February 28, 2005, Northern Today Abridged

NIU to purchase Monsanto property

University to establish 'health campus' on busy Route 23 corridor

NIU's Board of Trustees approved Wednesday, Feb. 16, the purchase for $6 million of the Monsanto property at Route 23 and Bethany Road in unincorporated DeKalb County for the establishment of a new family health and learning center.

Board members agreed to a contract including $4 million for the purchase of the buildings and land, and $2 million for existing furnishings and equipments in the facility. In addition to approving the purchase, trustees heard about plans to establish the NIU Family Health, Wellness and Literacy Center at the Monsanto site.

NIU President John Peters told the board that NIU has received some $8.4 million in federal appropriations to fund remodeling of the building, as well as the purchase of existing furnishings and equipment and specialized, health-related equipment for the new center. NIU will fund the $4 million property purchase through a combination of bank financing and funds generated through revenue bonds and debt restructuring.

Anchoring the new center will be three well-known university programs: The NIU Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, The NIU Reading Clinic, and the NIU Physical Therapy Clinic. All three centers serve children and families from the DeKalb/Sycamore area and beyond, and all three are struggling to meet increasing demand in very limited on-campus spaces. In addition to expanded program space, the three clinics will also be able to strengthen supervised experiential learning opportunities for NIU students in each of the three academic programs.

“This is a great day for NIU and for the whole DeKalb-Sycamore community,” Peters told the board. “With help from House Speaker Dennis Hastert in Washington and from our Monsanto partners in DeKalb and St. Louis, this historic property will continue its legacy of service to our community.”

Monsanto Director of Corporate Services Jerry Carter agreed. “It was really important to us at Monsanto to preserve not only the building, but also the very public purpose of this property,” Carter said. “We recognize that this property has a lot of history and significance for the DeKalb community, and we’re happy to know that NIU will maintain that legacy in the future.”

Family health and wellness issues have long attracted the attention of district congressman and House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Hastert has been instrumental in obtaining funding for numerous NIU health initiatives, including the Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault on NIU’s far west campus and the NIU Institute for Neutron Therapy at Fermilab.

"This project will allow NIU to expand its health and wellness offerings, and ultimately to better meet the needs of students and residents throughout the DeKalb-Sycamore region," Hastert said. "The initiative becomes even more meaningful when you consider that it will be housed in a building with such a long history of contributing to good health."

NIU planners saw another major advantage with the Monsanto property: it is located in the heart of what has become the DeKalb-Sycamore “health corridor.” Within blocks of the facility are dozens of doctors’ offices, clinics and surgicenters, as well as Kishwaukee Hospital, Ben Gordon Mental Health Center, several diagnostic facilities and numerous rehabilitation centers.

“We have many longstanding partnerships with medical providers in this community, and we see the Family Health, Wellness and Literacy Center as an important resource for those partners,” Peters said. “Enhanced program space will provide opportunities for more NIU referrals to community health providers, and greater capacity for working with area schools and other agencies who deal with children and families.”

The Monsanto property also offers significant advantages in terms of available parking and access from interstates and area highways. Officials say the three clinics that will anchor the new center provide interrelated services that currently require many separate trips for patients with multiple needs.

The Monsanto property consists of a large office building with about 65,000 square feet of useable space, a separate “wet lab” building with another 29,000 gross square feet, and 23 acres of land. Closing on the property is scheduled for summer. NIU will spend the following year assessing space needs, remodeling and installing specialized equipment, with a targeted opening date for the new center of fall 2006.

NIU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic plans
expanded services, new technology, innovative programs

Each year, 4,000 different people from babies to great-grandparents pass through the NIU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic for services.

Eight hundred newborns at Kishwaukee Community Hospital have their hearing tested. Children at St. Mary’s School in Sycamore receive speech and language services, as do the senior citizens of Oak Crest Retirement Center, who also benefit from rehabilitative assistance. Bilingual services are provided in audiology and speech-language pathology.

These numbers all will grow with the clinic’s move into the larger and state-of-the-art space at the new NIU Family Health, Wellness and Literacy Center, which will enable the operation of the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences to launch innovative clinical programs with the latest technology in rooms that are more comfortable.
Meanwhile, those patients who have spent years coming to campus finally will enjoy ample – and convenient – parking.

“It’ll be fabulous,” clinic Director Anne D. Davidson said. “We’ve outgrown our space here on campus. Our facility has served us very well, but we have no room for expansion, and this has limited programs we’ve wanted to provide.”

Opened in 1938, the year-round clinic provides:

• Hearing screenings
• Hearing testing for adults and children
• Neonatal audiological diagnostic testing
• Hearing aid evaluations, fittings, orientation and repairs
• Family-based treatment services
• Assessment and treatment of children and adults for language, speech, voice, stuttering, swallowing, feeding or aphasia
• Assistive listening device demonstration and dispensing
• Comprehensive aural rehabilitation for individuals with acquired or congenital hearing losses, including auditory training, speechreading, speech and language therapy and communication strategy training
• Language-literacy assessment and intervention
• Aural rehabilitation following cochlear implantation
• Baby sign groups
• Parent-infant-toddler groups
• Social skills groups for children with autistic spectrum disorder

Outreach speech-language and hearing screenings reach thousands living in DeKalb, Boone, DuPage, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties. Even during the clinic’s earliest days, faculty with the responsibility for clinical instruction and the provision of services began traveling with students to provide diagnostic, screening and therapy services to the area’s public schools.

