prolific producer of successful entertainers and a nationally reputed hub for collegiate performing arts. The Student Theatre Coalition, or StuCo, organizes nine student theater companies, multiple performance groups, and over sixty independent productions each year. The two most notable productions are
The Waa-Mu Show The Waa-Mu Show (pronounced ) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization within Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, that produces student written, orchestrated, produced, and performed original musical theatre work every year. The song lyr ...
, an original musical written and produced entirely by students, and the Dolphin show. Children's theater is represented on campus by Griffin's Tale and Purple Crayon Players. Chicago's renowned Lookingglass Theatre Company, which began life in the Great Room of Jones Residential College, was founded in 1988 by several university alumni, including David Schwimmer. It received the Regional Tony Award in 2011 and has won over 45 Joseph Jefferson Awards in its 30 Seasons. The undergraduate students maintain twelve
a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
groups, including THUNK a cappella, the Northwestern Undertones, Freshman Fifteen A Cappella, ShireiNU A Cappella, and Purple Haze.


Media


Print

* Established in 1881, '' The Daily Northwestern'' is the university's main student newspaper and is published on weekdays during the academic year. It is directed entirely by undergraduate students and owned by the Students Publishing Company. Although it serves the Northwestern community, the ''Daily'' has no business ties to the university and is supported wholly by advertisers. * ''
North by Northwestern ''North by Northwestern'' is a daily online news magazine at Northwestern University, started in September 2006 by students at the Medill School of Journalism. It is noted for its multimedia coverage of campus events. In 2008, the site was recog ...
'' is an online undergraduate magazine established in September 2006 by students at the Medill School of Journalism. Published on weekdays, it consists of updates on news stories and special events throughout the year. It also publishes a quarterly print magazine. * ''Syllabus'' is the university's undergraduate yearbook. It is distributed in late May and features a culmination of the year's events at Northwestern. First published in 1885, the yearbook is published by Students Publishing Company and edited by Northwestern students. * ''Northwestern Flipside'' is an undergraduate satirical magazine. Founded in 2009, it publishes a weekly issue both in print and online. * ''Helicon'' is the university's undergraduate literary magazine. Established in 1979, it is published twice a year: a web issue is released in the winter and a print issue with a web complement is released in the spring. * ''The Protest'' is Northwestern's quarterly social justice magazine. * The Northwestern division of Student Multicultural Affairs supports a number of publications for particular cultural groups including ''Ahora,'' a magazine about Hispanic and Latino/a culture and campus life; ''Al Bayan'', published by the Northwestern Muslim-cultural Student Association; ''BlackBoard Magazine'', a magazine centered around African-American student life; and ''NUAsian,'' a magazine and blog on Asian and Asian-American culture and issues. * The '' Northwestern University Law Review'' is a scholarly legal publication and student organization at Northwestern University School of Law. Its primary purpose is to publish a journal of broad legal scholarship. The ''Law Review'' publishes six issues each year. Student editors make the editorial and organizational decisions and select articles submitted by professors, judges, and practitioners, as well as student pieces. The ''Law Review'' also publishes scholarly pieces weekly on the ''
Colloquy Colloquy may refer to: * Colloquy (religious), a meeting to settle differences of doctrine or dogma * Colloquy (company), a loyalty marketing company based in Milford, Ohio * Colloquy (law), a legal term * Colloquy (IRC client), an IRC client for ...
''. * The '' Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property'' is a law review published by an independent student organization at Northwestern University School of Law. * The ''Northwestern Interdisciplinary Law Review'' is a scholarly legal publication published annually by an editorial board of Northwestern undergraduates. Its mission is to publish interdisciplinary legal research, drawing from fields such as history, literature, economics, philosophy, and art. Founded in 2008, the journal features articles by professors, law students, practitioners, and undergraduates. It is funded by the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies and the Office of the Provost.


Web-based

* Established in January 2011, Sherman Ave is a satirical website that often publishes content on Northwestern student life. Most of its staff writers are current Northwestern undergraduates writing under various pseudonyms. The website is popular among students for its interviews of prominent campus figures, "Freshman Guide", and live-tweeting coverage of football games. In Fall 2012, the website promoted a satiric campaign to end the Vanderbilt University football team's custom of clubbing baby seals. * Politics & Policy is dedicated to the analysis of current events and public policy. Established in 2010 by students at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, School of Communication, and Medill School of Journalism, the publication reaches students on more than 250 college campuses around the world. Run entirely by undergraduates, it is published several times a week and features material ranging from short summaries of events to extended research pieces. The publication is financed in part by the Buffett Center. * ''Northwestern Business Review'' is a campus source for business news. Founded in 2005, it has an online presence as well as a quarterly print schedule. * ''TriQuarterly Online'' (formerly '' TriQuarterly'') is a literary magazine published twice a year featuring poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, literary essays, reviews, blog posts, and art. * ''The Queer Reader'' is Northwestern's first radical feminist and LGBTQ+ publication.


