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Social Issues

Is the era of the foreign correspondent over? That’s the premise behind a new media venture spearheaded by Justin Smith, the former Bloomberg Media chief executive, and Ben Smith, the former editor of BuzzFeed.

Read Cohen’s essay

Voices Deborah Cohen
After 19 years of incarceration, Corzell Cole was released from Stateville Correctional Center in March 2022. He and his lead attorney, Shelisa Thomas ’19, reflect on their work together and Cole’s goals for the future.

Learn more from Cole and Thomas

ATT Shelisa Thomas and Corzell
For six years, journalist and professor Thrasher followed the case of Michael Johnson, a gay Black man in St Louis who was sentenced in 2015 to more than 30 years in prison for not disclosing his HIV-positive status to his sexual partners. Thrasher has reported on policing, LGBTQ rights, racism and HIV/AIDS for more than a decade, pursuing controversial stories and even helping change the law.

Get to know Thrasher

Thrasher photo collage
When Natalie Y. Moore ’99 MS started writing The Billboard, her new play about reproductive rights, in 2018, she never imagined that the script might hit the stage in a post-Roe world.

Read the story

Billboard Play Image SH
Fifty years ago, Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding. Though not the primary or only result of the legislation, participation in women’s athletics increased dramatically thanks to Title IX.

Hear from former Wildcats

Chinazo Cunningham HERO
At Northwestern, Eric Huang was finally surrounded by people with whom he had mutual respect and genuine camaraderie — good people who wouldn’t let him quit.

Get to know Eric Huang

mnd eric huang
In just a few months, Morton Schapiro will step down as president of Northwestern after 13 years at the helm. During President Schapiro’s tenure, the Evanston and Chicago campuses were transformed by more than 50 major construction projects and the creation of 17 new research institutes and centers.

Read about their generosity

morty gifts main dorm room
Louis A. Simpson ’58 was a big believer in giving everyone access to education.

Learn more about SciHigh

simpson querrey gifts
Tech giant IBM has made a generous gift to endow two computer science professorships in Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering in honor of Virginia M. “Ginni” Rometty ʼ79, ʼ15 H, the first woman to lead the company.

Learn about the new professorships

ginni rometty
Determined to help other Latinx and first-generation college students like her, Xiomara Contreras ’17 became a mentor for the NAA’s Affinity Leaders and Learners (ALL) Mentorship Program. The program matches students to alumni with similar backgrounds, experiences and identities.

Hear from Contreras

alumni leader xiomara contrera