The history of Kellogg date back 117 years, and students, faculty, alumni and staff have seen a lot during that time.
Joy. Sadness. Excitement. Adversity. Strife. Success.
The descriptors could go on and on, but put simply, the school’s story is one of collaboration, inspiration and forward thinking.
Kellogg has always been, and continues to be, a community rooted in resilience and optimism, highlighted by a culture that focuses on supporting others, no matter what. Here are 25 moments that help tell that story.
Kellogg Magazine is deeply grateful for insights from Matt Golosinski’s book “Wide Awake in the Windy City” (Northwestern University Press, 2008) and Northwestern University archivist Matthew Richardson, whose contributions helped guide this article.
1. We opened our doors.
Kellogg was founded as the School of Commerce in 1908, with Willard E. Hotchkiss as its first dean. Hotchkiss was an economics professor who believed business students should be proficient in the fundamentals of organization and management. Just as important, he felt, business leaders needed to understand the community around them. “All of these studies would be pursued with constant reference to the fact that business is carried on in a community in which certain public policies are enforced and in recognition of the fact that business should conform to these policies and help to make them effective in contributing to public welfare,” Hotchkiss wrote. Located in a six-story building owned by Northwestern University in downtown Chicago, the School of Commerce began with a part-time evening program. Six courses were offered across four subjects: accounting, business law, economics and finance.
The immediate purpose in establishing the Northwestern University School of Commerce was to give in evening courses an opportunity for capable and ambitious employees to pursue subjects from the point of view of foundation principles.
— Dean Willard E. Hotchkiss
The first home of the School of Commerce, located at Lake and Dearborn Streets in Chicago.
2. We hit the books.
To help ensure students understood the academic rigor necessary to succeed in business school at Northwestern, the administration distributed a “How to Study” guide created by Frank Cramer, a faculty member at what was then known as Northwestern’s College of Engineering.
The document shared valuable tips, such as “With every repetition of an act, the ease of performance increases and the attention required diminishes.”
It also stressed the importance of personal thought and creativity.
“In reading, do not accept the author’s statements as correct until you have held them at arm’s length to see if you like them,” Cramer wrote. “Perhaps you can improve upon them. … All secondhand information should be verified at the earliest opportunity — preferably by personal observation.”
You will find it pleasanter to be yourself and think your own thoughts than to act somewhat the part of a phonograph, repeating the thoughts of others.— Professor Frank Cramer
3. We scaled up.
The School of Commerce relocated to a new building, Wieboldt Hall, in 1926. The eight-story building had an additional six-story central tower and also housed a library, two research institutes and Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
In 1927, the building was formally dedicated as part of a larger ceremony that featured discussions about the state of business education.
At the dedication, Dean Ralph Heilman discussed the evolution of higher education and business education in the nearly 20 years since the School of Commerce opened. Schools were important not just for affluent students, he argued, but also for “creative accomplishment, for constructive achievement and for definite leadership in every important field of human activity and of human endeavor.”
Heilman also argued that universities were public service agencies designed to contribute to the public good.
Wieboldt Hall remains in use: Students in the Evening & Weekend MBA and Masters in Management programs meet, mingle and study there today.
4. We persevered through wartime.
Homer Vanderblue became dean in 1939 and spent the next decade helping the school navigate the harsh realities of World War II and its aftermath. While economic pressures forced other schools to close, Dean Vanderblue focused on evolving the school’s curriculum.
His focus was to create a liberal arts model for studying business. In doing so, he shaped the student experience to feature a more managerial approach to business study — an approach that focused on more advanced concepts instead of on functional responsibilities.
5. We transformed entire fields of study.
The year 1969 was transformative with the school’s transition from the School of Business (its name since 1956) to the Graduate School of Management. The shift was far more than just a name change. It heralded a new way of thinking about what should be taught and how that teaching should be delivered.
By now, full-time MBA programs had been introduced. In 1969, the full-time curriculum was revised with a core set of courses for first-year students that addressed decision-making, organizational behavior, and the management of financial, marketing and operations functions within a business.
“The goal was to both familiarize students with organizational theory and expose them to fundamental management concepts applicable across all kinds of enterprises, independent of a student’s area of specialization,” Matt Golosinski wrote in “Wide Awake in the Windy City.”
