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Northwestern University is a private research university 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, ...
. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chartered by the Illinois General Assembly in 1851, Northwestern was established to serve the former Northwest Territory. The university was initially affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church but later became non-sectarian. 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 Pritzker School of Law, 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, 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 lies along the shores of Lake Michigan 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 ski ...
schools, along with Northwestern Memorial Hospital, are located in Chicago's Streeterville 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 (pro ...
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 coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, and Washington, D.C. 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 The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern ...
represent the university to compete in the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
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 Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
have included numerous
heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
, 2 Fields Medalists, 23
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureates, 43 Pulitzer Prize winners, 23 MacArthur Fellows, 28
Marshall Scholars The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...
, 94 members of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, 19 Rhodes Scholars, 10 living billionaires, and 24
Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...
ists.


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 Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
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. On January 28, 1851, the Illinois General Assembly 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 before launching their first organizational meeting. Although they affiliated the university with the Methodist Episcopal Church, 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 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, ...
. 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 merged with Northwestern, and
Frances Willard Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1879 an ...
, who later gained fame as a suffragette 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 :''This is a list of residential buildings at Northwestern University; for a list of other buildings see'' List of Northwestern University buildings This list of Northwestern University residences catalogues the on-campus housing options for th ...
, 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 Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Under Walter Dill Scott's presidency from 1920 to 1939, Northwestern began construction of an integrated campus in Chicago designed by James Gamble Rogers, noted for his design of the
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
campus, to house the professional schools. The university also established the Kellogg School of Management and built several prominent buildings on the Evanston campus, including
Dyche Stadium Ryan Field is a stadium in the central United States, located in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. Near the campus of Northwestern University, it is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Northwestern Wi ...
, now named Ryan Field, and
Deering Library Charles Deering Library is an academic library of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Deering served as the university's main library on the Evanston campus from 1933, when it was established, until the co ...
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 (NROTC). In 1939, Northwestern hosted the first-ever NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game in the original
Patten Gymnasium Patten Gymnasium is the name of two multi-purpose gymnasiums (one past and one present) in Evanston, Illinois, United States, on the campus of Northwestern University. The original building, designed by George Washington Maher, opened in 1910 and ...
, which was later demolished and relocated farther north, along with the
Dearborn Observatory The Dearborn Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University. The observatory was originally constructed in 1888, through an agreement between the university and the Chicago Astronomical Socie ...
, to make room for the Technological Institute. After the golden years of the 1920s, the Great Depression in the United States (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 Robert Maynard Hutchins (January 17, 1899 – May 14, 1977) was an American educational philosopher. He was president (1929–1945) and chancellor (1945–1951) of the University of Chicago, and earlier dean of Yale Law School (1927–1929). His& ...
, president of the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, 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, 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 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(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 John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
. Northwestern's existing NROTC 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 of the Midwest." Franklyn B. Snyder 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 founded the Program of
African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...
at Northwestern, the first center of its kind at an American academic institution. J. Roscoe Miller's tenure as president from 1949 to 1970 saw an expansion of the Evanston campus, with the construction of the Lakefill on Lake Michigan, growth of the faculty and new academic programs, and polarizing Vietnam-era student protests. In 1978, the first and second
Unabomber Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...
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 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'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 George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...
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 Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
delivered a seminal economics speech at the Evanston campus. In 2015,
Queen Máxima Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...
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 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.


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 Sheridan Road is a major north-south street that leads from Diversey Parkway in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the easternmost north-south through street, closest ...
. North Campus is home to the fraternity quads, athletics facilities including the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Norris Aquatics Center, the Technological Institute,
Dearborn Observatory The Dearborn Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University. The observatory was originally constructed in 1888, through an agreement between the university and the Chicago Astronomical Socie ...
, 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 Pick-Staiger Concert Hall is a concert hall on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The hall was donated by hotel executive Albert Pick Jr. and his brother-in-law Charles Staiger, and named for Corinne Frada Pick, Pick's ...
