Morton O. Schapiro

Morton Owen Schapiro (born July 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 16th president of Northwestern University from 2009 to 2022.

Morton Schapiro
Schapiro c. 2008
16th President of Northwestern University
In office September 1, 2009 – September 12, 2022
Preceded by	Henry Bienen
Succeeded by	Michael Schill
16th President of Williams College
In office 2000–2009
Preceded by	Carl W. Vogt
Succeeded by	William G. Wagner
Personal details
Born	(1953-07-13) July 13, 1953 (age 70) Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Education	Hofstra University (BS) University of Pennsylvania (MA, PhD)

Schapiro previously served as president of Williams College in Massachusetts from 2000 to 2009, vice president for planning of the University of Southern California from 1998 to 2000, and dean of the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts and Sciences from 1994 to 2000.^[1]

Early life and education

Schapiro spent his childhood in New Jersey.^[2]

Schapiro received a Bachelor of Science magna cum laude with a major in economics from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, where he studied with Herman A. Berliner. He received a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. At the University of Pennsylvania, he was research assistant to Richard Easterlin.^[3][4][1]

Career

After teaching at Penn for a year, where he received a Distinguished Teaching Award in 1978, Schapiro joined the economics faculty at Williams College in 1980, where he additionally served as assistant provost from 1986 to 1989.^[5] He left Williams to become the chair of the economics department at the University of Southern California in 1991, rising to become the dean of the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences in 1994, and the vice president for planning in 1998.^[6] He was appointed as the 16th president of Williams College in 2000, a post he held until becoming president of Northwestern University in 2009.^[7] During Schapiro's tenure as Williams president, the college eliminated student loans in favor of grants for low-income students, tripled its number of tutorial courses offered, and increased diversity, with numbers of students of color rising by about eight percentage points, from about 25 to 33 percent of the total student body.^[8][9]

He began his term as the 16th president of Northwestern on September 1, 2009. He is also a professor of economics in Northwestern's Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and holds appointments in the J.L. Kellogg School of Management and the School of Education and Social Policy.^[10] Schapiro is scheduled to end his tenure as Northwestern's president on August 31, 2022.^[11][12] Schapiro has thanked the "illustrious" faculty, students, staff , trustees and alumni and cited his accomplishments, including the university's rise in college rankings.^[11][13] Schapiro has served as a trustee of Hillel International,^[14] and also a director of Marsh & McLennan.^[14][15]

Research

Schapiro is among the nation's leading authorities on the economics of higher education, with particular expertise in the area of college financing and affordability and on trends in educational costs and student aid. He has testified before the U. S. Senate and House committees on economic and educational issues and is widely quoted in national media on those issues.

Schapiro has authored more than 100 articles, and written or edited nine books including Cents and Sensibility: What Economics Can Learn from the Humanities" (with Gary Saul Morson, Princeton University Press 2017); The Student Aid Game: Meeting Need and Rewarding Talent in American Higher Education (with Michael McPherson, Princeton University Press 1998); Paying the Piper: Productivity, Incentives and Financing in Higher Education (with Michael McPherson and Gordon Winston, University of Michigan Press 1993); Keeping College Affordable: Government and Educational Opportunity (with Michael McPherson, The Brookings Institution 1991); and an edited volume, "The Fabulous Future? American and the World in 2040" (with Gary Saul Morson, Northwestern University Press 2015).^[16]

Schapiro has received research grants and contracts from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the World Bank, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the College Board, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other groups to study the economics of higher education and related topics. In 2010 he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2017 he was elected to the National Academy of Education.

Awards

A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Schapiro has received honorary degrees from Amherst College (2001, where he delivered the Class Day address),^[17][18] Hofstra (2006),^[19] Wesleyan University (LLD, 2008),^[20][21] University of Notre Dame (2013),^[22] and Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary (2013, where he delivered the commencement oration).^[23] He is additionally an honorary fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.^[24]

Books

• Schapiro, Morton (1986). Filling Up America: An Economic-Demographic Model of Population Growth and Distribution in the 19th Century U.S.. JAI Press. ISBN 0-89232-675-1.
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (1990). Selective Admission and the Public Interest. College Board. ISBN 0-87447-399-3.
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (1991). Keeping College Affordable: Government and Educational Opportunity. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0-8157-5641-0.
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton; Winston, Gordon (1994). Paying the Piper: Productivity, Incentives, and Financing in U.S. Higher Education. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-10404-7.
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (1998). The Student Aid Game. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00536-2.
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (2006). College Access: Opportunity or Privilege?. College Board. ISBN 0-87447-774-3.
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (2008). College Success: What It Means and How to Make It Happen. College Board. ISBN 978-0-87447-830-3.
• Morson, Gary Saul; Schapiro, Morton (2015). The Fabulous Future? America and the World in 2040, Editors. Northwestern University Press. ISBN 978-0-81013-198-9.
• Morson, Gary Saul; Schapiro, Morton (2017). Cents and Sensibility: What Economics Can Learn from the Humanities. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691176680.

References

1. "Morton Schapiro - Faculty - Kellogg School of Management". www.kellogg.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
2. Harris, Melissa. "Evanston, Northwestern tensions crumble after cookie gambit". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
3. "Meet the Prez: Northwestern Magazine - Northwestern University". www.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
4. "SCHAPIRO NAMED LAS DEAN". USC News. 1994-04-04. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
5. "Schapiro Departs to Head Williams College". USC News. 2000-01-24. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
6. . Northwestern University NewsCenter. December 16, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
7. "USC Dean Named President of Williams College". Los Angeles Times. January 19, 2000. p. 2.
8. Farrell, Elizabeth F. (2007-11-02). "Loan Burdens Will Ease for Students at Williams College and Wesleyan U." The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
9. "Williams President Morton Owen Schapiro to Become President of Northwestern University". Office of Communications. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
10. "Biography: Office of the President - Northwestern University". www.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
11. Cherney, Elyssa. "Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro to step down next year". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
12. "President Morton Schapiro announces his 2022 departure". Northwestern Now. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
13. "A Message to the Community: Leadership Notes - Northwestern University". www.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
14. . Forbes.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
15. "Morton Schapiro: Executive Profile & Biography". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2008-12-16.^{[dead link]}
16. "Morton O. Schapiro, Biography, Office of the President, Northwestern University". Retrieved 2017-07-07.
17. "05/2001 | Amherst College Holds 180th Commencement May 27 | Amherst College". www.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
18. "2001 | 05/2001 | Amherst College". www.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
19. "About: Honorary Degrees | Hofstra | New York". www.hofstra.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
20. Editor, Magazine. "HONORARY DEGREES". Wesleyan University Magazine. Retrieved 2019-04-28. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
21. "Past Honorary Degree Recipients, Reunion & Commencement - Wesleyan University". www.wesleyan.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
22. Dame, Marketing Communications: Web // University of Notre. "Notre Dame to award six honorary degrees at Commencement". Notre Dame News. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
23. "Dr. Morton Schapiro, President of Northwestern University, to Deliver Address at 156th Commencement | Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary". www.garrett.edu. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
24. "Professor Morton Schapiro". Exeter College. Retrieved 2019-04-30.