Why are Northwestern University and Evanston Northwestern ending their affiliation agreement?
Northwestern University (NU) and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) mutually agreed to terminate their affiliation to pursue distinct visions and goals. The decision to disaffiliate is the result of several years of negotiations involving medical school and University leadership, clinical department chairs, and selected members of the NU Board, as well as representatives of ENH leadership and its Board. As reflected in departmental annual reports and external reviews, the relationship between our two organizations has been challenging for many years. The frequently cited issue of financial support to the medical school was influential; however, it was not the most important issue. More substantial were fundamentally different ideas about our vision for advancing our academic enterprise, the role of academic leadership in assuring the quality of education and research at ENH, processes for faculty and leadership appointments, and concerns about the relative roles of the clinical aff
