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Chown, Koehler, Payvar named
Presidential Teaching Professors
   Good teaching opens minds, inspires thought and molds leaders.
Proof of success can come through following where students go, what they achieve and how they make their own differences. Yet proof also can come from listening to what former students say about their former professors.
Such is the case with NIU’s annual Presidential Teaching Professors, chosen with particular emphasis on the words of those they took under their wing.
This year’s Presidential Teaching Professors – Jeffrey Chown, from the Department of Communication; William Koehler, from the School of Music; and Parviz Payvar, from the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology – are popular educators.
“We have, as always, picked some of our leading educators on campus to recognize their contribution to our major mission of teaching our students,” NIU Provost J. Ivan Legg said. “I wish we had more Presidential Teaching Professorships to give because we have so many good faculty on campus.”
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WNIJ’s Susan Stephens happiest telling stories
 There were inklings of what was coming March 14, on Page 64 of The New Yorker, but neither Susan Stephens nor her colleagues at Northern Public Radio realized exactly what.
Someone had fielded a call seeking a tape of a piece of Sue’s – she’s only called Susan on the air – about Brian Slavenas, the helicopter pilot from DeKalb whose death in Iraq deeply tore his family amid great publicity. Another caller, a fact-checker for the magazine, wanted to confirm her job title and the radio station’s affiliation with NIU.
Yet when Calvin Trillin’s story appeared under the headline “Lost Son,” his long and thoughtful article began with Stephens, who, it turned out, had inspired his interest. “This happened on Interstate 78, in New Jersey, in November of 2003,” Trillin had written. “While listening to a story on NPR’s ‘Morning Edition’ about a National Guardsman who’d been killed in Iraq, I found myself in tears.”
“Some stories obviously lend themselves more to a poignant telling than others. This was a great story to tell, and Sue told it exceptionally well,” says Tim Emmons, director and general manager of Northern Public Radio. “She recognized it as a terrific story. All the elements were there to kind of tell the whole story of the war, and people’s feelings about the war, in the story of this one young man.”
For Stephens, whose last few months have brought many trials, Trillin’s nod is the “one golden thing” and the source of odd joy and welcome confirmation.
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Operating Staff announces
Outstanding Service Award recipients
 Four members of Northern Illinois University’s Operating Staff have been chosen to receive the Outstanding Service Award for 2005.
The recipients are Sandra J. Little of Development Office, Joan M. Metzger from the Regional History Center, Tris Ottolino of the Program for Hearing Impaired in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Kay Shelton from University Libraries.
About 1,800 employees make up the Civil Service staff. Each year, four are selected by a committee of their peers to receive the award of plaques and $1,500. They will be honored at a Friday, May 6, banquet.
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KNPE professor working with panel
to reduce risk of falls for U.S. elderly
 Pamela “Pommy” Macfarlane, a professor in NIU’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, is among the national panel of experts behind a new action plan to prevent falls for older adults.
“We have to get the word out that falls are preventable and not a natural consequence of getting older,” Macfarlane said. “Activity and mobility programs have a very clear association with lowering the risk of falls, even in frail people.”
Released in March, the “Falls Free: Promoting A National Falls Prevention Action Plan” initiative addresses the challenges and barriers related to a national falls prevention project.
“This is really something we need to start implementing and working on as a country,” Macfarlane said. “One-third of older adults are falling each year, and the cost is humongous. The dollar cost to the individual and society is large, but the biggest cost, as I see it, is to the quality of life for the person who falls or is scared of falling.”
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NIU 'probably most prepared' university
for severe weather, re-certified 'Storm Ready'
 In front of about 100 weather spotters gathered for an on-campus spotter training session Thursday, April 7, NIU Staff Meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste accepted the National Weather Service’s “StormReady” re-certification on behalf of the university during a brief ceremony.
The certification lasts for three years, and is valid through May 2008. The National Weather Service designates communities, counties, schools and businesses “StormReady” when they meet a high level of weather preparedness.
Among the stringent requirements for large schools: a 24-hour emergency operations center, which is located at the NIU Public Safety/Police department, and at least five ways of receiving emergency and current weather information, with four methods to disseminate it in real time.
Currently, NIU Weather distributes severe weather bulletins affecting the DeKalb campus via the NIU Weather Web site, e-mail, pagers, cell phones and through 168 NOAA All-Hazards radios placed strategically throughout the campus.
