Northwestern University President Michael Schill announced his resignation on Thursday.

“Over the past three years, it has been my profound honor to serve as president of Northwestern University,” Schill said. “In that time, our community has made significant progress while simultaneously facing extraordinary challenges. Together, we have made decisions that strengthened the institution and helped safeguard its future.”

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His resignation came after the Trump administration abruptly froze at least $790 million in federal research funding designated for Northwestern. Republicans additionally accused the school and Schill, who is Jewish, of not doing enough to address antisemitism during campus protests in 2024 over Israel’s war in Gaza.

In July, Northwestern announced that it planned to eliminate around 425 jobs due in part to federal cuts. The university has warned that essential research was “in jeopardy,” due to the Trump administration’s withholding of funds.

Schill acknowledged the challenges the university faced.

“As I reflect on the progress we have made and what lies ahead, I believe now is the right time for new leadership to guide Northwestern into its next chapter,” Schill said in his message. “Therefore, I have decided, in consultation with the leadership of the Board of Trustees, that I will step down as President.”

Northwestern said an interim president has not yet been named, and Schill will continue in his role until then. He became president of the university in 2022 after President-designate Rebecca Blank said she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer that prevented her from taking on the position.

A TIMELINE OF THE TRUMP-HARVARD SAGA

Scrutiny of elite universities has become central to the Trump administration’s agenda. The Trump administration has withheld billions of dollars from Harvard University, Columbia University, and other top schools in an effort to get colleges to adopt its preferred policies.

In addition to tension between the school and the Trump administration, Schill was president during Northwestern’s 2023 athletics hazing scandal, which resulted in longtime head football coach Pat Fitzgerald’s two-week suspension after credible reports of hazing were found.