Huskies know way to San Jose

NIU fans love their Huskies – and they’ve proven it again by selling out a 200-seat charter bowl trip before final details were even worked out.

Negotiations on an all-inclusive, three-day, two-night Silicon Valley Football Classic package hadn’t even concluded last Thursday before word-of-mouth advance registrations sold out the plane.

Officials with Huskie Athletics report that game ticket sales are brisk. They are encouraging fans who are still interested in attending the Dec. 30 game in San Jose, Calif., to contact official Mid-American Conference travel agency Anthony Travel at 1-800-736-6377 for information on other travel packages.

NIU enters the bowl with an 8-3 overall record, a share of its third MAC West Division title in the last four years, plus a No. 32 national ranking this week in the coaches’ ESPN/USA Today poll and a No. 35 rating in the Associated Press version.

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Wei-Chen Hung, a professor in the College of Education’s Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment, is the winner of the 2004 David W. Raymond Grant for Use of Technology in Teaching.

Hung will use the $2,500 grant to create the “Action Organizer,” an interactive computer program to help students expertly manage problem-based learning activities. The program also will encourage structured collaboration between classmates while allowing instructors to monitor, evaluate and bolster their progress.

It will reach far beyond current computer-based communication – e-mails and online chatter between classroom partners that merely wonder whether particular assignments are completed – and could set the stage for a larger project with external funding.

“The purpose of problem-based learning is to facilitate students’ metacognitive skills and critical thinking skills,” Hung said. “But students usually don’t know how to solve the problems. They usually just think about them. There’s no tool. This will help them manage the problem and guide them to solving the problem step by step, based on an expert model.”

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Jerrold and Carol Zar’s fervent devotion to NIU, their shared alma mater and workplace, is easy to see.

The Zars have made several gifts to the university over the decades, spreading a substantial amount of dollars across more than 50 departmental and college funds, as well as Northern Public Radio, Founders Memorial Library, the Division of Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics. They also have endowed two scholarships for undergraduate students.

Now they have given their largest gift ever: $50,000 to the new Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center. It will build an outdoor terrace, named in their honor, adjacent to the John and Nancy Castle Faculty Library.

Their gift also is expected to inspire other faculty to pledge financial support.

“We’ve made contributions for many, many years in a variety of ways, to many different departments and activities. The Alumni and Visitors Center caught our eye, primarily because we’re both alumni and longtime beneficiaries of what the university has to offer,” said Jerry, who retired in 2002 after an 18-year term as dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for Graduate Studies and Research.

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Göttingen Academy of Arts and Sciences in Germany has selected NIU’s Narayan Hosmane to receive the prestigious Gauss Professorship.

Hosmane, an NIU Presidential Research Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will spend two months next year (May and November) at the historic German university, founded in 1751. There he will lecture on new perspectives in cancer therapy.

The Gauss Professorship is named in honor of Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a famed mathematician noted for his many contributions to physics, particularly in the study of electromagnetism. The Gauss Professorship aims to cultivate the exchange of scientific ideas. It is awarded annually to a leading scientist in one of Gauss’ fields of interest, and nominations come from across the globe.

Hosmane’s distinguished career has produced a long list of accomplishments, awards and recognitions.

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Smiles and laughs at the expense of four women going through “The Change” will help enhance learning experiences for students in NIU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA).

Supporters of the college are invited to attend the 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, production of “Menopause The Musical™” at the Apollo Theatre, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. All proceeds benefit the Dean’s Fund for Arts Initiatives.

The Apollo seats 400, and Dean Harold Kafer is working all lines of communication to pack the house. NIU alumna Jeanie Linders, writer and producer of the musical and a member of the CVPA advisory board, and the “Menopause” cast will attend a special post-show reception.

The event is a board project. A subcommittee of the board has been working for two months on marketing and promotion of the event, including launching a Web site (www.cvpadeansfund.com) and organizing a silent auction and a raffle to further boost the fund.

It’s all part of the college’s most ambitious fundraising effort to date.

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Presidential Research Professor William Baker and Distinguished Research Professor Thomas Rossing both have earned honors for their work.

FIT program holds spring registration

The FIT Program will be holding spring registration on the following dates:

Monday, Jan. 10
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – returning members only

Tuesday, Jan. 11
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – returning members only
3 to 4 p.m. – returning members only

Wednesday, Jan. 12
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – new members only

Thursday, Jan. 13
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – new members only
3 p.m. to 4 p.m. – new members only

Friday, Jan. 14
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – open registration

Payment is due at the time of enrollment via check or payroll deduction (for NIU employees). Spring session begins January 18. Questions? Please contact the FIT staff at 753-0335 or via e-mail at fit@niu.edu.