Radio, film, and television

* WNUR (89.3 FM) is a 7,200-watt radio station that broadcasts to the city of Chicago and its northern suburbs. WNUR's programming consists of music (jazz, classical, and rock), literature, politics, current events, varsity sports (football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, and women's lacrosse), and breaking news on weekdays. * Studio 22 is a student-run production company that produces roughly ten films each year. The organization financed the first film Zach Braff directed, and many of its films have featured students who would later go into professional acting, including Zach Gilford of '' Friday Night Lights''. * ''Applause for a Cause'' is currently the only student-run production company in the nation to create feature-length films for charity. It was founded in 2010 and has raised over $5,000 to date for various local and national organizations across the United States. * ''Northwestern News Network'' is a student television news and sports network, serving the Northwestern and Evanston communities. Its studios and newsroom are located on the fourth floor of the McCormick Tribune Center on Northwestern's Evanston campus. NNN is funded by the Medill School of Journalism.


Speech and debate

The Northwestern Debate Society has won fifteen National Debate Tournaments, the highest number of any university. Notable alumni of the society include
Erwin Chemerinsky Erwin Chemerinsky (born May 14, 1953) is an American legal scholar known for his studies of United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure. Since 2017, Chemerinsky has been the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. Previously, he a ...
, legal scholar and Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law, and Elliot Mincberg of People For the American Way. Northwestern's Mock Trial team had two teams qualify for the 2018 National Championship Tournament hosted by the American Mock Trial Association, making Northwestern one of seven schools in the nation to be represented by multiple teams at the competition. One of the two teams finished 9th in their division and is ranked 20th in the country out of roughly 750 teams for the 2018–2019 season.


