February 14, 2005, Northern Today Abridged
CAHE profs work with grad students
to help Honduran AIDS crisis
Jim Sells took his family to Honduras two years ago for a sabbatical to research indigent counseling methods.
Their journey provided Sells an unexpected new passion: helping to combat the rapid spread of HIV and AIDS in the Central American country.
Sells, an associate professor in the NIU College of Education’s Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, rented a home from Enoch Padilla, a physician who with his wife, Fatima, operates the only clinic in Tegucigalpa solely dedicated to HIV intervention and prevention.
Now Sells, CAHE colleague Fran Giordano and some graduate students are writing a grant proposal that could – at long last – begin long-term and stable funding for the Padillas and their work.
They also are developing a vision for a hospice and orphanage, rallying AIDS activists, starting work on an HIV prevention program for high schools and courting a Colorado-based international development relief foundation that at the least has committed to serve as a not-for-profit bank to channel dollars to the Padillas.
“HIV and AIDS pose an emerging crisis among the most serious of the Western countries. The poorest countries are the hardest-hit: Haiti, Honduras, Brazil. They’re losing control of their HIV management,” said Sells, who with Giordano and the students returned to Honduras in November.
“We need to assist this physician in developing more effective interventions. He does not have the resources, both in medicine and research, to effectively address the need in Tegucigalpa,” Sells added. “It’s possible to get medicine through USAID (the United States Agency for International Development) and Doctors Without Borders, but it’s difficult to establish a regular fundraising base. That’s our goal.”
Sells said Honduras, which accounts for 17 percent of the population of Central America, has about 60 percent of the AIDS cases.
According to the U.S. Government Fact Book, an estimated 63,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in a country slightly larger than the state of Tennessee. The estimated prevalence rate is 1.8 percent – and, Sells said, history has shown that when a prevalence rate reaches 2 percent, it begins to climb at a quicker pace.
In Africa, he said, the disease will orphan nearly 40 million children in the next 10 to 15 years. Their rearing without parents is “a crisis for the country, the continent and the globe,” he said. “The potential is very high for Honduras to have a serious disaster in 10 years.”
Honduran leaders compound the problem, he said.
The government is “not interested in having its HIV status publicized,” Sells said, creating a “tendency of suppression.” Catholics, members of the country’s prominent denomination, are reluctant to distribute resources. Representatives of the Ministry of Health, meanwhile, claim that the resources are reaching the people.
The unemployment rate in Honduras is a staggering 27.5 percent, and 53 percent of the people live below the poverty line.
Hondurans living with HIV are “seriously disenfranchised,” Sells said, and are prone to several mental health issues including depression. “They have minimal economic resources, and what little options they have are usually taken away from them.”
Ostracism and its resulting unemployment make matters worse, and because HIV and AIDS are viewed as a “family disease,” the exclusion can extend to relatives not infected with the disease.
Yet they all have friends in the Padillas, who have staffed their clinic alone for eight years.
“This is about a personal commitment for them,” Giordano said.
“We want to encourage them around their very difficult job, and join them in their vision of bringing care to people who aren’t particularly cared for,” Sells said. “We are building a long-term strategy to make it work. We’re formulating a vision for 20 years. We’re educating them on long-term funding. Our objective is slow and steady and to hit a home run versus just going out there and swinging at everything we can find.”
Meanwhile, the NIU professors and their graduate students are bringing their knowledge of counseling to the country – and gaining a global perspective of the field.
“Counseling as a multicultural enterprise is of prominent value in the profession to allow other ways of doing things to inform how we act and think,” Sells said. “They’re not influenced by North American academia. The folks doing counseling are not thinking of the models we use here.”
The notion of offices with stuffed couches and insurance reimbursements does not exist, he said. In Honduras and other developing countries, he said, “the process of counseling is severely influenced by the cultural values … (in this case) a direct result of poverty.”
“It’s familial, it’s informal, it’s relational. Clients will not go for counseling with someone they haven’t had over to their house for dinner,” he said. “It might be an educated neighbor, a father figure or a member of the community who understands the family.”
The HIV prevention program for high schools in Tegucigalpa is being developed with the hopes of reaching Honduran youth before they become sexually active. Patients of the Padillas would serve as the HIV educators.
“HIV-positive patients are able to articulate the experience of the disease in a unique way others cannot,” Sells said. “It also offers a form of employment for people in Dr. Padilla’s care, and it’s indigenously appropriate interaction.”
