Board OKs 3 percent raises
NIU’s Board of Trustees voted Thursday to boost faculty and staff salaries by 3 percent “plus” in Fiscal Year 2004.
Raises for eligible faculty and staff employed by the university on or before Dec. 31, 2002, will come in two increments:
- an immediate 1.5 percent July 1 (or, for regular faculty, at the beginning of the contract period or Aug. 16), and
- an across-the-board 1.5 percent Jan. 1, 2004, for those who remain employed as of Dec. 31, 2003.
The 3 percent is dependent on the stability of the state and university financial environment.
However, to reflect the board’s and the administration’s commitment to enhance salaries to the maximum extent possible, the “plus” means additional efforts will be made to further improve the salary program if the budget situation calms down.
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Skoien elected chair of Board of Trustees
 Gary Skoien is the new chair of the NIU Board of Trustees.
A member of the board since 1999 and its most recent vice chair, Skoien is the CEO and chairman of the board for Horizon Group Properties, Inc., and executive vice president and chief operating officer for The Prime Group, Inc., both based in Chicago.
Skoien, who succeeds Manny Sanchez atop the board, pledges emphasized efficiency and accountability as well as a sharp focus on private fund raising, enhanced educational experiences, critical public service endeavors and accelerated economic development activities.
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Vermeer Quartet stirs Supreme Court
during D.C. command performance
 After more than three decades of performances in practically every major city in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia, members of the internationally renowned Vermeer Quartet still find abundant joy in playing.
Especially when the venue is the Supreme Court of the United States and the impressed audience includes eight of its nine justices.
“It was a very rewarding experience, a reminder of how wonderful it is to be not only a musician, but an American musician,” said Richard Young, violist with the quartet which has been part of the resident artist faculty of the NIU School of Music since 1970. “It was thrilling not just to meet and play for the justices, but to talk at length with some of them.”
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Learning about America through its literature
 Faculty members in the NIU Department of English are using a novel approach, quite literally, to help foreign scholars better understand American culture.
Eighteen professors from such countries or regions as Argentina, Cameroon, China, Gaza, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Syria, Thailand and Ukraine will visit NIU this summer for an intensive six-week Fulbright Institute devoted to the study of contemporary American literature.
The English Department and International Training Office will host the scholars from June 30 to Aug. 12. The program will include trips to Chicago, New York City and Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.
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NIU School of Nursing grads
rank high on state boards
 Graduates from the NIU School of Nursing continue to turn in brilliant scores on the state board exams.
Scores in the 95th percentile on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensure Examination (NCLEX) rank NIU as sixth among Illinois’ 22 nursing programs with graduates in the fall semester of 2002 and 93rd among the nation’s 546 programs with fall semester graduates.
Comparatively, the pass rate is 86 percent for all nursing programs in Illinois and 85 percent for all U.S. programs.
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‘Jazz in the Night’ celebrates 12 years
with Kurt Elling, Kathy Kelly
The Campus Activities Board celebrates the 12th anniversary of “Jazz in the Night” – DeKalb’s answer to Ravinia – with festivities Saturday, June 28.
Returning to the scenic East Lagoon location, this year’s event will showcase two talents in the jazz scene today. Six-time Grammy nominee Kurt Elling takes the stage at 8:30 p.m. with the Laurence Hobgood Trio. United Kingdom publication “Jazz Review” says Elling, who has recorded six albums and several collaborations with other artists on his resume, might well be “the greatest male jazz singer of all time.”
Vibe artist Kathy Kelly and her band, Vibrafon, who have performed from Chicago to Switzerland with many jazz greats, open the concert at 7 p.m.
Come early to get great seats, and don’t forget lawn chairs, picnic blankets and food. Festival grounds open at 5 p.m., featuring inflatable games, canoe rides and much more.
Admission buttons are $3 for the general public and for children age 7 and older and are available in the NIU Campus Activities Board office, room 160 of the Campus Life Building. Children age 6 and younger are admitted free. Students enrolled in NIU’s summer session are eligible for one free button if picked up in advance through the Campus Activities Board.
In case of inclement weather, the concert will move to the historic Egyptian Theatre, located on Second Street in downtown DeKalb.
For more information, call 753-1580 or visit www.niu.edu/cab. Promotional support is provided by WNIJ (89.5 FM) and the DeKalb Daily Chronicle/DeKalb County Weekly. “Jazz in the Night” is made possible through funding support from the NIU Student Association and is open to all.
Student Housing and Dining
seeks Move-In Day volunteers
Although summer session has just begun, help is being sought for fall semester events.
Student Housing and Dining Services is seeking volunteers from the university community to help students and their families during residence hall Move-In Day, Aug. 21.
This fall, 6,300 students are expected to reside in NIU residence halls. Students who are new to the university arrive at times scheduled to even the traffic flow through the day. With the cooperation and participation of many volunteers, and with university police keeping order, SHDS is able to provide a well-organized introduction to students’ new residence hall homes.
Volunteers form the backbone of the operation. Faculty, staff, and administrators model the cooperation that bonds the university while they help students with their belongings and assisting families with directions. One of the major tasks is to pilot golf carts laden with luggage and milk crates between parking areas and the residence halls. Volunteers are asked to perform four hours of service. All materials and instructions (including a complimentary shirt) will be provided on the day of the event. That evening, volunteers are given discounts on the annual Huskie Bash.
Move-In Day volunteers are among the first faces seen by new students. So many students are positively impressed by the operation, they offer their labors in succeeding years to assist others with the transition to university life. Student volunteers – the NIU Guides – are residence hall students who help new students find their rooms and settle in.
To register as a volunteer, visit www.niu.edu/housing/volunteer.shtml. For more information, call Phyllis Jones, Student Housing and Dining Services, at 753-9611.
General Accounting Office issues
FY2003 schedule for accounts payable, reports
Please note the following deadlines and information with regard to the FY 2003 closing. Please make sure this information is distributed to everyone in your area who processes items for payment. --MORE
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NIU Outreach has announced a new leadership structure for its regional outreach centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Rockford.
NIU Steel Band Co-Director Liam Teague and Presidential Teaching Professor Robert Chappell will be one of about seven groups featured on a public television special called “Arts Across Illinois: Center Stage 2003” on WTTW, Channel 11.
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