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Gerontology Student Organization hosts
‘Careers in Aging’ week
 Baby boomers – those Americans between the ages of 40 and 60 – are accustomed to playing the scapegoat as they collectively move through life and take the blame for straining this system and that.
And now, as their generation hurdles toward retirement and its older members approach “the golden years,” their children and grandchildren are preparing to care for a vast population of elderly people.
Yet a shortage of workers is expected – and the NIU Gerontology Student Organization is hoping to shore up the troops through “Careers in Aging” week.
Scheduled for the week of April 11, the events include a discussion of careers and internships in fields serving older adults, a role-playing activity that puts participants in the shoes of elderly adults, a trivia game designed to keep aging minds sharp and a movie.
“We’re trying to get the word out that people have to be better prepared for dealing with the baby boomers as they age and dealing with the various needs they’re going to have,” said Carolinda Douglass, a professor in the School of Allied Health Professions and adviser to the GSO.
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Parking Services announces new fees
 Campus Parking Services has announced it will hike the price of parking permits for the 2005-2006 academic year.
The cost of all non-reserved parking permits for students will rise 4 percent ($1 or $2 more per year, depending on the type of permit purchased) while the cost of non-reserved blue permits for faculty and staff will climb 8 percent ($6).
Those purchasing reserved parking spaces, however, will see much more substantial increases.
Red/blue permits reserving parking spaces for faculty and staff on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. will increase about 29 percent to $561. Red/blue permits reserving spaces at all times for faculty and staff will increase about 26 percent to $642.
A survey of universities across Illinois and the Mid-American Conference found that more than half of those schools do not allow – or severely restrict – the purchase of reserved parking spaces. Among the rest, the new price at NIU for a reserved blue spot is slightly more than the average of $498.
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Kudos
 Read good news about – and send congratulations to – Biswa Datta.
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NATIONS to present
Native American film series
NATIONS, NIU’s Native American Student Organization, in conjunction with the Campus Activities Board and the Student Administration are proud to present three nights of Native American Films at Diversions Lounge in the Holmes Student Center.
The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of Native American issues and artistic achievements amongst the community, and provide a chance for students and members of the community to find out more about NATIONS and Native American culture.
The daily events will begin at 6:30 p.m with a brief lecture by a member of NATIONS and the film will begin at approximately 7 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session.
Monday, April 11: “Smoke Signals.” Winner of the Sundance Film Festival, and critically acclaimed, this interpretation of Sherman Alexie’s short stories follows two Couer D’alene men on their journey to retrieve the remains of one’s father. Both dramatic and comedic, this film is a seminal work in American Indian film. The lecture is on the importance of oral history among Native cultures.
Monday, April 18: “The Education of Little Tree.” This touching story of a young boy brought to live with his Cherokee grandparents in the Appalachian Mountains during the 1920s and then being taken away to an Indian boarding school. The lecture will be on Eastern Cherokee Culture in the early 20th century.
All events are free and open to the public. Diversions Lounge is on the lower level of the Holmes Student Center. Parking is available at the Visitor Parking Lot off Carroll Avenue or at metered spaces around campus, although there is a charge to park before 7 p.m. After 7 p.m., parking is free at any unreserved space.
U.S. Court of Appeals
holds oral arguments at NIU
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will convene and hold oral arguments at the NIU College of Law at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 13, in the Francis X. Riley Courtroom. Arguments begin promptly.
A reception will follow in the Marshall Gallery.
PCSM announces
annual spring luncheon
The Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities (PCSM) will host its sixth annual Friendships Abloom Spring Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the Regency Room of the Holmes Student Center.
Remarks and awards begin at 12:15 p.m.
Created in 2004, the Deacon Davis Diversity Award, named in honor of Deacon Davis, founder and former Director of the CHANCE (Counseling Help & Assistance Necessary for a College Education) Program, recognizes the significant contributions made to the improvement of the status of minorities on campus by members of the university community.
The Commission is proud to announce the 2005 recipients: James Brunson, assistant director of Housing; the entire Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center; and doctoral student LaMetra Curry. Each recipient will be presented with a plaque during the luncheon.
There also will be a special tribute to the late Richard Flournory. Flournory served NIU in Human Resource Services for 25 years before retiring in 1994. He died in January. A special presentation will be made to his wife, Icilda.
Friends of NIU Libraries
hosts program on memory
The Friends of the NIU Libraries invite the public to attend the fourth program of the 2004-2005 academic year at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14.