For the professors, the work in Honduras offers life-changing reflection.
“I am very committed to grassroots, community-based counseling. I do a lot of work with poor people in the United States. If you would’ve asked me two years ago if I knew real poverty, I would have said yes,” Giordano said. “When I went to Honduras for the first time, I saw real poverty for the first time.”
“It’s made me think of how I can be effective with my time in doing things that are important and matter,” Sells said. “In some ways, I’ve grown less patient in the use of my time around things that are trivial. I focus on things that have substance and merit. It’s something I can emulate as a professor, share with my students and teach my children.”
Penny drive marks acquisition
of library’s 2 millionth volume
University Libraries wants your two cents worth. Actually, as many pennies as you can spare.
The NIU library is kicking off a penny drive to commemorate the acquisition of its 2 millionth book. Donations will be deposited in an NIU Foundation account with a collection goal equivalent to more than 2 million pennies, or more than $20,000. The funds will be used to create a permanent endowment for the enrichment of library collections.
Of the thousands of university and college libraries nationwide, fewer than 115 hold 2 million volumes or more, said Arthur Young, dean of University Libraries.
“Acquisition of the 2 millionth volume puts us in elite company among academic libraries, among the top 3 percent,” Young said. “To mark this milestone, we wanted to do something fun that would involve faculty, students and staff. And the penny drive to establish an endowment couldn’t be more appropriate. The library is a growing and vital resource for the entire university community.”
Young later this spring will name a representative 2 millionth volume, to be presented during an April 7 celebration ceremony at Altgeld Hall. The ceremony will include a reception with food, music and an address by Nicholas Basbanes, a national authority on the history of libraries and collectors.
The library has grown immensely since its origins in 1895, when barbed wire baron Jacob Haish provided a $10,000 gift for its creation. When the library opened four years later in Altgeld Hall, it boasted 2,240 volumes – about one-tenth of 1 percent of University Libraries’ current holdings.
Andrew Krmenec, chair of the geography department and a member of the library’s 2 Millionth Volume Committee, said the fundraiser represents a way to make a lasting contribution to the library.
“A penny doesn’t sound like much,” Krmenec said. “But if each of our students and faculty and staff members contribute the equivalent of 100 pennies, we will meet our goal and more than double the amount of the original seed gift from Jacob Haish.”
The geography department and library staff have created penny-themed posters advertising the fundraising drive. Large water-cooler jugs to be used as donation receptacles are being set up at Founders Memorial Library, Holmes Student Center and departments across campus.
Of course, donors aren’t limited to contributing pennies – dimes, quarters, bills and even checks are welcome. Castle Bank, N.A., in DeKalb has agreed to count and process the money.
“This fundraising drive is very appropriate because private donations have always played a vital role in building our library resources,” said Mary Munroe, associate dean for collections and technical services at University Libraries. “We have quite a few endowments, most established by alumni or former faculty.”
The library supports all academic areas on campus and has naturally grown right along with NIU. A major expansion occurred in December 1952, when students, staff and faculty lugged more than 83,000 books to the new Swen Franklin Parson Library (now the law school). Founders Memorial Library opened in 1977 and celebrated the acquisition of its millionth volume four years later.
The 2 millionth book volume was acquired sometime earlier this academic year, probably in October. “We buy on average 26,000 books a year, and our system generates periodic reports on the number of volumes we own,” Munroe said. “By now, we actually have more than 2 million books in Founders.”
In addition to Founders Memorial Library, University Libraries operates a number of branches, including the Faraday Science Library, Music Library in the Music Building, Map Library in Davis Hall and libraries at NIU campuses in Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Rockford.
Each year, library staff members respond to more 63,000 questions from users, process about 74,000 interlibrary loan requests and circulate more than 148,000 materials. The library also provides access to more than 3.5 million microforms, about 1.2 million documents, 18,000 periodicals, 8,000 electronic journals and 2,300 electronic books.
See www.niulib.niu.edu for more information on the library’s penny drive, including a list of locations where people can donate. Community or university groups interested in getting involved in the drive should contact Kathy Sherman at 753-9802.
NIU remembers ‘gentle giant’ Flournory
Richard Flournory opened doors, whether they closed off towns, hearts or minds.
Flournory and his wife, Icilda, were the first African-American family to move to DeKalb and buy a house of their own. It was the late 1960s, a tumultuous time in American history, but Flournory was fearless – and friendly.
