Northwestern President Michael Schill resigns after tenure rocked by protests, $800M Trump funding freeze, hazing scandal

Northwestern University president Michael Schill has resigned following a tumultuous tenure marked by a hazing scandal, calls for resignation over campus antisemitism and nearly $800 million in funds frozen by the Trump administration.

Schill alluded to “extraordinary challenges” during his three years at the helm, touting “significant progress” made while acknowledging “difficult problems remain, particularly at the federal level,” in a letter to the school community announcing his departure Thursday.

The Trump administration in April announced it was putting $790 million in federal research funds on ice over alleged antisemitic discrimination and harassment on the Evanston, Illinois, campus.

“The money was frozen in connection with several ongoing, credible, and concerning Title VI investigations,” a Trump admin official told Fox News at the time.

By July, the university announced it would cut about 425 jobs in a step it called “the most painful measure we have had to take.”

Northwestern’s campus was the site of widespread anti-Israel protests last spring, where students set up tents and demanded the university divest from any companies with ties to the Jewish state.

Schill, along with the leaders of Rutgers University and UCLA, faced a grilling from House Republicans — and some Democrats — on a House education panel last May.

“These antisemitic protests have led to hijacking buildings, erecting unlawful encampments, disrupting classrooms, and canceling commencements,” House Education and Workforce Committee chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said in her opening remarks.

During a series of tense exchanges, panel members, including House Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), ripped Schill for receiving an “F” grade in fighting antisemitism from the Anti-Defamation League, which has called for his ouster.

Schill acknowledged the school gave in to the protesters’ demands, including fully funding several visiting Palestinian faculty and students and carving out faculty posts for Palestinian academics, which was done without fully consulting the school’s Board of Trustees, Jewish undergrads or an advisory committee on combating antisemitism.

In the wake of the concessions, seven members of the advisory committee resigned in protest.

That same month, three Northwestern students filed a lawsuit alleging the school had failed to protect Jewish students.

Another black eye on Schill’s presidency came in July 2023, when Northwestern meted out a two-week suspension and then fired longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald over allegations of hazing in the program.

The slap-on-the-wrist suspension became permanent when former players revealed details of the alleged hazing in the student newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, prompting Schill to admit he “erred” in his judgment.

Fitzgerald filed a $130 million wrongful termination suit against the school, which was settled last month under undisclosed terms. His agent reportedly said he and the fired coach were “very, very satisfied” with the outcome, the New York Times reported.

“The Trump Administration looks forward to working with the new leadership, and we hope they seize this opportunity to Make Northwestern Great Again,” White House deputy press secretary Liz Huston told The Post via email.

Northwestern says it will soon choose an interim replacement for Schill, who will continue in his role until a successor is named before going on sabbatical and returning to teach and conduct research as a faculty member at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

“He will also continue to work with the Board of Trustees on efforts to get the University’s frozen federal funding restored,” the university said in a statement.