Of course, student life is the beating heart of the Northwestern experience, and that heart is beating ever stronger. The class of 2022 that just recently participated in March Through the Arch is a remarkable group chosen from more than 40,000 applicants, of whom only 8 percent were accepted. The ACT middle-range score for the class is 32–35 on a 36-point scale. The students come from 49 states — I’m determined that we’ll get a great one from North Dakota next year! — and 54 different countries. They’re incomparably bright, and they bring an especially broad range of interests and skills.
We’ve been building even greater diversity and quality into the Northwestern student body: For the past several years, we’ve enabled more high-achieving students from any financial background to attend Northwestern by increasing our financial aid and by eliminating loans for undergraduate students. Here’s another milestone: This fall, 20 percent of the entering class is eligible for Pell Grants, which help lower-income students to attend college. This means that Northwestern is now near the top of all private research universities in terms of the economic diversity of its undergraduate students. We’ve also made strides in expanding support for our graduate students and in increasing financial aid for law, business and medical school students, in order to reduce their loan burdens and give them stronger starts in their careers.
I’m pleased to report the appointment of some talented new academic leaders, including Kimberly Yuracko, the new dean of the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and Annelise Riles, executive director of the Buffett Institute for Global Studies. They bring outstanding academic credentials and deep experience to their posts. Working with Provost Jonathan Holloway, who’s moving into his second year at Northwestern, they will provide strong leadership to these key academic areas. We also have begun the search for a new dean for the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
If you haven’t been to our Evanston campus lately, there’s so much new to see. The heightened energy at Northwestern that I mentioned at the beginning is magnified by the world-class expansion of facilities that our alumni and friends have made possible. Walk through the astonishing Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletic Center, the Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Kresge Hall, the Kellogg Global Hub and the newly renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena, and you’ll get the sense that something historic is happening. Your generosity makes dreams come true.
And so allow me to cordially invite you to return to Northwestern this year — for Homecoming, class reunions and other events on our campuses. If you can’t be here, Mimi and I hope to see you at one of the many alumni events that we’ll host around the globe this academic year. We’ll be there to say thank you — and to talk about what comes next for our Northwestern family.
Best wishes,
Morton Schapiro
President and Professor
Reader Responses
No one has commented on this page yet.
Submit a Response