“I told Icilda at the funeral that I was grateful that she and Richard had built a path for the rest of us to come. He’s always been honored in the African-American community for that reason,” said Leroy Mitchell, director of NIU’s CHANCE program. “He lived life to the fullest – his way. He was very warm and very outgoing, and people were attracted to him even though he was just this gigantic man.”
“He was priceless. He did so many things that nobody will ever know all the things he did for the whole community,” added Walter Owens, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. “He got people jobs, and they never knew he went behind the scenes to help them out.”
Flournory died Sunday, Jan. 30 at the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center at the age of 70. A funeral service was held Monday, Feb. 7.
His death came just days before the passing of his longtime colleague and officemate Gary G. Smith, who died Saturday, Feb. 5 at the age of 65. Smith, chief negotiator of all union contracts at the university and in charge of labor relations, was laid to rest Thursday, Feb. 10.
Born in Atlanta, Flournory earned a bachelor’s degree at Tuskegee University and completed his master’s degree at NIU. He was a school teacher and administrator before coming to the university in the fall of 1969 as a personnel officer in charge of learner and trainee programs.
He became supervisor of placement for civil service employment in 1975 and, in 1989, accepted an appointment as equal employment/affirmative action officer for non-academic employment. He retired in 1994.
“He definitely was what I would consider a gentle giant. He was in stature a huge man, and very famous for his bear hugs and his very loud laugh,” said Jodi Tyrrell, who met Flournory when she began at NIU in 1977 and now continues his work as supervisor of the civil service employment area.
The work helped Flournory build a bridge between NIU and DeKalb, she said.
“He really was a conduit between the African-American community and the university community. That was really evident at his funeral service,” she said. “The learner and trainee program brought in folks who may not have had the qualifications for certain civil service positions which allowed us to increase diversity.”
Flournory extended his values of fair play beyond NIU.
As an early member of DeKalb’s human relations commission, he pushed for city ordinances that required open housing access to minorities.
“Dick was phenomenal. He could listen well, and then he could bring people together. He always remained calm, even when he thought the person he was talking to was lying through their teeth,” said Marge Ray, who served on the commission from 1972 to 1984. “We got the law to be more inclusive, and spread out not just to housing but to other types of accommodations and to hiring.”
Many will remember Flournory for his skill at cooking turkey the southern way.
“We used to have parties for minority faculty and staff at his home. Then it got really big, and I took it over at my house,” Owens said. “Sometimes it got up to 500 people there, and he’d be doing the cooking at 2 or 3 in the morning. We’d smoke some turkeys, and he’d be rubbin’ ’em up.”
When early university funding of the parties ended, Owens said, “Dick and I and Larry Bolles went into our pockets and kept it going. It was a rallying point. Dick was very instrumental in that type of thing – bringing the community together – and I just took it a step further by opening I up a little more by letting the community meet the minorities in town: the business people, the mayor, the doctors, the lawyers, the politicians.”
Flournory’s friends will remember him most, however, for his love of people.
“I don’t think things were black-and-white issues for him. He had such a warm heart for everybody he came in contact with,” Tyrrell said. “He taught me just to be fair. He was a very fair person, and I don’t think he had any prejudices for people in terms of what they were capable of doing. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for his belief in what I could do.”
“He never said no,” Owens said. “His attitude, his smile – he gave everybody a big hug. He would take in kids, and families, and see to it they all got on the right road. They’d come here, and he’d give them direction. He was contagious.”
Music professor makes Carnegie Hall debut
By next February, Robert Sims figures he can put into exact words the thrill he felt eight days ago as he made his debut at the legendary Carnegie Hall.
“I think I will be able to reflect on it maybe a year from now,” said Sims, who joined the NIU School of Music faculty in 1994. “It was a lot of hard work, but it was exciting. I was concentrating so much on the mechanics of making it happen and performing well – more so than thinking, ‘This is Carnegie Hall!’ Any time one performs in New York City, and especially at Carnegie, the pressure is on. The amount of love and support from the audience really made the occasion.”
Sims said a full house packed Carnegie’s new Zankel Hall for the Feb. 6 concert, the first time that stage has played host to African-American spirituals and folk traditions.
More than 200 members of the audience flew to New York City for the event, he said, and the harpist who played on a composition by retired NIU music professor Jan Bach caught a flight from China.
