Robert Zimmer, President » Zimmer plans for the University’s future and raises capital to support it. A $100-million donation for undergraduate financial aid and a $300-million donation to the Booth School of Business have marked his tenure. He also made substantial increases to the campus security program in response to the murder of graduate student Amadou Cisse three years ago.
Zimmer’s goal of “strengthening the school across the board” began to develop last year with the announcement of 60 new hires. The faculty size will increase by one percent each year for the next five years.
The president also announced the opening of the U of C Center in Beijing for this fall and introduced the Logan Arts Center, which has been under construction since May and is scheduled to open in spring 2012.
Thomas Rosenbaum, Provost » Rosenbaum oversees the University’s academic programs. At Zimmer’s request, Rosenbaum made University-wide budget cuts two years ago after the U of C’s endowment suffered severe losses due to the recession. He also directs various projects, from Accessibility on Campus to the Darfur Action and Education Fund.
Kimberly Goff-Crews, Vice President for Campus Life » Everything you do outside the classroom—registering for classes, eating, sleeping, exercising, clubs, going to the Student Care Center (SCC)—falls within Goff-Crews’s domain. She led a widely supported reevaluation of the University’s student health care program two years ago, resulting in extended SCC hours.
When the University’s sexual assault policy came under fire last winter, Goff-Crews outlined issues in the disciplinary process that the administration would attempt to address. In last April’s Student Government elections, students voted overwhelmingly in favor of a referendum demanding changes to the sexual assault policy. The University is still considering modifications.
Susan Art, Dean of Students » Programs that support you academically, including the advising system that helps you select classes and apply for scholarships, are Art’s responsibility.
Last November, Art and Goff-Crews sent a joint e-mail alerting the campus to increases in alcohol-related incidents in recent years. The Class of 2014 is the first required to complete online alcohol-safety training before arriving on campus, but no changes have yet been made to the University’s disciplinary policy.
John Boyer, Dean of the College » Boyer is responsible for the College’s curriculum, from the structure and content of the Core to the creation of study abroad programs. He is also a professor in the Department of History and the unofficial University historian. He is recognizable around campus by his tweed cap and dark Schwinn bicycle.
Jim Nondorf, Vice President and Dean of admissions » Nondorf runs the admissions office, where he is responsible for wooing as many hopeful high-schoolers as possible, then deciding which among them will get fat envelopes in December and March. During the 2009–2010 school year, his first as Dean of admissions, Nondorf oversaw a 42-percent increase in applications. Whether more applicants and the tactics used to recruit them are good, bad, or neutral is fiercely debated around campus.
