Northwestern's President Makes Admissions Decisions

When admissions leaders gathered last month to discuss the admissions scandal, one topic that came up was proposed legislation in California that would require any admissions decisions at public universities that deviate from standard practices to be approved by three administrators, one of whom would have to be the campus president or chancellor. When the idea came up at the meeting last month, one senior admissions official (to what looked like wide audience agreement) said that the last thing you want is for presidents or chancellors making admissions decisions.  It turns out that one university president is directly involved in admissions decisions. Morton Schapiro of Northwestern University (IL) personally makes decisions on hundreds of applicants a year. The applications on which he makes decisions include some children of donors or alumni, and also children of faculty and staff members at Northwestern.