The highlights of the concert were three spirituals where Sims was accompanied on percussion by Rich Holly, associate dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and his duet with legendary folk singer Odetta, whose 1956 album “Odetta Sings Ballads & Blues” inspired Bob Dylan.
“There are only a few women in the world known in this business by one name,” Sims said. “Cher, Madonna and Odetta.”
Sims, trained in opera, theater and classical music, teaches his NIU students the works of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. His performances of African-American spirituals and folk honor his roots.
“It’s my heritage,” Sims said, “and what is so interesting in academic institutions is that we teach the European tradition when we teach voice. But Europeans really appreciate our American music, and all American music really comes from this African-American tradition, this African-American folk music.
“The blues is a direct derivative of the spiritual. Country music is a direct derivative of the blues. Jazz, gospel, R&B – all the pop music – is a direct derivative of the spiritual,” he added. “Everyone recognizes this outside of America, and we don’t celebrate our own music here.”
Faculty Development working on second RCR grant
That it happened at the Yale School of Medicine is not as important as that it happened at all.
According to the third edition of “Fraud and Misconduct in Biomedical Research,” an assistant professor of medicine and his superior, who was not associated with the research, published an article in the American Journal of Medicine in 1979.
Unfortunately, the book states, the junior colleague had plagiarized parts of the article from a New England Journal of Medicine manuscript that had been sent a year earlier for review. The subsequent investigation found that “most of the data in his own joint study had been faked … (and) of 14 articles, only two could be approved, and the data were either missing or fraudulent in the remaining 12.”
Ten of those dozen listed as co-author the senior researcher, who resigned from a “prestigious post at Columbia University, to which he had been appointed while the episode was unfolding.”
“This was a phenomenal case,” said Murali Krishnamurthi, director of NIU’s Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center. “It really stirred up at the time the need for some controls.”
A quarter-century later, the concerns and questions remain.
Krishnamurthi and Dan Cabrera, multimedia coordinator for Faculty Development, are the recipients of a $25,000 federal grant to develop online training modules that illuminate issues regarding mentoring and collaboration in research.
The Office of Research Integrity, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and sponsor of the grants for Responsible Conduct in Research, awarded Krishnamurthi an equal amount in 2003 to develop an online training module on data management.
The results are available free of charge at http://www.niu.edu/rcrportal, and no password is needed.
Krishnamurthi and Cabrera will complete their new project in December and post it online for anyone interested in understanding the issues and guidelines of data accessibility, dissemination of research outcomes, the listing of authors and collaboration across institutions and even countries.
“It’s really important for researchers to know their responsibilities, and it’s helpful to know the issues up front. There are a lot of possibilities for scientific misconduct,” Krishnamurthi says.
“It could be an exploitation of the power differential between the senior and junior person in a mentoring relationship, taking advantage of the junior faculty researcher or a grad student mentored by the faculty, and not recognizing the student’s contribution to the research,” he adds. “Or perhaps when a grad student is writing a paper, he or she feels obligated to include the faculty adviser’s name on it, but the adviser might not have made a substantial contribution or even known about it.”
“This is aimed at a broad range of research personnel in diverse institutions,” Cabrera says. “It’s not recommended as a stand-alone course but as a supplement to existing courses.”
Users of the online module will, as in the earlier program, encounter case studies and hypothetical situations that present information, pose questions and request decisions. Each decision yields a consequence and, it is hoped, teaches and eventually prevents misconduct in research.
NIU faculty again are contributing their expertise – and their experiences – to develop the situations, games and quizzes.
“People really respond more to this than just a paper-and-pencil or word processing format. They’re faced with some sort of ethical dilemma in a safe environment. It’s self-paced. Users can go as quickly or as slowly as they want. There are flash games which really require the participation of the user,” Cabrera says. “We also have a discussion board designed for users who have navigated through a case study scenario and who may want to engage with other online users about alternative choices or outcomes not originally included in the case study.”
The first module, now a link on the ORI’s Web site, is enjoying national and even international exposure.
“Its success is the reason we got the second grant,” Krishnamurthi says. “It’s really rare to receive the second grant, and it’s nice recognition for NIU and our faculty.”
Faculty’s embrace of Blackboard
triples since tool's campus debut
More NIU faculty are embracing Blackboard and its myriad possibilities, according to three-year usage statistics that reveal the number of courses using the Web-based tool has more than tripled since its introduction.