, the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, and the
sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
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 include University Library, the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, the Regenstein Hall of Music, Norris University Center (the student union), the Kellogg School of Management Global Hub, and various athletics facilities. The
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...
's
elevated train An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...
running through Evanston is called the Purple Line, taking its name from Northwestern's school color. The Foster and Davis stations are within walking distance of the southern end of the campus, while the Noyes station is close to the northern end of the campus. The Central station is close to Ryan Field, 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 neighborhood near Lake Michigan. The Chicago campus is home to the nationally ranked Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the medical school, the law school, the part-time
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
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 Chicago Avenue is a major east–west street in Chicago, Illinois that runs at 800 north from 385 east to 5968 west in the Chicago street address system from which point it enters the suburbs and goes into several different suburban address ...
and Lake Shore Drive for $1.5 million in 1920. Architect James Gamble Rogers was commissioned to create a master plan for the principal buildings on the new campus, which he designed in collegiate gothic 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 in the United States. In addition to the Ward Building, Rogers designed Wieboldt Hall to house facilities for the School of Commerce 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 Prentice Women's Hospital is an acute care women's hospital located adjacent to both Northwestern Memorial and the Lurie Children's Hospital, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Prentice Women's Hospital is a member of Northwestern Medicine and ...
. 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 Education City is a development in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Developed by the Qatar Foundation, the property houses various educational facilities, including satellite campuses of eight international universities. History Education City was launched b ...
,
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
,
Qatar 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 ...
, joining five other American universities: Carnegie Mellon University,
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, Georgetown University,
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, 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 degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
s 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 Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
and strict limits on journalistic and academic freedoms. The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, a private charitable institution founded by former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani 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, which is composed of 70 members and, , has been chaired by
William A. Osborn William A. Osborn (born 1947) is an American bank executive. William A. Osborn was graduated from Northwestern University in 1969, and from its Kellogg School of Management in 1973. He joined Northern Trust in 1970, and spent the rest of his car ...
'69. The board delegates its power to an elected president who serves as the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
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 (sponsored by the EPA) listed Northwestern as one of the top 10 universities in the country in purchasing energy from renewable sources. The university matches 74 million kilowatt hours (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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, 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, 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 Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
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 degree A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditatio ...
s in 2012–2013. Since 1951, Northwestern has awarded 520
honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
. Northwestern also has chapters of academic honor societies such as
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
(Alpha of Illinois), Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Sigma Phi (Beta Chapter),
Lambda Pi Eta Lambda Pi Eta () is the official Communication Studies honor society of the National Communication Association (NCA). As a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS), Lambda Pi Eta has more than 500 active chapters at four-year co ...
, 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 A double degree program, sometimes called a dual degree, combined degree, conjoint degree, joint degree or double graduation program, involves a student's working for two university degrees in parallel—either at the same institution or at diffe ...
programs. The four-year, full-time undergraduate program comprises the majority of enrollments at the university. Although there is no university-wide
core curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
, 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 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, 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 Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
include
Groupon Groupon is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Based in Chicago, Groupon was launched there in November 2008, launching soon af ...
, The Blackstone Group,
Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...
, U.S. Steel,
Kirkland & Ellis Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys, and was the first la ...
, Guggenheim Partners, Accenture,
Aon Corporation Aon PLC () is a British-American multinational financial services firm that sells a range of risk-mitigation products, including Commercial Risk, Investment, Wealth and Reinsurance solutions, as well as boutique strategy consulting through Aon ...
, and AQR Capital. The university also runs The Garage, and interdisciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship space and community for student-run
startups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
.


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 Charles Deering Library is an academic library of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Deering served as the university's main library on the Evanston campus from 1933, when it was established, until the co ...
; 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
periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...
s. 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 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, 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 A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled i ...
recipients and 12.56% were first-generation college students. Northwestern also enrolls the 9th-most National Merit Scholars 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, 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's
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
, the
School of Law 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, l ...
'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 A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditatio ...
