<p>I’m surprised no one’s commented on (seen?) the obvious. First and foremost, the new President will be an advocate for YOU, the undergraduate population of this large university with business, law and medical schools that many would argue have drawn more than their fair share of the administration’s attention. </p>
<p>Although Schapiro is no newcomer to a large university (he’s a former Chairman of Economics, VP for Planning, and Dean of Arts and Sciences at USC), he is more than anything else an advocate of undergraduate education. He taught at Williams for more than a decade before heading out west and has been president there now for eight years. </p>
<p>So I’d argue he was recruited to do many things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Strengthen undergraduate education. His years as president at a top LAC like Williams may uniquely qualify him for this task.</p></li>
<li><p>Strengthen the core of the university - Arts and Sciences. NU’s subspecialty schools are already arguably THE standard of quality in their respective fields.</p></li>
<li><p>Raise money. Like it or not, this is the primary responsibility in any university president’s job description. He’s already proven himself in this regard at Williams.</p></li>
<li><p>Be a leader. He starts at Northwestern as one of the most respected national figures in higher education. The university gets to ride the coat tails of his tenure as a President at Williams - he is no newcomer to the scene. Add Northwestern to Schapiro’s subspecialty interests in the economics of education, especially in these troubled times, and you raise his already formidable stature among academic presidents exponentially.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Again, I view this selection as BRILLIANT (and did not see it coming). Soooo, Northwestern benefits from a fresh face with a fresh perspective, a brilliant mind and outstanding academic reputation, a proven track record already leading one of the finest colleges in the country, and a person uniquely qualified to rethink undergraduate education at the university.</p>
<p>This search committee done good.</p>