Dear Members of the Northwestern Community:

The executive order restricting travel to the United States by residents of seven countries issued late last week by President Trump raises serious concerns for Northwestern University and the entire academic community. The order already is being challenged in court, so it is not clear what the immediate impact will be. However, we believe strongly that there is no legitimate basis for depriving students and scholars from those countries who have already obtained visas from entering the United States to study and conduct research at Northwestern or elsewhere.

As I have said before, Northwestern is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive community for all, regardless of their beliefs. I assure you that we will take the necessary actions to protect our students, faculty and staff. In particular, we will provide support for the international students who are here. The International Office and The Graduate School will continue to act as resources for international students and scholars. For now, we advise students who are from the affected countries not to travel abroad. Students with questions about the executive order or related issues should contact the International Office at intoff@northwestern.edu or 847.491.5613 or The Graduate School at tgs@northwestern.edu or 847.491.5070.

Knowledge knows no borders, and we all benefit greatly from the presence of the talented international students, faculty and staff who are members of the Northwestern community. I sincerely hope that the Administration quickly makes clear that this country still welcomes scholars and students from around the world, just as Northwestern University does, and will continue to do so.

We are following events closely and working with the Association of American Universities and other academic organizations to monitor the situation and make clear to the Administration our position on these issues. We anticipate that there will be additional developments in the near future and we will continue to update you as more details become available.

Morton Schapiro
President and Professor
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Updated: 11:04am 

Dear Members of the Northwestern Community:

My message to the Northwestern community yesterday stated that the University “…will take all the necessary actions to protect our students, faculty and staff.”  Messages from several deans over the past few days echoed that statement. Specifically, Northwestern will refuse to provide information to the federal government regarding the immigration status of members of our community. Moreover, as stated previously, the Northwestern University Police Department will continue its longstanding policy of not detaining individuals based on their immigration status.

At times such as these, doing the right thing matters more than ever.

Morton Schapiro

President and Professor

Enjoying my school break, on December 14, I went to the annual food drive and holiday concert at Guitar Works.  This socially responsible store (homage to my strategic communication class and Professor Iden) puts together an hour-long performance featuring the talented owner, Terry Straker, and store employees, in conjunction with the guests who donate food for Evanston’s homeless. Ambassadors to Earth, the four-piece instrumental house band, hosts.

I just missed the show in 2014 because I was new to the guitar. As time rolled on and I looked at the photos from that show, I realized I had missed seeing Dan, my guitar teacher of now almost two years, perform “Hava Nagila” on the accordion.  

Now that I am back in school, I see things differently. Throughout fall quarter, how I currently measure time, I had to come up with examples of teams in the news. While a simple concept, it would appear, we had to use examples of how these teams were applicable to what we were learning in class. Furthermore, how many examples of sports team can one really be expected to tolerate….said the day one of class version of myself. On the last day of class Professor DeChurch assured us that we would never look at teams again the same way. This is so true.

Teams don’t just play sports and excellent examples are plentiful when looking at things with a different lens. The first realization is accepting that many people misuse the word “team” when it is a group.  J.R. Katzenbach and D. K. Smith describe the definition of a team in the 2005 Harvard Business Review article, The Discipline of Teams, as “a small number of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable”(p. 39).

While savoring those closing two numbers, I looked at the standing-room-only crowd and it became clear to me that Ambassadors to Earth are such a team. Their support for each other and affinity for what they do resonated throughout the show and served as the foundation of positivity and success of everyone who joined them on the stage throughout the evening. Their strength as a team provided the glue to make that evening a spectacular one.

Lauren Rein
MSC Class of 2017

It’s been an action-packed three months, to say the least. I’ve started and completed a quarter of my MSC degree at Northwestern. In that same period of time, my company has moved offices (just two floors, but it’s a thing!). My yoga practice has suffered. Winter wasn’t coming and then it arrived without ringing the doorbell. As if in deep empathy to all of this, my Mini Cooper refused to purr to life two cold nights ago. Could it be, like me, on a well-deserved holiday break?

