Provost Kathleen Hagerty to step down by end of academic year

Northwestern Provost Kathleen Hagerty will step down from the role by the end of the academic year, she said Thursday.

Hagerty, who has served as Northwestern’s provost under three presidents since her September 2020 appointment, has been at the University for more than four decades.

As the University’s chief academic officer, she has championed a range of projects to enhance Northwestern’s academic facilities, led the charge on numerous academic initiatives, and made key hires into school and unit leadership roles. Having also helped steer the University through the COVID-19 pandemic, financial constraints and myriad other issues and challenges, Hagerty said she decided it is time to plan for her next chapter.

“From the day I arrived at Northwestern, I have felt immense pride in the University and the people who make it so special,” said Hagerty, Northwestern’s first woman provost. “During my time in Kellogg and as provost, I have worked with dedicated, smart and caring people who know how to get things done and love Northwestern as much as I do, including an incredibly talented and caring group of deans and senior leaders.

“I move on to the next phase of my career with full confidence that the University will continue to support world-class teaching and research, the faculty will continue to make remarkable discoveries while educating future leaders, and our students will continue to be as curious and brilliant as ever.”

In addition to oversight of Northwestern's schools and libraries, the Office of the Provost comprises more than 20 academic and administrative units that play a central role in advancing the University’s educational policies and academic priorities. The provost also oversees preparation of the University’s annual budget.

Northwestern will soon name a search committee to identify the University’s next provost.  Hagerty will help with the transition to the new provost.

“Kathleen has been a tireless advocate for the academic mission of our University, a leader in every sense of the word, who has helped Northwestern navigate tremendous change and challenges,” said President Henry Bienen. “More than that, she has been a friend and trusted colleague, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with her during my interim presidency.”

Her accomplishments have been many.

Hagerty started at Kellogg School of Management in 1984 and holds the First Chicago Professorship in Finance. Before being named provost, she served as associate provost for faculty during the 2019-20 academic year, and previously as interim dean of Kellogg. She currently serves as chair of the Big Ten Academic Alliance as the longest-serving provost in the 18-school conference.

“Northwestern has been exceptionally lucky to have Kathleen as provost,” said Ian Hurd, president of Faculty Senate. “She has modeled the kind of steady, thoughtful leadership that one would hope for in difficult times.

“She has shown immense skill in managing through challenging circumstances, and even more she has shown that the best leadership comes from treating people with respect and empathy,” said Hurd, a professor of political science in Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “She is exemplary of how intelligence and care can combine to make an institution better.”

An accomplished scholar who has studied the micro-structure of securities markets, disclosure regulation, insider trading regulation and the effectiveness of self-regulatory organizations, Hagerty’s research has appeared in numerous respected academic journals.

Dr. Eric G. Neilson, vice president for medical affairs and the Landsberg Dean at the Feinberg School of Medicine, said he has worked for many provosts at top universities over the last 50 years, and most have “very short half-lives.” He considers Hagerty among the very best.

“When I think about why, it is because of the many key attributes that affect decisions in that office,” Neilson said. “Provosts need to be super smart, caring, have good judgement and great taste in faculty. Perhaps most of all, what has made Kathleen excel in her role is temperament; even keeled is smooth sailing. I am a big fan and admire her longevity through such challenging times as COVID and the current federal funding freeze. She is first class.”

As provost, Hagerty has attracted and retained top faculty in a competitive market, and has been integral in numerous University initiatives, including the soon-to-be-completed Social Sciences and Global Affairs Hub, the Litowitz Center for Enlightened Disagreement, the Giant Magellan Telescope partnership, renovations of Deering Library, and several academic and research centers, including the Querrey Simpson Institute for Regenerative Engineering, the Northwestern Network for Collaborative Intelligence and the National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology, among others.

Jennifer Lackey, founding director of the Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP), said Hagerty “leads with a rare combination of moral courage, vision and care, serving as both anchor and compass for the Northwestern community during times of unprecedented challenge.”

“Among her many accomplishments, it was with her support that NPEP launched as a full degree-granting program — the first of its kind at a top 10 university,” said Lackey, the Wayne and Elizabeth Jones Professor of Philosophy and a professor of law. “The most transformative work — the kind that redefines who we are as individuals and as an institution — depends on leaders like Kathleen who are willing to stand firmly on principle, even when the path forward is uncertain.

“She has set a new standard for what true leadership in higher education can and should be, and the NPEP community and I are so deeply indebted to her.”

During her tenure, Hagerty has hired five deans, two vice presidents and played a key role in hiring dozens of leading faculty members. She led the University’s response to a freeze on federal research funding that has been in place since April and helped secure Northwestern’s accreditation through 2034-35. She has helped fundraise for myriad academic and capital projects and has overseen Northwestern’s academic enterprise as it has steadily risen in U.S. News & World Report rankings (currently at No. 7).

“Few people have had a greater influence on my career than Kathleen,” said Dashun Wang, Kellogg Chair of Technology and professor at Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering. “As both my former dean and later my provost, she has been an extraordinary source of insight, encouragement and vision. Kathleen has always pushed me to think bigger and aim higher. It’s a rare privilege to have a university leader who not only believes in your work, but sometimes believes in you even more than you believe in yourself. Northwestern is stronger, bolder and more ambitious because of her leadership.”