In Brief

Law library hours scheduled for spring

Hours for the David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library from today through Friday, April 25, are 7:15 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 7:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 11:30 p.m. Sundays.

Reference service is available from 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 11:30 p.m. Sundays.

Exceptions include Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, Jan. 20), when the hours are 1 to 10 p.m. Hours during spring break are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, March 10, through Friday, March 14; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 8, and Saturday, March 15; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 9, and noon to 11:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16.

For more information, call 753-0505.

Retirement reception scheduled for Roush

A retirement reception for Phyllis Roush, Holmes Student Center food service director, will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the HSC Capitol Room.

National education leader to speak at NIU

Penelope Earley, director of the Center for Education Policy at George Mason University, will visit NIU Friday, Feb. 21, to speak on the current thinking of the federal government concerning P-12 education. Her speech is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Stevens Building auditorium. Earley formerly worked for the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and for a time was the organization's senior director of governmental relations.

Nominations sought for 2003 Outstanding Service Award

The Outstanding Service Award is presented each year to four NIU civil service employees.

The objective of this award program is to recognize individual civil service employees who have demonstrated outstanding service and have made significant contributions to the university community. A $1,000 award, considered taxable wages and subject to payroll deductions, and a plaque will be presented to each award recipient at the annual operating staff service awards banquet scheduled for May 2.

Nominations may be submitted by any current or retired NIU employee. Nominees must be full- or part-time status civil service employees who have been continuously employed at NIU since Feb. 1, 2002. Employees who were laid off, on leave or hold less than 12-month positions are eligible. The award can be received once. In the event of multiple nominations for one individual, the first nomination packet received will be the one considered.

Nomination forms recently were sent to all university employees. Nomination forms also are available on-line at www.niu.edu/osc/osc.htm. Letters of recommendation from two current or retired NIU employees are required to accompany the nomination forms. Nomination packages must be received in Human Resource Services no later than 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28.

Community Dance School announces spring registration

Spring registration for the Community Dance School at NIU has begun. Classes meet weekly from Jan. 20 through May 2.

The school is sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, and is directed by Diane Rimmer. The Community Dance School's mission is to reach all members of the NIU community and surrounding areas, teach the fundamentals of various dance forms and to allow each individual to expand upon their own abilities. Its main focus is to explore the joy of movement through dance, instilling a strong appreciation and understanding for it.

Classes begin at age 4 and continue through teen and adult. Classes offered include creative movement, ballet, tap, Irish step dancing, jazz/hip-hop, yoga, ballroom, Latin and swing. Students are taught by NIU faculty and instructors who hold degrees in dance education, have danced professionally or who currently are dance performance majors at NIU.

NIU faculty member Barbara Heimerdinger will be teaching the ballroom, Latin and swing classes.

For more information, call 753-1407.

Deadlines set for Fiscal Year 2003 requests

Fiscal Year 2003 will soon be closing and cut-off dates must be established.

These dates are mainly pertinent to FY2003 orders using General Revenue funds, but the same dating conventions are followed for orders using other fund sources. Please keep in mind that the last quarter of the fiscal year is the busiest for Procurement Services and the Accounting Office, with their departments simultaneously preparing to close out FY2003 and processing, bidding and issuing orders for FY2004.

State law requires that all FY2003 General Revenue orders be completed, including all payments, at the end of the lapse period. Orders must be issued prior to June 30, 2003, and the goods received, invoiced, and all payment paperwork in Accounting no later than Aug. 6, 2003, regardless of dollar amount. This will allow time for processing and payment of invoices here or from Springfield by the Aug. 31 deadline.

If it is known that delivery cannot be completed before the lapse period cut-off date (Aug. 6), the requisition can be cancelled or converted to a FY2004 requisition/order.

The goal is to provide a uniform, quality service to all, but the cut-off dates must be followed strictly to enable the staffs to achieve this level of service for each office and department. This includes meeting all legal requirements, including bidding and any required university approval processes.

Orders more than $250,000: FY03 purchase requests above this level must be received in the Accounting office not later than Feb. 28. The approval process by the Board of Trustees, once bids are completed, begins early in April, requiring that FY03 bids be completed and award selections made by April 4. Again, delivery by the Aug. 6 cut-off is required. FY2004 orders needed early in July will be required at the same time.

Orders of $25,000 up to $250,000: FY03 purchase requests in this range must be in the Accounting office no later than April 15. General Revenue-funded orders in this range are approved at the presidential level but must be bid, approvals given, ordered and delivered, with invoicing completed by Aug. 6.

Orders less than $25,000: FY03 purchase requests less than $25,000 should be received in the Accounting Office and Procurement Services no later than June 2. Requests received after this date will be handled on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the buyer. Where competitive opportunities exist, buyers will seek competitive quotations.

Purchase Requests using FY03 General Revenue (02) funds in any amount for new purchases will not be accepted for processing after June 13. If the purchase request has not been received in Accounting by June 13, it will not be processed as an FY2003 order. The same rule will apply to all FY2003 purchase requests using any other fund sources.

Orders from other than General Revenue funds: All goods and/or services from orders funded from locally held funds accounts must be received or services completed and invoice-dated by June 30 to be expensed in FY03. If received after that date, any charges will be charged to your FY2004 budget.

If there are questions, call Procurement Services at 753-1671 or the Accounting Office at 753-1514 now. The staffs are not readily able to do last-minute orders, making it important to submit purchase requests immediately. Being late can mean no purchase order and no products when you want or need them.

FY2004 purchase requests also can be submitted now. Doing so helps to ensure your needs for FY2004 can be met efficiently and in a timely manner.

1-13-03