Second-year students took a set of courses focused on how organizations function amid economic, historical, legal, political and social forces.
“Managers have always had to cope with an environment that provided a continuous stream of problems,” the school argued in its marketing content. “Today, the manager must continue to do this, but he is also expected to take a leading part in solving social and economic problems of the U.S. and the world.”
A key component in the changing curriculum was the introduction of Conceptual Issues in Management (CIM). This student orientation was designed to introduce students to one another and bring them together with faculty in an informal setting. CIM remains a crucial component of the new-student experience at Kellogg today, although the acronym now stands for Culture Is Made.
Along with the curricular shift came an increased focus on teams rather than individuals, a mindset shift that led to the collaborative culture that remains in place at Kellogg today.
“‘This whole notion of learning from one another in teams emerged at Kellogg,’ said former Dean Don Jacobs, adding that prior to that time, the concept of working in groups struck some as cheating,” as Golosinski wrote.
Many people think of marketing as being all about selling. Our big concept has always been that when you do great marketing, you don’t need much selling.
— Professor emeritus Philip Kotler
6. We headed up the lakeshore.
The Graduate School of Management’s MBA Programs moved out of the Chicago building in 1972 and north to Evanston. The suburban campus was already home to the doctoral program, which had awarded its first degree in 1927.
Leverone Hall opened as a seven-story home for the school in the middle of the Northwestern campus.
7. We entered the Jacobs era.
In 1975, Don Jacobs became the 10th dean of Kellogg. He held the position until 2001, becoming the school’s longest-serving leader.
During that time, Jacobs left an enormous mark on Kellogg — and on higher education as a whole. Jacobs spearheaded the launch of the Executive MBA Program, built global alliances to establish the school’s international footprint and championed the Kellogg culture of collaboration.
Under his leadership, Kellogg did things other business schools weren’t doing — from interviewing every applicant to building a place for executives to study and sleep to minimize disruption.
“Don Jacobs was a transformational leader for Kellogg, for Northwestern and for American higher education,” former Northwestern President Morton Schapiro said in 2017 after Jacobs’ death. “To a great extent, he created the model for business education through the combination of a dynamic MBA curriculum, outstanding PhD programs and intensive executive education.”
8. We pioneered executive education.
Executive Education was a top priority for Jacobs. In 1976, he launched the Executive Master’s Program, known today as the Executive MBA Program, to fulfill that priority.
“With the economy of the 1970s in a tailspin, many mid-career professionals were hungry for the credibility and knowledge an advanced business degree could provide,” wrote former Kellogg Magazine editor Rebecca Lindell in a 2006 article. Jacobs was convinced executives wanted a more in-depth education. It was an immediate success, growing to 280 students within five years.
Jacobs envisioned an executive education center where classrooms, residence rooms, dining and recreational areas could all be housed under one roof. That dream became real when the Allen Center opened in 1979.
The center also allowed the school to accelerate its Executive Education offerings. At the time, a few other institutions offered 12- to 14-week nondegree courses, mostly for top executives. Kellogg moved quickly to launch shorter-term courses and ones geared for high-potential middle managers, which were a hit.
Jacobs’ vision became reality, creating a center where managers from around the world could gather with world-class faculty. A place where, as he put it, “the professors and the practitioners can sit down and test theory against practice.”
He later reflected, “You had to think of education not as a degree-granting conclusion, but rather as a beginning of a process of education for life.” Executive Education offerings continue to welcome alumni and other professionals back to campus throughout their careers.
Executive education wasn’t just a program; it was a vision of where Dean Jacobs wanted to take the school. It was built on the idea of continual improvement and continually listening to the customer, designing a strategy and tweaking that strategy.
— Ken Bardach, director of the Executive Master’s Program
Professor Alice Tybout teaches a marketing course.
9. We officially became Kellogg.
The Graduate School of Management received a $10 million gift from the John L. and Helen Kellogg Foundation. That money was used to offer support for faculty, research and facilities.
With that gift, the Graduate School of Management became the J.L. Kellogg School of Management.
10. We strutted into the spotlight.
In 1980, Kellogg introduced the Special K Revue, a student-produced song-and-dance performance that mocked life at business school. The show, filled with parodies and entertaining skits, was designed to offer students a diversion while helping them build bonds and friendships.
