Niagara Peace & Dialogue Awards 2008

Education Award

Henry Bienen

President

Northwestern University

Henry S. Bienen was elected the 15th president of Northwestern University on June 13, 1994. He took office on January 1, 1995.

Mr. Bienen, 68, was the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University prior to his appointment at Northwestern.

Mr. Bienen is a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, serving on the executive committee and chairing the nominating and governance committee. He is a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and serves on its executive committee. A member of the Argonne National Laboratory's Board of Governors, Mr. Bienen serves on the board's executive and nominating committees.

Mr. Bienen has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of State (1972–88), the National Security Council (1978–79), the Agency for International Development (1980–81), the Central Intelligence Agency (1982–88), and the World Bank (1981–89). He served as a member of the senior review panel of the CIA in the late 1980s.

Mr. Bienen received a bachelor's degree with honors from Cornell University in 1960 and a master's degree from the University of Chicago in 1961. He was awarded a PhD from Chicago in 1966. In 2000 he received the University of Chicago Professional Achievement Alumni Award.

Mr. Bienen and his wife, Leigh, a senior lecturer at Northwestern University School of Law, have three daughters, five grandsons, and one granddaughter.