US universities have faced pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on pro-Palestine activism.
Published On 4 Sep 2025
Northwestern University President Michael Schill has announced he will leave his position, as the school struggles with funding cuts enacted under the administration of United States President Donald Trump.
In a statement on Thursday, Schill acknowledged friction with the federal government and said it was the “right time” to pass the reins to a new leader.
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“Difficult problems remain,” he wrote, “particularly at the federal level.”
But he called on his successor to protect Northwestern, a prestigious university north of Chicago, Illinois, from threats to its academic mission.
“It is critical that we continue to protect the University’s research mission and excellence while preserving academic freedom, integrity, and independence,” Schill said.
Schill has led the private university for nearly three years. During that time, the school has weathered a scandal in its athletic department over hazing involving sexual abuse and racism.
But Northwestern also attracted conservative backlash last year when Schill struck a deal with pro-Palestinian student protesters who were demonstrating against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The agreement came in April 2024, as many campuses saw protest encampments erupt on their lawns. Northwestern was no exception.
In exchange for dismantling the camp and limiting the duration of the protests, Schill agreed to re-establish an advisory committee to review Northwestern’s investments, in a gesture to the students’ calls to divest from Israel.
That agreement was held up as a peaceful alternative to police intervention, something other universities had opted for. Other deals with student protesters, including at Johns Hopkins University, quickly followed.
But Trump has sought to punish universities that saw large-scale pro-Palestinian protests emerge on campus.
He has repeatedly claimed the demonstrations created an unsafe learning environment for Jewish students and staff.
But critics say the Trump administration has used allegations of anti-Semitism as a pretext to silence protesters and bring institutions of higher education in line with his political priorities.
Since taking office for a second term in January, Trump and his officials have cut funds to universities in the name of anti-Semitism and civil rights.
The administration has also carried out other punitive measures, including initiating deportation proceedings against foreign students who participated in the protests.
In Northwestern’s case, the Trump administration froze nearly $800m in research grants in April, on the basis that the school had allowed anti-Semitism to flourish.
That funding freeze reportedly forced Northwestern to trim its budget and eliminate 425 positions, though half of them were vacant at the time of the cuts.
Northwestern is not the only campus to face pressure from the loss of federal funding.
In July, Columbia University in New York City agreed to pay a $200m settlement to restore its federal grants, and Brown University likewise struck a deal with Trump that forced it to pay $50m for workforce development programmes in Rhode Island.
Other universities in similar predicaments have seen top leadership depart under White House pressure, like at Northwestern.
In June, the University of Virginia saw its president, James Ryan, leave after a pressure campaign against diversity initiatives at the school.
But earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s efforts to cancel Harvard University’s federal grants were an illegal form of retaliation and a violation of the school’s free speech rights. That case is expected to be appealed.
Trump and his allies have expressed ire for several top universities, which they see as bastions of political dissent and left-wing ideas.
In a statement on Thursday, the White House said it “looks forward to working with the new leadership” of Northwestern University.