Teresa Woodruff

Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipient, 2008

The Alumnae Award recognizes a woman who has brought honor to Northwestern University through outstanding professional contributions in her field and who has attained national recognition. Established in 1976, the Alumnae Award has been presented every year to an alumna who has had a significant impact in her field of endeavor. Educators, journalists, doctors, scientists, and artists are included among The Alumnae’s roster of awardees.

Prior to receiving the Alumnae Award, Professor Woodruff founded they “‘Oncofertility” Consortium at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2007. In 2011 she was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring by President Obama in an oval office ceremony.  A champion for sex equity in clinical trials, her work and its impact on NIH policy was featured on 60 Minutes in 2014. In 2015 she founded the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern and served as Director.  As Vice Chair for Research and Chief of Reproductive Science in Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, she initiated a Masters Program in Reproductive Science. In 2018 she and husband Tom, O’Halloran, inorganic chemist, made the ground-breaking discovery of the “zinc spark” at the moment of fertilization. That same year she became Dean of The Graduate School of Northwestern. In 2020 Woodruff was named Provost of Michigan State University and from 2022- 2024 she served as Interim President of MSU. Additionally, she is an MSU Foundation Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Biology and the Department of Biochemical Engineering. Among her many honors she was recipient of the Endocrine Society’s 2021 Laureate Award and elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2020.