June 28, 2004, Northern Today Abridged

Board chair re-elected to second term

NIU Board of Trustees Chair Gary Skoien was re-elected earlier this month to a second term as head of the governing body of Northern Illinois University. 

Skoien is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Horizon Group Properties in Rosemont.  He was initially appointed to the board in 1998, has served on all its committees and served  as vice chair before taking over as chair in July 2003.

Fellow trustee Barbara Giorgi-Vella was elected to a second term as vice-chair. George Moser will serve as board secretary, while Bob Boey was chosen as the fourth member of the board's executive committee. Terms of board officers coincide with the university's fiscal year, from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005.

Skoien told audience members at the June 17 meeting that budget issues have consumed much of his time as chair, and likely will continue to do so during his second term.

"I know I speak for the entire board when I say that we are very, very impressed with the manner in which our faculty and staff have maintained the quality of our academic programs during this difficult period."

"That is not to say that I or any member of this board fail to understand the sacrifices or compromises that have been made: We know that larger classes, fewer teachers and aging facilities are having a negative effect. But we have not laid off employees or shut down departments; we have been able to proceed with summer school; and we continue to send about 5,000 well-prepared graduates out into the world each year."

"By any measure, those accomplishments exemplify the qualities of efficiency, accountability and productivity so many are demanding of higher education," Skoien said.

Jackman wins Administrative Fulbright to Thailand

Diane Jackman, associate dean of the NIU College of Education, has received a Administrative Fulbright Fellowship in Thailand.

She will observe a person in a similar role at Chaing Mai University to examine the educational similarities and differences, probably from late December through early February.

"It's a six-week job shadowing experience," said Jackman, who came to NIU in 2001. "I have an opportunity to learn about a new culture and how they operate educational programs, from an associate dean's perspective in teacher education. It will allow for a sharing of educational ideas, professional development and an increased international understanding."

Her cross-cultural experience actually starts in late August, however, when Pongsak Pankaew, Chaing Mai's associate dean of the faculty of education, begins his six-week experience in DeKalb.

The Fulbright Program, part of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, linked Jackman and Pankaew after both submitted applications in search of academic exchanges. The two have begun an e-mail correspondence.

"We will be involving him in everything I'm doing. His background is in science education, so we will arrange to introduce him to all of the science teacher educators at NIU," said Jackman, adding Pankaew also will see "the United States from the northern Illinois perspective" through trips to many cities and towns in the region.

Jackman's paperwork identified Thailand as a top country of interest because of NIU College of Education alumni there. NIU has several longstanding relationships with individuals and universities in Thailand. She hopes to talk to students there about NIU's master's and doctoral programs in education and to explore future collaborations and exchanges beyond the Fulbright.

Jackman is one of approximately 250 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2004-2005 academic year through the Fulbright Teacher Program, which aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.

NIU student invited to meet with Nobel Laureates

Michael Eads will have some good stories to tell about what he did over the summer. The NIU student is spending this week in Germany, rubbing elbows with some of the world's smartest people.

The National Science Foundation selected Eads, a 29-year-old Ph.D. candidate in physics, as one of 25 outstanding research participants to attend the 54th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students.

The meeting began Sunday and runs through Friday in Lindau, Germany. Eads is participating in physics-related activities with 18 Nobel Laureates.

Since 1951, Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, physics and medicine have convened annually in Lindau to meet with student researchers. The meetings rotate by discipline each year, with this year's event focusing on physics.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Eads said before departing last week for Germany. "I know the Lindau Meeting will be interesting, and I don't think it'll be too intimidating - not that I rub elbows with the Nobel Laureates all the time. I have met some Laureates before and attended their lectures."

Eads earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees at NIU and is pursuing his doctorate under the direction of Professor David Hedin. He taught physics at Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox for three years before returning to NIU. He also is an adjunct instructor for the University of St. Francis in Joliet.

