Columbia College Chicago was up and running with all classes in their regularly scheduled locations on Monday, October 30.
Mark Kelly, vice president of student affairs received word late Sunday afternoon from the Chicago Office of Emergency Management that demolition of the burned Dexter building at 630 S. Wabash had progressed adequately to issue a safety 'all clear' and Columbia administration was given the go-ahead to reopen their 623 and 619 S. Wabash buildings for classes on Monday.
Columbia was forced to evacuate and shut down the two buildings on their north campus due to the 5-alarm fire on Wabash which broke out Tuesday afternoon, affecting hundreds of classes and thousands of students. Administrators had been working around the clock and had a contingency plan in place for Monday and Tuesday.
On Tuesday, October 24, the college evacuated five buildings on the north campus canceling more than 200 evening classes. The next day, the college was directed by OEM to keep the two building on Wabash closed, resulting in the cancellation of a total of more than 300 classes over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Although the semester will not be extended due to these cancellations, faculty will be expected to adjust curriculum to make up lost time and content, according to the Provost's office.
"We had to be prepared for class relocation on Monday" said Kelly. "We put in the work and were ready to put the plan into effect, but are absolutely thrilled that we can get back to 'education as usual'. This was a real learning experience for all of us.”
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