People


Alumni

File:Harold Washington (9519692588).jpg, Harold Washington, first Black mayor of Chicago (JD, 1952) File:US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens - 1976 official portrait.jpg,
John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (JD, 1947) File:Robert Todd Lincoln - Harris and Ewing.jpg, Robert Todd Lincoln, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom; 35th U.S. Secretary of War (LLB, 1866) File:Gwynne Shotwell at 2018 Commercial Crew announcement.jpg, Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...
(BS, 1986; MS, 1988) File:GRRM 2011 Shankbone.JPG, George R. R. Martin, author of '' A Game of Thrones'' (BS, 1970; MS, 1971) File:Ginni Rometty at the Fortune MPW Summit in 2011.jpg, Ginni Rometty, president and CEO of IBM (BS, 1979) File:William Jennings Bryan, 1860-1925.jpg, William Jennings Bryan, 41st U.S. Secretary of State (LLB, 1883) File:Saul Bellow (Herzog portrait) (cropped).jpg, Saul Bellow, Nobel Prize-winning novelist (BA, 1937) File:Stephen Colbert December 2019.jpg, Stephen Colbert,
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning comedian (BS, 1986) File:Ingvar Carlsson på Idrottsgalan 2013.jpg, Ingvar Carlsson, 29th prime minister of Sweden (C1961) File:Charles Horace Mayo 3.jpg, Charles Horace Mayo, founder of the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
(MD, 1888) File:Cheddi Jagan Anefo.jpg, Cheddi Jagan, 4th president and Father of the Nation of
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
(BS, 1942; DDS, 1942) File:Claudia López.png, Claudia López Hernández, first LGBT mayor of Bogotá, Colombia (PhD, 2019) File:Informal meeting of ministers responsible for development (FAC). Arrivals Alexander De Croo (36766610160) (cropped2).jpg, Alexander De Croo, 71st prime minister of Belgium (MBA, 2004) File:Ali Babacan - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 crop.jpg,
Ali Babacan Ali Babacan (; born 4 April 1967) is a Turkish politician, economist, and engineer. He is the founder and current leader of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA). He served 13 years as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Economy, Chief ...
, deputy prime minister of Turkey (MBA, 1992) File:Charlie Baker official photo.jpg, Charlie Baker, 72nd governor of Massachusetts (MBA, 1991) File:Arthur Goldberg (1971).jpg, Arthur Goldberg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice; 6th
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...
(BS, 1929; JD, 1930) File:PeterGeorgePeterson.jpg, Peter G. Peterson, 20th U.S. Secretary of Commerce; founder of The Blackstone Group (BA, 1947) File:CharltonHestonCivilRightsMarch1963Retouched.jpg,
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
, Academy Award-winning actor (BS, 1945) File:Warren Beatty.jpg, Warren Beatty, Academy Award-winning actor, writer and director (C1959) File:Meghan Markle - 2018 (cropped).jpg,
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...
, member of British royal family and former actress (BA, 2003) File:Edward J. Weiler in 2009.jpg,
Edward Weiler Edward J. Weiler (born 1949) was the Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration until his retirement on September 30, 2011. Career Edward J. Weiler received his PhD in as ...
, director of NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...
(BA, 1971; MS, 1973; PhD, 1976) File:Julia Louis-Dreyfus VF 2012 Shankbone 3.jpg, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning actress (C1982) File:Seth Meyers by Gage Skidmore.jpg,
Seth Meyers Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NBC ...
, host of ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...
'' (BS, 1996) File:"Hidden Figures" Screening at NMAAHC (NHQ201612140033) (cropped).jpg,
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
, Grammy Award-winning rapper; Academy Award-nominated producer (C1995) File:David Schwimmer (5208598833).jpg, David Schwimmer,
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-nominated actor from ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' (BS, 1988) File:Dr. David J. Skorton (cropped).jpg, alt=David J. Skorton, 13th director of the Smithsonian Institution; 12th president of Cornell University,
David J. Skorton David Jan Skorton is an American physician and academic. He has been president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) since July 15, 2019. Prior to the AAMC, he led the Smithsonian Institution, the nat ...
, 13th director of the Smithsonian Institution; 12th president of Cornell University (BA, 1970; MD, 1974) File:John Musker 01.jpg,
John Musker John Edward Musker (born November 8, 1953) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He often collaborates with fellow director Ron Clements and is best known for writing and directing the Walt Disney Animation Studi ...
, writer, producer and director of Disney's '' The Little Mermaid'', ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'', '' Hercules'' and '' Moana'' (BA, 1975)
Northwestern alumni have included numerous prominent figures in journalism, government, literature, business, science, performing arts, education, and medicine. Among U.S. universities, Northwestern ranks eighth in the number of billionaires produced. Some of Northwestern's most notable alumni include U.S. Senator and presidential candidate
George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...
, Nobel Prize-winning economist George J. Stigler, Nobel Prize-winning novelist Saul Bellow, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and diarist Ned Rorem, decorated composer Howard Hanson, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
Ali Babacan Ali Babacan (; born 4 April 1967) is a Turkish politician, economist, and engineer. He is the founder and current leader of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA). He served 13 years as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Economy, Chief ...
, historian and novelist Wilma Dykeman, sociologist and adviser of
CEPAL The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...
Fernando Filgueira, and the founder of the presidential prayer breakfast
Abraham Vereide Abraham Vereide (October 7, 1886 – May 16, 1969) was a Norwegian-born American Methodist minister and founder of International Christian Leadership (ICL) group. Early life Abraham was born in the Vereide home in Gloppen in the Nordfjord dist ...
