Northwestern University.html



Northwestern University
Motto:	Quaecumque sunt vera (Latin)
Motto in English:	Whatsoever things are true (Philippians 4:8 KJV)
Established:	1851
Type:	Private
Endowment:	US $6.5 billion[1]
President:	Henry S. Bienen
Faculty:	2,925[2]
Students:	18,028[3]
Undergraduates:	8,284[3]
Postgraduates:	9,744 [3]
Location:	Evanston and Chicago, IL, U.S.
Colors:	Purple and White[4]
Mascot:	Willie the Wildcat
Athletics:	NCAA Division I, Big Ten Wildcats
Affiliations:	Association of American Universities, COFHE
Website:	www.northwestern.edu

Northwestern University (NU) is a nonsectarian, coeducational, private research university located in Evanston, Illinois and downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. Northwestern's main campus is a 240-acre (0.97 km²) parcel in Evanston, along the shore of Lake Michigan. Several of Northwestern's professional schools such as the School of Law, the Feinberg School of Medicine, and parts of the Kellogg School of Management are located in the Streeterville neighborhood of downtown Chicago.

Northwestern was founded in 1851 to serve the people of the Northwest Territory. A 379-acre (1.53 km²) tract of farmland along Lake Michigan 12 miles (19 km) north of Chicago was chosen as the new Evanston campus. Today the university is organized into eleven schools and colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. Northwestern's professional schools as well as programs in journalism, theater, communication, industrial management, material science, and the social sciences have historically been ranked or otherwise recognized as being among the best in their respective fields.^[5][6] In 2007, student enrollments include approximately 8,200 undergraduate and 9,700 graduate and professional students.^[3] Northwestern competes in the NCAA's Division I and is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference.

History

Main article: History of Northwestern University

The Arch at Northwestern's Evanston campus

Northwestern was founded in 1851 by Methodists from Chicago (including John Evans, after whom Evanston is named), and opened in Evanston in 1855 with two faculty members and ten students. The school’s nine founders, all of whom were Methodists (three of them ministers), knelt in prayer and worship before launching their first organizational meeting.^[7] The University's name, Northwestern, came from its founders' desire to serve citizens of the states that occupied the area of the former Northwest Territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. The original Evanston campus in 1855 consisted of only one building, a temporary structure called "Old College." University Hall, the first permanent building, was constructed in 1869. Northwestern built a campus in Chicago for its graduate schools of law, medicine, and business in the 1920s.

The phrase on Northwestern's seal is Quaecumque sunt vera -- in Latin, "Whatsoever things are true" from Philippians 4:8. Also on Northwestern's seal is a Greek phrase inscribed on the pages of an open book: ho logos pleres charitos kai aletheias, which translates as "The Word... full of grace and truth." This phrase comes from the Gospel of John 1:14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we behold His glory, and the glory was of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Both the Latin and Greek phrases express the values of the University's founders, and recall Northwestern's Methodist heritage.

Northwestern's founding charter granted the school a permanent exemption from paying property taxes. For this reason, Northwestern has often endured a difficult relationship with Evanston's government. Tensions have arisen regarding building codes, law enforcement, and politics. Recently, factions of Evanston's government have attempted to divide Northwestern's campus into several different wards, in order to reduce students' voting power.

In 1873, the Evanston College for Ladies merged with Northwestern, and Frances Willard, who later gained fame as a suffragist, became the school's first dean of women. Northwestern first became co-educational in 1869 at the insistence of Dean Erastus Haven, and the first female student graduated in 1874. ^[8]

Purple became Northwestern's official school color in 1892^[9], replacing black and gold; a university committee thought that too many other universities used those colors. Today, Northwestern only has one official color, royal purple. However, tradition has firmly established white as a de facto if not de jure official color.^[10] As a result, the University's Alma Mater mentions white in conjunction with purple ("Hail to purple, hail to white"), and both are listed in the university guidelines.^[4]

University Hall, the second building constructed on the campus, and the oldest building still standing.

