To: Alumni and Friends
From: David M. Rubenstein, JD’73, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Paul Alivisatos, AB’81, President
Subject: Robert J. Zimmer
Date: May 23, 2023
It is with great sadness that we write to inform the University of Chicago community of the passing of Chancellor Emeritus Robert J. Zimmer.
As the University’s 13th president from 2006 to 2021, Chancellor Emeritus Zimmer made historic contributions to advance the University’s scholarly eminence, strengthen our intellectual community, and enhance the University’s positive impact in the world. His ambitious vision and inspired leadership helped the University become the preferred destination for the world’s best scholars and students. From ensuring access to a transformative UChicago education to defending free expression for members of the University community, Chancellor Emeritus Zimmer was deeply dedicated to upholding and renewing the core values of the University.
A pioneering mathematician, Chancellor Emeritus Zimmer spent nearly four decades at the University as a faculty member and administrator, most recently serving as the Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Mathematics and the College.
Chancellor Emeritus Zimmer was among the most effective and influential university presidents of his time. His tenure will be remembered for his strategic brilliance in bringing about changes for the long-term benefit of the University community. Among his remarkable catalog of accomplishments, he led transformational efforts to increase educational access and financial support for students, including the creation of the Odyssey Scholarship Program in 2007, which supported financial aid for students in the greatest need. Under his leadership the University established its first engineering program, the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering; expanded its global presence through new centers in Beijing, Delhi, and Hong Kong; greatly increased its work in civic engagement, including partnerships with the city of Chicago and organizations on the South Side; and made broad investments in programs and facilities in the arts.
Free expression is a fundamental value that defined Chancellor Emeritus Zimmer’s tenure and will stand as an essential part of his legacy at the University. In 2014, he appointed the Committee on Freedom of Expression, which created what became known as the “Chicago Principles,” a resounding declaration of commitment to free expression. The Chicago Principles have been extremely influential in higher education, including partial or full adoption by more than 80 colleges and universities around the country.
Chancellor Emeritus Zimmer is survived by his wife, Shadi Bartsch-Zimmer, director of the Institute for the Formation of Knowledge and the Helen A. Regenstein Distinguished Service Professor of Classics, and by three sons, Alex, Benjamin, and David, from his previous marriage to Terese Schwartzman.