People ever mistake you for Charlton Heston? Well, if you can part the Red Sea or if you have trouble parting your hair, we want you to perform in the upcoming revue.
— William Jerome ’80 MBA
11. We grew our reputation.
Kellogg began to rise in popularity among business schools in the 1970s. In 1979, the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Kellogg at No. 5 in the U.S.
In 1985, the school ranked at the top of more than 600 graduate business programs in the country, based on a survey conducted by management consulting firm Brecker & Merryman. Most rankings at the time focused on the opinions of business school deans, but Brecker & Merryman surveyed 134 companies that recruited and hired candidates with MBAs to get their thoughts on business school alumni.
Kellogg finished first in four of 15 categories: graduates’ marketing knowledge, ability to work in teams, likelihood of remaining with a company over the long term and offering the best value to employers.
For the first time, someone thought to ask the customers about the product, and the result was a reshuffling of the business school lineup.
— Kellogg World (an early version of Kellogg Magazine)
12. We clinched the top spot.
Kellogg finished first in BusinessWeek’s 1988 ranking of the nation’s best business schools, further enhancing the school’s reputation.
“Although earlier surveys had boosted the school’s prominence, the 1988 ranking in BusinessWeek proved most influential,” Golosinski wrote in “Wide Awake in the Windy City.” “The magazine’s inaugural survey shook the management world with news that a formerly middling Midwestern business institution was providing the best management education in the United States.”
The 1988 BusinessWeek rankings were based on feedback from recruiters and graduates. Kellogg specifically stood out with recruiters for its training in marketing and general management. The graduates surveyed most appreciated the school’s curriculum, career services and faculty.
The proud tradition continues today. In 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked Kellogg MBA programs at the top across the board: Our Evening & Weekend MBA Program was No. 1 in the nation, while Full-Time and Executive MBA Programs ranked No. 2 on their respective lists.
13. We set our sights on new horizons.
In 1989, Sandy Haviland ’90 MBA and several other students created a course about the Soviet Union that culminated in a two-week trip to the region. The course, Global Initiatives in Management, quickly became a staple of the Kellogg experience.
GIM was, and continues to be, designed to help students gain an in-depth understanding of the culture, history, politics and macroeconomic trends of a particular country or region. Today, students in the course spend Winter Quarter in the classroom in Evanston learning about their area’s business ecosystems, challenges and opportunities, and then travel together to that location for a week-long trip over spring break.
One of GIM’s unique elements is that it is open to students in all Kellogg MBA programs. In addition, the curriculum and itineraries continue to evolve to explore the most pressing topics in business. Read a reflection by recent grad Bushra Amiwala ’25 MBA about her trip to New Zealand this spring as part of a new GIM course on artificial intelligence and innovation.
A student on a GIM trip to Vietnam in 1999.
14. We joined forces.
In 1992, U.S. manufacturing was in decline. Seeing an opportunity, the school partnered with Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science to create a master in management and manufacturing (MMM) program.
The program was designed to prepare students to lead product-driven businesses. The ideal candidate was someone interested in turning technological breakthroughs into quality business proposals.
Students visited manufacturing facilities all over the world. They also took part in a second-year capstone project that required them to either serve as consultants to leading manufacturing companies or develop a business based on a new product.
This was not the school’s first partnership with another leading professional school at Northwestern. In 1970, Kellogg and the Pritzker School of Law introduced the JD-MBA Program. In 2001, Kellogg and Pritzker became the first major business and law schools to introduce a three-year model for the program.
Subsequent collaborations include the MD-MBA Program with the Feinberg School of Medicine and the MBAi Program, also with McCormick.
With a continuing intent to update programs as times change, Kellogg reimagined the MMM Program in 2014 to focus on product innovation in the tech and design space.
Despite its many strengths, the school was continuously aware of opportunities to enhance its curriculum, paying close attention to its student ‘customers’ and recruiters. — Matt Golosinski
15. We grew our global footprint.
By the 1990s, our Executive MBA Program was considered the nation’s top destination for executive education. In an effort to better prepare students for the emerging global economy, the school expanded the program’s reach.
Kellogg developed partnerships with business schools across Europe, Asia and North America. Now known as the Kellogg Executive MBA Global Network, the partnership is the largest, most immersive network of its kind.