Lifelong Learning ready for spring

The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute’s winter semester – Jan. 18 to Feb. 10 – will offer five study groups, one day trip, two extended trips and four notable lectures.

Study groups include “Eroticism in Films” with Sol Feldman, “The Uses of Fungi and Plants as Sources of Medicine” with Laszlo Hanzely, “Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China” with Lyle Sykora, “Jewish Holidays” with Avi Bass, and “That Was the Week That Was” with Elizabeth Bass. All classes begin the week of Jan. 18.

On Feb. 9, anyone can join NIU Lifelong Institute members to see “Measure for Measure” at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

NIU’s Lifelong Learning Institute we founded four years ago for participants 55 years or older. A full class schedule can be obtained by calling 753-5200 or visiting www.niu.edu/CLASEP online.

Students reminded of financial deadlines

The Student Financial Aid Office reminds students of the March 1 financial aid priority filing date. Complete the NIU Verification Form (www.fa.niu.edu) and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov) each and every year.

Call 753-1395 for more information.

Outstanding women sought
for recognition, awards

NIU’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, in cooperation with the Office of the President, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, Women’s Studies Program and the Office of University Resources for Women, recognizes the achievements of outstanding women students on an annual basis.

Created in 1980, the NIU Outstanding Women Student awards are intended to encourage the full participation of women students in all facets of the University experience and in their communities; to support their development of corresponding strengths, both cooperative and competitive; and to celebrate their achievements and contributions, including those not usually recognized by other award programs.

Eligible nominees have a graduation date during the award year: for example, seniors, third-year law students and graduate students who will receive their degrees in May, August or December 2005.

Information sheets must be completed by nominees regarding departmental and university leadership roles, community involvement, other awards and scholarships, goals and aspirations, and obstacles overcome in pursuit of their education. Preference is given to candidates with a 3.0 GPA or better.

Submit nomination using either this attached form or the electronic form located here.

The deadline is Friday, Jan. 7. Call 753-9614 for more information.

Graduate School seeks
nominees for honorary degrees

NIU’s Graduate School has issued its annual call for nominations for honorary doctoral degrees. Nominations are due Friday, Dec. 17, to Rathindra N. Bose, vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School.

Awarding an honorary degree is an opportunity to recognize someone especially outstanding in a field of interest to the university. It is necessary, though not sufficient, for a nominee to be accomplished or renowned in his or her field; an honorary degree recipient should be clearly exceptional among other outstanding persons in that field. -- MORE

Teaching Effectiveness Institute
scheduled for Jan. 13

NIU’s Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center invites all faculty and teaching SPS to its 11th Teaching Effectiveness Institute “Levels of Prevention: Methods and Strategies for Deterring Plagiarism and Cheating.”

The Institute will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Faculty and teaching staff interested in registering for this institute or who would like further information can e-mail facdev@niu.edu. Deadline for registration is Friday, Dec. 20. Seats are limited and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

All participants will receive institute materials, refreshments, lunch and a certificate signed by the provost. This institute is sponsored in part by the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center and Pepsi Cola General Bottlers, Inc.

Applicants sought
for Wiegele award

The Thomas C. Wiegele Interdisciplinary Dissertation Completion Award is offered annually to Ph.D. candidates at NIU whose dissertations bridge two distinct academic disciplines.

It supports interdisciplinary study within the social and life sciences. All Ph.D. students whose dissertations bridge two academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Eligibility is limited to those whose dissertation proposals have been accepted by their dissertation committees.

The honor brings with it a $500 monetary award, a certificate and recognition at the political science commencement ceremony. It is administered by the Department of Political Science.

The deadline for applications is Jan. 15. Applications are available from the Department of Political Science. The recipient will be notified by March 15.

MCTI seeks participants
for summer institute

The Office of the Provost and the Provost’s Task Force on Multicultural Curriculum Transformation are pleased to announce NIU’s annual Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute to be held May 16 to May 20 at NIU.

Full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty, instructors, and Supportive Professional staff on renewable contracts are invited to apply and participate in this intensive institute, designed to assist faculty and staff in incorporating multicultural perspectives and content into their courses, enrich their curricula, and prepare students for a diverse workplace and society.

The deadline for applications is Feb. 1.

This summer’s institute will feature plenary addresses on curriculum transformation and presentations by invited scholars and NIU faculty, panel discussions, syllabi critique, video presentations, and small group activities on incorporating current scholarship relevant to race, gender, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation and disabilities into content as well as pedagogy.

For application information, or if you have questions regarding the institute, please contact Task Force Chair Amy Levin at 753-1038, e-mail mcti@niu.edu or visit http://www3.niu.edu/mcti.

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