Zimmer to leave Chicago presidency after brain cancer

University of Chicago president Robert Zimmer plans to step down at the end of the coming academic year, ahead of his long-promised schedule, after surgery in May to remove a malignant brain tumour.

Professor Zimmer, a professor of mathematics who has led Chicago since 2006, plans to remain at the institution in a new role as chancellor that will involve key assignments assisting whoever is chosen to replace him.

The university earlier announced that Professor Zimmer underwent the surgery on 25 May at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Surgeons discovered and removed the tumour during a procedure to address pressure on his brain.

In a note to the campus community explaining his transition plan, Professor Zimmer acknowledged that health issues had altered his commitment to serve as president through 2022.

The university sketched out his planned role as chancellor, reached in discussions with trustees, as involving many of the roles he already handles as president, including “high-level fundraising” and “high-level strategic initiatives”.

Professor Zimmer also will serve on the board of trustees. “This plan is meant to address the current situation and is not reflective of a permanent change in the structure of university leadership and governance,” he writes.

The board chairman, Joe Neubauer, a former chief executive of the Aramark Corporation, issued his own statement listing university accomplishments during Professor Zimmer’s tenure, including making the institution more accessible and affordable for minority students and greatly expanding non-clinical tenured and tenure-track faculty.

Professor Zimmer, in his own briefer list, cited the establishment of partnerships globally and within Chicago’s South Side, the predominantly African-American neighbourhood where the university is located.

He also played a key role in the development of the widely adopted Chicago principles, which have set benchmarks for upholding freedom of speech on college campuses.

Among recent challenges, however, Professor Zimmer has faced community protests over demands for the university to better address its historical ties to slavery and its founder Stephen A. Douglas, and to overhaul the campus police department.

Professor Zimmer came to the University of Chicago after serving as provost of Brown University. The trustees will “promptly” begin an international search for the university’s next president, Mr Neubauer said.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com