Chicago native Phillips named AD

Notre Dame ‘rising star’ to light up NIU Athletics

NIU’s push to lead Illinois toward P-20 thinking consistently touts that improving education is “everybody’s business.”

In the meantime, the initiative’s leaders are making sure that the work of promoting P-20 is also everybody’s business.

Five deans from NIU – Chris Sorensen (Education), Frederick Kitterle (Liberal Arts and Sciences), Harold Kafer (Visual and Performing Arts), Promod Vohra (Engineering and Engineering Technology) and Shirley Richmond (Health and Human Sciences) – presented the P-20 project to a national audience earlier this month during the Association of Teacher Educators Summer Conference in Cambridge, Mass.

Sorensen, Kafer and Scott Kubelka, principal of the soon-to-open Wright Elementary School in Malta, also led a panel session on the partnership between NIU and DeKalb School District 428 to create a school where arts and technology are integrated into the curriculum. The District 428-NIU partnership is part of NIU’s P-20 initiative.

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New college rankings by U.S. News & World Report place NIU’s public administration, accountancy and engineering programs among the nation’s elite.

The Master’s in Public Administration program earned the highest accolades. This past spring, U.S. News ranked the NIU graduate program fourth nationally for city management and eighth for public finance.

In another round of U.S. News rankings that will hit newsstands today, NIU’s undergraduate accounting program moved up to 25th in the nation, one notch above its previous rank.

The NIU Department of Accountancy is no stranger to such recognitions. Each year over the past decade, the Public Accounting Report’s survey of accounting professors nationwide has ranked NIU accountancy in the Top 20. The 2003 survey tapped NIU’s undergraduate accountancy program as seventh in the nation, while the graduate program was ranked 10th.

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After celebrating its 40th anniversary this past academic year, NIU’s Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) program shows no signs of slowing down.

Graduate school rankings released this past spring by U.S. News & World Report indicate NIU is one of the best universities in the country for city management and public finance.

U.S. News ranked the MPA program fourth nationally in the field of city management, ahead of programs at all public and private institutions in Illinois and at such prestigious schools as Harvard, USC and Syracuse. In addition, NIU moved up to the eighth ranking nationally in the specialty of finance and budgeting.

The university’s MPA program – a division of the Department of Political Science – is one of the oldest in the state and is recognized internationally for its excellence. About one-third of Illinois city managers are graduates of NIU’s MPA program, according to the directory published by the Illinois City/County Management Association.

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Few – if any – people wonder or consider what happens when foster children become adults.

Like their peers who grew up with biological or adopted parents, many foster children go to college. NIU enrolls the state’s largest group, numbering around 45 last year.

But most of those “wards of the state” have lost the familial support system that helped them grow up in an environment as normal and as safe as possible. They have no place to go during the holidays. They have no one to phone for comfort. No one calls to see how they are. No one sends them care packages of cookies and new clothes.

A pilot project beginning this fall at NIU seeks to change that.

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Johnny Nash’s ever-familiar voice broke through Wednesday’s din of conversation as NIU College of Education faculty and staff filed into the O’Connell Theatre for Dean Chris Sorensen’s annual speech.

“I can see clearly now, the rain has gone,” Nash sang. “Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sun-shiny day.”

Minutes later, Sorensen cautioned her audience that although the sun is not beaming yet, the forecast calls for nicer weather.

“The future isn’t quite as cloudy as it was a year ago at this time,” Sorensen said. “Hopefully the rain has stopped, or at least tapered off for a while. The last three years have been rough. There have been many challenges we’ve had to face.”

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NIU’s Winifred Creamer is spending the fall semester in Peru on a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship for Teaching and Research.

Creamer, a professor of anthropology whose archaeological discoveries in the South American country have captured headlines worldwide, began her Fulbright teaching assignment this month at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima. Fluent in Spanish, she is teaching an advanced course focusing on the ancient peoples and environment of Peru.

She spent the summer with a team of researchers excavating at the remote Caballete archaeological site about 100 miles north of Lima.

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Kathy Antunovich spent most of the last quarter-century working as a nurse practitioner at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital and its Ambulatory Care Network, but left the job with three career-expanding goals in mind: teaching, researching and managing.

NIU’s Tri-County Community Health Center offers all three.

Antunovich, who succeeded clinic co-founder Mary Uscian as director July 1, calls the operation of the NIU School of Nursing “a wonderful place and a wonderful opportunity for me, personally and professionally.”

“Tri-County has a marvelous history,” Antunovich said. “I’m coming on the heels of nurses who have actually made a little history with this particular clinic. It’s nurse-managed, and all the providers are nurses. The nurses who had this idea, and obtained the funding, were really trendsetters.”

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NIU’s Dwight King, a professor of political science, journeyed to the island republic of Indonesia over the summer to serve as an election monitor and as an adviser to former President Jimmy Carter.

Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, led a 60-member international delegation to witness the historic 2004 presidential election. Indonesian voters for the first time were directly choosing their president, although none of the five presidential tickets won a majority of the July 5 vote.

A run-off election is scheduled for Sept. 20.

“This is a critical year in Indonesia’s ongoing process of democratization and political reform because of three national elections,” King said, noting that the country also held a legislative election in April.

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Retirement reception
to honor Gary Gresholdt

The NIU community is invited to congratulate Gary Gresholdt, vice provost for Student Affairs, at a retirement reception scheduled for 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, in Neptune Central. Gresholdt has served NIU for 35 years.

For more information, call 753-1999.

Renovated Chick Evans
to show off at open house

An open house and opening ceremony are scheduled for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, to show off renovations at the Chick Evans Field House. The opening ceremony takes place at 4 p.m.

