What makes a SuperAger?
August 7, 2025
As we kick off the academic year, this month’s calendar includes annual favorites and new opportunities to learn and engage with our campus community. As always, all are welcome!
Enjoy a block bash
It’s time again for Northwestern Athletics and Recreation’s annual ’Kits, ’Cats and Kids Block Party. The free event features inflatables, refreshments, performances and more. Local restaurants will also have food available for purchase.
The party starts at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Evanston Township High School’s Lazier Field, 2285 Church St., Evanston.
Principle and policy
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law hosts “Defending Democracy: A Conversation with Liz Cheney,” as part of its Knox Conversations series. Hear the former congresswoman, a figure at the fulcrum in our political divide, tell the stories of how she arrived at her personal convictions, her remarkable career and the road that lies ahead.
Cheney will speak at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, in Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Register here.
Do a good deed
The Northwestern University Staff Advisory Council hosts a Chicago campus blood drive as part of The We Give Blood Drive. While this event is planned with staff in mind, all are welcome. Everyone who donates on behalf of Northwestern will receive a gift card and a raffle entry for two tickets to Northwestern’s Oct. 4 football game.
The drive begins at noon on Thursday, Sept. 11, on the second floor of Abbott Hall, 710 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. Register here.
Take a deep dive
Attend a gallery talk by Stephanie S.E. Lee, a co-curator of The Block Museum of Art’s exhibition “Pouring, Spilling, Bleeding: Helen Frankenthaler and Artists’ Experiments on Paper.” Look closely at two works and explore their surprising connections to Italian classical music, an 11th-century Japanese novel and the spirit of artistic collaboration that shaped Frankenthaler’s process.
The talk is at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, at The Block, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston. Register here.
Scoops and scholarship
Scott Sowerby, author of “Making Toleration: The Repealers and the Glorious Revolution,” delivers the Center for Historical Studies’ annual ice cream lecture. Sowerby will present a talk titled “Early Modern French Natalism and Other Odd Stories.”
A catered lunch begins at noon, with the lecture at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, in room 108, Harris Hall, 1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston.
Back on the field
After a historic 2024 season that saw the Wildcats win their second national championship in four seasons, field hockey returns for its first home game of 2025. Come out to cheer on the ’Cats as they take on Indiana by the lake.
The game starts at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, at Lakeside Field, 2311 N. Campus Drive, Evanston. Admission is free.
Hear the sound of history
Bienen School of Music’s Stephen Alltop is joined by harpsichordist Michele Benuzzi for a free concert of works for one and two harpsichords. Benuzzi founded Arcomelo, a chamber ensemble specializing in 17th- and 18th-century music, and has devoted much of his career to recovering music from unedited manuscripts.
The free concert is at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, in Galvin Recital Hall, Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, 70 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston.
Charting a greener future
Ali Zaidi, a leading expert in energy and climate policy, delivers a public policy lecture sponsored by Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research and the Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy. As former President Joe Biden’s top advisor on domestic climate policy, Zaidi led the United States’ efforts to expand clean energy and manufacturing, reduce pollution and support communities most impacted by climate change.
Zaidi will speak at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, in White Auditorium, Kellogg Global Hub, 2211 Campus Drive, Evanston. Register here.