Outreach services include:

• Assessments and treatments for swallowing, feeding and speech-language at various hospitals and rehabilitation centers
• Speech-language services for Easter Seals in DeKalb and Elgin
• Consultation and in-service education to schools, hospitals and rehabilitation facilities
• Neonatal hearing screenings at Kishwaukee Community Hospital
• Speech-language services at Kishwaukee Community Hospital and Unlimited Performance

Today the clinic also provides clinical education for 125 graduate students and in-service learning activities for between 120 and 140 undergraduate students. In its new location, faculty from NIU’s Department of Communicative Disorders will find space to engage in research that can have immediate, direct and positive application.

Most services are provided by graduate student clinicians as part of a student-faculty team assigned to each client. Clinical and academic faculty hold clinical certification and either master’s or doctoral degrees and state licensure.

Faculty members and students frequently observe sessions as part of the educational program of the department, although all information obtained from clinic sessions is strictly confidential.

“Our students will gain from being able to experience a state-of-the-art facility and by learning how to use the newest equipment,” Davidson said.

“Students will have enhanced opportunities to learn to function as part of an interdisciplinary team in our new facility, and that will certainly benefit them and our clients greatly,” said Sue Ouellette, chair of the Department of Communicative Disorders. “The placement of the site in the health services corridor opens up the opportunity for collaboration with other hospitals, clinics and physicians who provide related services.”

Shirley Richmond, dean of the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences, said Davidson and the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic play an integral role in the expected collaboration among the three clinics.

“The practitioners will work more together as a team, managing care together and creating management plans all in one facility. Anne has that vision,” Richmond said.

“Our Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic is seeing children with speech and language problems or hearing problems or both. They’re late in putting words together, or sentences,” she added. “Children with delays in developing speech and language are at risk for problems with reading and writing. Early intervention can help prevent future difficulty with both verbal and written communication and reduce the need for additional academic support.”

Commitment to the family is a priority.

“All of the services we provide here have a strong family emphasis,” Davidson said. “Communicative skills are what allow us to lead a healthy and productive life. They allow you to engage with others. Language encompasses what you learn, say, read and write, and touches every aspect of your life.”

NIU Reading Clinic offers literacy assessment,
tutoring services for children, adults

A dedicated space in NIU's new Family Health, Wellness and Literacy Center designed specifically for the NIU Reading Clinic will permit expansion of tutoring services, additional avenues for instruction and more opportunities for partnerships with area schools, community colleges and community organizations.

It also will provide northern Illinois schools with a key partner in the march toward meeting requirements in the federal “No Child Left Behind” legislation that demand highly qualified teachers and students who meet or exceed reading standards from elementary school through high school.

“Literacy isn’t just for those who will go to college and learn a profession. It’s for everyone. It’s for survival. Literacy is an integral component of success in daily life, and just for getting by. Literacy enriches the quality and wellness of life for families,” NIU Reading Clinic Director Laurie Elish-Piper said.

“We’re very excited. With the new location, our services will become more consistent, systematic and flexible,” Elish-Piper added. “This will allow us to pull everything together in one location. It’s one-stop shopping for high-quality literacy services at a low cost, and it’s a wonderful location for our tutoring and assessment functions.”

“The new location will provide better access to families,” added Chris Sorensen, dean of the NIU College of Education, “and we hope to be better able to serve the needs of the community.”

The NIU Reading Clinic, operated through the College of Education’s Department of Literacy Education and now in its fifth decade, offers assessment and tutoring for area children to give them the gift for a lifetime: the ability to read.

With expanded facilities in its new home, the Reading Clinic’s client base will span the ages from childhood to adults, and strengthen support for English language learners. All services will remain affordable, and fees are waived for families unable to pay.

• Many of the assessment and tutoring services now offered near NIU centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Rockford will return to the DeKalb-Sycamore area. Advanced graduate students will provide the diagnostic reading assessments and individualized tutoring services under the supervision of course instructors.
• Undergraduate students taking the department’s “Techniques in Literacy Training” course will use state-of-the-art, technology-enhanced tutorial rooms at the new center, giving them experience as one-on-one tutors while increasing the number of tutors available for children who only need “a bit” of extra help.
• The America Reads program, operated by NIU in six DeKalb public schools, will add after-school hours at the new location. That enhancement will allow more tutors because hours no longer will be restricted to school district schedules.
• Two-way mirrors in the tutoring rooms will permit on-site training for all literacy students as they observe skilled practitioners demonstrating their assessment and instructional skills.
• All class sessions of four Literacy Education courses will meet in the clinic conference room where access is available to specialized instructional materials.
• One of those courses – “Assessment of Language-Minority Students” – will provide free assessment and instructional services to English language learners from kindergarten through 12th grade.
• For the first time, the clinic will hire certified reading specialists to provide on-demand reading assessment and tutoring for K-12 students. Unlike graduate students, whose availability is restricted to when NIU classes are in session, these professionals will work throughout the year at affordable rates. A limited number of scholarships will be available for low-income students.
• Future collaborations could include programs for tutoring adults with low levels of literacy or who are learning English for the first time.

