Northwestern University

General Information:

History
Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. In 1853 the founders purchased a 379-acre tract of land on the shore of Lake Michigan 12 miles north of Chicago. They established a campus and developed the land near it, naming the surrounding town Evanston in honor of one of the University's founders, John Evans. After completing its first building in 1855, Northwestern began classes that fall with two faculty members and 10 students.

Athletics
A charter member of the Big Ten and the conference's only private institution, Northwestern sponsors 19 intercollegiate athletic teams (8 men's and 11 women's) and numerous club sports.

During the 2008-09 season the Wildcats had 1 NCAA team champion, 1 NCAA individual championship, 2 conference team titles, 8 first-team All-Americans, 4 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 6 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, 3 conference Coaches of the Year and 6 Players of the Year and 50 All-Conference and 184 Academic All-Big Ten Athletes. Ten Wildcat teams advanced to NCAA postseason competition, including the women's lacrosse team, which captured its fifth-consecutive NCAA championship. Wrestler Jake Herbert won the national championship in the 184 lbs. division for Northwestern, marking the University's third-straight year with an individual wrestling title and the Wildcats' fifth-consecutive year with an NCAA individual crown in any sport.

University Budget 2008-09
Revenues (in millions of dollars)
Tuition and Fees: $709.9
Financial Aid: ($238.5)
Grants and Contracts (Direct): $337.3
Grants and Contracts (Indirect): $90.6
Endowment Distribution: $257.5
Other Investment Income: $21.5
Gifts: $95.6
Restricted Funds Availed: -
Sales and Services: $287.8
Appropriation: -
Total Revenues/Transfers: $1,561.7

Expenses (in millions of dollars)
Academic Salaries: $390.5
Staff and Student Salaries: $260.2
Employee Benefits: $146.5
Service and Professional Fees: $174.3
Maintenance, Utilities and Equipment: $173.6
Other: $287.7
Total Expenses: $1,432.9

Transfers to capital projects and reserves: ($128.8)
Surplus/(Deficit): (0.0)
Endowment
As of June 30, 2009, Northwestern's endowment and other trust funds totaled approximately $5.8 billion.

Tuition and Fees, 2009-10
Undergraduate: $38,088
Graduate School: $38,088
Bienen: $38,088
Communication (Graduate): $31,830
Law School: $47,202
Kellogg School of Management: $49,074
Feinberg School of Medicine: $42,974
Medill School of Journalism (Graduate): $33,492
Gifts to Northwestern
For the year ending August 31, 2009.

Amount in million of dollars

Alumni: $51.4
Non-alumni: $33.4
Professional Foundations: $43.4
Corporations: $20.8
Other organizations: $34.4
Total: $183.4

University Officers
Morton O. Schapiro, President
Daniel I. Linzer, Provost
Eugene S. Sunshine, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance
William J. Banis, Vice President for Student Affairs
Thomas G. Cline, Vice President and General Counsel
Alan K. Cubbage, Vice President for University Relations
Marilyn McCoy, Vice President for Administration and Planning
William H. McLean, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
Sarah R. Pearson, Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development
Morteza A. Rahimi, Vice President for Information Technology
Joseph T. Walsh, Jr., Vice President for Research

Deans
Sunil Chopra, J.L. Kellogg School of Management (Interim Dean)
Thomas F. Gibbons, School of Continuing Studies
J. Larry Jameson, Feinberg School of Medicine
Sarah Mangelsdorf, Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
John Margolis, Northwestern University in Qatar
Toni-Marie Montgomery, Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music
Barbara J. O'Keefe, School of Communication
Julio Ottino, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Penelope L. Peterson, School of Education and Social Policy
David E. Van Zandt, School of Law
Andrew B. Wachtel, Graduate School

Provost Daniel Linzer's Statement on Diversity
"Northwestern University is deeply committed to student, faculty and staff diversity - diversity of race and ethnicity, of gender and sexual orientation, of religion and geographic origin, of political perspective and economic condition. A diverse community is essential to achieve our mission of creating the best possible learning environment and educational experience, because only by exploring issues with people of different backgrounds and viewpoints can we challenge our assumptions, test our ideas and broaden our understanding of the world."

A truly diverse community requires broad inclusion on our campus and the fostering of opportunities for interaction. We recognize, celebrate and support groups that bring together individuals with similar experiences, and at the same time we encourage the formation of groups with people of a wide range of backgrounds. The diversity of backgrounds enriches the discussion at a residential college fireside chat and in the classroom, the interactions on an intramural athletic team and in the case of a student theater or music performance, the friendships that develop in a new student week activity and at an alumni reunion, and the shared experiences gained in volunteering in the Evanston and Chicago communities.

