Northwestern University President Michael Schill testified in front of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Thursday morning, facing intense scrutiny of his handling of last month’s pro-Palestine student encampment.
Schill appeared with Rutgers University President and previous NU provost Jonathan Halloway; UCLA Chancellor Gene Block; and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and former president of Brandeis University Frederick Lawrence, who was invited to appear as a Democratic witness. Committee Republicans scheduled the hearing, titled “Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos,” to question each university leader on their handling of recent pro-Palestinian encampments and acts of antisemitism more broadly on their campuses.
Northwestern and Rutgers both reached negotiated agreements with student demonstrators to dismantle encampments on school grounds. House Republicans questioned these agreements, asserting that entering into them endangered Jewish students and supported antisemitism on campus.
“We did not give in to any of the students’ demands, and the commitments we made are consistent with our values,” Schill said at one point. “Importantly, I rejected the main student demand for divestment.”
Need to act quickly
During his opening, Schill acknowledged the rise of antisemitism across college campuses, including Northwestern, addressed the encampment and resulting agreement, and shared the school’s plans to move forward.
“I believe that the danger imposed grew every day it stayed up,” Schill said of the encampment.
He cited the threat of confrontation as reason for needing to act to end the encampment. He described how the school considered several options, but in any case would not consider letting the encampment stay.
The two options Schill said the school considered were ending the encampment through force or negotiating with students to end it themselves.
“There were limited law enforcement resources available to the university,” Schill said, “and it also created, as we saw around the country, escalation and renewed encampments.”
This led the school to negotiate with the students, which resulted in an agreement announced on April 29 that included increased investment transparency and the reestablishment of the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility.
Investigations are ongoing into students and faculty involved with the encampment. At time of writing, no criminal charges or student conduct citations have been filed.
“Where there is conduct that threatens the Northwestern community, we must impose discipline, and we have done so,” Schill said. “Yet I’ll be the first to admit our existing rules and policies are falling short.”
He shared that the school plans to review and update the code of conduct to better serve the community in the fall.
Meeting student demands
Committee Republicans opened questioning by grilling Schill on his claim that he did not give in to student demands, citing the stipulations of Northwestern’s agreement with student organizers.
Among students’ initial demands were disclosure and divestment from defense stocks and investments that support Israel; an end to study-abroad programs, dual degree programs and research projects with Israel; and protection of political expression on campus.
“You promised to reestablish an advisory committee on investment responsibility,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina and committee chair.
Schill explained the committee was created in 2017 to hear proposals created by a collection of students, faculty, staff and alumni on responsible investing. It will be reinstated in the fall of 2024, he said. Meetings had been halted in June of 2021.
“I will make clear that I would never recommend to the Board of Trustees divestment of anything or any academic boycott of Israel,” Schill said.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) also referenced the school’s commitment to funding two Palestinian faculty members and five Palestinian undergraduates to come to Northwestern.
“You said, ‘We did not give in to demands,’” Stefanik said. She cited Schill’s use of the word commitments, stating these commitments did meet student demands.
Funding for this initiative is planned to come through the school’s existing program for threatened, displaced, or at-risk scholars at the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. “It’s also part of the program sponsored by our Buffett Institute,” Schill said. “It is not a new program.”
Disciplinary actions
Committee Republicans including Foxx, Stefanik, Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) and Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) then questioned Schill on disciplinary actions taken by the school against antisemitism, both during the encampment and throughout the year.
At this time, there have been no suspensions or expulsions of Northwestern students on these grounds. “We have ongoing investigations, and there have been terminations of staff,” Schill said.
Stefanik asked how long these investigations are going to take.
“If you remember, the encampment was up just a few weeks ago,” Schill said. ”We believe, at Northwestern, in due process.”
Other Republicans, including Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.) and Rep. Tim Walberg (Mich.), also asked about consequences for university staff who have supported student efforts or made personal statements in support of Palestine.
“Our professors and our faculty members have all of the rights of free speech,” Schill said, adding several times that he could not discuss ongoing investigations into students or faculty.
Consultation of Jewish voices
Earlier this month, seven members of NU’s President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate resigned, stating in an open letter to Schill that they were not consulted on the school’s negotiations or agreement with the protesters. They added that members of the committee failed to agree on a statement “condemning the antisemitism we have witnessed” prior to their resignation.
Several committee Republicans raised this during questioning. Walberg cited concerns about the initial makeup of the committee, arguing it included members who were “grossly unfit” due to their personal ideologies and asked Schill about his plans for future appointments.
“I will be appointing people to the committee who are committed to fighting antisemitism,” Schill responded.
Stefanik also asked Schill directly whether the committee was consulted during negotiations with the student encampment.
“That was not within the purview of the antisemitism committee,” Schill said.
Encampment endings
Several Democratic committee members, meanwhile, expressed interest in how Northwestern ended the encampment without escalating to a clear-out by law enforcement.
“I, for one, am interested in hearing and learning about what successful negotiation and de-escalation looks like in the context of protecting students and free speech,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.).
Rep. Mark Takano (Calif.) asked Schill directly if NU’s agreement removed any rights or protections for Jewish students.
“No, it actually gave them the ability to feel safe on campus,” Schill responded.
Takano pointed to the situation at UCLA, where, without an agreement reached with the school, tensions on campus lasted several days and led to student arrests and hospitalizations.
Students at UCLA renewed their efforts Thursday with a second encampment during the hearing. Protests remained ongoing despite police dispersal into Thursday night.
UCLA’s Block has faced criticism for his handling of the first encampment, including calls for his resignation due to violence that ensued.
Schill, who is Jewish, has also faced calls for his resignation from the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish nonprofits for striking a deal with organizers.
The right-wing group Accuracy in Media put a mobile billboard outside his home and office for two days declaring him “Hamas’s favorite university president.”
And an anonymous student filed a second lawsuit accusing Northwestern of failing to protect Jewish students from hostility and antisemitism, calling the campus atmosphere “unbearable.”
Protections for all students
Jayapal also questioned what Schill and the university in general are doing to curb the rise of other forms of hate on campus, including against Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students.
Schill said there have been claims of Islamophobia on campus. “We will investigate them,” he said. “We will also protect all of our students on campus or off campus.”
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) expressed concern about the congressional committee’s recent focus on calling the leaders of numerous universities to testify before them.
“Continuing to schedule repetitive politicized hearings to attack college presidents will not solve the scourge of antisemitism,” she said. She urged the committee to work with scholars and experts to best identify how to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
Bonamici asked the committee to consider all instances of hate as they consider antisemitism.
“When we don’t put our money where our mouth is, and our policies, we are failing this nation,” Bonamici said. “We are failing Muslim students. We are failing Jewish students. We are failing Christian students. And frankly, we are failing the future of this country.”
Statements after the hearing
Schill released a statement late Thursday afternoon outlining the points he strove to make during the hearing.
“I discussed four key themes today: the rise of antisemitism – not just at Northwestern but across the country; our guiding principles of community safety and academic freedom; the approach we took with the encampment on Deering Meadow; and, importantly, our plans moving forward,” the statement read.
He also stated his commitment to dialogue in the wake of ongoing events and today’s hearing.
“As a community we must speak with one another, learn from one another, show grace to one another and find a way to engage with each other in a way that respects the best traditions of Northwestern University,” Schill said. “We must hold fast to our values, which include eschewing hate while at the same time protecting free expression and academic freedom.”
The hearing record will remain open for the next 14 days, during which committee members can submit written opinions and other materials.