Future activities sponsored by the Reading Clinic might include workshops for parents on reading development, how to help with homework, how to choose appropriate books and other ways to assist their children. In addition, tutoring in writing skills may be offered in the future.

“This is a reinvigoration of many of the things we have been doing across the NIU service region,” said Norman Stahl, chair of the Department of Literacy Education. “The greater DeKalb-Sycamore area is changing and growing to such a great degree. The literacy models that worked 10 years ago are not appropriate or applicable today. We’re looking toward 2020 – and not back at the 1980s – in our design for the new NIU Reading Clinic.”

NIU Physical Therapy Clinic provides wellness
through treatment, rehabilitation of injuries, disabilities

Within the next few years, the NIU School of Allied Health Professions hopes to introduce a doctoral degree in physical therapy.

The new and larger home of the school’s Physical Therapy Clinic inside the NIU Family Health, Wellness and Literacy Center will enhance classroom teaching for those students – and those pursuing the master’s degree in physical therapy – under the watchful eyes of their teachers and licensed physical therapists.

Currently housed in the University Health Services building, the small space allows students merely to observe the work of the busy therapist on duty.

“We will become more like the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, with our faculty, who certainly can work in the clinical environment, on board,” said Shirley Richmond, dean of the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences. “Our students will actually get to work with the practitioners.”

Staffed by physical therapists licensed to practice in Illinois, the Physical Therapy Clinic provides treatment and rehabilitation for acute injuries and chronic disabilities. Services are rendered at no charge for all on-campus NIU students, the majority of whom are being treated for musculoskeletal problems.

It also serves as a clinical education site for professional physical therapy students from the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences. During the academic year, physical therapy students occasionally perform patient care commensurate with their ability under the direct, on-site supervision of the physical therapist.

In its new location, the clinic will expand services to include balance and functional assessment, sensory integration and functional training to clients across the lifespan, with increased emphasis on the pediatric population.

Students and professionals also will gain the ability to interact with staff from the NIU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic for team-managed care of patients.

M.J. Blaschak, coordinator of the physical therapy program in the School of Allied Health Professions, said clinic administrators will consult with area clinicians to determine how the new clinic can best benefit the community. The clinic’s assessments could produce referrals to other physical therapy centers, Richmond said.

“Physical therapy is concerned with helping people attain maximum physical function, whether that is looking at wellness issues – becoming healthier – or somebody who’s had some kind of injury,” Blaschak said.

“The new facility will help pull things together, allowing clinical decision making and a research site. Combined treatments with patients who need both services helps to improve the efficiency of treatment and put it in a more functional setting.”

Outcomes of the Physical Therapy Clinic will include:

• Enhanced wellness for area residents, improved function and the chance for maintaining independence longer
• Interdisciplinary treatment of clients
• Increased opportunities for interaction between the community and the physical therapy program
• Increased research opportunities for physical therapy faculty and students

Launched in 1980, NIU’s physical therapy program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.

Students enjoy a broad range of clinical experiences in the PT laboratory and at various health care facilities throughout the Midwest. Graduates are ready to work as entry-level physical therapists in a variety of settings, Blaschak said, and can pursue specializations after obtaining their licenses.

Liberace Jazztet to play NYC

Like any good musicians, the six members of the NIU Liberace Jazztet can communicate without words.

Like superior musicians, they barely need their eyes.

During a Friday afternoon rehearsal, tenor saxophonist Mark Johnson is deep into a solo when drummer Iajhi Hampden suddenly – and drastically – alters his timekeeping enough for Johnson to look up. The others are waiting to solo.

Several minutes later, after solos from trumpeter Ralph DiSylvestro, alto saxophonist Benny Hill, pianist Sean Higgins, doghouse bassist Josh Ramos and Hampden himself, the rotation starts again. The second round of solos is shorter, with Hampden filling the gaps between each of his bandmates’ improvs.

The tune ends after another pass at the chart’s head and a coda featuring more licks from composer Higgins.

Ron Carter, director of jazz studies at NIU, likes what he has heard.

Of course, Carter has some advice and praise – quieter here, a few loud snare drum pops there, an acknowledgment of the “daylight” in Ramos’ solo – and the players listen attentively. In just a few weeks, their sounds will fill the stage of Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, the new Jazz at Lincoln Center facility in New York City.

The Jazztet plays the 140-seat Dizzy’s at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 14. The club offers views of Central Park, the Manhattan skyline and, most likely, some jazz greats.

