Brian J. Fahrney

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. In 1853 the founders purchased a 379-acre tract of land on the shore of Lake Michigan 12 miles north of Chicago. They established a campus and developed the land near it, naming the surrounding town Evanston in honor of one of the University's founders, John Evans. After completing its first building, its first building in 1855, Northwestern began classes that fall with two faculty members and 10 students. Northwestern has three campuses and a total of 12 Schools and Colleges (one of which is located in South Florida. Two campuses are located on Lake Michigan, a 240-acre campus in Evanston, the first suburb north of Chicago, and a 25-acre campus in Chicago. One campus is located in Doha, Qatar. Northwestern University combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment that transcends traditional academic boundaries. It provides students and faculty exceptional opportunities for intellectual, personal and professional growth in a setting enhanced by the richness of Chicago.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has long been recognized as one of America's great universities. A public, land-grant institution, UW–Madison offers a complete spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs and student activities. Spanning 936 acres along the southern shore of Lake Mendota, the campus is located in the city of Madison.

The Northwestern University School of Law is an elite, private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the North Side's Streeterville, it is one of the twelve constituent schools of Northwestern University. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in 1873 and fully incorporated into Northwestern in 1891. Northwestern Law is a member of the "T-14" law schools, a prestigious group of 14 schools that have national recognition.