All Kellogg Full-Time MBA Classes Going Remote for Two Weeks

Dear students, 

This morning we became aware of several new positive COVID-19 cases among Full-Time Kellogg MBA students. As a result of contact tracing on those individual cases, more than 50 Kellogg students have since been linked to multiple large gatherings that occurred last weekend, raising concern of exposure to the virus. Northwestern’s COVID-19 Response Team is working closely with impacted individuals, implementing testing, contact tracing and quarantine procedures as per University protocols.

Your health and safety are our highest priorities, which is why we are emailing you now, on a Friday evening, after the extent of the situation became clear through the contact tracing efforts this afternoon. Since yesterday, four additional Kellogg students have tested positive for COVID-19. Some of those individuals have been traced to the social gatherings referenced above.

We are actively working to ensure all community members who were exposed to the virus are notified and tested, but as of this writing, some students have yet to receive tests, and others are awaiting results. To protect our community and to mitigate the spread of the virus, we are taking the following actions:   

• Kellogg Evanston courses going remote for two weeks: All Kellogg classes on the Evanston campus will be held remotely for two weeks, beginning Monday, Oct. 19, through and including Friday, Oct. 30.
• Stay-at-Home Directive for Kellogg Full-Time MBA students: We are asking that all Kellogg Full-Time MBA students in the Chicagoland area adhere to a stay-at-home directive starting today at 10 p.m. CDT through Friday, October 30. Similar to the Illinois stay-at-home order issued in April, we expect you to avoid all but essential activities, such as going to the grocery store or doctor, or individual outdoor exercise. This also means no formal or informal social gatherings of any kind are permitted. Any violation of this directive can be grounds for disciplinary action, which could include suspension. Similarly, any students who have been identified through contact tracing will be self-quarantining during this time.

Courses at Wieboldt will continue as planned. Kellogg Evening and Weekend, EMBA, MSMS and Ph.D. students are not required to observe the stay-at-home directive.

We want to express our appreciation to students who proactively contacted Northwestern Case Management with concerns about possible exposure for helping us to prevent further spread of the virus. Please continue to refer to the Northwestern health monitoring site and the Graduate and Professional Student Testing site for information about testing, reporting requirements and daily symptom monitoring. 

We are disappointed that we had to make this decision. As you know, our objective was always to stay hybrid in our Full-Time MBA program until the Thanksgiving holiday. This is a reminder of how important individual actions are in allowing us to achieve our goals and how quickly this virus can spread. Our ability to return to the hybrid format will depend on many factors, including case and quarantine levels and University and City of Evanston guidelines, as well as individual behavioral actions to help limit spread in our community.

School leadership will continue to partner with KSA leaders to review key health and safety information and determine the appropriate and responsible program modality. We will keep you informed of new developments in the coming days.

Francesca Cornelli
Dean of Kellogg School of Management