“Anyone comes from outside, there’s a feeling you shouldn’t be there,” Carter cautions his group. “You have to kill a fly with a sledgehammer. That’s just the way it is.”

Johnson, a Rockford native who lived and gigged in New York City for a decade, understands the challenge.

“In New York, you can’t blame the audience for not being hip. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing; there’s always someone in the audience guaranteed to know what’s hip, if not the whole audience,” Johnson says. “And if you can’t bring your ‘A’ game in New York, believe me, there’s 1,000 other guys who can.”

His younger bandmates nod.

Only Ramos, a native of Chicago and the only undergraduate member, hasn’t played the Big Apple before. The idea that important names might find seats in the audience – that the potential is good for these young guys to “be heard” by the right people – will fuel a nervous energy come show time.

“Everything we do involves going to the stage and performing,” Hampden says. “The stage is like an altar.”

The NIU Liberace Jazztet sprang to life in 2001 with a generous donation of $10,000 from the Liberace Foundation. The Foundation has renewed funding each year since, and in 2003 agreed to boost its annual provision to $12,000. Paul Bauer, director of the NIU School of Music, wrote the initial grant proposal.

Meanwhile, the various music students who’ve passed through the Jazztet’s shifting ranks have recorded a CD of mostly original works while lifting the relatively new ensemble’s international stature through performances at conferences and festivals around the globe. The current lineup will record the second disc this spring.

On Tuesday, March 15, they will perform and conduct a clinic for students at New York City’s legendary “Fame” school: Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

“This trip will have NIU’s students performing as professionals on a professional NYC venue, performing with and learning from professional jazz artists on a professional NYC venue, and performing for and teaching students in a school environment,” Bauer says.

“It is important to note that the NIU Liberace Jazztet has been invited to perform within the first six months of the opening at the first-ever facility specifically designed for the acoustics of jazz.”

After the Liberace’s 90-minute set, Dizzy’s “house” drummer Ali Jackson Jr. will lead his veteran trio in 9:30 p.m. jam session that will include the NIU sextet and special guests from the audience.

The plum gig comes from Carter’s realization that only New York area groups were playing the Monday night “UPSTARTS!” series at Dizzy’s. Carter, who is active in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Essentially Ellington” program, mentioned this to its assistant director. She, in turn, recommended the Liberace to the man who books college groups for the UPSTARTS! series.

Back in the rehearsal room, Carter encourages his group to memorize all the charts before the March 14 concert. “I feel we play better when we know it,” he says.

Again, the group is receptive. Mostly graduate students, some of them came to NIU to immerse themselves in a “well-rounded” program they couldn’t find elsewhere or simply for the chance to work with Carter, passing up opportunities in Chicago and other places.

“It’s great to be in a setting where you know the other five cats have the same dedication you do,” says DiSylvestro, a native of Philly with a bachelor’s degree from Temple University.

“It’s nice to have everyone play better than you,” adds Ramos, provoking a knowing laughter among the others. “Really.”

Hampden, who along with Hill and Higgins hails from North Carolina, says the group benefits from the varied backgrounds of its members.

“We all come from different experiences and bring that to the table,” he says. “It’s nice to have the opportunity to be in a group you can rehearse with, write tunes with and write tunes for.”

For more information, visit http://www.jazzatlincolncenter.org/dccc/e_ethos.html.

NIU announces 2005 recipients
of SPS Presidential Awards for Excellence

Four members of the Supportive Professional Staff (SPS) have been chosen to receive the university’s Presidential Awards for Excellence.

The recipients are Joanne Dempsey, president and executive director of the Illinois Council on Economic Education; J. Daniel House, director of the Office of Institutional Research; Lori Marcellus, director of undergraduate studies in the College of Business; and Judy Skorek, assistant director of the Women’s Resource Center.

They will be honored at a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room in the Holmes Student Center. The awards ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. Each will receive a plaque and $1,500 in appreciation for their outstanding contributions to NIU.

Refreshments will be served, and the reception is open to all.

Additionally, the Gary Gray Award will be presented to Deborah Haliczer, director of employee relations in Human Resource Services. The award, based on service to the SPS Council, honors the late Gary Gray, a past member of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences advising staff and the SPS Council.

Joanne Dempsey

Bosses who enjoy the hearty support of their employees are doing something right: Witness the signatures of all seven of Joanne Dempsey’s Illinois Council of Economic Education staff on one of her nomination letters.

“Joanne thinks people first,” the letter states. “She has created an open environment in our office where staff is encouraged to be creative, take on new challenges and participate in staff development opportunities. Joanne always has her door open.”

“Whether it is a student employee who needs personal encouragement, financial support or a listening ear, or a civil service or SPS employee needing the same,” echoes John Lewis, associate vice president for NIU Outreach, “Joanne is always there.”

Dempsey, who became director of the council in 1995, earlier served as associate director of the Center for Economic Education at Bradley University and assistant director of Southern Illinois University’s center.

She has full responsibility for programmatic, financial and administrative work of ICEE, including board development, fund raising and oversight of affiliated centers. In 2003, contributions surpassed $1 million.