In my last blog entry I promised some key takeaways from my elective, Foundations of Strategic Communication Management with Professor Randy Iden. Here are a holiday handful (including a few inside jokes–take the class to collect them all!):

• To be “boundaryless” as an organization is to tear down hierarchical and horizontal walls (horizontal walls?) only to build them up again when no one’s doing their real job, or everyone’s trying to do everyone else’s job. Managers: If you want to move walls at your whim, call them “fences” so it seems fairer. (I like to picture picket fences.)
• PR can and will do basically want it wants to optimize a business image, but it would be wise to consider it at least feigning to be dialogic. It gets you brownie points, especially in today’s feedback economy.
• Being dialogic (talking and listening) makes you vulnerable. That’s why we must force ourselves to do it intentionally, like yogic breathwork. What if they say something you don’t want to hear?! What if they say it so loudly that other stakeholders (employees, shareholders, customers) hear it, and start throwing in their two cents (or cashing out their stock)?
• Now that everyone (except for Trader Joe’s and its delicious Cookie Butter) is on social media and thus totally beholden to responding to incidents instantaneously, it’s painful but pragmatic to consider your brand in a state of “permanent crisis.” Now you can staff for it!

Quips aside, I learned a lot in my first quarter of the MSC program–and I’m excited to get back into the routine after holiday break. To my wonderful cohort (many of whom I’ll see tonight at our program party), cheers! To my husband, friends, and incredibly patient two cats: buckle up. You’ve got my undivided attention for the next three weeks.

Jennifer Lindner

MSC Class of 2017

Toby Cortelyou is the Director of Enrollment Management and Strategic Initiatives for the MSC.  Toby joined the MSC team in the fall of 2015 and is responsible for the admissions and marketing efforts of the MSC program.  He is an alumnus of the MSC class of 2012.

Why did you decide to come work for MSC at Northwestern?

My career has been mostly in higher education marketing and admissions, promoting the value propositions of the places I have worked for. I wanted the opportunity to do that for the MSC program because I truly believe in importance of what is taught here. I love being around people who are smarter than me, and there’s no shortage of that around here. Now that I work for MSC, I can walk down the hall and interact with amazing  faculty and colleagues every day.

Why did you decide to attend MSC at Northwestern as a student? What makes it unique?

The curriculum was exactly what I was looking for. The frameworks, formats, tools, and everything else we learned exposed me to tons of new ideas and allowed me to take them back to  my workplace. I  feel like I have always been an intuitively decent communicator, but the research, theory, and knowledge I  was exposed to backed up my intuition. Understanding exactly why certain techniques and strategies were more effective made my communication even more impactful. For example, imagine taking a social media class five years ago: much of what you would have learned is irrelevant today. However, the fundamental concepts of understanding an audience and how to communicate with them elegantly are timeless. Regardless of what the mode of communication is, the art of communication is going to be with you forever. Of course, it would be a mistake to not recognize the importance of the Northwestern network. People see the Northwestern name on your resume and know you’ve been someplace special and have earned the degree. It’s not just in the name, though. Part of what makes the network work is in experiencing the program with your classmates. This year alone, we have students dozens of industries, multiple cultural backgrounds and even three different generations represented in the classroom. You see groups of people willing to share, succeed and even fail together. A person may contribute, “This is how we communicate in my world.” Or “This is how I do things,” and we take these ideas and try to land on some indisputable truths and find that certain things are consistent across cultures and time.

What is your favorite aspect of the MSC program at Northwestern?

The people. One aspect that I think doesn’t get enough attention is making new connections along the way. I got to know students and faculty on a personal basis. The professors here aren’t just talking heads, they are actually invested in your success.  If you’re interested in moving from one place to another professionally, there is always someone you can call. For example, a year after the program, I got a promotion where I would be supervising people that had previously been my peers. It was an uncomfortable  situation. Going into it, I was confident I had a good strategy in place, but I wanted to double check if anyone had advice. So, I sent an email to Professor Roloff basically asking, “What might happen, what should I look out for?” Within 24 hours I got this 3 page email back with research on what could happen and advice on what to do. Everything he said came true. That resource, the people I built relationships with, is invaluable.

How have you grown from the program?

In terms of the curriculum, I loved the “Leveraging and Understanding Networks” course I took. I grew from being an intuitive communicator, to being much more deliberate and strategic in how I view organizations I’m a part of. Even in my personal networks like family and friends, I’ve grown in a way to be able to identify how information moves and then impact it. The course alone really help me grow my view of life professionally and personally, and how I lived. My interaction with my classmates also expanded my worldview. I saw them not just as academic classmates, but as close friends I could have fun with. You can’t help but to grow when engaging with as diverse a group of people as are in the MSC Program.