Statistics for Fall 2004 show more than 1,110 courses taking advantage of Blackboard. Fewer than 350 courses incorporated the Web course management system in Spring 2002.
Eighty-four percent of the courses using Blackboard last semester featured online content, a usage that had reached 94 percent at this time last year.
“Students are demanding it,” said Murali Krishnamurthi, director of the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, who attributes its success to the collaborative efforts of Information Technology Services, Faculty Development and Records and Registration. “Students are starting to expect immediate responses. They think it’s like a cell phone or handheld technology.”
“If there isn’t a Blackboard component to a class, students want to know why,” agreed Carol Scheidenhelm, assistant director of Faculty Development. “The neatest thing about Blackboard is that it’s not just new faculty using this. It has spread through tenured people who’ve been here for years, people who’ve just started and people in the middle. I haven’t seen a gender issue. I haven’t seen an age issue. People are just excited about teaching in new ways.”
Blackboard, which first appeared at NIU in 2000 and made its official debut in the fall of 2001, enables faculty to post course materials online easily – and without designing and launching their own Web pages. An upgrade is planned between the spring and summer semesters.
Faculty use the program for online-only courses and for traditional classroom courses, which Faculty Development then calls “blended.” (It saves money for academic departments during times of tight budgets by eliminating the cost of producing handouts.)
It allows for online discussion, both synchronous (a chat room) and asynchronous (a bulletin board). Professors also can join the discussion and monitor progress of group activities taking placing via the Internet, issue announcements, survey students, give tests and figure and post – albeit privately – grades.
Students can share documents, conduct group work without needing to find a common meeting time and access their course materials and syllabi from “anywhere in the world where there’s Internet access.” It also gives students the chance to float their ideas in front of a small group before unveiling them to a full classroom, Scheidenhelm said.
As professors progress in their understanding and use of Blackboard, many start to post multimedia files, including audio, video and PowerPoint presentations. They can record narration that computer users can listen to at any speed they choose and, of course, play it back again.
“Blackboard allows faculty to be more flexible with how they instruct,” said Dan Cabrera, multimedia coordinator in Faculty Development. “They can somewhat tailor their instruction to the needs of their students.”
Despite the rising use, however, challenges and questions remain.
Chief among them, Krishnamurthi said, is the changing tastes of students regarding technology.
“The trend right now is toward handheld technologies but, interestingly, Blackboard is coming up with a handheld version for PDAs (personal digital assistants),” Krishnamurthi said.
“It means faculty must look ahead to these issues pedagogically for developing course materials and communicating with students. From the other side – offices like ours, ITS and the support units – we have to look ahead for supporting these technologies we see coming. Three or five years from now, a lot of this could all be handheld technologies. What do we have to do now to get started for that?”
But, for now, Scheidenhelm and Cabrera press faculty to think long and hard about what they want to accomplish with Blackboard.
“When faculty come to me, we start by looking for the rationale. I have them ask: ‘Why would I want to use it?’ It does take some investment of time,” Cabrera said.
“Like anything, it has to be set up properly,” Scheidenhelm said. “It’s so helpful if faculty come to the workshops we offer, not just on how to use Blackboard, but on the pedagogy of teaching with technology. That’s so important. Using Blackboard puts more of the responsibility of learning on the student.”
Kudos
NIU Physics Professor Gerald Blazey spent a week in January as a guest professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Located in the industrial city of Hefei, USTC is by reputation akin to the Massachusetts Institute for Technology in the United States.
Blazey was asked to give a series of lectures to prospective graduate students. He also spent considerable time assisting the university in its efforts to join the DZero collaboration at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Blazey serves as co-spokesperson for the prominent DZero project. It is one of two major particle collider experiments at Fermilab, where scientists are exploring the subatomic universe using the world’s most powerful particle accelerator.
“This was my first exposure to Chinese culture, and I enjoyed interacting with the physicists and students,” Blazey said. “The Department of Modern Physics at USTC is impressive and will be a great new DZero collaborator.”
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Sheri C. Kallembach, director of registar support services in Registration and Records, was appointed to serve as president of the Illinois Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (IACRAO) for the 2004-2005 term.
IACRAO is a single state regional member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. As a nonprofit, voluntary, professional association, IACRAO is comprised of more than 500 higher education admissions and registration professionals who represent more than 100 institutions in the state of Illinois. The group’s mission is to provide professional development for higher education officials regarding the best practices in records management, admissions, enrollment management, administrative information technology and student services.
