<p>Northwestern University just announced that Morton Schapiro, the popular president of Williams, will be taking over for Henry Bienen. Bienen several months ago announced his intention to retire after a very productive 14 year tenure. </p>
<p>Should be a great fit for Northwestern. It'll be exciting to see some new blood circulating in Evanston and Chicago. I suspect faculty, students, and alumni will all be thrilled with the selection. </p>
<p>From the Williams press release today noting his accomplishments "...Nearly 40 percent of the (Williams) Class of 2012 is composed of international students and U.S. students of color..."</p>
<p>I hope he has more in mind at NU than the above. No doubt some diversity makes for a healthy and growing educational environment but I think it is being overdone. Apply to some schools now and the essay question is something like "How will you contribute to the diversity of _______ ?" </p>
<p>I wonder how Morton Schapiro is going to bring more diversity to NU? Was that the first question the trustees asked him?</p>
<p>Jben how is it being overdone? NU has one of the lowest percentage rates of blacks and Latinos than its peer schools. When it comes to attracting these students, NU seems to be on the losing end (due to a variety of factors such as financial aid and academic fit).</p>
<p>I would love to see Northwestern increase its diversity...but if this has to happen through affirmative action or similar programs that put non-minority students at a disadvantage, that would be a shame.</p>
<p>As for those diversity essays some colleges use, I wish they focused on intellectual/ interests-based diversity, or at least stated it in the prompt.</p>
<p>I'm surprised no one's commented on (seen?) the obvious. First and foremost, the new President will be an advocate for YOU, the undergraduate population of this large university with business, law and medical schools that many would argue have drawn more than their fair share of the administration's attention. </p>
<p>Although Schapiro is no newcomer to a large university (he's a former Chairman of Economics, VP for Planning, and Dean of Arts and Sciences at USC), he is more than anything else an advocate of undergraduate education. He taught at Williams for more than a decade before heading out west and has been president there now for eight years. </p>
<p>So I'd argue he was recruited to do many things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Strengthen undergraduate education. His years as president at a top LAC like Williams may uniquely qualify him for this task.</p></li>
<li><p>Strengthen the core of the university - Arts and Sciences. NU's subspecialty schools are already arguably THE standard of quality in their respective fields.</p></li>
<li><p>Raise money. Like it or not, this is the primary responsibility in any university president's job description. He's already proven himself in this regard at Williams.</p></li>
<li><p>Be a leader. He starts at Northwestern as one of the most respected national figures in higher education. The university gets to ride the coat tails of his tenure as a President at Williams - he is no newcomer to the scene. Add Northwestern to Schapiro's subspecialty interests in the economics of education, especially in these troubled times, and you raise his already formidable stature among academic presidents exponentially.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Again, I view this selection as BRILLIANT (and did not see it coming). Soooo, Northwestern benefits from a fresh face with a fresh perspective, a brilliant mind and outstanding academic reputation, a proven track record already leading one of the finest colleges in the country, and a person uniquely qualified to rethink undergraduate education at the university.</p>
<p>I agree with Bala.<br>
I did not see this coming, but think that this stealth selection process has ended with a coup - Morty Schapiro is very highly regarded and will do great things at NU.</p>
<p>I didn't mean to downplay the selection, Morty Schapiro is a great choice. Honestly I'm excited to both be at NU next fall and to see what Schapiro has planned for the university. :)</p>
<p>Alliesmom, yes Williams is also purple. I think the undergrads will really like Morty. He's a friendly outgoing guy who likes spending time with students. He still teaches classes at Williams and has said he plans to continue to do so at NU. As a Williams alum I'm disappointed to see him move on, but as a NU parent I am really excited for NU.</p>
<p>In the past 10-15 years, NU has improved in research and academic programs (both undergrad and grad). Relative to most other peers, it has an upward trend in winning the most prestigious awards by faculty and students (we've been doing as well as even some of the higher ranked schools and are catching up in the historic total). Programs like Kellogg undergrad certificates (2007), Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program (2007), MENU (~2005?), and Engineering First (1997) are some of the most innovative and rigorous curriculum/programs in the country for undergrads. Together with ISP and MMSS, which have long been well-respected by grad schools and top business firms (MMSS), I think NU is up there in providing unique undergrad programs of the highest caliber.</p>
<p>However, relative to our peers, we've been falling behind in the "software"--undergrad dorms and financial aid. Maybe the hiring of Monty can help NU catch up.</p>
<p>Looking at the last couple of presidents of NU (Strotz, Weber, Bienen, etc.) what would you all say were the defining characteristics of their eras and what would be the things they did best / didn't do well for the university?</p>
<p>Bala also mentioned undergrad dorms and finaid as what the next president should focus on. Do others agree? No agenda in my opinion (though as an alum, I <em>am</em> embarrassed by some of the dorms) but curious as to what others think.</p>
<p>What more can NU do to improve the dorm situation? The surrounding community is historic and built-up. North Campus has more room for more newer dorm buildings. I lived on South Campus my entire four years (older dorms) so I'm not sure what should be upgraded.</p>
<p>I lived in Allison myself 20+ years ago (when it was an all-girls dorm, LOL) and my son lived there for a program this summer and I thought the lower level common area was embarrassing and disgusting. I wasn't expecting the Ritz, but sofas with the stuffing out of them? Duct tape on the ground? I was embarrassed that this dorm represented NU. And don't get me started on Bobb-McCulloch, which should be gutted or razed IMO. I had also lived in South MidQuads (its second year of operation) but haven't been inside so I don't know how it's holding up.</p>