Specializing in experimental high-energy physics, Eads is among the NIU researchers associated with the DZero collaboration at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. NIU physics professor Jerry Blazey, who is co-spokesperson of the DZero project, encouraged Eads to apply for the Lindau Meeting.

"This recognition of Mike's efforts is a personal honor for him and also a credit to NIU and the physics doctoral program," Blazey said. "Only a select few students from across the country are invited to this gathering."

The National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Oak Ridge Associated Universities are sponsoring a total of 58 U.S. students for the Lindau Meeting. More than 500 other international students also will attend the event.

PeopleSoft implementation proceeds cautiously

The NIU Board of Trustees has decided to proceed cautiously with the implementation of the PeopleSoft Student System.

The badly needed software will replace a 25-year-old system which barely can keep up with demands, and for which no company provides any type of support, says Steve Pace, associate director of Computing Services in Finance and Facilities.

If and when it is fully implemented, the new PeopleSoft system will transform how the university handles all student-related record keeping. It will include modules for admissions, registration and records, financial aid, grades and more. It will simplify entry of records, and allow students, faculty and staff to access relevant information much more easily.

While the new software would be an enormous improvement, the board decided to heed staff advice and proceed slowly until the federal courts clear up a potential hostile takeover of PeopleSoft by rival software maker Oracle.

Oracle has been trying for some time to buy out PeopleSoft, but that attempt was blocked by the Department of Justice, saying it would violate antitrust laws.

That lawsuit put the university in a bit of a bind, Pace says.

NIU already purchased the base software package in 2003 and would like to get it online as quickly as possible. However, should Oracle succeed in its takeover of PeopleSoft, it could force the university to go through the effort and expense of a major software systems change in just a few years. The proposal approved by the board included contract guarantees that would mitigate this risk.

Faced with that uncertainty, staff in Finance and Facilities offered the board four different scenarios, ranging from completely shelving the project until the court case is settled to moving ahead with the full implementation.

The board chose a middle-of-the-road option under which the software will be installed and an implementation project team will be trained. A firm will be hired to work with the implementation team to identify potential gaps between current business practices and the new software's functionality and develop a comprehensive project plan that can be enacted if the university goes ahead with the full implementation.

That option not only keeps the project moving forward, but also locks in discounted prices for software, maintenance and training - all of which would have been lost if the project was shelved.

It also allows the university to qualify for a customer assurance program that guarantees a refund of two to three times the cost of a customer's investment in PeopleSoft software, training and maintenance should the company be taken over and the new owners choose not to support the software.

Should the Oracle/PeopleSoft case be resolved, the university will return to the Board of Trustees with a request to implement the student system. That process could take anywhere from 18 months to 30 months to complete. The protracted time line has much to do with fitting the implementation around the normal university cycle so as not to disrupt processes, Pace says.

The university previously installed PeopleSoft software to handle all record keeping for human resources and accounting work.

NIU joins state to honor improving schools

NIU continues to recognize schools that are making the grade, most recently shouting “Bravo!” to schools that have shown progress.

This spring brought the first Academic Improvement Awards (AIA), given to 100 schools where students have made significant academic gains over the last three years while consistently meeting “Adequate Yearly Progress” as defined by federal No Child Left Behind legislation. NIU Outreach is coordinating the AIA program in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education.

Award-winning schools range across all levels, from those where 40 percent of students meet the Illinois Learning Standards to those where 90 percent of students accomplish that goal.

Three ceremonies were held around Illinois, including two earlier this month.

“We need to recognize that there is a lot of good work going on in schools,” said Anne Kaplan, vice president for administration and university outreach.

“There are dedicated people – people who care deeply about students and care about learning. It is important to recognize the hard work that they do to help students succeed,” Kaplan added. “These awards are one way for the university to say, ‘Well done!’ and ‘Keep going!’ to schools that are working to change all our futures.”

