Winter Recess Coverage

Northwestern University will observe a Winter Recess beginning December 24, 2025 through January 1, 2026. During this period, all academic and administrative offices will be closed. We will return to normal business hours on Friday, January 2, 2026. For questions, contact Procurement and Payment Services (PPS) at 847-491-8120 or procurement@northwestern.edu.

For any urgent logistics related matters during Winter Recess (docks, mail, lab gas), see below for emergency contact information.

For any urgent non-logistics matters during Winter Recess (purchasing, accounts payable, vendor file management, corporate card, e-payment, central bill, e-procurement), please contact Jim Konrad, PPS Assistant Vice President, at j-konrad@northwestern.edu or call 847-491-8121 and leave a detailed message.

Processing Deadline

As we prepare to close our offices, below are a few reminders related to PPS availability:

Calendar year-end sensitive transactions

If you have a payment request, requisition, PO Change Order, expense report, or invoice that needs to be processed before Winter Recess, please ensure it reaches PPS by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 15, 2025. Transactions received after this deadline may not be processed until January 2, 2026.
Due to the University's Winter Recess, Accounting Services for Research and Sponsored Programs (ASRSP) must implement early deadlines for December financial reporting:
- Cost and payroll journal entries must be posted by December 4, 2025
- Final cash draw process for federal awards will begin on December 15, 2025
To minimize the number of packages being delivered over the break, we ask that departments and labs try to pause ordering by Monday, December 15, 2025. Also be mindful of Amazon orders placed prior to the break, as they will not hold any packages for us and have a practice of leaving package outside if no one is available to receive them. We appreciate your help with minimizing the number of packages being delivered over the break.

PPS Winter Recess Schedule

There will be limited staffing available to cover the central receiving docks and lab services during Winter Recess. Please see below for details. However, we strongly encourage vendors to schedule or reschedule deliveries during our normal operating hours.

Evanston (Tech and Hogan Docks and Mail Services)

*Minimal staffing and services during this time; no deliveries will be made to departments. The available staff will receive packages but will not have the personnel to make deliveries.
Be mindful, the dock has limited storage for temperature sensitive packages. If you are expecting a temperature sensitive package, please be sure to have someone available to pick it up during the dock hours of operations on December 29, 2025.
We would appreciate your help with minimizing the number of packages being delivered over the break by having a reasonable cut-off date for ordering. We recommend December 15, 2025.
For emergency needs, contact Reggie Lee at reginald.lee@northwestern.edu or 847-467-7473.

Winter Recess Schedule for Evanston location.
Date	Hours
December 24-28, 2025	Closed
December 29, 2025	Open: from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm*
December 30, 2025 - January 1, 2026	Closed

Chicago (Tarry and Rubloff Docks and Mail Services)

For emergency needs, contact Reggie Lee at reginald.lee@northwestern.edu or 847-467-7473.

Winter Recess Schedule for Chicago location
Date	Hours
December 24, 2025 - January 1, 2026	Closed

Chicago (Lurie/Simpson Querrey Dock)

*Minimal staffing and services will be available during the abbreviated holiday hours; temperature sensitive packages and a limited number of other packages will be delivered to departments during the abbreviated holiday hours.
Be mindful, the dock has limited storage for temperature sensitive packages.
For emergency needs, contact Reggie Lee at reginald.lee@northwestern.edu or 847-467-7473.

Winter Recess Schedule Lurie/Simpson Querrey Dock location
Date	Hours
December 24-25, 2025	Closed
December 26,29, and 30, 2025	Open: from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm*
December 31, 2025 - January 1, 2026	Closed

Evanston Lab Gas and Dry Ice

It's recommended that enough supply of compressed gases is ordered in advance of the extended break to accommodate your needs.

The liquid nitrogen and dry ice self-service stations in Tech MG91 will be available during the entire break. Additional supply stations will be set up to accommodate users during the extended break.
For emergency needs, contact Reggie Lee at reginald.lee@northwestern.edu or 847-467-7473.

Winter Recess Evanston Lab Gas and Dry Ice
Date	Hours
December 24, 2025- January 1, 2026	Closed

Chicago Lab Gas and Dry Ice (Tarry and SQ/Lurie)

*Minimal staffing will be available to deliver liquid nitrogen and dry ice during the abbreviated holiday hours.
For the days the service is closed, it's recommended that enough gas supply is ordered in advance to accommodate your needs.
Dry ice self-service will be available during the entire Winter Recess.
For emergency needs, contact Reggie Lee at reginald.lee@northwestern.edu or 847-467-7473.

Winter Recess Chicago Lab Gas and Dry Ice
Date	Hours
December 24-25, 2025	Closed
December 26,29, and 30, 2025	Open: from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm*
December 31, 2025 - January 1, 2026	Closed

Fisher Stockroom (Chicago and Evanston) schedule

For emergency needs, contact Mike Gorack from Fisher at 312-350-7520 or mike.gorack@thermofisher.com.

Winter Recess Fisher Stockroom
Date	Hours
December 24, 2025 - January 1, 2026	Closed