Northwestern administrative leaders, donors and alumni gathered at the Kellogg Global Hub Wednesday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the business school’s new building in Evanston, which will replace the now-demolished Allen Center.
Slated for completion by Fall 2027, the building will serve as the cornerstone of Kellogg’s $600 million Full Circle fundraising campaign to elevate its global standing in business education. The campaign, which has raised $238 million to date, will also provide new scholarships and opportunities for cultural exchange and global market immersion to students.
Attendees of Wednesday’s ceremony included University President Michael Schill, Kellogg Dean Francesca Cornelli, Board of Trustees Chair Peter Barris and other board members.
The moment stood as testament to one of the University’s bright spots amid a challenging year, largely defined by the Trump administration’s pressure on higher education through investigations, the federal funding freeze and stop-work orders.
“At a time when higher education is inundated with challenges, it is more important than ever to celebrate excellence, to celebrate and support our university and to plan for our future, and that’s what this building is,” Schill said.
The fundraising campaign has already received generous contributions from the University’s trustees, some of whom were in attendance. University Trustees Bon French (Weinberg ’75, Kellogg ’76), Mike Shannon (Kellogg ’83) and Kimberly Querrey have each donated more than $10 million to the campaign.
At the ceremony, Querrey praised the center as a reflection of the long strides the business school has made since its founding. In the latest 2025 U.S. News Ranking, Kellogg was ranked as the second-best business school in the country — tying the Stanford Graduate School of Business and only trailing The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
“In these tumultuous times … Kellogg continues to break down silos, connect disciplines and embrace bold, entrepreneurial thinking, and the global hub is a perfect reflection of that mindset,” Querrey said.
Before construction for the new building kicked off this past winter, the demolition of the Allen Center, named after former NU Trustee James Allen (Kellogg ’29), sparked criticism surrounding potential staff layoffs.
The center’s demolition left some service workers without job security, eventually culminating in Compass Group — their employer — offering all associates who previously worked at the center new positions.
When the building opens in two years, it will operate with larger classroom spaces and connect to the Kellogg Global Hub via a tunnel. It will also be equipped with new production studios, kitchens, offices, guest residences and a fitness center.
The design features are expected to earn the building LEED v4 status, a green building classification, aligning with Kellogg’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030.
In her address, Cornelli applauded the building as “the product of a village” and said it will play a pivotal role in advancing Kellogg’s standing in higher education.
“As you know, we launched the full circle campaign, which is also a full-circle vision,” Cornelli said. “That’s where we want to go. Keep making a difference. Keep reinvesting (in) business education, and that’s what we can hopefully do.”
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