Northwestern University
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Northwestern University, private, coeducational university in Evanston, Illinois, U.S., with campuses in Chicago and Doha, Qatar. It is a comprehensive research institution and a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Northwestern’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs are among the most highly regarded in the United States. Total enrollment as of fall 2023 was approximately 23,000.
History and traditions
The university was founded in 1851 by nine Chicago Methodists led by physician John Evans. It was created as a nonsectarian institution to serve the Northwest Territory, which now includes Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. The year it was founded it became the first institution chartered as a university in Illinois, though land for the university had been purchased only in 1853. Instruction began in 1855, and women were first admitted in 1869. When Evanston College for Ladies merged with the university in 1873, educator and reformer Frances Willard became its first dean of women.
Over the years, Northwestern students have fostered several distinctive campus traditions and events:
- Painting the Rock: The class of 1902 donated a drinking fountain to the university when they graduated. It was damaged when a pipe burst shortly thereafter, and it was called the Rock. Over time, it became central to a core campus tradition wherein students guard the Rock for a whole day to earn the right to paint it and express themselves.
- The Waa-Mu Show: The university’s oldest theatrical performance, the show has been running since 1929. It gives students the chance to write, produce, orchestrate, and perform an original musical production every year.
- Dance Marathon: This 15-hour dancing event involves more than 800 dancers every year. A student-run philanthropic event, it has raised over $23 million for charities since 1975.
- Dillo Day: Started by the university’s Texas students in 1972, Armadillo (or simply Dillo) Day is the largest student-run music festival in the United States.
Did You Know?
Northwestern University became a founding member of the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives—today’s Big Ten Conference—in 1896. It later hosted the first Division I NCAA men’s basketball tournament, popularly known as March Madness, in 1939.
Academics
Northwestern University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in a wide range of disciplines through 11 schools and colleges:
- Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (1851)
- Pritzker School of Law (1859)
- Feinberg School of Medicine (1859)
- School of Communication (1878)
- Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music (1895)
- Kellogg School of Management (1908)
- Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science (1909)
- The Graduate School (1910)
- Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications (1921)
- School of Education and Social Policy (1926)
- School of Professional Studies (1933)
The university’s Chicago campus is the site of its law and medical schools.
The university opened its Doha campus in 2008, offering degree programs in journalism and communications. Research facilities include the Center for Learning and Organizational Change, the Institute for Policy Research, the Center for Public Safety, and the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
Notable alumni and faculty
Northwestern’s notable alumni include the following:
- Author George R.R. Martin
- Comedian and actor Stephen Colbert
- Nobel Prize-winning author Saul Bellow
- Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Actor and director David Schwimmer
- U.S. Sen. George McGovern
- U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens
- Nobel Prize-winning economist George J. Stigler
Winners of prestigious awards in history, literature, mathematics, and science have held teaching positions at Northwestern University. These include mathematician Vladimir Voevodsky, recipient of the Fields Medal in 2002; Natasha Trethewey, former U.S. poet laureate; Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Gary Wills; and Dale Mortensen, corecipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics.