Presidential Public Policy Lecture Series
inaugural event POSTPONED

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Senate President Emil Jones to help
rededicate NIU CHANCE Program

Since its inception at NIU, the Counseling, Help and Assistance Necessary for a College Education (CHANCE) Program has been synonymous with the name of its founder, McKinley “Deacon” Davis.

The university will make that link official in ceremonies Tuesday, Jan. 27, when it will formally re-name the program the Deacon Davis CHANCE Program in honor of its late creator, who died last March. Ceremonies will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in the Holmes Student Center.

The evening will feature a keynote address by Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, an ardent supporter of public education at all levels.

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Adolf Shapiro, among Russia’s leading directors of the legitimate theater and most-esteemed teachers of actors, will unveil this summer his production of Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard.”

The play – Chekhov’s last – debuted 100 years ago on the stage of the legendary Moscow Art Theatre, where it will live again for its centennial celebration. Shapiro’s selection to helm the play confirms the depth of his abilities and his regard.

Yet rehearsals for “The Cherry Orchard” will halt for two weeks next month. Shapiro has another group of actors with whom he’d like to work: Students in the NIU School of Theatre and Dance.

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Generations of nurses to come will find the chance to fulfill their life’s aspirations thanks to Ruth Hall’s generosity.

Hall bequeathed her estate to nursing scholarships and programs at NIU and Kishwaukee College. The NIU School of Nursing so far has received $500,000 to endow a scholarship and, her descendants say, more is forthcoming.

“We’re so very proud,” said Marilyn Frank Stromborg, chair of the School of Nursing in the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences. “This will help a group of students usually not reached by scholarships. We have so many students in need of financial help.”

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Looking to learn more about operating in the global marketplace, a group of executives from PetroChina International recently spent about two weeks on campus learning about mergers and acquisitions from Finance Professor Robert Miller.

By familiarizing themselves with how the United States and other countries handle such matters, the company hopes to more successfully pursue its goal of expansion by acquiring foreign owned companies. As PetroChina already controls 90 percent of the market in the People’s Republic of China, there are few opportunities for growth in their own homeland.

The company has sent executives through similar programs at the University of Texas, but when the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce went looking for a university to assist PetroChina International, they looked closer to their Chicago base this time.

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Perhaps no one at NIU is more grateful than Paul Carpenter for this winter’s tiny helping of snow and its subsequent smooth commutes.

Carpenter, chair of the College of Education’s Department of Kiniesiology and Physical Education, rides his Klein bikes to work the 30 miles from suburban Batavia.

Only snowy and slippery roadways or the threat of a “major” storm – and not frigid air – persuade him to leave his bike at home. “Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor,” Carpenter admits.

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Jan Bach, professor emeritus from the NIU School of Music, is among the nine 2004 inductees into the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame.

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Northern Today ready to add ‘Passages’
Members of the NIU campus community now have a formal mechanism for submitting information on the passing of former colleagues. “Passages” will briefly note deaths of current and former members of our campus community.

Each item will receive a one-line treatment – “John Public, who worked in the University Libraries from 1947 to 1982, died March 16 in Miami, Fla. He was 78” – and will only be accepted via e-mail.

Those employees who hear of deaths of former colleagues and wish to report them must include the name of a newspaper that printed an obituary or the name of the funeral home for confirmation.

Please contact us at northerntoday@niu.edu. Type “Passages” in the subject line.

Biennial women’s conference
open to NIU women
“The Biennial Conference for Women - Women in Progress” is scheduled for April 8 and April 9 in Urbana. Many employees of NIU have attended this conference in previous years and have found it to be professionally and personally rewarding.

Speakers at this year’s conference include Suze Orman, Star Jones, Soledad O’Brien and David Baldacci. For conference and registration information, visit www.theconferenceforwomen.com.

Employees who choose to reserve bus transportation space to the conference should contact either Barb Rice or Rose Miller in Human Resource Services at 753-0458 or 753-6033 on or before March 19.

NIU Theatre’s ‘Pentecost’
explores value of life, art
NIU’s School of Theatre and Dance launches the spring segment of its 2003-04 season with a timely clash of religion, culture, art and politics in the Tony Award-winning playwright David Edgar’s “Pentecost.”

Production dates are Jan. 29 through Feb. 1 and Feb. 5 to 8 in NIU’s O’Connell Theatre in the Stevens Building. Show times are 7:30 p.m. weekdays, with 2 p.m. matinees Sundays. Tickets are $14 for the general public, $8 for seniors and $7 for students. For tickets or more information, call 753-1600 or visit the Box Office in the Stevens Building. -- MORE

Nominations sought for
Wilma D. Stricklin Award

The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women is seeking nominations for the Wilma D. Stricklin Award for the Enhancement of the Climate for Women on Campus. This award is given annually to an NIU-affiliated individual who has made university wide, consistent and lasting changes in the university campus climate or university processes. -- MORE

Nominations sought for
women’s writing awards

The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women announces the eighth annual award for outstanding writing on women’s issues at NIU. The purpose of the award is to recognize journalistic effort contributing to greater awareness of women’s issues on campus.

The contest is open to all NIU students and alumni who have written and published about women’s issues at NIU from March 1, 2003, to the present. Eligible entries include news coverage and/or commentary, individual articles or a series of articles on a topic(s) related to NIU women. Entries may have been published in campus publications such as Northern Star and Lifeline, or in other newspapers such as Daily Chronicle, MidWeek, and Chicago Tribune. Entries will be judged by the quality of writing, originality of content, and the significance of coverage. -- MORE

Faculty Development schedules
February seminars, workshops
NIU’s Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center has scheduled nine seminars and workshops for faculty and supportive professional staff during the month of February.

Please contact Amy Deegan at 753-0595 or e-mail facdev@niu.edu to pre-register. Program locations will be made available when you register. If you register for a program and are unable to attend it, please notify the Center at least two working days in advance so that those on the waiting list could be given the opportunity to attend that program. Contact sponsoring units for more information about their programs. -- MORE

NIUAA membership protects
future retirement benefits
Current NIU employees are invited to join the NIU Annuitants Association. Joining the NIUAA – it has a membership of more than 1,000 current (including President and Mrs. Peters) and retired colleagues and their spouses – includes membership in the umbrella organization, the State University Annuitants Association, (SUAA), which speaks and lobbies for more than 10,000 members. -- MORE

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