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 (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 :''This is a list of residential buildings at Northwestern University; for a list of other buildings see'' List of Northwestern University buildings This list of Northwestern University residences catalogues the on-campus housing options for th ...
(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 or
sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
. 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 The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
, 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, USC, 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 The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...
, who wrote that even in a loss to the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, "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 Lincoln Park Zoo, also known as Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens, is a zoo in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it the fourth oldest zoo in North America. It is also one of a few free admission zoos in the Unit ...
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 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. Following the sudden death of football coach Randy Walker in 2006, 31-year-old former All-American Northwestern
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
Pat Fitzgerald Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is the current head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team. He was selected after the unexpected death of Randy Walker and announced at a press conference on July 7, 2 ...
assumed the position, becoming the youngest Division I FBS coach at the time.


Basketball

The Helms Athletic Foundation named the men's
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
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 A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...
became embroiled in a different betting scandal later that year when federal prosecutors indicted four former players for perjury related to
betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...
on their own games. In August 2001, Rashidi Wheeler, a senior safety, collapsed and died during practice from an asthma attack. An autopsy revealed that he had
ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...
, a stimulant banned by the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, 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 team was suspended and coach Jenny Haigh resigned following the release of images of alleged hazing.


Traditions

* Northwestern's official motto, "''Quaecumque sunt vera''," was adopted by the university in 1890. The
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
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 The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
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 Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, ...
became Northwestern's official color in 1892, replacing
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
and
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
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 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 games, but this tradition has since been discontinued.


Philanthropy

One of Northwestern's most notable student charity events is Dance Marathon, 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 celebration that provides over 800 local children with carnival events and a safe venue to
trick-or-treat Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...
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 Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable. Honor or Honour may also refer to: People * Honor (given name), a unisex given name * Brian Honour (born 1964), English footballer and manager * Gareth Honor (born 1979 ...
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, 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 Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit theater company in Chicago, Illinois. History Lookingglass was founded in 1988 by David Schwimmer, David Catlin, Eva Barr, Thom Cox, Lawrence DiStasi, Joy Gregory, David Kersnar, and Andy White. The co ...
, which began life in the Great Room of Jones Residential College, was founded in 1988 by several university alumni, including
David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...
. 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 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 ''The Daily Northwestern'' is the student newspaper at Northwestern University which is published in print on Mondays and Thursdays and online daily during the academic year. Founded in 1881, and printed in Evanston, Illinois, it is staffed primar ...
'' 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'' 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 The ''Northwestern University Law Review'' is a law review and student organization at Northwestern University School of Law. The ''Law Review''s primary purpose is to publish a journal of broad legal scholarship. The ''Law Review'' publishes s ...
'' is a scholarly legal publication and student organization at
Northwestern University 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 s ...
. 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''. * The ''
Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property The ''Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property'' is a law review published by an independent student organization at Northwestern University School of Law. Overview The ''Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Pro ...
'' 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 ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books, both operating under the aegis of Northwestern University Press. The journal is published twice a year and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, liter ...
'') 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 WNUR-FM (89.3 FM) is a 7,200–watt radio station based in Evanston, Illinois that broadcasts to Chicago and its northern suburbs. It is the student radio station of Northwestern University. History WNUR first began broadcasting on May 8, ...
(89.3 FM) is a 7,200-watt
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
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 Zachary Israel Braff'Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows ...
directed, and many of its films have featured students who would later go into professional acting, including
Zach Gilford Zachary Michael Gilford (born January 14, 1982) is an American actor, known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC sports drama series '' Friday Night Lights''. In 2021, he starred in the Netflix horror limited series ''Midnight Mass''. In 2022, ...
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 Tournament The National Debate Tournament is one of the national championships for collegiate policy debate in the United States. The tournament is sponsored by the American Forensic Association with the Ford Motor Company Fund. History of the NDT The ...
s, the highest number of any university. Notable alumni of the society include Erwin Chemerinsky, legal scholar and Dean of
UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...
, and Elliot Mincberg of People For the American Way. Northwestern's
Mock Trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...
