More than 1000 scholars signed a letter Thursday addressed to Northwestern raising concerns about the university’s treatment of late Feinberg School of Medicine Professor Jane Wu, who died by suicide after she was federally investigated.

“We respectfully request that Northwestern publicly acknowledges and apologizes for its unjust treatment of Dr. Wu, and amends internal policies and procedures to prevent future tragedies and better protect its faculty and staff, including within the Northwestern Office of Civil Rights,” the letter read. 

Wu, a Chinese-born American neuroscientist, had worked at Northwestern since 2005 before she died in July 2024. 

The National Institutes of Health launched an investigation into her affiliations with Chinese researchers in 2019 as part of the first Trump administration’s China Initiative, according to a legal complaint filed by her family against Northwestern in June 2025.

Although the investigation ended in 2023, the university appeared determined to cut ties with Wu, the Thursday letter said. The university eventually reduced her pay and shut down her lab months later, the letter added.

“We are concerned that these reports indicate not only that Northwestern University failed to protect Dr. Wu during an unjustified government investigation, but also that Northwestern University directly violated Dr. Wu’s rights by treating her as a guilty party during and after her investigation, potentially based on her gender and ethnicity,” the letter said.

The letter gathered signatures from 44 states and over 300 institutions nationwide. It further called on the university to protect Asian American academics like Wu in the future.

“At a moment when Asian American and immigrant scholars have experienced years of targeting and unjust heightened scrutiny, it is critical that universities follow appropriate due process to prevent the repeat of history,” the letter read.

Northwestern settled a class-action lawsuit that accused the university of a breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims for switching to a virtual learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic for $4 million.  

The plaintiffs filed the initial complaint in December 2020. After motions to dismiss, a two-year-long discovery period and private mediation sessions, the parties reached an agreement. 

While Northwestern denied the allegations in the lawsuit, both parties agreed to the settlement to avoid additional legal costs. 

Students who paid tuition during the spring, summer or fall quarters in 2020 may be eligible for part of the $4 million settlement. The settlement will offer $153 to students enrolled in spring 2020, $61 to students enrolled in summer 2020 and $35 to students enrolled in fall 2020. Students enrolled in multiple quarters can receive payment for each quarter they were enrolled. 

A final approval hearing for the settlement will take place on May 19.

Weinberg junior Gauri Adarsh and Medill junior John Sisco won the Associated Student Government presidency in a dramatic race. 

Northwestern News Network and The Daily Northwestern’s annual ASG presidential debate on Feb. 10 brought attention to a unique ticket: Weinberg sophomore Alan Hu and SESP junior Noah Cohrs. Hu, part of the pair that admitted to The Daily that it was running a “joke campaign,” advocated for putting deer on Deering Meadow and destroying the Technological Institute. 

What’s more shocking is that those promises, in combination with Hu’s debate performance, almost won the pair the presidency. Hu and Cohrs led Adarsh and Sisco through part of the voting rounds, but were ultimately bested by the winning pair by about 5% of the votes. 

Adarsh and Sisco campaigned on ideas including increasing opportunities for student engagement with ASG officers and creating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement alert system for undocumented and international students. 

This year’s election highlighted that many students on campus feel ASG lacks power and a presence on campus. The student government actually has significant financial power. As the collectors of the $95 activity fee that students pay each quarter, ASG distributes millions of dollars to student groups each year. 

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