July 26, 2004, Northern Today Abridged

NIU receives more federal funds for combat systems research

NIU will use new Department of Defense funding to continue its work to ensure that Rockford-area manufacturers have a hand in creating a new generation of faster, lighter and stronger fighting vehicles for the U.S. armed forces.

The money, $3.5 million, was included in the 2005 Defense Appropriations Conference report, which is expected to pass the House and Senate by the end of this week before heading to the president for his signature. This latest appropriation is in addition to $2.25 million in federal money previously earmarked for NIU’s work on future combat systems.

The latest funding was secured by Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) and Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL).

“This money will allow us to continue the efforts of our Rapid Optimization of Commercial Knowledge (ROCK) project, which is aimed at helping Rockford companies understand their strengths and capacities to compete for military projects,” said Promod Vohra, dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.

The ROCK project, which is being conducted at Rockford’s EIGERlab, has three primary objectives.

The first is to work with Rockford area manufacturers to enhance their research strength in manufacturing processes such as high-speed machining of titanium, micro-fabrication of precision components, active noise control and radio frequency detection technologies to enhance the development of future combat systems.

Secondly, the ROCK project will benchmark the current Department of Defense procurement processes against those of commercial industry, looking for ways to make the process more efficient. Doing so makes it easier for small-to medium-scale manufacturers in Rockford and elsewhere to compete for defense contracts.

Finally, the program also will work to establish a virtual supply chain network of Rockford-area manufacturers that will provide an interactive, shared and communicative work environment to enhance cooperation and competitiveness.

NIU researchers are poised to begin that work in partnership with the Rockford manufacturers as soon as proposals receive final approval from the Department of Defense, a process which is in progress.

“We appreciate this latest round of support for this project, and we are eager to see that these efforts start paying off in the form of more jobs at Rockford-area manufacturers,” NIU President John Peters said.

Ilsley prepares for final chapter of Fulbright

Paul Ilsley, who has spent the last two autumns in Finland on a Fulbright Fellowship, will return this fall to complete his project examining active citizenship and online learning.

The professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment, working with colleagues in the Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, promises a “Hollywood ending” for his work, which will include two books and has already landed him on the editorial board of the journal “Lifelong Learning in Europe.”

Ilsley will leave in late August and return in late December.

“Each year, the project has become increasingly layered with additional responsibilities and also additional opportunities,” Ilsley said. “We’re continuing the kind of commitment that’s a model for international cooperation.”

Ilsley is editing a book that will report research on how people learn online, and what kind of self-regulation is necessary. The second book, which he is writing, studies citizen involvement and social forums in China, Finland and the United States.

Meanwhile, he will continue a study of doctoral students who are learning research skills via the computer. “I want to know if important aspects of dissertation research can be taught online,” Ilsley said.

Perhaps most important, however, is the completion of an agreement between NIU and the University of Helsinki, which Ilsley calls “one of Europe’s best, oldest and deepest institutions.” Ilsley and his U.S. and Finnish colleagues, mostly in the field of adult education, will celebrate the agreement over the next year.

Unlike many agreements between universities that are “just pieces of paper,” Ilsley said, this pact is a “meaningful” one that includes faculty exchanges, student exchanges, joint teaching and even joint courses, where Americans and Finns will take the same course but in different places.

“Finland has wonderful online teaching capabilities, like Northern,” Ilsley said. “We want to let sharing flourish. If we can build resources and exchanges, this leads to people being able to work together to build new ways for the future.”

NIU recently hosted Ulpukka Isopahkala, a visiting scholar from the University of Helsinki, who conducted research here on Fortune 50 companies and how CEOs learn.

For his part, Ilsley has advised Finnish doctoral students, taught classes and gave lectures at the Centre for Vocational Educational Research at Tampere University in Hämeenlinna.

“The goal is to use all these things as means, not ends, so we can internationalize our curriculum,” he said. “Especially for teachers, it’s important to have a global view.”

Ilsley’s Fulbright began there in 2002 as qualitative research into how the establishment of the European Union would change the country’s citizenship structure.

As the three-year project nears its end, Ilsley is grateful to Chris Sorensen, dean of the College of Education; Jeff Hecht, his department chair, and Deb Pierce, executive director of International Programs. Ilsley has taught summer courses for free in exchange for permission to visit Finland in the fall semesters.

BOT welcomes new student trustee

A senior public administration major from Glendale Heights has joined the NIU Board of Trustees as its new student member.

Eric Johnson, who is chief justice of the Student Association Supreme Court and also represents District 6 on the DeKalb County Board, began his duties July 1. He is the fourth student elected to the formerly appointed position.

He succeeds Kevin Miller, whose term ended June 30.

“This is my fourth year of involvement with the Student Association, and just being able to work with administrators and students over the last couple years, I think I’ve got a good starting point,” said Johnson, state chairman for the Illinois College Republican Federation. “The issues the board has dealt with are issues that are interesting to me, and it’s an avenue where I feel I can make a difference for the student body.”

Johnson said he hopes to spark “open-minded” discussions on the rising cost of parking tickets and textbooks, as well as promoting campus diversity and striving to maintain NIU’s affordability in light of the state’s financial difficulties.

“Even with all the budget cuts, the university manages to keep doing good things, providing a quality education and keeping students happy,” he said. “I’m looking forward to diving in.”

On campus for the summer, Johnson has been working closely with Miller to make a smooth transition. He already sat down with NIU President John Peters, and said he still plans individual meetings with the trustees.