“More often than not people talk about our schools failing, and time and time again I have said that they are not,” State Superintendent Robert Schiller said. “As demands to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind Act increase, it is gratifying for us to recognize those schools that are not only meeting requirements, but are definitely showing trends in improvement.”

To win an award, a school had to:

• make Adequate Yearly Progress in 2003
• show an upward trend in state test results
• either make significant academic improvement by showing at least a 7.5-point improvement in state test scores between 2002 and 2003 or at least a 15-point improvement in state test scores between 2001 and 2003, or earn removal in 2003 from the state’s Academic Warning List or School Improvement Status.

Researchers say the type of improvement exemplified by the AIA schools – that is, turning around poor performance – is often more difficult to achieve than incremental progress. For that reason, they say, schools that have worked their way off of warning lists or improved tests scores by a significant margin deserve as much recognition as those with a higher starting benchmark.

Helping the state publicize examples of exemplary student and school achievement is a hallmark of NIU’s P-20 (pre-school through graduate school) initiative. NIU’s involvement with the AIA awards follows the university’s coordination last fall of ISBE’s “Spotlight Schools” award presentations. NIU Outreach worked with the state board to establish criteria and identify winners of the awards.

Spotlight Schools are Illinois public schools where a majority of students come from low-income families, and in which 60 percent or more of students passed rigorous state tests in 2003. These schools also met the “Adequate Yearly Progress” standards imposed by the federal No Child Left Behind initiative as well as the state’s accountability system.

Penny Billman, an NIU Outreach researcher, will soon complete a study on what the AIA and Spotlight schools did to turn things around. She is interviewing the principals for their ideas and opinions on what makes a difference in raising student achievement.

Blackwell Museum raises $6,000,
honors Resource Bank, farm bureau

Friends of the Blackwell History of Education Museum at Northern Illinois University raised $6,000 in support of the on-campus Milan Township One-Room Schoolhouse at a June 11 banquet.

University and museum staff joined 117 guests in the Holmes Student Center at the $50-a-plate fundraiser, which also celebrated the educational achievements of Resource Bank and the DeKalb County Farm Bureau.

The bank's large photographs of one-room schools and the farm bureau's historic photographs filled the walls of the Regency Room. The country theme continued with loosestrife and daisies filling jars formerly used for canning fruits and vegetables.

The banquet also included a silent auction and music from pianist Dennis Vaupel.

"We plan to use the money to keep the reconstructed Milan Township School in good repair and to continue opening it to the public free of charge," said Lucy Townsend, curator of the museum, adding that other plans include more fully integrating the one-room school into NIU's teacher education programs and forming more partnerships with school and community organizations.

Townsend honored Resource Bank for its recently produced documentary, "One Room, One People." Mary Keys, the bank's director of marketing, accepted the award.

"This documentary is an artistically sensitive portrayal of a community with important values, such as caring for others and sharing resources in times of need," Townsend said. "It is obvious that Resource Bank personnel took great care in researching, producing and distributing this documentary. It is a wonderful gift to our community. I commend the Resource Bank for its extraordinary generosity in giving the documentary to local historians, museum staff, park districts, educators and many others interested in DeKalb County history."

Townsend called attention to the careful scholarship of bank personnel, as well as director and producer Michael Weckerly of Morning Star Media, who conducted interviews with more than 80 local people and researched a number of historical collections. All those in attendance at the banquet received DVD versions of the documentary and were urged to give theirs to their friends and relatives if they lacked the equipment to view the DVD themselves.

The DeKalb County Farm Bureau, meanwhile, received an award for 30 years of educational programming to bring agriculture into the schools.

Bureau manager Doug Dashner accepted the award in addition to praise for his organization's donations of books to local schools and a graduate level course designed to inform teachers about ways to include agriculture in their curriculum.

In the 2003-04 school year, the annual "Ag in the Classroom" program involved nearly 100 volunteers who taught 3,600 DeKalb County first- through fifth-graders lessons on agriculture. Townsend recognized 27 high school students and their agriculture teachers for participating in this program.

