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People & Profiles

Based on decades of research, professor Viorica Marian shares remarkable benefits of knowing more than one language, from delaying Alzheimer’s disease to improving cognitive performance. Marian’s 2023 book, The Power of Language, will be translated from English to 10 other languages.

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As members of the Northwestern University Black Alumni Association (NUBAA) mingled at the Black House during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend in 2022, Charla Wilson hoped the alumni would find some familiar faces in her photo display of Black student life at the University. Wilson, who is Northwestern’s archivist for the Black experience, had recently launched a crowdsourcing campaign called “I know them!” to learn more about 1,400 images from the past six that depict Black student life on campus.

Explore Black student life

NAA Feature Archives
Joanna Bush ’99 is a top concept artist and film illustrator in Hollywood who has helped bring to life Oscar-winning films like Life of Pi and La La Land. She has collaborated with filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh, Ang Lee, Jordan Peele, Zach Braff ’97, Tyler Perry, and more, while crediting the Northwestern student group Section 22 for giving her a start in film.

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As a dentist and an educator, Juliann Bluitt Foster blazed a trail. First, she earned a degree from Howard University College of Dentistry in 1962, when a tiny fraction of U.S.

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Few events bring together the Northwestern community across the ages like the inauguration of a new president. Through the decades and across generations, inaugurations have offered the opportunity to come together, not only to reflect on the progress of the University, but also to chart a course for its future.

Explore the history

Northwestern President's chain of office
As President Michael Schill wrapped up his first few months in office, Northwestern Magazine talked with him about higher education’s role in creating a compassionate community, his favorite books and what he values most in his human — and canine — companions.

Meet President Schill

Schill on Schill
Annie Krall became co-president of the Northwestern Club of Chicago in 2021. A third-generation Wildcat, Krall shares what she loves about her Northwestern bonds.

Get to know Krall

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During a freezing winter quarter in 1988, most of Jarrett Kerbel’s Northwestern peers likely dreamed of spending spring break on sunny beaches. But Kerbel made plans to visit Holy Cross Monastery, an Anglican Benedictine community in West Park, N.Y., and he has devoted his life to the Christian faith ever since.

Meet Kerbel

CU Jarrett Kerbel
Danielle Cadet wasn’t supposed to go to Northwestern, and she wasn’t supposed to become a journalist. But Cadet ’10, ’11 MS followed her own path, and now, as executive editor and and vice president of content at Essence, she’s on a mission to tell the full breadth of Black stories.

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MND Danielle Cadet
Bicycle sales in the U.S. skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers avoided public transit and indoor gyms. Cycling, however, can be risky in urban settings.

More on cycling safety

CU Christina Whitehouse