The newly renovated space offers an indoor soccer and floor hockey rink, regulation-size basketball courts, volleyball courts, an indoor running track, rooms for aerobics, dance and martial arts and fitness machines and equipment.

In addition, the building is home to two fully equipped SMART classrooms as well as the offices for the Office of Campus Recreation, ROTC, the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education and Building Services.

Guests at the open house can participate in activities, enjoy refreshments at The Lounge and listen to music provided by NIU student musicians.

Please enter the Field House through the southeast entrance. Call 753-9419 for more information.

FIT program offers
launch pad for exercise

Fitness Images Today (FIT), located in Anderson Hall 127, is an on-campus, adult fitness program, open to NIU employees, spouses of employees, retirees, and residents of the surrounding communities.

The program offers a variety of classes (including water aerobics), a weight and cardiovascular room, blood pressure screenings, body composition analysis, flexibility testing, as well as individual program design.

The staff is comprised of a program coordinator and four graduate assistants, trained in health and fitness, who are available to assist individuals who are new to exercise, returning to exercise after injury, or who just need a little extra guidance or jumpstart for their exercise program.

Fall sessions start today. Cost is $65 for fall semester. Contact the FIT staff at 753-0335 or via e-mail at jkieronski@niu.edu for details on enrollment, cost or programs.

NIU changes policy on
credential file retention

NIU has changed its policy for credential file retention.

As of Sept. 1, credential files will be kept for 10 years from their last date of use. Credential files that have been inactive for longer than 10 years will be removed, and all confidential records and identifying information will be destroyed.

Graduates can ask that their non-confidential letters of recommendation be returned upon request by Sept. 1, 2004. Graduates may re-establish a file at any time. The new file will be subject to the same policies as those stated above.

Address all correspondence to the Career Planning and Placement Center, Northern Illinois University, Campus Life Building Room 220, DeKalb, IL, 60115.

Huskies Gameday workers needed

NIU Athletics is hiring gameday personnel. If you are interested, please e-mail for an application to shansfield@niu.edu.

Community Dance School
opens fall registration

Fall registration for the Community Dance School at NIU has begun. Classes meet weekly from Sept. 13 through Dec. 17.

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 and modern, as well as ballroom, Latin and swing. Students are taught by NIU faculty and instructors who hold degrees in dance education, have danced professionally or who are currently dance performance majors at NIU.

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

Registration will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, and Saturday, Sept. 11, in Anderson Hall Studio 130. For more information, call 753-1407.

KNPE offers program
for child motor development

NIU’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education will offer an early childhood motor development program again this fall.

The 10-week program for children from ages 3 to 6 is scheduled from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 13 and ending. The program fee is $100 per term, and sessions take place in Anderson Hall

Clersida Garcia, director of the program, said the curriculum includes learning movement concepts, developing fundamental motor skills, coordination, swimming and rhythmical abilities, as well as games and fitness.

For more information, call Garcia at 753-1400.

Wilson, Shaninigans Big Band
present concert Sept. 18

John Smith and the “Just Make It Happen Entertainment Campaign” is pleased to present the “Rhythm of Life,” an evening with Gavin and Gordy Wilson, their family and the big band sounds of the Shananigans.

“Rhythm of Life” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Egyptian Theatre of DeKalb, 135 N. Second Street.

This event will be presented as a fundraiser for the Egyptian Theatre and the Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre, Inc.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Call Smith at (815) 758-1093 or Gavin Wilson at (815) 756-4749 for more information and tickets. Tickets will be available at the Hillside Restaurant starting the week of August 23, 2004.

NIU Huskie Golf Day
scheduled for Oct. 8

Friday, Oct. 8, marks the date for the 2004 Huskie Golf Day, a successful merger of the former Huskie Pro-Am and NIU Co-Am.

The 2004 Huskie Golf Day will be held at the home of NIU Golf, Whisper Creek Golf Club in Huntley, Ill. The tournament will be a four-person scramble. Sign up a team or leave the pairing to NIU.

As groups enjoy the wonderful 18-hole layout, participants may choose to select various spectacular shots contributed by members of the Northern Illinois Golf Program to elevate the day of enjoyment. During the course of the day, participants can meet and play with all members and staff of the Huskie men’s and women’s golf teams as they rotate through the field.

The day’s experience also will include a special NIU welcoming gift, driving range and practice prior to play, golf, cart, on-course box lunch and beverages. Raffle ticket chances will be available at registration and throughout the day.

Upon the conclusion of play, participants will enjoy a hearty Italian buffet dinner. Prizes will be awarded then, and a silent and live auction action will conclude the evening’s festivities. (Non-golfers still can participate and support the event by attending the dinner and the auctions.)

Individual Huskie Golf Day entry is $225. The cost for dinner only is $35, and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

For more information on the event, or to register by Sept. 24 deadline, call the NIU Huskie Golf Offices at 753-1816 (men’s) or 753-1548 (women’s).

Newsboys, Rebecca St. James
to perform at Convocation Center

Newsboys and Rebecca St. James, with special guest Todd Agnew, bring “Adoration: The Tour” to the NIU Convocation Center at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11.

Doors will open at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $21.50, with a limited number of general admission seats available. Tickets are available at the Convocation Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling (312) 559-1212 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

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Thousands of new students and their families descended on NIU's residence halls Thursday to find an army of smiling volunteers with strong backs and golf carts at the ready.

Please enjoy this photo album from Move-In Day.

VIEW PICTURES

Summer on campus was a busy and fast one at NIU, including plenty of good news about faculty achievement and sad news of the passing of a number of beloved members of the university family.

Northern Today is providing links to summer stories you might have missed.

SUMMER STORIES