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 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 ...
, first Black mayor of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
(JD, 1952) File:US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens - 1976 official portrait.jpg, John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (JD, 1947) File:Robert Todd Lincoln - Harris and Ewing.jpg,
Robert Todd Lincoln Robert Todd Lincoln (August 1, 1843 – July 26, 1926) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician. He was the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. Robert Lincoln became a business lawyer and company presi ...
, 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 Gwynne Shotwell ( Rowley; born November 23, 1963) is an American businesswoman and engineer. She is the president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, an American space transportation company, where she is responsible for day-to-day operation ...
, president and COO of SpaceX (BS, 1986; MS, 1988) File:GRRM 2011 Shankbone.JPG,
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
, author of ''
A Game of Thrones ''A Game of Thrones'' is the first novel in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 1, 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both ...
'' (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 The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
(LLB, 1883) File:Saul Bellow (Herzog portrait) (cropped).jpg,
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only w ...
,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
-winning novelist (BA, 1937) File:Stephen Colbert December 2019.jpg,
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
, Emmy Award-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 Charles Horace Mayo (July 19, 1865 – May 26, 1939) was an American medical practitioner and was one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic along with his brother William James Mayo, Augustus Stinchfield, Christopher Graham, E. Star Judd, Henry ...
, founder of the Mayo Clinic (MD, 1888) File:Cheddi Jagan Anefo.jpg,
Cheddi Jagan Cheddi Berret Jagan (22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 199 ...
, 4th president and
Father of the Nation The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. (plural ), also seen as , was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", best ...
of Guyana (BS, 1942; DDS, 1942) File:Claudia López.png,
Claudia López Hernández Claudia Nayibe López Hernández (born 9 March 1970) is a Colombian politician. She was a Senator of the Republic of Colombia and was the vice-presidential candidate in the 2018 presidential election for the Green Alliance party. In October ...
, 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 Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
(MBA, 2004) File:Ali Babacan - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 crop.jpg, Ali Babacan, deputy prime minister of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
(MBA, 1992) File:Charlie Baker official photo.jpg,
Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...
, 72nd governor of Massachusetts (MBA, 1991) File:Arthur Goldberg (1971).jpg,
Arthur 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 ...
, U.S. Supreme Court Justice; 6th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (BS, 1929; JD, 1930) File:PeterGeorgePeterson.jpg, Peter G. Peterson, 20th
U.S. Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
; founder of The Blackstone Group (BA, 1947) File:CharltonHestonCivilRightsMarch1963Retouched.jpg, Charlton Heston,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning actor (BS, 1945) File:Warren Beatty.jpg,
Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning actor, writer and director (C1959) File:Meghan Markle - 2018 (cropped).jpg, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, member of British royal family and former actress (BA, 2003) File:Edward J. Weiler in 2009.jpg, Edward Weiler, director of
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's Goddard Space Flight Center (BA, 1971; MS, 1973; PhD, 1976) File:Julia Louis-Dreyfus VF 2012 Shankbone 3.jpg,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
, Emmy Award-winning actress (C1982) File:Seth Meyers by Gage Skidmore.jpg, Seth Meyers, host of '' Late Night with Seth Meyers'' (BS, 1996) File:"Hidden Figures" Screening at NMAAHC (NHQ201612140033) (cropped).jpg, Pharrell Williams, Grammy Award-winning rapper;
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated producer (C1995) File:David Schwimmer (5208598833).jpg,
David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...
, Emmy Award-nominated actor from '' Friends'' (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, 13th director of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
; 12th president of
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
(BA, 1970; MD, 1974) File:John Musker 01.jpg, John Musker, writer, producer and director of Disney's ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...
'', '' Aladdin'', ''
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...
'' 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, Nobel Prize-winning economist George J. Stigler, Nobel Prize-winning novelist
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only w ...
, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and diarist
Ned Rorem Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althoug ...
, decorated composer
Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American class ...
