Welcome to Willard!

A message from your Faculty Chair

Dear Incoming Willard Residents:

As the Faculty Chair of Willard Residential College, I am delighted to welcome you to Northwestern’s oldest and liveliest residential college. You are joining an exceptional group of Northwestern students, a vibrant community, and a rich tradition you will love and remember long after you graduate! Our student Executive Board will provide many opportunities for you to interact with other residents at fun events throughout the year.

Willard features a cohesive community, and your own unique interests and active participation are essential to shaping Willard’s direction this year. We have no mold into which you must fit and no set of beliefs to which you must conform. While some residential colleges are thematic and devote themselves to a particular area of study, Willard takes the opposite approach. It promotes mixing and interaction of students from many schools and disciplines. The Willard world is diverse in all senses, including intellectually. You are just as likely to end up having a conversation with a musician or dramatist as you are an economist or chemist.

Myself, our Assistant Chair Gillian Hemme, and our Exec Board are all looking forward to meeting you during our welcome activities!

Gillian Hemme is in her fourth year of the Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama. She examines the impacts of incarceration on the body as made legible through performance, and she conducts her work through embodied performance practices as well as archival research. Gillian is also a performer, playwright, and director. She serves as the point person for helping us coordinate day-to-day programmatic and administrative matters for faculty-student activities. Gillian is happy to help Willard residents with any questions or concerns that may come up to facilitate Willard's thriving, inclusive community! She looks forward to seeing you at High Table lunches, Willard functions, and office hours in her Willard office in the WFFL.

In the Fall I will be teaching COMP_SCI 111, Fundamentals of Computer Programming 1 which is mostly for Computer Science majors and McCormick students, though it is open to all. In the Winter I’ll offer COMP_SCI 110, Introduction to Computer Programming which is open to students across campus and introduces the basics of computer programming. If you’re in my class, make sure to come and let me know you’re a Willard resident! Our robust roster of Faculty Fellows also love to see Willard students not only at High Table (weekly lunches) but also in their courses so make sure to take a look to see if any fit your schedule.

We will soon embark on this new journey together! Though this is my first year as Willard’s Faculty Chair, I have been involved with Willard since 2018 as the Assistant Chair while finishing my PhD here at NU. I hope that Willard can become a special place for each and every one of you–just as it did for me those many years ago.

See you soon!

Connor Bain, Ph.D. – Willard Faculty Chair
Assistant Professor of Instruction, McCormick School of Engineering

A message from your Exec Board

Dear Class of 2029 and transfers,

If you’re reading this, congratulations! Northwestern’s benevolent housing authorities have bestowed on you the distinct honor of joining Willard Residential College. As a newly minted Willardite (affectionately called a Woo), you’re entering a vibrant community of diverse students and unique traditions to help you feel at home.

Each week, we host a variety of events to connect fellow students, professors, and the broader Evanston and Chicago communities. Some of our personal favorites include Munchies (did someone say free food?), Afternoon Tea (a cozy hangout with great snacks and even better conversation), and High Table, where you can bond with our faculty fellows while enjoying the finest cuisine Alison Dining Hall has to offer.

Over the course of the year, Willard hosts some larger social events, too. Our world-famous Polka Party, inspired by the eponymous dance of Bohemian origin, takes place each fall, and the annual Willard Formal is sure to brighten even the dreariest of Evanston winters.

We’re one of only two non-thematic residential colleges, meaning we have no central academic focus but plenty of good vibes. Plus, as Northwestern’s largest residential college, our approximately 260 residents come from every undergraduate school, bringing their interdisciplinary perspectives to our beloved community.

But did we mention our proximity to Downtown Evanston? Nestled on the southwest corner of campus, Willard is just a few blocks from all the essentials, including Target, Taco Bell, and the CTA purple line.

We, Willard’s Executive Board, are especially eager to meet you. To learn more about us, check out our page on the Willard website. And if you want to learn more about Willard culture or connect with fellow Woos, be sure to explore the rest of the website and follow us on Instagram @willardrescollege!

We’re counting down the days until Wildcat Welcome and look forward to seeing you embark on the incredible journey ahead.

Enjoy the rest of your summer, and see you soon!

‘Sko Woos, Willard Executive Board (2025-26)