. U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice
John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
, Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations
Arthur Joseph Goldberg Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
, Chicago Mayor
Harold L. Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as may ...
, Governor of Illinois and Democratic presidential candidate
Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I (1835–1914), U.S. Vice President (1893–1897) and Congressman (1879–1881) * Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965), Governor of Illinois (1949–1953), U.S. presidential candida ...
, and former lawyer, Cincinnati mayor, news anchor, and current tabloid talk host Jerry Springer are among the graduates of the Northwestern School of Law. Northwestern alumnus
David J. Skorton David Jan Skorton is an American physician and academic. He has been president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) since July 15, 2019. Prior to the AAMC, he led the Smithsonian Institution, the nat ...
serves has been president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges since July 15, 2019 Northwestern's School of Communication is well known for producing successful actors, actresses, playwrights, and film and television writers and directors. Alumni who have made their mark on film and television include Ann-Margret, Warren Beatty, Jodie Markell, Paul Lynde, David Schwimmer,
Anne Dudek Anne Louise Dudek (born March 22, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Tiffany Wilson in the 2004 film ''White Chicks'', Danielle Brookson in the USA Network television series ''Covert Affairs'', Dr. Amber Volakis on the Fox ...
, Zach Braff, Zooey Deschanel, Marg Helgenberger, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...
(later known as the Duchess of Sussex), Jerry Orbach, Jennifer Jones,
Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...
, John Cameron Mitchell,
Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...
,
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
, Richard Kind, Ana Gasteyer, Brad Hall, Shelley Long, William Daniels, Cloris Leachman, Bonnie Bartlett, Paula Prentiss, Richard Benjamin, Laura Innes, Charles Busch, Stephanie March, Tony Roberts, Jeri Ryan, Kimberly Williams-Paisley,
McLean Stevenson Edgar "Mac" McLean Stevenson Jr. (November 14, 1927 – February 15, 1996) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake in the television series ''M*A*S*H'', which earned him a Golden Glob ...
, Tony Randall, Charlotte Rae, Patricia Neal, Tom Virtue, Nancy Dussault, Robert Reed, Mara Brock Akil, Greg Berlanti, Bill Nuss,
Dan Shor Daniel Shor (born November 16, 1956) is an American actor, director, writer, and acting teacher with a career spanning over 40 years. His most recognized roles include Enoch Emery in John Huston's ''Wise Blood'' (1979), Ram in ''Tron'' (1982), a ...
,
Seth Meyers Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NBC ...
,
Peter Spears Peter Spears (born November 29, 1965) is an American actor and filmmaker. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Overland Park, Kansas. Spears is best known for winning an Oscar for producing ''Nomadland'' at the 93rd Academy Awards ...
, Frank DeCaro, Zach Gilford, Nicole Sullivan, Stephen Colbert,
Billy Eichner Billy Eichner (; born September 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is the star, executive producer, and creator of Funny Or Die's ''Billy on the Street'', a comedy game show that aired on truTV. The show ea ...
, Sandra Seacat and Garry Marshall. Directors who were graduated from Northwestern include Gerald Freedman, Stuart Hagmann, Marshall W. Mason, Allison Burnett, Michael Greif, and Mary Zimmerman. Alumni such as Sheldon Harnick, Stephanie D'Abruzzo,
Heather Headley Heather Headley (born October 5, 1974) is a Trinidadian-born American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the titular role of ''Aida''. She also won the 2010 Grammy Aw ...
, Kristen Schaal, Lily Rabe, and Walter Kerr have distinguished themselves on Broadway, as has designer Bob Mackie. Amsterdam-based comedy theater Boom Chicago was founded by Northwestern alumni, and the school has become a training ground for future The Second City, I.O., ComedySportz, Mad TV and Saturday Night Live talent.
Tam Spiva Hubert Tamblyn "Tam" Spiva, Jr. (June 18, 1932 – April 30, 2017), was an American television screenwriter best known for his work on ''The Brady Bunch'' (ABC, 1969–74) and ''Gentle Ben'' (CBS, 1967–69). Biography Spiva was born in Minden, ...
wrote scripts for '' The Brady Bunch'' and '' Gentle Ben''. In New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, the number of Northwestern alumni involved in theater, film, and television is so large that the alumni have been dubbed the "Northwestern mafia." The
Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...
has produced notable journalists and political activists including 42
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
laureates. National correspondents, reporters and columnists such as ''The New York Times'' Elisabeth Bumiller, David Barstow, Dean Murphy, and Vincent Laforet, USA Today's Gary Levin, Susan Page and Christine Brennan, NBC correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, CBS correspondent Richard Threlkeld, CNN correspondent Nicole Lapin, former CNN and current Al Jazeera America anchor Joie Chen, sports broadcasting legend
Brent Musburger Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original members ...
, and ESPN personalities Rachel Nichols, Michael Wilbon, Mike Greenberg,
Steve Weissman Steve Weissman is an American sportscaster who joined ESPN in January 2010. He came to ESPN from Comcast Sportsnet (CSN) in California, where he served as the network's lead anchor. Before CSN, he worked at WNEM in Saginaw, Michigan, winnin ...
,
J. A. Adande J.A. Adande (; born October 25, 1970) is an American sportswriter, commentator and educator, who currently serves as the Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern University. Career Adande began his career as a sports columnist for the ''Lo ...
, and