Anis Contractor, assistant professor of physiology at Northwestern University, will present “Synaptic Plasticity: A Cellular Correlate for Learning and Memory?” The program will be held in the Staff Lounge located on the lower level of Founders Memorial Library. Free parking might be available after 7 p.m. in the Visitor’s Parking Lot, located on Carroll Avenue.
There will be an opportunity for discussion and light refreshments following the presentation. For more information, call 753-9394 or e-mail cditzler@niu.edu.
Geology schedules
four more colloquia
The Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences and the graduate colloquium committee of NIU have announced four more colloquia. All talks will be held at 4 p.m. in Davis Hall 308. Call (815) 753-1943 for information.
Friday, April 15: Terry J. Wilson, Ohio State University, “Kinematics and dynamics of rifting: Victoria Land Basin and Transantarctic Mountains Rift Flank, Antarctica.”
Friday, April 22: Kathleen Bryant, NIU, “Effects of long-term exposure to halogenated compounds on the chemistry and matrix structure of clays in northern Illinois,” and Amy Schwarz, NIU, “Site characterization or a southeast Rockford site contaminated by chlorinated solvents and heavy metals.”
Friday, April 29: John Sexton, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, “Georadar and seismic reflection studies in the New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones.”
American Indian Interest Group forms
Gashkiton, which means “Success” in Anishinaabemowin, is the name of the new American Indian Interest Group (AIIG) forming for faculty, staff and friends in the NIU community and surrounding areas who are interested in Native American cultures, topics and issues.
The group has several goals and purposes.
AIIG will act as a separate entity yet can work in close collaboration with the already established Native American student group, NATIONS. Possible activities in conjunction with NATIONS could include helping oversee a scholarship fund and volunteering to assist with the annual powwow hosted at NIU in early November. In addition, those joining AIIG can help shape the focus of the group and explore their own interests in Native American issues.
Additionally, Native American students sometimes face unique challenges. They may have difficulty fitting in with college life. In other instances, because of negative stigmas and stereotypes attached to Native Americans, all too often family members may have kept ethnic and cultural heritages hidden and when students come to college, they often want to explore their own identities.
Those members of AIIG interested can help form a pool of mentors to whom students can turn to help them adjust to college life, to assist in improving student retention, to help assist them in their exploration of their self identity and to achieve their own Gashkiton.
With everyone on campus and in the community having busy schedules, the bulk of the activities of AIIG can be virtual through a listserv, without regular, scheduled meetings. Anyone interested in joining can subscribe to the electronic group linked from the AIIG Web site.
Allied Health Professions co-hosts
seminar on women's wellness
NIU's School of Allied Health Professions and Edward Hospital are sponsoring a seminar that explores new ideas in women's wellness.
Dr. Karen Wolfe will present wellness as a practical approach to optimal health through the integration of mind, body and spirit and as a way of life designed to achieve optimal well-being and an awareness and appreciation that everything we do, think, feel and believe has an impact on our state of health.
The seminar is scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, April 22, at the NIU-Naperville auditorium. A continental breakfast is served from 8 to 9 a.m. Space is limited and registration is required. The $20 registration fee includes breakfast. To reserve a space, call (630) 527-6363.
NIU Golf League
ready for new season
Want to kick back after work and enjoy the outdoors? Why not join the NIU Golf League as we begin to tee off the new season?
All skill levels are welcome, with individual weekly events planned for a fun time for all. Tee times are reserved at Buena Vista Golf Course from 5 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Play begins the week of May 9 and concludes with the annual banquet held Thursday, Sept. 8, at Indian Oaks Country Club in Shabbona.
E-mail niugolf@niu.edu or call Gail Taylor at (815) 753-8064 for more information.
NIU Alumni Association
to travel to Venice, Italy
Fall in love with one of Europe’s most enchanting destinations on a romantic getaway to Venice, Italy, hosted by the NIU Alumni Association from Sept. 16 through 24, 2005.
To ensure a dynamic travel experience, NIU foreign languages professor Christopher Nissen will serve as the trip’s faculty host and lend his expertise in the region’s culture and heritage.
The total cost is $2,299 per person, based on double occupancy (single supplement available) and includes round-trip airfare from Chicago, accommodations, daily European breakfast and an introductory tour of Venice. Optional side trips are available at additional costs. The NIU Alumni Association Travel Program is ideal for both novice and seasoned travelers.
For more information, or to place your reservation, contact the NIU Alumni Association at (815) 753-1512. -- MORE
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