Following is a message to the Northwestern community from President Morton Schapiro, Provost Jonathan Holloway and Senior Vice President Craig Johnson.

As you surely know, the weather forecast for the Midwest for much of the next few days is downright scary.

While we are concerned about the well-being of our students and our faculty, we are especially worried about our staff, who tend to have the longest commutes to our campuses.

For this reason, we are closing the Chicago and Evanston campuses from 8 p.m. Tuesday through noon Thursday, cancelling all classes and other gatherings. The University will continue to provide essential services, including policing, facilities management and residence hall dining. Personnel in those areas will be notified directly if they are required to report for work during that time.

We will continue to monitor the weather for the rest of the winter and hope that this will be the only closure.

In any case, please take good care of yourself!



Services

The following services are in operation at Northwestern to help you stay safe.

Campus Shuttles - The Frostbite shuttles, the Evanston Loop, and Campus Loop will continue to operate. Please use TransLoc to receive shuttle arrival alerts and to track shuttles in real time.

Evanston Frostbite Shuttles will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 4:58 p.m. on the Evanston Loop route. The regular Evanston Loop shuttles will begin at 5 p.m.

Campus Frostbite Shuttles will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 4:57 p.m. on the Campus Loop route. The regular Campus Loop shuttle will begin at 5 p.m.

SafeRide, as it is a transportation option with student drivers, will be closed.

University Police: Northwestern Police has increased staff and will be available to help students 24/7.

Health Service: The Health Service will provide only urgent care Wednesday and from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Thursday. Please phone first to 847-491-2204 and check the Health Service website for more specific information.

Career Fair: As a result of the University’s closure, Day 1 of Northwestern Career Advancement’s Winter Career Fair will be cancelled tomorrow, Jan. 30. The Winter Career Fair is still scheduled to be held on Day 2, Thursday, Jan. 31. The new time for Thursday’s fair will be from 1-4 p.m. in Norris, 2nd floor.

Campus Dining (Evanston): Resident dining locations on the Evanston campus at Allison, Foster-Walker, and Sargent will be open as 24-hour warming centers, and food will be served from 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Hinman dining hall, Norris University Center and the University Library will be closed. The dining halls will remain open during this time, so students can gather in community. Coffee, tea, and beverages will be served throughout the day. Also, Evanston campus retail locations on campus will be closed.

Residence Hall Services: All residence hall desks will continue to operate on their regular schedules. Residential Life staff will continue to be on duty and available to students.

Arts Circle: Bienen School is postponing Wednesday night’s Saxophone Ensembles and Quartets concert. A makeup date has not yet been determined. In addition, The Block Museum will be closed Wednesday and the cinema screening of “Soleil O,” originally advertised for Wednesday, has been moved to Feb. 7.

Athletics: All athletics and recreation facilities will be closed from 8 p.m. Tuesday until noon on Thursday. The Northwestern women’s basketball game against Minnesota will go on as scheduledTuesday night at 7 p.m.

English Department: The 2018 Drinking Gourd Poetry Chapbook Poetry Prize Celebration, scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled at a later date.

Center for Audiology, Speech, Language, and Learning: The clinic will be closed Wednesday, Jan. 30.

Safety tips

The Illinois Department of Public Health has information on how to navigate cold weather via this booklet. Please read through this information as you prepare. Remember to dress for conditions, including layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, wear a hat and mittens, cover your mouth and stay dry and out of the wind.