Kevin Blackistone Kevin Blackistone (born October 17, 1959) is an American sports journalist and professor for Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, as well as a frequent panelist for ESPN's '' Around the Horn''. On radio, he appear ...
. The bestselling author of the
A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
series, George R. R. Martin, earned a B.S. and M.S. from Medill. Elisabeth Leamy is the recipient of 13
Emmy awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and four
Edward R. Murrow Awards The Edward R. Murrow Award may refer to one of several awards named after American journalist Edward R. Murrow: * Edward R. Murrow Award (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), given out to individuals in public radio since 1977 * Edward Murrow Awa ...
. The
Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree p ...
(previously the Northwestern University Medical School) has produced a number of notable graduates, including
Mary Harris Thompson Mary Harris Thompson, MD, (April 15, 1829May 21, 1895), was the founder, head physician and surgeon of the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children, renamed Mary Harris Thompson Hospital after her death in 1895. She was one of the first women t ...
, Class of 1870, ad eundem, first female surgeon in Chicago, first female surgeon at Cook County Hospital, and founder of the Mary Thomson Hospital;
Roswell Park Roswell Park (May 4, 1852 – February 15, 1914) was an American physician, best known for starting Gratwick Research Laboratory in 1898, which is now known as Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 1900, the Gratwick family of Buffalo help ...
, Class of 1876, prominent surgeon for whom Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, is named; Daniel Hale Williams, Class of 1883, performed the first successful American open heart surgery; only black charter member of the
American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913.American College of Surgeons Online "What is the American College of Surgeons?"/ref> See also *American College of Physicians The American College o ...
, Charles Horace Mayo, Class of 1888, co-founder of
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
; Carlos Montezuma, Class of 1889, one of the first Native Americans to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree from any school, and founder of the Society of American Indians; Howard T. Ricketts, Class of 1897, who discovered bacteria of the genus Rickettsia, and identified the cause and methods of transmission of rocky mountain spotted fever;
Allen B. Kanavel Allen B. Kanavel (1874, Sedgwick, Kansas – 1938 Pasadena, California) was an American surgeon remembered for describing Kanavel's sign. He graduated from the Northwestern University School of Medicine in 1899. He spent six months in Vienna, ...
, Class of 1899, founder, regent, and president of the American College of Surgeons, internationally recognized as the founder of modern hand and peripheral nerve surgery; Robert F. Furchgott, Class of 1940, recipient of a Lasker Award in 1996 and the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his co-discovery of
nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...
; Thomas E. Starzl, Class of 1952, who performed the first successful liver transplant in 1967 and received the National Medal of Science in 2004 and a Lasker Award in 2012;
Joseph P. Kerwin Joseph Peter Kerwin (born February 19, 1932) is an American physician and former NASA astronaut, who served as Science Pilot for the Skylab 2 mission from May 25 – June 22, 1973. He was the first physician to be selected for astronaut training ...
, first physician in space, flew on the Skylab 2 mission and later served as director of Space and Life Sciences at NASA; C. Richard Schlegel, Class of 1972, developed the dominant patent for a vaccine against human papillomavirus (administered as Gardasil) to prevent
cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...
;
David J. Skorton David Jan Skorton is an American physician and academic. He has been president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) since July 15, 2019. Prior to the AAMC, he led the Smithsonian Institution, the nat ...
, Class of 1974, cardiologist who became president of Cornell University in 2006; and Andrew E. Senyei, Class of 1979, inventor, venture capitalist, and entrepreneur, founder of biotech and genetics companies, and a university trustee. Northwestern alumni have founded notable companies and organizations such as the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
, The Blackstone Group, Kirkland & Ellis,
U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...
, Guggenheim Partners,
Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
, Aon Corporation, AQR Capital, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Melvin Capital. Northwestern alumni involved in music include Steve Albini, Thomas Tyra, Andrew Bird, Robert Davine, Joshua Radin, Frederick Swann, Augusta Read Thomas, Gil Trythall, members of Arcade Fire,
The Lawrence Arms The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively. Band history Pre-history Prior to forming the Lawrence Arms, the three band members were active i ...
,
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
, Chavez, Dawen, A Liang (Linton St) and
OK Go OK Go is an American rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion), and ...
. Northwestern alumni involved in athletics include Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, sprinter Betty Robinson, Rick Sund (NBA), Billy McKinney (NBA), Mark Loretta (MLB), Joe Girardi (MLB), Luis Castillo (NFL), Ernie Adams (NFL), Paddy Driscoll (NFL), Otto Graham (NFL),
Anthony Walker Jr. Anthony Laron Walker Jr. (born August 8, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Northwestern and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fif ...
(NFL),
Mike Adamle Michael David Adamle (born October 4, 1949) is a former American football player and sports broadcaster. Adamle was a sports anchor at other Chicago television stations, including WLS-TV from 1982 to 1989 before hosting '' American Gladiators'', ...
(NFL), Mike Kafka (NFL), Trevor Siemian (NFL), Greg Newsome II (NFL), Luke Johnsos (NFL), six-time Olympic medalist Matt Grevers, Irv Cross (NFL) and PGA Tour star
Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour. Donald had an outstanding year in 2011, winnin ...
.