, Deputy Prime Minister of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
Ali Babacan, historian and novelist Wilma Dykeman, sociologist and adviser of CEPAL Fernando Filgueira, and the founder of the presidential prayer breakfast Abraham Vereide. U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations Arthur Joseph Goldberg, Chicago Mayor Harold L. Washington, Governor of Illinois and Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, and former lawyer, Cincinnati mayor, news anchor, and current tabloid talk host
Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...
are among the graduates of the Northwestern School of Law. Northwestern alumnus David J. Skorton serves has been president and chief executive officer of the
Association of American Medical Colleges The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that was established in 1876. It represents medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an i ...
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 Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
,
Jodie Markell Jodie Markell (born April 13, 1959) is an American actress and film director. Career Jodie Markell attended Northwestern University and studied at New York's Circle in the Square Theatre. As an actress, she has worked with theater directors suc ...
,
Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was we ...
,
David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...
, Anne Dudek,
Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff'Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows ...
,
Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel (; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She made her film debut in '' Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film '' Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known for h ...
,
Marg Helgenberger Mary Marg Helgenberger (born November 16, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s and first came to attention for playing the role of Siobhan Ryan on the daytime soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' from 1982 to 1986. She is ...
,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
, Meghan Markle (later known as the Duchess of Sussex),
Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...
,
Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...
, Megan Mullally,
John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film '' Hedwig and th ...
, Dermot Mulroney, Charlton Heston,
Richard Kind Richard Bruce Kind (born November 22, 1956) is an American actor and comedian, known for his roles as Dr. Mark Devanow in ''Mad About You'' (1992–1999, 2019), Paul Lassiter in ''Spin City'' (1996–2002), Andy in ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2002 ...
,
Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's '' Suburgatory,'' TBS's ''People of Earth'', NBC's ...
, Brad Hall,
Shelley Long Shelley Lee Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Long portrayed Diane Chambers on the hit sitcom '' Cheers'' and received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Se ...
, William Daniels,
Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...
,
Bonnie Bartlett Bonnie Bartlett (born June 20, 1929) is an American actress. Her career spans seven decades, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, ''Love of Life''. Bartlett is known for her role as Grace Snider Edwards on the Michael Land ...
,
Paula Prentiss Paula Prentiss (née Ragusa; born March 4, 1938) is an American actress. She is best known for her film roles in '' Where the Boys Are'' (1960), ''What's New Pussycat?'' (1965), ''Catch-22'' (1970), '' The Parallax View'' (1974), and '' The Stepf ...
,
Richard Benjamin Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known film productions, including ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth; ''Catch-22'' (1970), fro ...
,
Laura Innes Laura Elizabeth Innes (born August 16, 1957) is an American actress and television director. She starred as Dr. Kerry Weaver in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' from 1995 to 2007 and reprised her role from 2008 to 2009 in the final season. She also ...
,
Charles Busch Charles Louis Busch (born August 23, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and drag queen, known for his appearances on stage in his own camp style plays and in film and television. He wrote and starred in his early plays Off-off- ...
,
Stephanie March Stephanie Caroline March Benton (born July 23, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Alexandra Cabot in the crime drama franchise ''Law & Order'', which she played in the NBC series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2 ...
, Tony Roberts,
Jeri Ryan Jeri Lynn Ryan (née Zimmermann; born February 22, 1968) is an American actress who played the former Borg drone Seven of Nine in '' Star Trek: Voyager'', for which she was nominated four times for a Saturn Award and won in 2001. She has reprised ...
, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, McLean Stevenson, Tony Randall, Charlotte Rae,
Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...
,
Tom Virtue Tom Virture (born November 19, 1957) is an American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals ...
,
Nancy Dussault Nancy Dussault (born June 30, 1936) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing Muriel Rush in the sitcom ''Too Close for Comfort'' (1980–1987). In a career spanning over half a century, Dussault received two Tony Award n ...
, Robert Reed,
Mara Brock Akil Mara Brock Akil (born Mara Dionne Brock; May 27, 1970) is an American screenwriter and television producer. She created the UPN comedy series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and its spin-off '' The Game'' (2006–2015). She later created the firs ...