During the 1930s, Northwestern nearly merged with its academic rival, the University of Chicago.^[11] In 1933, Northwestern President Walter Scott and Chicago President Robert Hutchins concluded that in order to secure the future of both universities, it was in the best interest of both to merge as the Universities of Chicago, with Northwestern's Evanston campus serving undergraduates, Northwestern's Chicago campus serving professionals, and Chicago's Hyde Park campus serving postgraduates. What Scott and Hutchins initially envisioned as the preeminent university in the world was eventually extinguished by Northwestern's board of trustees, a result that Hutchins called "one of the lost opportunities of American education." ^[11]

Northwestern hosted the first-ever NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game in 1939. It took place in the original Patten Gymnasium, which was later demolished and relocated farther north in order to make room for the Technological Institute. In 1948, prominent anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits founded the Program of African Studies at Northwestern, the first center of its kind at an American academic institution. In May 1978, the first Unabomber attack occurred at Northwestern University. The following year, the second Unabomber attack also occurred at Northwestern.

In 1999, Northwestern student journalists uncovered information that exonerated Illinois death row inmate Anthony Porter two days before his scheduled execution. Since, the Medill Innocence Project has exonerated nine more innocent men.^[12] On January 11, 2003, in a speech at Northwestern School of Law's Lincoln Hall, Governor of Illinois George Ryan announced that he would commute the sentences of more than 150 death row inmates. Ryan said, "it is fitting that we are gathered here today at Northwestern University with the students, teachers, lawyers and investigators who first shed light on the sorrowful conditions of Illinois’ death penalty system."^[13]

Campuses

See also: List of Northwestern University buildings

Evanston

Northwestern Lakefill with Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Background

The neo-Brutalist architecture of the University Library

Ford Design Center

Northwestern's Evanston campus, home to the undergraduate program and the business school, runs north-south in between Lake Michigan and Sheridan Road from Clark Street to Central Street. The north side of campus is home to the campus' fraternity quads, the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and other athletic facilities, the Technological Institute, Dearborn Observatory, and other science-related buildings including Ryan Hall, and the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center. The south side of campus is home to the University's humanities buildings, music buildings (such as Pick-Staiger Concert Hall), art buildings (such as the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art), and sorority quads. This division in building location, along with the fact that the south end of campus is closer to the downtown center of Evanston, creates a cultural difference between the students typically found on either end of the campus. In the 1960s, the University expanded its campus boundaries by constructing a lakefill in Lake Michigan. The additional 84 acres are now home to the Northwestern University Library, Norris University Center, and Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, among other facilities.

The university has five libraries on the Evanston campus and three on the Chicago campus. The libraries in total have over 4.6 million volumes, with the majority housed in University Library on the Evanston campus.^[14] University Library is home to The Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies, the largest separate collection of Africana in the world.^[15]

The Chicago Transit Authority's elevated train running through Evanston is called the Purple Line, taking its name from Northwestern's school color. The Foster and Davis stations are within walking distance of the southern end of the campus, while the Noyes station is close to the northern end of the campus. The Central station is close to Ryan Field, Northwestern's football stadium. Northwestern's professional schools and hospital in downtown Chicago are about four blocks east of the Chicago station on the CTA Red Line. The Chicago Transit Authority and Pace Suburban Bus Service have several bus routes that run through both campuses. The Evanston Davis Street Metra station serves the Northwestern campus in downtown Evanston as well, and the Evanston Central Street Metra station is near Ryan Field.

Chicago

The Montgomery Ward Building at the Feinberg School of Medicine--America's first academic skyscraper. ^[16]

Northwestern's Chicago campus is located in the city's Streeterville neighborhood, with close proximity to landmarks such as the John Hancock Center and Michigan Avenue. Its Ward Building was the first academic skyscraper in the country. The Chicago campus is home to the medical school and hospital, the law school, the part-time business school, and the School of Continuing Studies, which offers evening and weekend courses for working adults.

Academics

Schools and colleges

Northwestern University is composed of 11 schools and colleges:

The Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (1853) is also located on the Evanston campus, though it is only affiliated with the university.

Student body

In the 2006-07 academic year, there were 7,976 full-time undergraduates, 7,153 full-time graduate students, and approximately 1,800 part-time students at Northwestern.^[2] The University's admissions are among the most selective in the country. For the undergraduate Class of 2011 (entering 2007), there were 21,930 applications; 5,872 were admitted (26%) and 1,981 enrolled (33.7%).^[17] The same enrolling undergraduate class was 53.3% female, 5% African-American, 19% Asian-American, 7% Hispanic, less than 1% American Indian, and 6% international.^[17] The mean SAT score was 1423 and 86 percent ranked in the top ten percent of their high school class.^[18]The freshman retention rate was 96.3% and four-year graduation rate was 86%.^[17] 2008-2009 tuition and fees for undergraduates was $37,125 and $213.8 million was offered in scholarships, grants, and other financial aid across the university's undergraduate and graduate programs.^[19] Northwestern granted 2,098 bachelors degrees, 2,615 masters degrees, 423 Ph.D.s, and 414 professional degrees in 2007.^[2]