Faculty

The university employs 3,781 faculty members across its eleven schools, including 18 members of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, 65 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 19 members of the National Academy of Engineering, and 6 members of the
Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...
. Notable faculty include 2010 Nobel Prize–winning economist Dale T. Mortensen; nano-scientists Chad Mirkin and
Samuel I. Stupp Samuel I. Stupp (b. Jan. 9, 1951 in San José, Costa Rica), is a Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science, Chemistry, and Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. He is best known for his work on self-assembling materials and ...
; Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering winner
Manijeh Razeghi Manijeh Razeghi is an Iranian-American scientist in the fields of semiconductors and optoelectronic devices. She is a pioneer in modern epitaxial techniques for semiconductors such as low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), ...
; Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman; management expert Philip Kotler; King Faisal International Prize in Science recipient and Nobel laureate Sir Fraser Stoddart;
Steppenwolf Theatre Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on H ...
director Anna Shapiro; sexual psychologist J. Michael Bailey; Federalist Society co-founder
Steven Calabresi Steven Gow Calabresi (born 1958) is an American legal scholar and the Clayton J. and Henry R. Barber Professor of Law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is the co-chairman of the Federalist Society. He is the nephew of Guido C ...
; former
Weatherman Weatherman or Weather man may refer to: Professions or roles * Weatherman, a member of Weather Underground, an American left-wing organization active 1969–1977 * Weather forecaster, a scientist who forecasts the weather * Weather presenter, ...
Bernardine Rae Dohrn; ethnographer Gary Alan Fine;
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
–winning historian Garry Wills; American Academy of Arts and Sciences fellow
Monica Olvera de la Cruz Monica Olvera de la Cruz is a Mexican born, American and French soft-matter theorist who is the Lawyer Taylor Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemistry, and by courtesy Professor of Physics and Astronomy and of Ch ...
and MacArthur Fellowship recipients Stuart Dybek,
Jennifer Richeson Jennifer A. Richeson (born September 12, 1972) is an American social psychologist who studies racial identity and interracial interactions. She is currently the Philip R. Allen Professor of Psychology at Yale University where she heads the Socia ...
, Amy Rosenzweig,
John A. Rogers John A. Rogers (born August 24, 1967) is a physical chemist and a materials scientist. He is currently the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurological Surgery at N ...
, Mark Hersam,
William Dichtel William Dichtel (born 1978, Houston, Texas) is the Robert L. Letsinger Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University and a 2015 MacArthur Fellow who has helped pioneer the development of porous polymers known as covalent organic frameworks. ...
, and Dylan Penningroth. The faculty also includes Holocaust denier
Arthur Butz Arthur R. Butz is an associate professor of electrical engineering at Northwestern University and a Holocaust denier, best known as the author of the pseudohistorical book ''The Hoax of the Twentieth Century''. He achieved tenure in 1974 and curr ...
and Richard Bruce Silverman, inventor of Lyrica ( Pregabalin). Notable former faculty include political advisor David Axelrod, artists
William Conger William Conger (born 1937) is a Chicago-based, American painter and educator, known for a dynamic, subjective style of abstraction descended from Kandinsky, which consciously employs illogical, illusionistic space and light and ambiguous forms t ...
,
Judy Ledgerwood Judy Ledgerwood (born 1959) is an American Abstract art, abstract painter and educator, who has been based in Chicago.Waspe, Roland, and Philip Vanderhyden''Judy Ledgerwood'' Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2019. Her ...
, Ed Paschke, and James Valerio, writer Charles Newman, Nobel Prize–winning chemist John Pople, and military sociologist and " don't ask, don't tell" author Charles Moskos.


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

; Work cited *


Further reading

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External links

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Official athletics website
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"Chicago Dance History Project / Interviews with Dancers connected to Northwestern University"
{{coord, 42.0548, -87.6739, region:US_type:edu, display=title Educational institutions established in 1851 Education in Evanston, Illinois Universities and colleges in Chicago Tourist attractions in Evanston, Illinois 1851 establishments in Illinois Universities and colleges affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church Private universities and colleges in Illinois