During the past four years, Kallembach has served as president-elect and co-editor of the Chronicle, IACRAO’s newsletter.
Affirmative Action/Diversity Resources
presents Spring Semester Series
Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources is pleased to announce its 2005 Spring Series featuring Collective Stories and Cultural Experiences. These informative and interactive discussions focus upon various issues and concerns that impact the working and learning environments on campus.
All sessions will be held in the AADR-178/166 training rooms from noon to 1 p.m. All are welcomed to attend. A brief description of each session along with a list of the guest panelists are provided below.
Wednesday, Feb. 16, “The Image of Color”
In celebration of Black History month, this discussion/dialogue will focus on the impressions and perceptions that either enhance persons of color in the teaching/learning arena or impose unspoken barriers to diversifying methods of learning and communication. Individuals will share daily interactions and achievements in the higher education setting as they relate to those perceived images. Guest panelists are Lemuel Watson, chair, Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, and Elvia R. Arriola, associate professor of law.
March 23, “Privilege and Power”
In celebration of Women’s National History Month, this discussion/dialogue will highlight implications of privilege and access for women in higher education. Specifically, the influence of changing trends, the success of women in general and factors/guidelines that speak to self promotion and self empowerment within the higher education setting will be addressed. Guest panelists are Amy Levine, Women’s Studies, Deborah Smith-Shank, head of the Division of Art Education, and Sharon Holmes, CAHE.
April 19, “The Spectrum of Advancement”
In celebration of Asian/Pacific American National History Month (May), this discussion/dialogue will highlight implications of the advancement of Asian Americans in the higher education setting. Specifically, movements of attainment in learning and curriculum development, climate and retention of students/faculty and how persons of the Asian populations perceive the cultural environment for success will be addressed. Guest panelists are Sherri Fang, School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Science, and Deborah Pierce, director of International programs.
For more information, contact Phinette Maszka, assistant director, Mediation and Diversity Awareness Programming, at 753-6030, TTY 753-2000 or at pmaszka@niu.edu. Please feel free to bring your lunch. Light refreshments will be provided.
Mortar Board seeks new members
Leaders of the Mortar Board senior honor society are looking for new members for 2005-2006 and encourage faculty and staff to let qualified students know of this opportunity
Mortar Board reflects the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. The organization is looking for students who exemplify these qualities carrying at least the cumulative GPA of a 3.2 (including transfer GPA) and will be of senior standing as of next school year.
Please forward this information students and encourage them to visit www.mortarboard.niu.edu online, where they will find a downloadable application. Applications are due Thursday, Feb. 17.
Click here for more information. brightnhappy@att.net
FIT program presents facts, myths about exercise
The FIT program will host a free seminar – “Facts and Myths about Exercise” – from noon to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18 in Anderson Hall 244.
For more information, or to sign up, contact the FIT staff at 753-0335.
Geology department schedules spring 2005 colloquia
The Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences has announced its spring 2005 colloquia.
All talks will be held at 4 p.m. in Davis Hall 308. For directions and any updates to this schedule, visit http://jove.geol.niu.edu or call 753-1943. All colloquia are co-sponsored by NIU’s graduate colloquium committee.
Friday, Feb. 18: Cynthia Stiles, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Carbonate weathering and epikarst/soil formation in the driftless area of Wisconsin.”
Friday, Feb. 25: Neal Iverson, Iowa State University, “Sliding of modern and past glaciers: Inferences from field experiments and the geologic record.”
Friday, March 4: James Bockheim, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Soil formation over the past 10 million years in Wright Valley, Antarctica.”
Friday, March 11: Andre Pugin, Illinois State Geological Survey, “Seismic data acquisition and processing using landsteamers in Illinois to map glacial sediments, cavities, dykes and coal beds.”
Friday, March 25: Peter Van Keken, University of Michigan, “The role of fluids in subduction zones: a geodynamical perspective.”
Dates to be announced: John Sexton, Southern Illinois University, and Terry Wilson, Ohio State University.
NIU alumna exhibits artwork
at DeKalb Area Women’s Center
The artwork of Northern Illinois University alumna Cathy Cliffe is being featured in a show titled “(Figures 1-33): Drawings by Cathy Cliffe” at the OnStage Gallery and the Great Hall Exhibition Space of the DeKalb Area Women’s Center located at 1021 State Street in DeKalb through Feb. 25.
