The president of Northwestern University has resigned amid a nearly $800 million funding war with President Donald Trump and the White House.
Michael Schill announced his decision to step down Thursday after serving as university president for three years.
He admitted it was ‘time for new leadership to guide Northwestern’ after facing months of scrutiny from the GOP.
Schill was summoned to appear before Congress last year due to accusations that the school was failing to shield its Jewish students from harassment and anti-Semitic incidents during protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
He was also heavily criticized over his handling of a hazing scandal in the university’s football program.
His decision to step down follows the Trump administration’s move in April this year to halt $790 million of Northwestern’s federal research funding, referencing ‘ongoing credible and concerning Title IV investigations’.
The university in July took the ‘drastic step’ of eliminating roughly 425 positions, close to half of which had reportedly been vacant.
At that time, Northwestern officials acknowledged that reducing staff was necessary to address a budget shortfall and described it as the ‘most difficult action we had to take’.
Northwestern University President Michael Schill (pictured during his Congressional appearance in May 2024) has resigned amidst an $800 billion funding conflict with President Donald Trump and the White House.
This April, the Trump administration paused $790 million in federal research funding for Northwestern, citing ‘several ongoing credible and concerning Title IV inquiries’. Pictured: Donald Trump, August 2025.
Schill, in a statement Thursday, said serving as Northwestern’s president has been a ‘profound honor’.
‘In that time, our community has made significant progress while simultaneously facing extraordinary challenges,’ he said.
He emphasized how the choices made during the past three years have ‘fortified the institution and contributed to securing its future’.
But also admitted he is no longer the right person to lead the institution.
‘As I reflect on the progress we have made and what lies ahead, I believe now is the right time for new leadership to guide Northwestern into its next chapter,’ he said.
‘Therefore, I have decided, in consultation with the leadership of the Board of Trustees, that I will step down as President.’
The university’s Board of Trustees is expected to soon name an interim president.
Schill will continue to serve as in the role until an interim president has been selected and will work to ‘assure a smooth transition’, the university says.
He has also vowed to continue working with the board to get the university’s frozen federal funding restored.
President Michael Schill listens during Northwestern University’s commencement on June 15, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago
Schill will take a sabbatical from the university once he has officially stepped down and will later return to campus as a faculty member, teaching and conducting research at at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
‘The Board of Trustees is enormously grateful to President Schill for his leadership during a period of unparalleled challenges at Northwestern and across higher education,’ board chairman Peter Barris said in a statement.
‘In spite of many headwinds, President Schill and his administration worked diligently to defend Northwestern’s mission and accomplished lasting achievements that contribute robustly to Northwestern’s continued advancement among the great universities in the United States and around the globe.’
Schill took office as Northwestern’s president in September 2022 after having previously spent seven years serving as president of the University of Oregon.
He is an expert in property, real estate and housing law and policy, and founded New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy in 1995.
He has also held positions at the University of Chicago, UCLA and the University of Pennsylvania.
Northwestern has hailed Schill for his ‘record fundraising’ efforts – which saw him raise nearly $2.5 billion – and work to make the university rise on the nation’s best ranking universities list.
During his tenure, Northwestern was listed at No. 6 on the US News & World Report national rankings list – the highest the university has ever ranked.