,
Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', '' Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...
, Bill Nuss, Dan Shor, Seth Meyers, Peter Spears, Frank DeCaro,
Zach Gilford Zachary Michael Gilford (born January 14, 1982) is an American actor, known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC sports drama series '' Friday Night Lights''. In 2021, he starred in the Netflix horror limited series ''Midnight Mass''. In 2022, ...
,
Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan (born April 21, 1970) is an American actress and comedian best known for her six seasons (1995–2001) on the sketch comedy series '' MADtv''. She also played Holly Shumpert in five seasons (2001–2005, 2007) of the CBS sitcom ...
,
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
, Billy Eichner,
Sandra Seacat Sandra Diane Seacat (born October 2, 1936) is an American actress, director and acting coach best known for her innovations in acting pedagogy—blending elements of Strasberg, and Jungian dream analysis
and
Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...
. Directors who were graduated from Northwestern include
Gerald Freedman Gerald Alan Freedman (June 25, 1927 – March 17, 2020) was an American theatre director, librettist, and lyricist, and a college dean. Life and career Freedman was born in Lorain, Ohio, the son of Fannie (Sepenswol), a history teacher, and Barn ...
,
Stuart Hagmann Stuart R. Hagmann (born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on September 2, 1942) is a television and film director primarily active from 1968 to 1977. His television work includes episodes of the series '' Mission: Impossible'' and ''Mannix''. In film ...
,
Marshall W. Mason Marshall W. Mason (born February 24, 1940) is an American theater director, educator, and writer. Mason founded the Circle Repertory Company in New York City and was artistic director of the company for 18 years (1969–1987). He received an Obie ...
,
Allison Burnett Allison Burnett (born December 16, 1958) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. Early life and education Allison Burnett was born in Ithaca, New York. He graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois before a ...
,
Michael Greif Michael Greif (born ca. 1959 in Brooklyn, New YorkWelsh, Anne Marie, "New York and family call Michael Greif home", ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', October 10, 1999, p.E-1) is an American stage director. He has won three Obie Awards and received ...
, and Mary Zimmerman. Alumni such as Sheldon Harnick,
Stephanie D'Abruzzo Stephanie Ann D'Abruzzo (; born December 7, 1971) is an American actress, puppeteer and singer. She has performed various Muppets in the TV program ''Sesame Street''. She held starring roles on '' Oobi'' and ''The Book of Pooh''. She was one of ...
, Heather Headley,
Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...
,
Lily Rabe Lily Rabe (born June 29, 1982) is an American actress. She is best known for her multiple roles on the FX anthology horror series ''American Horror Story'' (2011–2021). For her performance as Portia in the Broadway production of ''The Merchant ...
, and Walter Kerr have distinguished themselves on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, 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 ComedySportz (CSz) is an improvisational comedy organization started in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by a group of local comedians including Dick Chudnow, Bob Orvis, Brian Green, and others. Match format The traditional format of a ComedySportz ...
, Mad TV and
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
talent. Tam Spiva wrote scripts for ''
The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, afte ...
'' and ''
Gentle Ben Gentle Ben is a bear character created by author Walt Morey and first introduced in a 1965 children's novel, ''Gentle Ben''. The original novel told the story of the friendship between a large male bear named Ben and a boy named Mark. The story pr ...
''. 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 laureates. National correspondents, reporters and columnists such as ''The New York Times''
Elisabeth Bumiller Elisabeth Bumiller (born May 15, 1956) is an American author and journalist who is the Washington bureau chief for ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Bumiller was born in Aalborg, Denmark, to a Danish mother, Gunhild Bumiller Rose ...
,
David Barstow David Barstow (born 1963) is an American journalist and professor. While a reporter at ''The New York Times'' from 1999 to 2019, Barstow was awarded, individually or jointly, four Pulitzer Prizes, becoming the first reporter in the history of the ...
