President’s Fund

The President’s Fund helps to advance emerging ideas and impactful initiatives across Northwestern. Through this unrestricted fund, President Michael H. Schill has the flexibility to aid student initiatives, capitalize on exciting opportunities that build upon the University’s strengths, and accelerate our growth in priority areas while responding to new challenges as they arise.

Gifts to this fund help to bolster Northwestern’s excellence in research, education, and innovation. Examples of efforts that are being enhanced by the President’s Fund include:

  • Harnessing the power of data science and artificial intelligence to further research and teaching
    • Resources from the President’s Fund provided seed grants for two new faculty collaborations developed at a conference hosted by the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
  • Advancing interdisciplinary researchin the social sciences and global studies
    • A conversation with Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, hosted by the Weinberg College Center for International and Area Studies, was sponsored by the President’s Fund
  • Driving new discoveries in the biosciences that can lead to earlier detection and enhanced treatment of disease
    • A grant from the President’s Fund furthered the efforts of Medical Makers, a group where students in the biosciences form teams to design innovative medical devices in response to individual patient needs
  • Building resilient students and a sense of belonging
    • Multiple student organizations have received allocations from this fund, including Cats Who Compost, which leads on-campus waste collection, and K-Dance, a K-pop-inspired performing group
  • Promoting free speech and engagementacross difference on our campuses and throughout society
    • Funding helped to support the early work of the Center for Enlightened Disagreement, which launched in 2024 to help individuals have more constructive dialogue with others who hold differing view.

The President’s Fund makes it possible to quickly provide resources to areas such as these, making a significant impact on the Northwestern community and beyond.

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