Her work also established reserves to maintain ICEE during lean times, earned a $420,000-per-year Illinois Board of Higher Education grant to create the Illinois Global Economics & Finance High School and launched a statewide economic poster competition in elementary schools.

J. Daniel House

NIU counts on Dan House – literally.

As director of the Office of Institutional Research since 1994, House directs research studies and offical reporting of university data to the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the preparation of reports for the university on topics such as enrollment, student characteristics and achievement, and retention/graduation.

His knowledge of underrepresented student populations, including Latinos, Native Americans and students with disabilities, has prompted enhanced programs and services for such groups. In the late 1990s, House’s descriptions to NIU administrators of the growing Asian-American population on campus triggered activities that culminated in the establishment of the Asian American Center.

“Dan’s work impacts nearly every corner of the university and beyond,” says Denise L. Rode, director of Orientation. “Just in our unit alone, Dan’s services are invaluable. He helps us project and interpret trends.”

House, who came to NIU in 1987, also is a prolific author and conference presenter, an active member of the SPS council, a teacher of graduate courses and a frequent guest lecturer.

“The fact that Dan recognizes and embraces such opportunities for continuing professional development,” says Sally A. Wakefield, assistant to the dean of the College of Business, “assures that NIU will maintain a competitive advantage in the area of institutional research.”

Lori Marcellus

Lori Marcellus understands the true business of the College of Business: helping students learn and succeed.

Marcellus, director of undergraduate studies in business, earns praise for navigating students through “the maze of complex requirements.” Her work spans the coordination of high school open houses for the college through commencement ceremonies.

“She and her staff somehow manage to take highly diverse native and transfer student populations, evaluate their progress to date and their unique capabilities and interests, and design programs of study to prepare them for the successful completion of their academic careers,” says William J. Tallon, associate dean.

Marcellus, who began her NIU career in 1982 in Registration and Records, assumed her current job in 1993. She is highly regarded by advisers who serve NIU’s partner community colleges, and was instrumental in developing the BSBA program in Rockford.

Her revision of a policy that prevented students from declaring a specific business major before their junior year has strengthened the college, says academic adviser Rowene Linden, assistant to the chair of Accountancy.

“Some students did not matriculate to NIU because other Illinois schools were accepting students to a specific major program as freshmen,” Linden says. “The university and college became more competitive … (and) not only have enrollments increased, but NIU is attaining better students.”

Judy Skorek

Judy Skorek is known for working far beyond the 4:30 p.m. mark – and colleagues of the assistant director of the Women’s Resource Center know where she finds the time.

“Judy is the epitome of a staff member who thinks of customer service first and foremost,” says Margie Cook, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center. “She responds to people’s needs without thought to her own personal convenience.”

“As a rule, Judy meets with those who request her service over the noon hour, after work and on weekends,” adds Michelle Bringas, director of the Asian American Center. “Judy’s first concern is for the people she serves.”

Skorek, who came to NIU in 1979, contributed to drafting university policy concerning sexual harassment and sexual assault, is helping to craft polices and prevention concerning alcohol abuse by students, has assumed responsibility for developing assessment policy for her office and is the “star performer” in its career advisement and consultation.

The adjunct faculty member in the Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education is pursuing a doctorate in counseling – an area her boss, Sharon Howard, calls a perfect fit.

“She has mediated more workplace disputes, and coached more women caught up in them, than I can remember – a service often requiring considerable courage.”

Bose named to board of state diversity program

Rathindra Bose, NIU vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, has been appointed to a board of educators charged with oversight of the state’s Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Program (DFI).

Created last August, the program combines two state fellowship programs – the Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunities Program and the Illinois Minority Graduate Internship Program – into one program under the direction of a single board.

The 21-member program board will be responsible for developing policies and strategies to enhance the diversity of faculty and staff at Illinois institutions of higher education, including community colleges and doctoral-granting institutions.

“Improving diversity among the faculty and graduate students is an area in which I have always been interested,” Bose said, “and I think I can make a contribution or two to help move things in the right direction.”

Of particular interest to the board is attracting more high-quality minority candidates to Ph.D. programs and convincing them to seek employment at colleges and universities in Illinois.

At the first meeting of the DFI board in early January, Bose came prepared with several suggestions. Among his ideas:

• Create a database of promising minority doctoral students across the state and match them with other Illinois universities where they could teach and research.
• Create new “faculty in training” or “faculty in residence” programs that would allow minority doctoral students from one school to engage in teaching and research at other institutions around the state. Participation in the program could be linked to a contract requiring the students to teach in the state for a period of years when their Ph.D. work is complete, provided that competitive employment opportunities are available.
• Partner with federal agencies to increase the number of minority fellowships available in the state, applying for matching grants from the National Science Foundation and other such agencies to increase minority representation in specific fields.

“Many details would have to be worked out, but I think the future is bright if we do this properly,” Bose said.

The task laid out for the DFI board is not an easy one, said Admasu Zike, interim director of NIU’s Department of Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources.