Faculty and administration

Main article: List of Northwestern University faculty

Northwestern has 2,925 full-time faculty members and approximately 5,600 staff members among its eight schools.^[2] Northwestern has had fifteen presidents during its history, excluding interim presidents. The current president is Henry Bienen. Bienen has announced his intention to retire effective August 31, 2009.^[20]

Notable current faculty include sexual psychologist J. Michael Bailey; Holocaust denier Arthur Butz;^[21] former-Weatherman Bernardine Rae Dohrn; ethnographer Gary Alan Fine; Kyoto Prize-winning philosopher Jurgen Habermas; Templeton Prize-winner Charles Taylor; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills; and MacArthur Fellowship recipients Stuart Dybek, Aleksandar Hemon, Jennifer Richeson, Amy Rosenzweig, and Mary Zimmerman. Notable former faculty include artist Ed Paschke, Nobel Prize-winning chemist John Pople, and military sociologist and "don't ask, don't tell" author Charles Moskos.

Rankings

Northwestern University ranked 12th among national universities by U.S.News & World Report (tied with Washington University in St. Louis),^[40] 11th among national universities according to Forbes Magazine,^[41] 30th among world universities in a research output-based academic ranking of world universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University,^[42] and 29th in the world by The Times Higher Education Supplement.^[43] Newsweek ranked Northwestern 35th among world universities and 23rd among American universities.^[44] The Center for Measuring University Performance ranked Northwestern 19th among American research universities based on data such as research publications, citations, recognitions and funding.^[45]

USNWR ranks Northwestern's School of Law 9th,^[46] Kellogg School of Management 5th,^[47] Feinberg School of Medicine 21st in research and 44th in primary care,^[48] the McCormick School of Engineering 21st,^[49] and the School of Education and Social Policy 7th.^[50] The Medill School of Journalism ranks among America's top three journalism, media, and advertising schools.^[51][52] Business Week ranks Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management as the best business school for executive MBA's and 3rd best overall, with respect to full-time MBA programs.^[53]

The Princeton Review ranks NU with the 12th best college newspaper, 3rd best college theater, and 5th worst town and gown relationship.^[54] Men's Fitness magazine named Northwestern the fifth-fittest college in America in 2005.^[55]

Campus Life

Traditions

Northwestern University student traditions include:

• Painting The Rock (originally a fountain that was donated by the Class of 1902) is a way to advertise Greek organizations, student groups, and on-campus events.^[56]
• Northwestern has several traditions for football games. Students perform the Wildcat Growl when opposing teams control the ball, while making "claws" with their hands. Also, students jingle their keys at the beginning of each kickoff, to symbolize that even if Northwestern loses on the field, graduates of other schools will park students' cars in the future. Students used to throw marshmallows during football games, but this unusual tradition was discontinued at the behest of former football coach Gary Barnett.^[57]
• The Rebecca Crown Center Clock Tower glows purple (instead of its usual white) after a winning game, announcing the results to a large part of the Evanston community. The Clock Tower remains purple until a loss or the end of the sports season. The Clock Tower is now lit for football, men's basketball, and women's lacrosse victories; important wins in other sports may also prompt a lighting. This is a recent change from the original tradition of lighting the Clock Tower purple only after winning football games, and keeping it purple during the off-season if the football team won its last game of the season.
• Dance Marathon, a 30-hour philanthropic event, raises several hundred thousand dollars every winter. The 2007 "DM" raised in excess of $708,000.
• Primal Scream is held at 9 p.m. on the Sunday before finals week every quarter. For the event, students lean out windows or gather in court yards and scream at the top of their lungs.^[58]
• Armadillo Day, or more commonly Dillo Day, is held on Northwestern's Lakefill every Spring on the weekend before Memorial Day.^[58]

Media

The Daily Northwestern is the main student newspaper at Northwestern. It is published on weekdays during the academic year. Established in 1881, it is run entirely by undergraduates, many of whom are students at the Medill School of Journalism. The Daily is widely considered one of the best college newspapers in the country, a frequent winner of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the coveted Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award. Although it serves the Northwestern community, the Daily is not affiliated with the university and is supported entirely by advertisers. It is owned by the Students Publishing Company. Current circulation is in excess of 7,500 as The Daily Northwestern is the only daily publication for both Northwestern University and the city of Evanston.

