Sunshine Honored by Chamber of Commerce

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Eugene S. Sunshine, senior vice president for business and finance at Northwestern University, has been honored for his leadership in the community service and nonprofit sector by the Evanston Chamber of Commerce.

“This is a much appreciated and special honor that I accept on behalf of many colleagues engaged in what we all call town-gown relations,” Sunshine said. “It is a pleasure to lead them.”

A member of the Chamber's executive committee for many years, Sunshine is Northwestern’s chief financial and administrative officer and is the principal adviser to the president on non-academic matters.

Community relations is among the numerous units reporting to Sunshine, and his leadership has been critical to the University's relationships with the City of Evanston’s government, area businesses and nonprofits, and the City's two school districts.

Under the direction of Sunshine as well as Northwestern President Morton Schapiro, the University is especially committed to sharing its educational expertise with the community in which it is located.

One of the centerpieces of those efforts is a partnership that ties Northwestern and Evanston Township High School (ETHS) in providing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

“The futures of Evanston and Northwestern are intertwined in many respects,” Sunshine said. He is especially proud of the University’s excellent working relationships with City departments, such as the police, fire and public works departments.

The partnership includes a Northwestern/ETHS partnership coordinator whose office is located at the high school. It is part of President Schapiro’s Good Neighbor, Great University Initiative, which provides significant financial aid to incoming freshmen from high schools in Evanston and Chicago who need assistance.

For many years, the University also has collaborated with the two Evanston school districts in Project EXCITE. The project provides academically talented minority students from grades three through eight a solid foundation in math and science. Its aim is to increase the number of minority high school students taking honors and advanced placement math and science classes.

With Sunshine's involvement, Northwestern collaborates with the community in a range of ways, from promoting purchases by the Northwestern community from local businesses to providing resources to encourage students to engage in lifelong volunteer and civic engagement in Evanston and elsewhere. 

Sunshine, who has been key to Northwestern’s leadership for the last 16 years as senior vice president for business and finance, previously held a similar position at Johns Hopkins University for 10 years. A Northwestern graduate, Sunshine also received a master of public administration degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.