“Making sure that minorities not only get their Ph.D.s, but also get hired in Illinois higher education, is a very important responsibility,” Zike said. “I think it speaks well of the university and its diversity programs that Dr. Bose was selected for this post.”

Other universities represented on the committee include the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.

NIU seeks new assessment coordinator

NIU is looking for a new assessment coordinator.

Virginia Cassidy, associate vice provost for academic planning and development, said advertisements were placed in the Chicago Tribune online and the Chronicle of Higher Education, and members of a search committee already have received some applications.

They hope to fill the position by May. In the interim, Cassidy said, the office continues to operate as responsibilities have been reassigned to keep projects moving forward.

“We have two graduate assistants in their second year with us who are experienced and have specific responsibilities for various projects,” she said.

Assessment Services is involved with the university community in a number of projects throughout the year, from the design and administration of topic-specific, small-population surveys to the massive annual alumni survey.

History chair wins prestigious book prize

A new book penned by Kenton Clymer, chair of the NIU Department of History, has won the prestigious Robert H. Ferrell Book Prize for distinguished scholarship in the history of American foreign relations.

Clymer conducted research on three continents over the course of 11 years for the two-volume work, titled “The United States and Cambodia, 1870-2000” (Routledge, 2004).

The Ferrell Book Prize was established to honor Robert H. Ferrell, professor of diplomatic history at Indiana University from 1961 to 1990. It carries a cash award of $2,500. The prize will be awarded to Clymer at an April 2 luncheon of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

Judges praised his work as a critical account of an important relationship little studied by historians.

“The book contains fresh revelations on nearly every page,” wrote Andrew J. Rotter, chairman of the prize committee. “Sensitive to the nuances of the U.S.?Cambodia relationship, the book nevertheless achieves an admirable balance between detail and the larger context of Asian and world geopolitics. And it explains, with clarity and conviction, the role played by U.S. government policy in the advent of the hideous Khmer Rouge regime.”

Most of the archival research for the book was done in the United States, but Clymer also visited the Cambodian National Archives and spent three summers in Australia. From 1965 to 1969, as the Vietnam War escalated, the Australian embassy represented the United States in its diplomatic relations with Cambodia.

“There has been a fair amount written about U.S.?Cambodian relations as it relates to the Vietnam War,” Clymer said. “I wanted to put the whole thing into context by creating a comprehensive history of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which hadn’t been done before.”

Clymer is the author of three other books and numerous articles. His tenure as chair of the Department of History began in July. Prior to that, he spent nearly a year in Beijing on his third Fulbright Scholar Award.

NIU’s annual Empty Bowls fundraiser
to benefit Hope Haven shelter

NIU students have a way to feed you and the hungry in our community at the same time.

The seventh annual “Empty Bowls” project is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, March 25, in the Chandelier Dining Room, 143 Adams Hall. Reservations are required.

A donation of $15 buys all-you-can-eat homemade soup and bread, a beverage and, while supplies last, a ceramic bowl hand-crafted by an NIU art student. A donation of $10 buys food and drink only. Additional donations are welcome.

All proceeds benefit the Hope Haven shelter in DeKalb.

The menu includes broccoli-cheddar soup, minestrone soup and beef vegetable soup with sputsa (dumplings). Guests also can munch a variety of breads donated by Panera Bread. Beverages include coffee, iced tea and water.

“Nutrition is a big emphasis of our major, and we want to provide some monetary donations for Hope Haven so they can provide food and nutrients to people who are less fortunate,” said Veronica Gonzalez, a senior nutrition-dietetics major from Lockport and president of the Student Dietetic Association. “Hopefully, our guests will be satisfied with their bowls and have an understanding of what their donation is going to.”

Students hope to raise $2,000, Gonzalez said.

Members of the Student Dietetic Association and the Student Hospitality Association from the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences (who do the cooking) and the NIU Ceramics Club from the School of Art (who make the bowls) organize the event, an international project that originated in Michigan: http://www.emptybowls.net.

For reservations or more information, call 753-1895 or visit http://chandelierdining.hhsweb.com/ online.

Twenty-five events highlight Women’s History Month

NIU will celebrate Women’s History Month in March with 25 events highlighting the 2005 theme of “Body Waves.”

“The theme captures the growing debate among feminists about the role of body display in our society and the differing feminist perspectives over the importance of appearance,” said Amy Levin, a professor of English who serves as director of the NIU Women’s Studies Program.

A number of speakers and activities planned for Women’s History Month will focus on issues related to body image.

Among the events on tap:

Tuesday, March 1
Professor Sherrie Inness of Miami University of Ohio will present a lecture titled, “Beyond Charlie’s Angels: The New World of the Action Heroine,” at 7 p.m. in the Heritage Room of Holmes Student Center. Inness will demonstrate how women in the media are challenging traditional female roles.