WNUR (89.3 FM) is a 7200 watt radio station that broadcasts to Chicago and its northern suburbs. It is the largest student-run radio station in the country. In 2003, WNUR was named the #1 college radio station in the country by Spin magazine. WNUR has also been recognized as a top US station by The Wire and is often cited as one of the major centers for the nascent indie music movement during the early 1990s. However, music is not the only part of WNUR's programming. Students broadcast Northwestern's varsity athletics (football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, and women's lacrosse) live, produce news updates on weekdays, and discuss politics, current events, and literature.

The Northwestern News Network, commonly known as NNN, is the student television news and sports operation at Northwestern. It broadcasts news and sports programming three days of the week during the academic year on NU Channel 1, online at nnntv.org and weeknights at 10 p.m. on Evanston cable access channel 6.

North by Northwestern is a student-run online publication dedicated to campus life. It recently won first place in its region for Best All-Around Independent Online Student Publication from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Other prominent student publications include the The Northwestern Chronicle, Northwestern's monthly alternative newspaper; Northwestern Business Review, a business magazine; Helicon, a literary magazine; schmooze, a magazine for Jewish college students around the country; STITCH, a fashion and photography magazine; Blackboard, published by black student alliance For Members Only; Mustardseed, a Christian publication; NUde Magazine, which focuses on student culture and experiencing Chicago; and The Protest, part of the Peace Project umbrella organization.

Performing arts

Student theater enjoys a highly visible presence on campus. Two annual productions are especially notable: the Waa-Mu^[59] show, and the Dolphin show. Waa-Mu is an original musical, written and produced almost entirely by students. The Dolphin Show is the nation's largest student produced musical. Children's theater is represented on campus by Griffin’s Tale and the recently formed Purple Crayon Players. In addition, Northwestern boasts the largest student-theatre community in the nation. Students produce over sixty independent productions each year. Many Northwestern alumni have used these productions as stepping stones to successful television and film careers. Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre was founded by several alumni, including David Schwimmer, and began in the Great Room in Jones Residential College.

Northwestern also has a variety of improv groups. The improv and sketch comedy group Mee-Ow lists Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ana Gasteyer, Dermot Mulroney, Seth Meyers, John Cameron Mitchell, and Kristen Schaal among its alumni. The Titanic Players are the oldest long-form improv group in the country. Mee-Ow, Titanic, and Out da Box, a multicultural comedy show, along with Northwestern's theatre department, have brought nation-wide attention to Northwestern's improv comedy training and performance.^{citation needed}

There are over ten a cappella groups and a variety of dance companies on campus. The dance companies include Fusion Dance Company, a Hip-Hop Dance Crew; Graffiti Dancers, a dance group that focuses on jazz and modern; and Boomshaka, Northwestern's premiere drum and dance ensemble, combining body rhythm, drumming, and dance. Radio drama featuring student voice actors is a staple of WNUR's programming.

Service

Many Northwestern students are also heavily involved in community service. Annual events include Dance Marathon, a 30-hour event that raised over $708,000 for charity in 2007. ^[60] In recognition for their efforts, the Dance Marathon 2007 organizers were awarded the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award by the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Another annual event, Project Pumpkin, is a Halloween celebration hosted by Northwestern Community Development Corps (NCDC), where over 800 local children are invited to campus for an afternoon of games and candy. NCDC connects hundreds of NU student volunteers to over 20 volunteer sites in Evanston and Chicago communities throughout the year. Many students have assisted with the Special Olympics and have taken alternative spring break trips to hundreds of service sites across the United States. Northwestern students also participate in the Freshman Urban Program - a special program for students interested in community service.

Housing

See also: List of Northwestern University residences

Northwestern has diverse student housing options, including both regular residence halls and specially-themed "Residential Colleges." Some residential colleges include Jones Residential College, dedicated to the arts, multi-themed Willard Residential College, multi-themed Shepard Residential College, science and engineering themed Slivka Residential College, and the Communications Residential College (CRC) for students interested in communications.

