In the wake of Henry Bienen's announced retirement, Northwestern administrators and faculty praised his accomplishments in his 13 years as university president.
"All great things come to an end at some point, and Dr. Bienen is no different," said Eugene Sunshine, vice president for business and finance. "I can't say it's surprising - because of the ebb and flow of an institution this is what happens - but it's been an absolute joy for me to work with President Bienen."
Bienen's leadership skills were important in running NU's 11 schools and campuses in Evanston, Chicago and Qatar, Sunshine said.
"The overall accomplishment has been to raise the bar at this place to make it even more of a terrific institution than it was when he took over," he said.
Many called the expansion of NU's international programs one of Bienen's biggest accomplishments.
Under Bienen's tenure, NU created overseas campuses in Qatar's Education City for the Medill School of Journalism and the School of Communication, and expanded the international programs at NU.
John Margolis, the dean of NU's new Qatari campus, said Bienen's "mark will be seen on the university for years to come."
Margolis worked with Bienen as associate provost starting in 1995, before being appointed as dean to the Qatar campus in December.
"Obviously, the Qatar initiative owes a great deal to President Bienen, who understood the enormous opportunity presented by our collaboration with the Qatar Foundation and worked hard to see that possibility translated into reality," he said.
Bienen traveled to Qatar a number of times to negotiate the deal, where Medill Dean John Lavine said he saw Bienen's skills as a leader firsthand during meetings and conference calls.
"This has been a president who has really been the spark to make much of that happen," Lavine said. "I've watched a lot of people negotiate a lot of things, and President Bienen is a master. He's respectful of everybody but he knows what it takes for the institution to grow."
2008 Woodie Awards
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