Wednesday, March 2
Professor Inness will give an informal seminar titled, “The Enchantment of Mixing-Spoons: Cookbooks for Girls and Boys,” at 10 a.m. in the staff lounge on the lower level of Founders Memorial Library. Inness argues that juvenile cookbooks do more than teach how to grill a steak or bake a cake; they also demonstrate to boys and girls the attitudes society expects them to adopt toward cooking.

An opening reception for the Women’s History Month Art Show will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center, 1021 State St. The exhibit features artwork by women faculty and graduate students in the NIU School of Art. Call (815) 758-1351 for gallery hours. The show will run through March 30.

Thursday, March 3
Barbara Cole Peters, a private collector of women’s fashions from the 20th century, will showcase several evening dresses at 4:30 p.m. at the President’s Residence in DeKalb.

The event, titled “100 Years of Evening Dresses: A 20th Century Journey of Body Adornment and Body Display,” will demonstrate how the dresses provide an insight into the last century’s concepts of beauty, style and self-expression while illustrating major changes in social attitudes and tastes. Reservations are required, and space is limited. Call 753-1038.

Tuesday, March 8
“I, Doll,” a satirical documentary about the Barbie doll, will be shown at 12:15 p.m. in Room 211 of Reavis Hall. Lois Self, chair of the Department of Communication, will lead a discussion following the documentary showing. Participants are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch.

Wednesday, March 23
Professor Natalie Guice Adams of the University of Alabama will present a lecture titled, “Trying Out For Womanhood: The Cheerleader as the Embodiment of the Ideal Girl,” at 4:30 p.m. in the Heritage Room of Holmes Student Center. Adams will discuss how cheerleaders are both vilified and glorified, how cheerleading enacts both wholesome and erotic facets of American femininity, and how cheerleading reflects our shifting beliefs about sports and gender.

Thursday, March 24
Professor Adams will give an informal lecture titled, “Cheerleaders, Tomboys, and Girlie Girls: Athleticism and Girlhood in the 21st Century,” at 11 a.m. in the Heritage Room of Holmes Student Center. The lecture will examine how young women must negotiate the expectations of being both assertive and athletic tomboys as well as attractive and slim girlie girls.

Wednesday, March 30
An informal reading of Eve Ensler’s new play, “The Good Body,” will be performed at 6 p.m. in the Diversions Lounge of Holmes Student Center. Following the performance, Alexandra Bennett, an NIU professor of English, will lead the discussion.

Additional programs are scheduled to coincide with Women’s History Month. For a complete schedule, visit http://womenshistorymonth.niu.edu. The events are open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, are free. Sign language interpreters are available upon request, with one-week advance notice preferred. Call 753-6515.

Event sponsors include the NIU Women’s Studies Program, the Women’ s Resource Center, the Women’s Alliance, the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, the Graduate Colloquium Committee, Office of the President, University Bookstore, the Student Association, the Department of Teaching and Learning, University Libraries, Human Resources, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, the Department of Communication, the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Counseling and Student Development and the DeKalb Area Women’s Center.

For more information, contact the Women’s Studies Program at 753-1044.

Carnegie Museum paleontologist to lecture at NIU

Christopher Beard, one of the country’s top paleontologists and a winner of the coveted MacArthur Fellowship, will visit NIU for two public lectures.

Beard serves as a curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. He will deliver his first lecture, titled “The Hunt for the Dawn Monkey: Unearthing the Origins of Monkeys, Apes and Humans,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, in Room 204 of DuSable Hall.

Beard also will lecture on “Biogeography and Early Primate Evolution” at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 9, in Room 206 of the Stevens Building.

Beard has worked closely in the past with NIU anthropologist Dan Gebo.

In 1996, while investigating a limestone quarry in China, the researchers discovered the fossils of Eosimias – a 45 million-year-old, thumb-length primate. These fossils not only represent the smallest known primates, with one species estimated to have weighed only 10 grams, but are also the ancestors of all higher primates. The discovery was hailed as filling a gap between primitive primates and the earliest monkeys, apes and humans.

Beard also has conducted fossil-collecting expeditions to the Wind River, Big Horn and Washakie basins of Wyoming; the San Juan Basin of New Mexico; and eastern Mississippi, where he unearthed the fossils of Coryphodon, a hippo-like animal that lived 58 million years ago. He has led or been involved in international expeditions to China, Kenya, Malaysia, Burma and Indonesia.

Beard was awarded the MacArthur fellowship in 2000. The fellowships, accompanied by stipends of $500,000 each, are awarded annually to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits.

Kudos

Barbara Berg, business manager for the NIU Press, has been reappointed for a second year as chair of the Business Handbook Committee for the Association of American University Presses. Berg's duties include compiling a collection of essays on university press business practices, coordinating meetings and providing reports to the organization's central office in New York.

Accounting sets FY05 cut-off dates

Fiscal Year 2005 soon will close, and cut-off dates must be established.

These dates are mainly pertinent to FY2005 orders using General Revenue funds, but the same dating conventions are followed for those orders using other fund sources. Please keep in mind that the last quarter of the fiscal year is NIU’s busiest, with departments simultaneously preparing to close out FY2005 and processing, bidding and issuing orders for FY2006.

