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  The NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology and the NIU Department of Accountancy continue to rise in the estimation of their peers across the country.
In the latest U.S. News and World Report college rankings, CEET was ranked 32nd in the nation among engineering programs whose highest degree offered is a bachelor's or master's degree, tying several other programs for that distinction.
In the NIU College of Business, Accountancy retained its ranking as the 25th best accounting program in the nation, the third straight year it has made the top 25.
CEET's ranking has improved steadily over the last three years, from 49th in 2003 to 39th last year and 32nd this year.
The improvement in national rankings is indicative of the trend at the college in general: During a recent five-year period, the college saw an increase in enrollment of 45 percent, with a corresponding improvement in the quality of applicants.
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 Friends and colleagues of Jack Fields are lucky he has a cell phone.
His number at work – Fields is the coordinator of the Transition to Teaching Program for the Illinois Resource Center – is perpetually busy. As of last Tuesday, nearly 800 people had registered their interest in a federally funded initiative to recruit and train bilingual teachers, and Fields must call them all back.
NIU is a partner with the Illinois State Board of Education, the Chicago Public Schools and the Illinois Resource Center in the grant, which begins next month with a cohort of 30. Students will need two-and-a-half years to complete the rigorous curriculum, and new cohorts will start each semester through the fall of 2007.
“We're going to come up with a high level of quality in these candidates,” Fields said. “A lot of the process right now is getting out the information and answering questions.”
The Title II grant, part of No Child Left Behind, addresses the critical shortage of bilingual teachers in Illinois by identifying and assisting candidates from other fields who wish to change careers and become bilingual teachers.
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  The U.S. Department of Education is awarding a grant of $780,000 over four years to NIU Libraries, which will lead a consortium of institutions from across the world in the creation of an Internet-based digital library on Southeast Asia.
“By far, this is the largest grant we've ever received,” said University Libraries Dean Arthur Young. “We're proud to be heading up this collaborative effort. In many ways it's a natural fit for NIU, with our acclaimed Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the library's vast resources, which include a world-class Southeast Asian collection and a unit that specializes in digitization of materials for the Web.”
The Southeast Asia Digital Library is expected to debut online as a project in development early next year. It will give researchers, students and the general public free access to unique and rare materials related to Southeast Asian history, scholarship and contemporary culture.
The virtual library will focus on the countries of Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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 As a young teen in the Chicago Public Schools, growing up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood a few yards from a federal housing project, Alfred Tatum became one of the fortunate ones.
He was blessed with empowering teachers who understood his surroundings. They cared about his life and not only his test scores. They encouraged him to read Dick Gregory's “Nigger” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.”
Such passion for teaching – “Harvard dreams for kids living in hellish conditions,” Tatum says – made a difference: Tatum is now an NIU professor of literacy education with a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction.
Yet his good fortune “is part of the problem,” Tatum says. “Children should not be fortunate to have quality teachers. We're not playing the lottery with lives.”
Tatum's book, “Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap,” released in May by Portland, Maine-based Stenhouse Publishers, is earning great attention among U.S. educators and netting several speaking engagements for the busy author.
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 Connie Fox turns to glance outside her office window on the second floor of Anderson Hall, home to NIU's Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education.
Fox hopes to see the nearby tennis courts alive with friendly competition – after all, it's a gorgeous day, and the first in a long while without oppressive humidity and temperatures in the 90s – but finds them vacant.
Such inactivity on the part of Americans and the epidemic of obesity are the targets of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation, which Fox will lead the next two years as its first president.
“The downside of technology is that you can sit at your desk all day and be entertained and get some work done, but that doesn't get you out to be active,” Fox said. “There's an increasing level of obesity in children and adults, but we don't really eat so much. We're inactive. It's what we're not doing.”
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 As students returned to campus and compared their summer highlights, Ryan Cumpston had them all beat, hands down. The senior geology major traveled to a mountainous region near the North Pole, spent his days in a skiff at the edge of a massive glacier and rubbed elbows with some of the world's top polar scientists.
“It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen,” said Cumpston, who had never before traveled outside of the United States. “It was a learning experience far beyond any I could get in a classroom.”
NIU Distinguished Research Professor Ross Powell selected Cumpston to take part in a pilot Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, funded by the National Science Foundation. REU programs aim to cultivate future scientists by involving students in ongoing research projects.