Johnson will pursue a law degree after graduation next spring.

School of Art gallery ready for rebirth

Ann O’Brien, a former Sotheby’s employee who was working on her doctorate in New York City, feels at home among exciting artists who teach and exhibit their latest works in on-campus galleries.

It’s that vibe O’Brien plans to bring to the NIU School of Art’s Jack Olson Gallery, where she is acting coordinator.

“My long-term goal for the gallery,” said O’Brien, who came to NIU in August 2003 and has transferred her doctorate work here, “is to use it as a teaching laboratory for museum students to learn about curating and exhibiting works of art by leading contemporary artists as well as providing an exhibition space and forum for our faculty and students.”

Operation of the gallery space on the second (and main) floor of the Art Building recently returned to the School of Art from the NIU Art Museum, which has managed the space since 1995. Staff at the Art Museum, which is returning to Altgeld Hall, programmed the gallery’s events through the spring semester.

This fall’s schedule marks the change in management, something O’Brien along with the Olson Gallery Faculty Committee has been preparing for with a new logo (created by Andrew Byrom, a professor of design), a new Web page (still under construction), new mailers and new strategies.

She works with the Olson Gallery Faculty Committee, which includes professors from every division of the School of Art, and is buying advertising space in national art publications to invite artists to display at the Olson.

“We’re establishing a separate identity. We want a more active identity,” said O’Brien, who also was a visiting assistant professor who taught life drawing and beginning painting last year. “Many people don’t realize there is a gallery in the School of Art.”

Events scheduled for the fall include the Biennial School of Art Faculty Exhibition (Aug. 23 to Sept. 17), Design Events (Sept. 27 to Oct. 15), the High School Invitational (Oct. 27 to Nov. 7), the Black Box Special Exhibition (Nov. 8 to 12) and the BFA Show (Nov. 18 to Dec. 12).

January will bring The Art of Tommy Simpson (Jan. 10 to 28). Simpson, an NIU alum, is a woodworker, sculptor, furniture maker, painter and poet. Other exhibitions include the Graduate Group Show (Feb. 7 to 25), the Ars Nova Show (March 14 to April 1), another Black Box Special Exhibition (April 4 to 8) and another BFA Show (April 18 to May 7).

For more information, call 753-4521.

Operating Staff elects leaders

Members of the Operating Staff Council have selected new leadership for the 2004-2005 academic year.

Officers elected were Donna Smith, president; Rachel X. Turner, vice president; Theresa Kinniry, secretary; and Elizabeth Buck, treasurer.

Smith, a 17-year employee of the university who works in the dean’s office in the College of Education, has been active on the Operating Staff Council for 10 years. She has previously served as secretary and vice president of the OSC, and has participated in a number of university committees.

Smith said she expects salaries and benefits to be among the most important issues the council will face in the year ahead.

“I understand that budget cuts are difficult, and I believe the university has been handling them well, but we hope to work with the administration to look for ways of providing salary increases and to hold down the cost of benefits,” she said.

Other priorities will be looking for ways to improve communications with all university operating staff and finding new ways to recognize outstanding employees within that group. Smith also is looking forward to hosting a conference for representatives from operating staff councils from across the state in October.

Other OSC election results included the re-election to the council of Linda Jennings, Theresa Kinniry and Joe Koch. New members elected were Margie Foshe and Nancy Schuneman.

DeKalb plans event for National Night Out

Neighborhoods throughout DeKalb are invited to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide from 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, for the “21st Annual National Night Out” crime and drug prevention event.

Residents are asked to lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening outside with neighbors and police.

National Night Out, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch and co-sponsored locally by DeKalb Neighborhood Association Council, will involve more than 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world. In all, more than 34 million people are expected to participate.

National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime efforts; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

For further information, call (815) 756-9899.

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 Aug. 23. 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.

Mortar Board chapter looking for advisers

The Pleiades chapter of Mortar Board Senior Honor Society at NIU is looking for additional faculty/staff advisers. If you are interested in supporting some of NIU’s most outstanding students or have been involved with Mortar Board in the past, please consider becoming a chapter advisor.

Mortar Board, one of the most prestigious honor societies in the country, recognizes students for outstanding contributions and commitment to the ideals of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Pleiades chapter selects 50 NIU seniors for membership each year.

More information about Mortar Board can be found on the chapter Web site at www.mortarboard.niu.edu or by contacting Dan Turner at danturner@niu.edu or 753-1793.

Old NIU yearbooks sought

Dan Turner, assistant director of Orientation, is working to add to his collection of approximately 30 NIU yearbooks. If you have a past Northern yearbook and are willing to part with it, please contact danturner@niu.edu or 753-1793, or place it in campus mail.

‘Paint the Pavement’ still looking for artists

Do you like to paint? Do you play an instrument? Do you do ceramics?

All that and more will take place at the “Paint the Pavement” festival Saturday, Sept. 18. The Art Attack School of Art will team with the annual downtown Sycamore block party to create an exciting outdoor art festival.

Musical talent, painters, ceramists, thespians and others are needed to have as many art forms available. Each will have a 4-foot section, a pad of paper and a pencil to sketch ideas. Then, with paint and paintbrushes, participants bring their ideas to life while many fun things go on at the festival.

The Art Attack of Sycamore is located at 215 W. Elm Street. Call Susan Edwards, executive director, at (815) 899-9440 to register or get more information. More information also is available at www.sycamoreartattack.com.

The Art Attack School of Art is a not-for-profit organization.

7-26-04