The network boasts six locations: Kellogg’s Evanston and Miami campuses, the WHU-Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management in Germany, the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University in Beijing, the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, and HKUST Business School at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
16. We rallied for one another.
In 2001, second-year Kellogg students were already nervous about limited internship and full-time job opportunities following the tech bubble collapse in 2000. Then came 9/11.
Laura Smith ’02 MBA was on campus when news of the attacks broke. What stood out to her in the immediate aftermath was the support the Kellogg community showed one another. Kellogg students held a fundraiser for the children of three alumni who were killed in the attacks.
That teamwork mentality extended to faculty and alumni, who did what they could to help students and recent graduates find jobs.
“As a result of 9/11, on-campus recruiters were scaling back new hires — a situation that prompted Kellogg faculty and administrators to open their Rolodexes (literally) and help students find jobs,” Smith said.
17. We opened a Miami campus.
In 2006, Kellogg looked south and saw opportunity. Under Dean Dipak C. Jain’s leadership, the school opened its Miami Campus — a strategically placed outpost designed to serve Executive MBA students from across Latin America and the U.S. Southeast. More than a convenient location, it was a statement of intent: Kellogg was committed to meeting leaders where they were, while connecting them to a global network that spans continents.
The Miami program matched Evanston’s academic rigor and faculty access, but its setting offered something unique — a vibrant crossroads where cultures converged and ideas traveled far and wide.
The Miami launch was emblematic of Dean Jain’s vision for Kellogg. A marketing scholar with a quantitative edge and a worldview shaped by his own international experience, he led the school from 2001 to 2009 with a focus on expanding its reach and reputation. During his tenure, Kellogg deepened its strengths in marketing and management, championed entrepreneurship and refreshed curricula to reflect the demands of a global marketplace.
Today, we see a dream coming true. With this piece, we continue our mission to bring the Kellogg School’s leadership to executives worldwide through our global centers of knowledge that unite all Kellogg students and alumni. — Dean Dipak Jain at the opening of the Miami Campus
18. We made history.
A 2010 Kellogg Magazine article highlighted the power and potential of the Kellogg community by providing several examples of how alumni helped one another with personal and professional growth. The stories in the article demonstrated the importance of lending a hand and what it means to “win as a team.”
“The Kellogg School is a touchpoint for alums, a place where many first experienced the power of working together toward a common goal,” wrote the author of the article, Chris Serb ’09 MBA. “It is a place where friendships took root and led to new ideas, opportunities and further connections. And it is a name that, when mentioned to other alums, opens doors everywhere.
“What makes the Kellogg network different from those of its peers? The advantages stem from the school’s dynamic culture and unique learning environment. Kellogg is focused on both the individual and the group, on building general management skills and fostering deep area expertise. The diversity of the Kellogg community — socially, professionally and demographically — fosters a sense of shared success and the awareness that the group’s achievements are part and parcel of one’s own.”
In the article, Megan Byrne Krueger ’90 MBA, now assistant dean of student life and the Evening & Weekend MBA Program, explained the power of the Kellogg community. “It’s a commitment to one another’s success,” she said. “And it continues long after you graduate.”
In a more cutthroat environment, students might not share their ‘good stuff’ with others because they’re afraid someone else might get ahead. At Kellogg, people are more willing to work with each other, without worrying that it will take anything away from them. — Assistant dean Megan Byrne Krueger ’90 MBA
19. We sowed seeds of innovation.
The Zell Fellows Program, funded by global investor and philanthropist Sam Zell, was created to provide unique entrepreneurial opportunities for select Kellogg students interested in starting or acquiring a business.
Zell Fellows meet with local entrepreneurs, participate in leadership workshops, receive private coaching and mentorship, and take part in domestic and international treks to meet with successful entrepreneurs.
20. We welcomed world leaders.
In 2014, President Barack Obama became the third sitting U.S. president to visit the Northwestern University campus, and the first to speak directly with Kellogg students.
The visit was one in a proud legacy. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt traveled to Evanston and spoke on campus near University Hall. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower delivered an address at Northwestern for the World Council of Churches. He also received an honorary law degree during the visit. Obama, who discussed economic policy during his talk at Cahn Auditorium, also offered advice to Kellogg students.
“As you engage in the pursuit of profit, as you should, I challenge you to do it with a sense of purpose,” Obama said. “As you chase your own success, as we want you to do, I challenge you to cultivate ways to help more Americans chase theirs.”
