March 6, 2005

BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter

The leaders of Chicago's two premier private universities were awarded $500,000 each Friday for their academic leadership.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York said it was honoring Henry Bienen, president of Northwestern, and Don Randel, president of the University of Chicago, as the first recipients of the "Academic Leadership Award'' because of innovative programs they oversee at the two schools. Jared Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, also will receive the award.

"They all believe in a tradition of academic excellence and have proven that presidential leadership and faculty quality are the critical elements that distinguish one university from another,'' said Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation, in a statement.

In an interview, Gregorian said Carnegie was impressed by the U.ofC.'s commitment to undergraduate research, its efforts to work with the Chicago Public Schools in improving education, and its programs in Islam and international security policy.

Northwestern was praised for having "invigorated undergraduate education by connecting practical experience with ideas.'' The foundation noted that social policy students were working with policymakers to connect the "theory and the practice of organizational change.''

Although the awards could have been given to any schools in the country, Gregorian said they chose to focus on the Midwest initially.

"We wanted to recognize innovation outside of the East Coast,'' he said.

Randel called the award a "terrific honor.''

"Universities are great economic engines, and when they are located in major cities, their contributions to the general health of the city can be very important,'' he said.

"Northwestern offers an unusually broad range of academic opportunities for an institution of its size, and our emphasis on interdisciplinary education further enhances opportunities for our students,'' Bienen said in a statement.

The money is to be spent on "academic priorities'' at the schools, Carnegie said.