Powell and Cumpston spent three weeks in late July and early August in an old coal-mining settlement, now a prime Arctic research center, known as Ny-Ålesund, in the Norwegian island territory of Svalbard. Replete with glaciers and wildlife, including exotic birds, reindeer and Arctic ice seals, the islands are a bout midway between Norway and the North Pole.
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 NIU Weather has launched a new cable TV channel to alert faculty, staff and students of incoming bad weather and emergency conditions.
Viewers on campus can tune into NIU Weather Channel 26 on cable television for current conditions, forecasts, satellite imagery, radar and severe weather bulletins in real-time for DeKalb County and areas east of the campus. The channel also temporarily simulcasts a local feed of NBC Weather Plus.
NIU Weather is a division of the NIU Physical Plant and Department of Environmental Health and Safety. The university purchased equipment that enabled the cable TV launch so students would have yet another venue for updated weather information.
“It's on the air so we can get warnings and alerts to viewers, but the channel is still in beta mode, meaning it's a work in progress,” staff meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said.
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 Students interested in international study-abroad programs and internships can get more information on available opportunities at the 13th annual Study Abroad Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center.
The fair will feature informational booths on study-abroad programs in about 65 countries. Students can meet with faculty and program representatives who coordinate NIU study-abroad programs worldwide.
Academic advisers and representatives from international study-abroad institutions will be on hand, and i nformation from consulates and tourist offices also will be available. NIU Student Financial Aid staff members will be present to answer questions about aid and provide information on federal and state loans. Potential scholarship information will be available as well.
All attending the fair will receive free goodie bags, enjoy international entertainment and have a chance to win various door prizes.
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 Violent storms couldn't stop NIU's army of volunteers and their golf carts from helping more than 3,700 new students from moving into the residence halls.
Northern Today and Housing and Dining offer a photo album from the soon-to-be-soggy scene.
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If you were off campus this summer, Northern Today offers links to stories you might have missed.
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Anyone interested in working as an usher at NIU home football games this season should e-mail Sue Hansfield at shansfield@niu.edu by Thursday, Sept. 1.
The NIU Employees Federal Credit Union has added a new ATM in the University City strip mall, between Varsity Subs and Pagliai's Pizza. Withdrawals are available in $5 increments.
Information and registration materials are available for the many classes, lessons, and ensembles that begin in September in the NIU Community School of the Arts.
The NIU Community School of the Arts is sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University. Around 80 teachers offer lessons on virtually all musical instruments, as well as art and theater. More than 600 community people from nearly 50 towns and cities travel to DeKalb for lessons and classes.
Children's classes in music and theatre begin at the NIU Community School of the Arts in early September:
“Kinetic Games” (ages 6-9) and “Telling Tall Tales,” two theater classes, are both taught Saturday mornings beginning Sept. 17.
“Prelude” (ages 1-2), “Gavotte” (ages 3-4) and “Development” (ages 4-6) teach the basics in movement, music and rhythm. All are taught Saturday mornings beginning Sept. 10.
“Music for Children with Special Needs” (ages 18 months – 8 years) is designed to facilitate speech and language development in young children with speech delays and/or challenges. Free for first-time attendees. The class meets at 7 p.m. Thursdays, beginning Sept. 1.
“Piano Players I” (ages 6-9) is a group piano class that teaches piano and much more. Maximum of four in class. The class meets at 4 p.m. Mondays, beginning Sept. 12.
Call Renee Page at (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms for more information.
Financial aid is available for children interested in music, art and theater lessons and classes offered by the NIU Community School of the Arts. Programming begins in early September and ranges from private music lessons, to music ensembles to art and theater classes.
Today is the deadline for applying for financial aid for fall. Application forms are available by calling the office at (815) 753-1450 or online at www.niu.edu/extprograms. The NIU Community School of the Arts is located in Room 132 of the Music Building.
More than 55 students ranging in age from 4 through 17 study violin with one of several Suzuki violin teachers at NIU.
Ann Montzka-Smelser, who is on the NIU faculty as a violin teacher, is director of the community school's Suzuki violin program. Assisting as teachers are Karen Weckerly, Ardis Simonson and Laurie Rodriguez.
The Suzuki method combines private and group lessons, listening, ear training and strong parental involvement. Suzuki lessons in guitar and piano also are available.
The public is invited to a meeting about young children's music education at 6 p.m. today in the NIU Music Building. Information will be provided about the Suzuki programs, as well as the other early education music classes available. Teachers will be available to answer questions, and students will give brief performances.