, Dean Murphy, and
Vincent Laforet Vincent Laforet (born 1975, Switzerland) is a French-American director and photographer. Laforet shared the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography with four other photographers (Stephen Crowley, Chang Lee, James Hill, Ruth Fremson) as a membe ...
,
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
's Gary Levin, Susan Page and
Christine Brennan Christine Brennan (born May 14, 1958) is a sports columnist for ''USA Today'', a commentator on ABC News, CNN, PBS NewsHour and NPR, and a best-selling author. She was the first female sports reporter for the ''Miami Herald'' in 1981, the first ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
correspondent Kelly O'Donnell,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
correspondent Richard Threlkeld,
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
correspondent
Nicole Lapin Nicole Lapin (born March 7, 1984) is an American television news anchor, author and businesswoman. She is known for being an American news anchor on CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg. Lapin also served as a finance correspondent for ''Morning Joe'' on MSN ...
, former CNN and current Al Jazeera America anchor Joie Chen, sports broadcasting legend Brent Musburger, and
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
personalities Rachel Nichols,
Michael Wilbon Michael Wilbon (; born ) is an American commentator for ESPN and former sportswriter and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He is an analyst for ESPN and has co-hosted ''Pardon the Interruption'' on ESPN since 2001. Early life and education ...
,
Mike Greenberg Michael Robinette Greenberg (born August 6, 1967) is a television anchor, television show host, radio show host for ESPN and ABC, and novelist. At ESPN, he hosted the weekday evening, most often Monday, ''SportsCenter'' and previously ESPN Radi ...
, Steve Weissman, J. A. Adande, and Kevin Blackistone. The bestselling author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series,
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
, earned a B.S. and M.S. from Medill. Elisabeth Leamy is the recipient of 13 Emmy awards and four Edward R. Murrow Awards. 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, Class of 1870, ad eundem, first female surgeon in Chicago, first female surgeon at
Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, along with Provident Hospital of Cook County and ...
, and founder of the Mary Thomson Hospital; Roswell Park, Class of 1876, prominent surgeon for whom Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, is named;
Daniel Hale Williams Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856 – August 4, 1931) was an African-American surgeon, who in 1893 performed what is referred to as "the first successful heart surgery". It was performed at Chicago's Provident Hospital, which he founded i ...
, Class of 1883, performed the first successful American open heart surgery; only black charter member of the American College of Surgeons,
Charles Horace Mayo Charles Horace Mayo (July 19, 1865 – May 26, 1939) was an American medical practitioner and was one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic along with his brother William James Mayo, Augustus Stinchfield, Christopher Graham, E. Star Judd, Henry ...
, Class of 1888, co-founder of Mayo Clinic;
Carlos Montezuma Carlos Montezuma or Wassaja (c. 1866 – January 31, 1923) was a Yavapai-Apache Native American, activist and a founding member of the Society of American Indians. His birth name, Wassaja, means "Signaling" or "Beckoning" in his native tongue. W ...
, Class of 1889, one of the first Native Americans to receive a
Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
degree from any school, and founder of the
Society of American Indians The Society of American Indians (1911–1923) was the first national American Indian rights organization run by and for American Indians. The Society pioneered twentieth century Pan-Indianism, the movement promoting unity among 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 Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...
; Allen B. Kanavel, 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 The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was ...
in 1996 and the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his co-discovery of nitric oxide; Thomas E. Starzl, Class of 1952, who performed the first successful liver transplant in 1967 and received the
National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
in 2004 and a Lasker Award in 2012; Joseph P. Kerwin, first physician in space, flew on the Skylab 2 mission and later served as director of Space and Life Sciences at
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
; C. Richard Schlegel, Class of 1972, developed the dominant patent for a vaccine against human papillomavirus (administered as
Gardasil Gardasil is an HPV vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledge ...
) to prevent cervical cancer; David J. Skorton, Class of 1974,
cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular ...
who became president of
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
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 Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
have founded notable companies and organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, The Blackstone Group,
Kirkland & Ellis Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys, and was the first la ...
, U.S. Steel, Guggenheim Partners, Accenture,
Aon Corporation Aon PLC () is a British-American multinational financial services firm that sells a range of risk-mitigation products, including Commercial Risk, Investment, Wealth and Reinsurance solutions, as well as boutique strategy consulting through Aon ...
, AQR Capital,
Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...
, and Melvin Capital. Northwestern alumni involved in music include
Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...
, Thomas Tyra,
Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music ...
, Robert Davine,
Joshua Radin Joshua Radin (born June 14, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter. He has recorded nine studio albums, and his songs have been used in a number of films and TV series. His most successful album, '' Simple Times'', was released in 2008. Beginni ...
, Frederick Swann, Augusta Read Thomas, Gil Trythall, members of
Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
, The Lawrence Arms, Pharrell Williams, Chavez, Dawen, A Liang (Linton St) and OK Go. Northwestern alumni involved in athletics include
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
and
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
owner
Jerry Reinsdorf Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the owner of the White So ...
, sprinter Betty Robinson, Rick Sund (NBA), Billy McKinney (NBA),
Mark Loretta Mark David Loretta (born August 14, 1971) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1995 and 2009 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, ...
(MLB), Joe Girardi (MLB), Luis Castillo (NFL), Ernie Adams (NFL),
Paddy Driscoll John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll (January 11, 1895 – June 29, 1968) was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall pl ...
(NFL),
Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Graha ...
(NFL), Anthony Walker Jr. (NFL), Mike Adamle (NFL),
Mike Kafka Michael John Kafka (born July 25, 1987) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). After attending St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chic ...
(NFL), Trevor Siemian (NFL), Greg Newsome II (NFL),
Luke Johnsos Luke Andrew Johnsos Sr. (December 9, 1905 – December 10, 1984) was an American football player, assistant coach, and head coach for the National Football League's Chicago Bears franchise. He started with the Bears in 1929 at the age of 23 as a ...
(NFL), six-time Olympic medalist Matt Grevers, Irv Cross (NFL) and PGA Tour star Luke Donald.


Faculty

The university employs 3,781 faculty members across its eleven schools, including 18 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 65 members of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, 19 members of the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...
, and 6 members of the Institute of Medicine. Notable faculty include 2010
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
–winning economist Dale T. Mortensen; nano-scientists Chad Mirkin and Samuel I. Stupp; Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering winner Manijeh Razeghi; Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman; management expert
Philip Kotler Philip Kotler (born May 27, 1931) is an American marketing author, consultant, and professor emeritus; the S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University ...
; King Faisal International Prize in Science recipient and Nobel laureate Sir Fraser Stoddart; Steppenwolf Theatre director Anna Shapiro; sexual psychologist J. Michael Bailey;
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...
co-founder Steven Calabresi; former Weatherman
Bernardine Rae Dohrn Bernardine Rae Dohrn (née Ohrnstein; born January 12, 1942) is a retired law professor and a former leader of the left-wing radical group Weather Underground in the United States. As a leader of the Weather Underground in the early 1970s, Dohrn w ...
;
ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
Gary Alan Fine; Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Garry Wills;
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
fellow Monica Olvera de la Cruz and MacArthur Fellowship recipients Stuart Dybek, Jennifer Richeson, Amy Rosenzweig, John A. Rogers, Mark Hersam, William Dichtel, and Dylan Penningroth. The faculty also includes Holocaust denier Arthur Butz and Richard Bruce Silverman, inventor of Lyrica (Pregabalin). Notable former faculty include political advisor David Axelrod (political consultant), David Axelrod, artists William Conger, Judy Ledgerwood, Ed Paschke, and James Valerio, writer Charles Newman (author), Charles Newman,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
–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

*


External links

*
Official athletics website
* *
"Chicago Dance History Project / Interviews with Dancers connected to Northwestern University"
{{coord, 42.0548, -87.6739, region:US_type:edu, display=title Northwestern University, 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