Each year, the Farm Bureau also challenges elementary children to submit designs illustrating agriculture in its "Food for Thought" Placement Design Contest. One thousand children submitted designs this year; the winning designs appear on placemats used in restaurants and community functions, including the Blackwell Museum banquet.

In other banquet business, Kay Phillips, director of alumni relations in the NIU College of Education, presented awards to two major supporters of the Blackwell Museum: Peter West, recently retired director of the Learning Center, and H.C. "Tex" Sherman.

Phillips commended both for raising funds for the reconstructed Milan Township One-room Schoolhouse and their many years of leadership in Phi Delta Kappa, an honorary education society with a chapter in the College of Education.

Cuba Caravan comes to DeKalb

The Pastors for Peace 15th Caravan to Cuba will roll into DeKalb at 7:30 p.m. today. The DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice invites the public to First Congregational Church to meet the Caravanistas and hear how Pastors for Peace successfully challenges U.S. restrictions on travel and aid to Cuba.

Previous Caravans have delivered more than 2,350 tons of assistance to the Cuban people. The Caravans are a product of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization.

Caravan Coordinator Briana Harris, speaker at tonight’s program, will be accompanied by volunteers Dan Kemper and Laurie Clark, both from Corvalis, Ore.

There is no charge for the evening program, but a goodwill offering will be taken and small items of school or medical supplies will be accepted. There also will be opportunity for questions. Coffee and refreshments will be served afterward.

For more information, call Cele Meyer at (815) 758-0796.

School of Music hosts Brown Bag Concert Series

The NIU School of Music Brown Bag Concert series begins Tuesday.

The Suzuki Strings, under the direction of Karen Weckerly, assistant director of the Suzuki program for the NIU Community School of Arts, will perform various pieces. The concert takes place at noon in the Recital Hall of the Music Building.

Other events scheduled include the NIU Graduate Woodwind Quintet (noon Wednesday, July 7), a harp concert (noon Wednesday, July 14), Klaus Luchs senior guitar recital (1 p.m. Saturday, July 17), steel pan concert (noon Wednesday, July 21) and a musical theater review (noon Wednesday, July 28).

The concerts are free and open to the public. Call 753-1551 or 753-1546 for more information.

Kishwaukee Symphony hosts golf outing

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s sixth annual benefit golf outing is scheduled for Friday, July 16, 2004 at the Sycamore Golf Club, 940 E. State St.

All proceeds raised from this annual event, which also features dinner, a silent auction, raffle prizes and more, benefit the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. For more information, contact Denny Pickett at (815) 758-2777 or via e-mail at DekPickett@niu.edu.

NIU Alumni Association to travel to Scotland

The NIU Alumni Association is accepting reservations for its travel program to Scotland, where an abundance of history, heritage and activities wait to be discovered by adventurous travelers.

The trip takes place Sept. 10-18.

With centuries-old castles dotting rolling landscapes, solemn sounds of bagpipes drifting across heather fields, friendly villagers proud of their heritage and the best golfing greens in the world, Scotland offers visitors a unique taste of its medieval history with modern flavors.

The historic city of Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, offers visitors a perfect mix of ancient architecture, such as the renowned Edinburgh Castle, lush countryside and miles of coastline. The touring itinerary also includes visits to Fort William, Isle of Skye, Armadale Castle, Kingdom of the Fife, Loch Ness and St. Andrews.

The total cost for the trip is $2,399 per person, based on double occupancy (single supplement available), and includes: round-trip airfare from Chicago, three nights in Fort William, four nights in Edinburgh, daily breakfast and two evening dinners, with an optional golf outing in St. Andrews. Travelers need not be NIU graduates to participate in the Alumni Association Travel Program.

For more information or to place a reservation, call the NIU Alumni Association at (815) 753-1452.

6-28-04