You can’t help but visit a campus like this and feel the promise of the future.
— President Barack Obama
Then-senator Barack Obama also visited Kellogg in 2005, when he delivered a keynote address at the Black Management Association Conference.
21. We cut the ribbon.
Kellogg debuted its Global Hub, a 415,000-square-foot building designed to build community and inspire learning, in 2017.
The five-story building on the shores of Lake Michigan features a variety of classrooms and convening spaces to inspire innovative forms of learning. The heart of the building is the three-story Gies Plaza, an atrium that features two large staircases (nicknamed the “Spanish Steps”), where students frequently gather to read or meet up with friends.
Classrooms in the building are flexible by nature, meaning they can be reconfigured as tiered lecture-style seating, subdivided by moving walls or transformed into flat classrooms.
We are known for our courageous and collaborative spirit, our grounded wisdom and our willingness to do things differently from our peers. This one-of-a kind building exemplifies all of those values. — Dean Sally Blount
22. We embraced a new era.
Francesca Cornelli was named dean in February 2019 and stepped into the role that August. A global educator, Cornelli has taught at some of the top schools around the world. Immediately before coming to Kellogg, she was professor of finance, deputy dean and director of private equity at London Business School.
Cornelli has focused at Kellogg on preparing students to lead at the intersection of business, science and technology. She’s been instrumental in growing the school’s offerings in healthcare, sustainability and private equity while continuing to ensure that students graduate with the skills and knowledge needed to be empathetic leaders.
23. We faced the unknown, together.
The COVID-19 pandemic altered life across countless paths at Kellogg. While students pivoted to taking classes online via Zoom, many professors quickly shifted their research focus toward topics related to the ongoing pandemic.
Topics of research varied extensively, from how Americans spent stimulus checks to social distancing behavior and the pandemic’s impact on scientific careers.
“Researchers across different disciplines all recognized that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study something that is very important to humankind,” said Angela Lee, the Mechthild Esser Nemmers Professor of Marketing.
The school’s Career Management Center also made a major shift in response to the pandemic. With so many industries deeply affected by shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, many current students and recent graduates faced uncertainty about job and internship opportunities. As in previous instances of uncertainty, Kellogg turned to its alumni network, and the alumni community responded.
In June 2020, the CMC launched a Hire Kellogg campaign. The initiative asked alumni to use their networks in an effort to find potential employment and internship opportunities for students.
“It was a great partnership, and one of the best things that came out of this was that working really closely with Alumni Relations led to such great results,” said Liza Kirkpatrick, the CMC’s managing director. “It was a phenomenal collaboration across the school, different departments and faculty members.”
24. We anticipated the future.
Artificial Intelligence leapt into the headlines in late 2022 with the release of ChatGPT, but Kellogg leadership already knew that AI would be a game-changer for businesses. In 2021, the school launched the MBAi Program, a joint-degree program offered by Kellogg and the McCormick School of Engineering. The program was intentionally designed not as an ad hoc collection of courses from both schools but as a collaboration leading to a new, blended approach to business and technology leadership.
Many courses in the program focus on the deeper analytical orientation and the AI and software engineering foundations leaders need. Its annual capstone pairs student teams with real-world companies — from Fortune 100 firms to startups — to work on real projects and solutions. Graduates leave ready to lead teams that include data scientists, machine learning engineers and developers. And they’re empowered to make well-informed decisions with authority.
Organizations need new decision-making processes, new culture and new organizational structures. And making these changes requires leaders with expertise in both business and technology. — Professor Eric Anderson
25. We broke new ground.
In May, as part of the school’s new Full Circle Campaign, Cornelli and other school leaders broke ground on a new building that will help create a unified campus experience and further solidify the school’s standing as a top business program.
The building, expected to open in 2027, will replace the James L. Allen Center and connect to the Global Hub via an underground corridor. The design is meant to support state-of-the-art technology and adapt as technology evolves.
“We are driving critical research and teaching that will have a profound impact on business and society,” Northwestern President Michael Schill said at the groundbreaking. “This new building will enhance our ability to support important initiatives and will elevate Kellogg’s profile even further.”
The new building will enrich the student experience across our programs and grow the impact Kellogg has on the world. — Dean Francesca Cornelli