Northwestern has made great progress in developing an ongoing culture of diversity, yet we constantly strive to do even better. Please take a moment to visit the following sites to learn more about diversity at Northwestern."
- Provost Daniel Linzer, 2009

Planning the University
On May 31, 1850, nine men gathered in a law office above a hardware store in Chicago to plan a university that would serve the former Northwest Territory, a vast region that included what are now the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota.

Given that they had little money, no land, limited higher educational experience - only one had even attended college - their vision may have seemed a bit ambitious. But through a combination of creative financing, shrewd politicking, religious inspiration, and an abundance of hard work, the founders of Northwestern University were able to make that dream a reality.

Northwestern's Founders
The founders were strong Methodists: three of them were Methodists ministers, and before the meeting all those in attendance joined in prayer. Nevertheless, they also firmly believed that Northwestern should be an institution that would serve people of all religions. At that time in history, many religious denominations founded colleges aimed at educating only members of their religion. Northwestern's founders, by contrast, envisioned a much more open and inclusive institution.

Three key leaders were John Evans, Orrington Lunt, and Grant Goodrich. Evans, a physician, had come to Chicago from Indiana to head the Department of Obstetrics at Rush Medical College. Evans invented obstetrical instruments in addition to having a highly successful private proactive. He also was a successful real estate entrepreneur and served a term as a Chicago alderman, as well as 44 years as chairman of Northwestern's Board of Trustees.

Lunt, a successful commodities broker, was often called Northwestern's most devoted servant. Lunt is credited with the selection of the Evanston site for the University and provided financial support on many occasions, including all the funds to create the University's first library, now Lunt Hall.

Goodrich, who was known as a "violent antislavery man," was a successful attorney and a leader in the Whig and later Republican parties. His knowledge of Chicago and Illinois politics proved invaluable, as he was responsible for drafting the University's charter and getting it approved by the Illinois legislature on January 28, 1851. He also secured passage of the first amendment to the charter, approved by the legislature four years later, which prohibited the sale of alcohol within four miles of the University and exempted the University from property taxes.

Doing the "Wind Work"
Although the founders met on May 31, 1850 and had the articles of incorporation for the University completed a few weeks later, Northwestern didn't enroll a student until November 1855. As John Evans stated in 1852 when offered the opportunity to purchase some land in Chicago, "We haven't a red cent. We've been doing the wind work."

What Evans meant was that the founders were spending their time talking to leaders of the city, the state, business leaders, the Methodist church, and other key institutions to gain support for the fledging University.

At the same time the founders began work on Northwestern's charter, they began raising money to construct and endow the University with an initial goal of $25,000. Evans and Lunt made the first contributions of $5,000 each, the first of many gifts from the two that helped keep the University solvent in its early, financially pressed days.

A final note: Evans took advantage of the opportunity to buy land, and it proved to be one of the University's best investments. The trustees purchased 16 lots at the corner of Jackson and LaSalle in Chicago for the price of $8,000 as a potential site for the campus. Although the University chose not to build there, Northwestern held onto the property, finally selling it for a bit more than the original purchase price.

Northwestern has approximately 2,500 full-time faculty members. Faculty members include Tony Award winners, MacArthur Fellowship recipients and members of numerous honorary and professional societies, including the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Council of Learned Societies.

Full-Time Faculty by School, 2007-08
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences: 625
School of Communication: 137
School of Education and Social Policy: 38
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science: 203
Medill School of Journalism: 56
School of Law: 97
Kellogg School of Management: 166
Feinberg School of Medicine: 1,799
Bienen School of Music: 62
Research, 2007-08
Total awards and grants of approximately $477 million.

Libraries
Northwestern's libraries hold more than 4.9 million volumes, 4.6 million microforms, and 98,000 current periodicals and serials. In addition, it boasts more than 700 databases and 6,000 electronic journals.

Distinctions
Northwestern is recognized both nationally and internationally for the quality of its educational programs at all levels. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks the University's undergraduate programs among the best in the country.

Among graduate programs, the Kellogg School of Management regularly ranks among the top five business schools in the country for both its traditional curriculum and its executive master's program. U.S. News & World Report rankings placed Northwestern's School of Law in the top 10, the Feinberg School of Medicine in the top 20, and Human Movement Science in the top 10.

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