COVID-19 News

University President Morton Schapiro said Northwestern has “no plans to cancel Spring Break” and that more information about Spring Quarter classes will be communicated by the end of the week in a Tuesday email to the NU community.

According to the email, spring quarter is currently still planned to go on as scheduled, but the University is “evaluating various scenarios, including whether the timing of the quarter may need to be adjusted or whether classes need to be altered and delivered remotely.” Still, residence halls will remain open over Spring Break, according to the message.

The announcement comes as the Ohio State University became the first school in the Big Ten to cancel in-person classes earlier this week, with Indiana University following and the University of Maryland preparing to potentially do so as well. According to NPR, more than half a million students across the country have been affected by the changes as Stanford University, Rice University and a number of Ivy League Schools, among many other institutions, have also announced have also announced cancelations in response to the coronavirus.

[Explainer: How Northwestern’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak has evolved over time]

In the email, Schapiro also asked schools and units to “consider postponing any events or gatherings, either on campus or off, until April 15” and faculty and staff to weigh rescheduling non-essential domestic business travel.

Last week, the University announced NU-sponsored undergraduate and graduate international spring break trips were canceled. Schapiro also announced the cancellation of Northwestern’s Dance Marathon philanthropy event last week, which was set to occur last Friday to Sunday, amid COVID-19 concerns.

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