Call Renee Page at (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms for more information.
Jeremy Shamrowicz and Jess Meyer, founders of Flux Design, will speak about the growth of their business from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, in Room 100 of the Art Building.
The designers began by recycling lumber and scrap metal and turning it into “organic furniture.” Their design principles are timeless and modern at the same time, working in media as varied as concrete, glass, wood, plastic, stone and steel.
For more information, e-mail pvanael@niu.edu of call (815) 753-4521.
NIU is featured in an ESPN2 documentary airing at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6.
The show includes a segment on the Rosemont Cavaliers, last year's reigning Drum Corps International world champions. Members of the Cavaliers, who took second place at this month's DCI World Championships in Foxborough, Mass., practiced at Huskie Stadium and the Music Building during the spring while they lived in Grant Towers.
Huskie Stadium, coincidentally, hosted all three of the world's top drum corps this summer. The third-place Phantom Regiment, of Rockford, and new DCI champ the Cadets, of Allentown, Pa., both played in the stadium in June.
NIU staff, faculty, and students are invited to send their children to Art Express for free.
This class begins Saturday, Sept. 10, and runs for five weeks. The class is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. Saturdays. This innovative program encourages creative thinking in children ages 4 to 14. Teachers are students in an advanced art education class working under School of Art faculty supervision.
The registration form is available online at www.niu.edu/extprograms or at (815) 753-1450. Indicate at the top of the form that you are a student or employee of NIU. The form and a $15 program registration fee should be sent to the NIU Community School of the Arts in Room 132 of the Music Building.
Do you have a child who plays an instrument and would like to join an ensemble?
The NIU Community School of the Arts offers a number of ensembles, some for adults and teens and some for children only. Ensemble opportunities include two string groups, a full orchestra, a jazz band, jazz combos and a Celtic band. (The orchestra and jazz band are by audition only.)
For those who would like to learn a new instrument, consider the steel band and a one-day gamelan workshop. Most ensembles begin in September.
Call Renee Page at (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms for more information.
To inquire about departmental cellular service, visit the Customer Support Center in Swen Parson 120 or call (815) 753-8100.
For those who travel within the Chicago area, a city ordinance went into effect July 8 that prohibits motorists driving within the city limits from using a cellular phone without a hands-free device. The ITS Customer Support Center can order a hands-free kit for department-sponsored cellular phones.
Also, please consider donating your old personal Verizon cellular phone to the ITS-CSC Cellular Re-Cycle Program.
Please visit www.helpdesk.niu.edu for more information on NIU Cellular services.
The ITS Customer Support Center is pleased to announce the posting of the Fall 2005 workshop schedule, which includes productivity essentials such as “Defining Relationships in Access 2003,” “Analyzing Data with Excel 2003” and “What Every Webmaster Should Know.”
Please visit www.helpdesk.niu.edu to review the complete schedule.
The FIT Program, an on-campus, adult fitness program, will hold an open house from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, in Anderson Hall 127. All faculty, staff and community residents can try out a group exercise class, jump in the pool or just observe all that FIT has to offer.
A drawing will be held for a free FIT membership good for spring 2006 semester.
For details, contact the FIT staff at (815) 753-0335 or via e-mail at fit@niu.edu.
An outstanding senior from each of the four-year degree-granting institutions of higher learning in Illinois is chosen annually to receive the Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award. The University Scholarships Committee asks your assistance in identifying the student graduating during 2005 (August 2005, December 2005 or May 2006), who will become NIU's recipient of this year's award.
Lincoln Student Laureates are honored for their overall excellence in both curricular and co-curricular activities. The NIU Student Laureate should have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher and should have demonstrated leadership in extra-curricular activities.
The person selected will represent the university at one of the most distinguished gatherings in the state, a special ceremony held Oct. 22 in the House of Representatives of the Illinois State Capitol. Gov. Rod Blagojevich or his designee will present each Student Laureate with a Lincoln Academy Medallion and a check for $150. A luncheon will follow. Nominator(s) of the recipient are asked to represent the university at this event.
The person selected from NIU to receive this award should be our most outstanding senior student. Please be selective in your nomination. Click here for the 2005 Lincoln Laureate Nomination form and return it with any supplementary pages to the Office of the Scholarship Coordination, 342 Williston Hall, by noon Friday, Sept. 16, for the nomination to be considered by the selection committee.
A printable abridged version of Northern Today is available. --CLICK HERE |
NIU enjoys busy summer months 