In fall 2007, 27% of students were affiliated with a fraternity or a sorority.^[61]Traditionally, Northwestern has had the highest percentage of students involved in Greek life among Big Ten universities.^{citation needed}

Athletics

Main article: Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern University Wildcats

Northwestern is a charter member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private institution in the conference. Currently, Northwstern fields 19 intercollegiate athletic teams (8 men's and 11 women's) in addition to numerous club sports.^[2] The football team plays at Ryan Field (formerly known as Dyche Stadium); the basketball and volleyball teams play at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern's athletic teams are nicknamed the Wildcats. Before 1924, they were known as "The Purple" and unofficially as "The Fighting Methodists." The name Wildcats was bestowed upon the university in 1924 by Wallace Abbey, a writer for the Chicago Daily Tribune who wrote that even in a loss to the University of Chicago, "Football players had not come down from Evanston; wildcats would be a name better suited to [Coach Glenn] Thistletwaite's boys." ^[62] The name was so popular that university board members made "wildcats" the official nickname just months later. In 1972 the student body voted to change the official nickname from "Wildcats" to "Purple Haze" but the new name never really stuck.^{citation needed}

2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship game between the Virginia Cavaliers and Northwestern Wildcats

The Northwestern Athletics' mascot is Willie the Wildcat. However, the team's first mascot was not Willie, but a live, caged bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo named Furpaw. In fall 1923, Furpaw was driven to the playing field to greet the fans before each game. After a losing season, the team decided that Furpaw was the harbinger of bad luck and banished him from campus. Willie made his debut ten years later in 1933 as a logo, but did not actually come to life until 1947, when members of the Alpha Delta fraternity dressed up as him during the Homecoming parade.

Northwestern's football team has a history of futility, as it holds the all-time records for Division I-A losses, points allowed, and negative point differential (amount opponents have outscored them by), and is on the losing end of the greatest comeback in Division I-A history. Northwestern also holds the record for the longest losing streak in Division I-A, 32 games. However, the team has seen success in recent years, including trips to the 1996 Rose Bowl, 1997 Citrus Bowl, 2000 Alamo Bowl, 2003 Motor City Bowl and 2005 Sun Bowl. In addition to those winning seasons, Northwestern also enjoyed one of their most memorable Football victories in 2004, with an upset over usual Big Ten power Ohio State. The current coach is former All-American Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald. The Northwestern University Marching Band (NUMB) performs at all home football and lead cheers in the student section and the alma mater at the end of the game.

Ryan Field, Northwestern's 49,000 seat football stadium

The Northwestern women's soccer team gained significant notoriety in 2006 when pictures of an alleged hazing incident involving new team members were found on Facebook and posted on Badjocks.com.^[63]

Current successful athletic programs include men's soccer, wrestling, men's swimming, men's golf, women's tennis, softball, fencing and women's lacrosse. The women's lacrosse team is the four-time NCAA national champion, and went undefeated in 2005.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Northwestern alumni

Northwestern totals approximately 190,000 alumni, including leaders in business, government, law, science, education, medicine, media, and the performing arts. Among Northwestern's notable alumni are U.S. Senator and presidential candidate George McGovern, Nobel Prize-winning economist George J. Stigler, and Nobel Prize-winning author Saul Bellow. U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, former Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations Arthur Joseph Goldberg, lawyer David Boies, and politician Adlai Stevenson are among the graduates of the Northwestern School of Law. Many Northwestern alumni play or have played important roles in Chicago and Illinois, such as current Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and theater director Mary Zimmerman. Northwestern alumni David J. Skorton and Graham Spanier currently serve as president of Cornell University and Penn State University, respectively.

Northwestern's film and theater programs have also produced a number of talented actors, actresses, and filmmakers. Alumni who have made their mark on film and television include Academy Award-winner Charlton Heston, Ann-Margret, Warren Beatty, David Schwimmer, Zach Braff, Marg Helgenberger, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Springer, Megan Mullally,William Daniels, and Stephen Colbert. Alumni such as Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Heather Headley, Kristen Schaal, Lily Rabe, and Walter Kerr have seen prominence on Broadway. Amsterdam-based comedy theater Boom Chicago was founded by Northwestern alumni, and the school has become a training ground for future The Second City, I.O., ComedySportz, Mad TV and Saturday Night Live talent. Northwestern alumni living in New York City and Los Angeles, especially those involved in theater and film, are commonly known as the "Northwestern Mafia" due to their high concentration in the area and their willingness to help out fellow Wildcats.^[64]

The Medill School of Journalism has produced notable journalists and political activists including 9 Pulitzer Prize laureates. National correspondents and reporters such as The New York Times's Elisabeth Bumiller and Vincent Laforet, NBC correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, CBS correspondent Richard Threlkeld, CNN correspondents Nicole Lapin and Joie Chen, and ESPN personalities Rachel Nichols, Michael Wilbon, Mike Greenberg, J. A. Adande, and Kevin Blackistone.