Cliffe received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from NIU in 1991 and, following her graduation, joined a weekly drawing group at the university. The participants – all accomplished artists in a variety of media – draw from nude models, a challenging exercise for artists of all levels.
A reception will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20. The public is invited to share in the art and refreshments with the artist. Other viewing is possible on Fridays from 7 to 9 p.m., whenever there is an event taking place at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center; and by appointment.
Parking is available one-half block south of the building off of 11th Street. The handicapped accessible lift can be reached from the alley just north of the State Street building. For further information, or to arrange a group showing, please call the DAWC at (815) 758-1351.
Unity in Diversity announces theme contest
Members of the Unity in Diversity steering committee annually select a theme used during the following academic year to promote diversity awareness on campus.
The winning theme will be used in the design of the Unity in Diversity poster, which will be professionally printed and distributed throughout campus, and also will be framed and mounted as part of the permanent UID poster collection display in the Holmes Student Center. The theme contest winner will be recognized at the Unity in Diversity Award Ceremony held in April.
Theme must be 10 words or less and reflect the idea of Unity in Diversity. Applicants (faculty, staff and students) may submit more than one entry. Themes must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, to Latino Resource Center, Latino Center, Room 106. Entries will be judged by UID Steering Committee.
Forms are available here. http://www.niu.edu/aadr/uid.doc Call Carrie Anderson at 753-1986 for more information.
Bowl for Kids’ Sake comes to NIU Huskie Den
Family Service Agency of DeKalb County Inc. has finalized the dates for Bowl For Kids’ Sake Community Days 2005. NIU Community Days are from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, Tuesday, Feb. 22 and Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the Huskie Den, with a special lunchtime option from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23.
Bowl For Kids’ Sake is the largest fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of DeKalb County, funding up to 80 percent of its annual budget. Funds raised provide guidance and support to at risk children through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and go directly toward matching children with caring Big Brother and Big Sister volunteers.
All NIU faculty and staff are welcome to participate and form their own team(s). Any organizations or individuals who would like to get involved with Bowl For Kids’ Sake 2005 can contact Brad Rusin at Family Service Agency at (815) 758-8616, ext. 229.
Theatre’s ‘Far Away’ hits close to home
A timely and provocative tale of a world on the abyss, playwright Caryl Churchill’s play “Far Away” is the current offering from the NIU School of Theatre and Dance 2004-2005 season. The mainstage drama will be performed in the Stevens Building Players Theatre on the NIU campus from Feb. 24 to 27 and from March 2 to 6.
Churchill’s play is a forewarning about a world eerily parallel to present-day realities.
“Far Away” caricatures the apparent and growing indifference to mankind’s everyday brutality. Many reviewers of its London premiere suggested that the play travels down a path that at first seems grimly ludicrous, then just grim, to its seemingly absurd, but logical, conclusion.
Curtain times for are 7:30 p.m. except for Sundays at 2 p.m. The Stevens Building is located behind the McDonald’s and Pizza Hut on West Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.
Ticket prices are $14 for general admission, $8 for senior citizens and $7 for students. (School of Theatre and Dance theatres do not admit children younger than 5.) Tickets and times are available at the box office. Call 753-1337 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for reservations or more information.
Southeast Asia Club slates tsunami relief benefit
The NIU Southeast Asia Club, in partnership with several other campus offices and student organizations, will hold a Tsunami Relief Benefit at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of Holmes Student Center.
Proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity International, which is helping 5 million tsunami survivors rebuild their homes and communities.
The tsunami relief benefit will include authentic South and Southeast Asian food and cultural performances, a silent auction of regional items, a museum display and tsunami information.
The Holmes Student Center, along with two local restaurants, the Thai Pavilion and Cuisine of India, will cater the event. Meal tickets can be purchased in advance from Feb. 17 through Feb. 25 in the Campus Life Building, Room 150, or by contacting Nancy Schuneman at 753-1771 or nschunem@niu.edu. Schuneman also is accepting tsunami relief donations.
If you or your organization is interested in participating in or donating materials to the benefit, send inquiries to seaclubniu@yahoo.com.
NIU Art Museum presents Sunday curator lecture series
Catherine Raymond, director of the Center for Burma Studies at NIU, will present a series of public lectures and gallery talks in conjunction with the exhibition, “The World of Burmese Buddhism,” on display in the South Galleries of the NIU Art Museum on the first floor of Altgeld Hall.
