Oregon President Michael Schill Accepts Northwestern Job

On3 imageby:Justin Hopkins08/11/22

Oregon will be under new leadership as it navigates some interesting times. On Thursday morning it was announced by Oregon that President Michael Schill will accept the same position at Northwestern University.

Schill has been Oregon’s president since he was voted in back in April of 2015.

Oregon’s chair of the board of trustees, Ginevra Ralph, offered this statement on the news.

It is with mixed emotions of pride and sadness that I announce that President Michael H. Schill will be leaving the University of Oregon to become president of Northwestern University. During his seven-year tenure at the UO, President Schill has significantly propelled the university forward, and so it is no surprise that he would be recruited by one of the most prestigious academic research institutions in the world.

As president, Michael Schill transformed our academic enterprise by increasing the size of the faculty, growing externally funded research to $172 million, and launching groundbreaking academic endeavors including the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health, and partnerships such as Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance. During his tenure, the UO completed a $3.2 billion fundraising campaign and grew the endowment to $1.3 billion. Under President Schill’s Oregon Commitment initiative to improve student success, the university improved the four-year graduation rate by more than ten percentage points, increased total student financial aid to $43 million, and opened Willie and Donald Tykeson Hall dedicated to academic and career advising and the Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center. The incoming undergraduate classes consistently increased in size, academic quality, and diversity, with the most recent class of 2025 breaking numerous university records.

Northwestern also issued a statement of its own on the matter.

“I am thrilled, honored and humbled to join Northwestern, one of the world’s most prominent universities,” Schill said. “Northwestern has a long tradition of educating the brightest minds and pushing the boundaries of research and innovation.”

You may also like