Following the resignation of former President Michael Schill, Northwestern’s Board of Trustees announced Tuesday that Henry S. Bienen, 86, will serve as interim president, effective Sept. 16.
This news comes only five days after Schill announced his resignation to the Northwestern community in an email only two weeks prior to the beginning of the academic year. Schill stepped down after three years in his position, citing the “serious and often painful challenges” the University has faced throughout his tenure.
Bienen served as the University’s 15th president from 1995 until 2009. He was succeeded by Morton Schapiro, who held the position until 2022, followed by Schill.
“We believe Henry is uniquely suited to follow President Michael Schill’s tenure and continue to support the University,” said Peter J. Barris, chair of the Board of Trustees, in a statement to the Northwestern community. “With more than three decades of service to our community, Henry has a deep knowledge of Northwestern and shares our love and passion for the institution.”
Before his appointment at Northwestern, Bienen was the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. The incoming interim president is one of the first three university presidents to be awarded the Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award for innovative leadership in higher education.
A political scientist by training, Bienen holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from Cornell University and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. He also completed a PhD in political science at the University of Chicago.
Bienen was previously a professor of management and strategy in the Kellogg School of Management. He recently held the role of president of the Poetry Foundation between 2015 and 2020.
During his 15-year tenure, Bienen oversaw the opening of Northwestern’s Qatar campus, elevated research funding and built a “quintupled” endowment. Notably, the Board of Trustees also named the School of Music after Bienen and Leigh, his wife.
As Bienen returns to lead the University, he inherits pressing institutional challenges that extend beyond administrative transition. Many of the challenges Schill encountered, including stalled federal funding and debates over free speech on college campuses, will persist.
“Moving forward, the Board remains fervently focused on regaining access to the federal research funding that has been committed to the University but unavailable for nearly six months,” said Barris.
Bienen currently serves on the executive council of Northwestern’s International Institute of Nanotechnology and the advisory boards of Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and the Institute for Policy Research. He has also served as a member of various organizations such as the Chicago Board of Education and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Schill will return to his role as a professor and researcher at the Pritzker School of Law following a sabbatical. The Board of Trustees expects to share more information with the Northwestern community including steps to select the next president when they become available.
For now, President Emeritus Bienen has shared his reflections on his tenure and return to leading Northwestern.
“I am honored to be asked to serve Northwestern again, and I look forward to helping the University I love so dearly navigate what is a critical and difficult time for research universities,” Bienen said in a release. “I care a great deal about the Northwestern community, which has been a major part of my life for more than 30 years.”