Feb. 27: “Treasures: from Manuscript to Tapestry”
March 6: “Burmese Buddha Images”
April 3: “Donors and Protectors”
April 10: “Treasures from the Court of Mandalay”
Lectures will start at 2 p.m. with a slide presentation in Room 315 of Altgeld followed by a gallery walk-through. Call 753-1936 for more information.
International Women’s Day luncheon
features English professor Aygen
The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and the Women’s Resource Center will host a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 9, in recognition of International Women’s Day.
Lunch costs $8 and is served in the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall.
Gulsat Aygen, assistant professor of English, will speak on “Here to Tell a Story: Surviving as a Woman.” Aygen will share her personal history in the social and political contexts of Turkey and the United States.
Reservations are required by March 1 by calling 753-0320.
Accounting, procurement moving to Lowden Hall
Both the Accounting and Procurement offices are moving to new permanent facilities located in Lowden Hall. Accounting will be moved to Lowden Hall 204 and Procurement will be relocated to Lowden Hall 107 during mid-March.
While the offices are not technically closed during the relocation period, it is anticipated anticipated that still will be unable to complete all but the most critical transactions during this time period. The goal is to be “out of service” for the minimum time necessary to physically move files, office equipment, phone lines and computer equipment.
Please plan around the time periods where the offices’ availability will unavoidably be less than 100 percent. Cooperation and understanding are needed.
Rush and urgent orders will be handled as expeditiously as possible during this transitional period. Accounting check runs will be minimal during this time.
Persons needing to conduct business with Procurement during the shutdown period should contact their buyers or Rebecca May at 753-1594 or Rmay@niu.edu. For those with questions for Accounting, please try to reach your normal contact person first. When this is not possible, please leave a message at 753-1514.
Proposals sought for David W. Raymond Grant
The David W. Raymond Grant is an annual grant to faculty working on ways to use new technologies in their teaching. The $2,500 grant is awarded to the faculty member with the best proposal for incorporating new technologies into his or her teaching.
Tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply for the grant. Applicants must describe a project that incorporates instructional technologies in the teaching of a course or the preparation of supporting materials for a course according to the proposal format. The proposal must include a budget for the project and a letter of support from the chair of the applicant's department, school or division.
Five copies of each proposal should be submitted to the Grant Review Committee, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, Gilbert Hall 240, by Monday, March 21. For proposal format and additional information about the grant, click here, http://www.niu.edu/facdev/development/grants.htm e-mail facdev@niu.edu or call 753-0595.
Travel funds available for LGBT learning opportunities
NIU’s Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity has travel funds available to help support faculty, staff and graduate students who wish to attend conferences, workshops or seminars for the purpose of learning about or presenting scholarship on lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender topics.
Individuals requesting funds will be asked to submit a PCSOGI Request for Travel Support form, including a breakdown of costs and other sources of funding support. All travel must take place in the current fiscal year (July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005).
To apply for funds or for more information, contact Tara Dirst at 753-1004 or via e-mail at tdirst@niu.edu.
Nominations sought for Outstanding Teaching Awards
Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center invites nominations for the 2005 Outstanding Teaching Awards to recognize the contributions non-tenure educators (adjuncts including retired faculty, civil service staff, instructors, and supportive professional staff) to the teaching mission of NIU.
Each recipient of the award will be presented with a plaque and recognized at a reception held at the end of the spring semester.
Each academic or academic support unit that employs non-tenure track educators for teaching credit courses at NIU is invited to nominate one non-tenure track educator from its unit for the award. Graduate assistants are not eligible for this award, but can be nominated for the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award (click here http://www3.niu.edu/facdev/ta/taaward.doc for further details).
A subcommittee of the Faculty Development Advisory Committee will review nominations and select recipients based on documentation submitted by the nominating unit. Selection will be made based on the nominee’s contributions to teaching at NIU, the variety of courses taught, the nominee’s impact on the courses taught and the students enrolled in the sections, and efforts made by the nominee to improve curricula and implement innovations in teaching.
Five copies of each nomination should be submitted to “Outstanding Teaching Awards Committee, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center” by Friday, March 25. For more information about the awards, including eligibility requirements and required nomination information, check the Faculty Development web site http://www3.niu.edu/facdev/information/nteaward.doc, e-mail facdev@niu.edu or call 753-0595.
2-14-05
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