Northwestern alumni involved in music include Steve Albini, Thomas Tyra, Andrew Bird, Matt Muckey, M. Superlatif, Julie Liu, Jen Charowhas, and members of Arcade Fire, The Lawrence Arms, Chavez, Freddie Feldman, and OK Go. Lastly, many Northwestern alumni are involved in professional sports including Rick Sund (NBA), Billy McKinney (NBA), Mark Loretta (MLB), Joe Girardi (MLB), Luis Castillo (NFL), and three-time Olympic medalist Matt Grevers.

References in popular culture

• Fictional alumni of Northwestern include: Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore; Never Been Kissed), Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway; The Devil Wears Prada), Natalie Hurley (Sabrina Lloyd; Sports Night), Augie March (The Adventures of Augie March), Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies; Prison Break), Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney (Tina Fey and Jane Krakowski; 30 Rock), Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford; Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), Cheryl (Melanie Nicholls-King; The Wire), Teri Joseph (Nicole Ari Parker; Soul Food), Gomez (The Time Traveler's Wife), Lee (Jonny Lee Miller; Melinda and Melinda), Harry's wife (When Harry Met Sally), PJ Franklin and Brendan Dorff; (Jordana Spiro and Reid Scott; My Boys) Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel; Bones), Jenny McIntyre and Rick Purdy (Marisa Coughlan and Chris Gartin; Side Order of Life), Dr. Robert Dovack (Richard Jenkins; "Step Brothers (film)").
• Fictional Northwestern students include Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett; Mean Girls), Catherine Llewellyn (Gwyneth Paltrow in the film adaptation; Proof), Hannah (Jennifer Garner; Felicity), and Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs; American Pie 2)
• Fictional Northwestern faculty include Mrs. Heron (Ana Gasteyer; Mean Girls) and Dr. Adani (Shohreh Aghdashloo; The Exorcism of Emily Rose).
• Fictional applicants to Northwestern include: Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar; Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Liz Parker (Shiri Appleby; Roswell), Carmen (Masiela Lusha; George Lopez), and Moesha (Brandy Norwood, Moesha).
• Daniel Cosgrove's character, Richard "Dick" Bagg, in Van Wilder interviews with representatives from Northwestern's medical school.
• Steve Martin's character in Cheaper by the Dozen coaches football at a university that is clearly supposed to be Northwestern.^[65] The script originally mentioned Northwestern by name and the filmmakers wanted to use the school specifically, but the university declined.^[66] Nonetheless, several synopses of the movie (for instance, the description on Netflix) still list the school as Northwestern.^[67]
• Mena Suvari's character in American Pie is thinking of applying to Northwestern, but says that the essays are pretty tough.
• Meadow Soprano, the daughter in The Sopranos, threatens to transfer from Columbia University to Northwestern in the episode "Eloise."
• Twins Brenda (Shannen Doherty) and Brandon (Jason Priestly) Walsh on the popular television show Beverly Hills, 90210 both considered Northwestern before deciding to attend the fictional California University.
• Major League's' "library scene" was filmed at Northwestern's Deering Library.
• Matt Le Blanc's character in Joey lies to a film producer about having graduated from Northwestern to get an audition in a TV show.
• Jennifer Aniston's character's love interest in The Break Up tells her that he graduated from Northwestern.
• Matthew Perry's character in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip mentions that his nephew is applying to Northwestern.
• In License to Wed, both Ben Murphy (John Krasinski) and Sadie Jones (Mandy Moore) wear Northwestern t-shirts.
• In The Weather Man, Robert Spritzel (Michael Caine) is tested for lymphoma at Northwestern.
• The plot of College Road Trip centers around Raven-Symone's character wanting to attend Georgetown University, whereas her father wants her stay close to home and attend Northwestern.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Northwestern University

• Official website
• Official athletics website

• Northwestern University is at coordinates 42°03′18″N 87°40′26″W / 42.054853, -87.673945 (Northwestern University)Coordinates: 42°03′18″N 87°40′26″W / 42.054853, -87.673945 (Northwestern University)

Notes and references