State law requires that all FY2005 General Revenue orders be completed, including all payments, by the end of the lapse period. Orders must be issued prior to Thursday, June 30, and the goods received, invoiced and all payment paperwork in Accounting no later than Thursday, Aug. 4, regardless of dollar amount. This will allow time for processing and payment of invoices here or from Springfield by the Aug. 31 deadline. If it is known that delivery cannot be completed before the lapse period cut-off date (Aug. 4), the requisition can be cancelled or converted to a FY2006 requisition/order.

Accounting’s goal is to provide a uniform, quality service to all, but the cut-off dates must be strictly followed to enable the staff to achieve this level of service for each office and department. This includes meeting all legal requirements, including bidding and any required university approval processes.

Orders more than $250,000: FY05 purchase requests greater than this level must be received in the Accounting office no later than Friday, March 4. This will allow time for processing by Accounting and Procurement Services. The approval process by the Board of Trustees, once bids are completed, begins early in April, requiring that FY2005 bids be completed and award selections made by April 2. Again, delivery by the Aug. 4 cut-off is required. FY2006 orders needed early in July will be required at the same time.

Orders of $25,000 up to $250,000: FY05 purchase requests in this dollar range must be in the Accounting office no later than Tuesday, April 12. General Revenue-funded orders in this range are approved at the presidential level, but must be bid, approvals given, ordered and delivered, with invoicing completed, by Aug. 4.

Orders less than $25,000: FY05 purchase requests less than $25,000 should be received in Accounting and Procurement Services no later than Wednesday, June 1. Requests received after this date will be handled on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the buyer. Where competitive opportunities exist, buyers will seek competitive quotations to obtain the best pricing and delivery.

Purchase requests using FY2005 General Revenue (02) funds in any amount for new purchases will not be accepted for processing after Thursday, June 9. If the purchase request has not been received in Accounting by June 9, it cannot be processed as an FY2005 order. The same rule will apply to all FY2005 purchase requests regardless of fund sources used.

Orders from other than General Revenue funds: All goods and/or services from orders funded from locally held funds must be received and/or services completed and invoice dated by Thursday, June 30, to be expensed in FY2005. If received after that date, any charges will be expensed to your FY2006 budget.

If there are questions, call now. It is difficult to handle last-minute orders, so submit purchase requests immediately. Being “late” can mean no purchase order and no products when they are wanted or needed.

FY2006 purchase requests, either for open orders or for specific purchases, also can be submitted now. Doing so helps to ensure needs for FY2006 can be met efficiently and in a timely manner.

Nominations sought for outstanding graduate TAs

NIU’s Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center is seeking nominations for the 2005 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards. Nominations are due Tuesday, March 1.

These awards acknowledge and recognize outstanding graduate teaching assistants for their contributions 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.

To be eligible for this award, each candidate must be enrolled as a graduate student in good standing at NIU during the semester the award nominations are due, have been employed as a graduate teaching assistant for at least two complete semesters (excluding the semester of nomination) during the past two years at NIU, have been responsible for teaching a course fully or teaching-related support that involved student contact as part of the graduate teaching assistant employment, and have not previously received this award at NIU.

Each academic or academic support unit that employs graduate TAs for teaching and related activities is invited to nominate one outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant from its department for the award.

Nominations submitted to the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center must include supporting documents to be considered for the award. The nominations can be submitted by the head of the unit or designee, and each nomination should include five hardcopies of the following:

• Nominee information - name, degree and major, phone, and email address, department where graduate teaching assistantship was/is held, semesters and years employed as a GTA in that department, course(s) responsible for as a GTA, and responsibilities handled (primary responsibilities for teaching, tutoring, recitation, lab development/supervision, etc.).
• Nominator information - name, title, department, phone, email address, how long have known the nominee, and in what capacity related to the nominee’s GTA responsibilities.
• Reasons for nomination – explain the nominee’s outstanding contributions as a GTA at NIU, impact on the course(s) handled by the nominee, efforts made by the nominee to improve teaching by participating in TA development programs, etc.
• Supporting documents – evidence of outstanding teaching or related support, such as student evaluations, reviews by supervisors, department/college recognition, etc.

A subcommittee of the Faculty Development Advisory Committee will review the nominations and select the recipients of the award. The committee may invite additional members including graduate teaching assistants to participate in the selection process and may request additional information or clarifications from the nominees or nominators.

Call 753-0614 for more information.

Yale professor to speak on ‘The Maya Body’

What constitutes perfection in human appearance? What are the models for the ideal man and woman?

Yale University art professor Mary Miller will speak Wednesday, March 2, at Northern Illinois University on the nature of human representation among first-millennium Maya.

The lecture will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Room 100 of the Visual Arts Building (Jack Arends Hall). For more information, call 753-8366.

Miller, who is the Vincent Scully Professor of the Department of the History of Art and the Master of Saybrook College, will consider the relationship of pictorial representation and the development of narrative in Maya art of the period, particularly as it takes place on painted ceramic vessels and 8th century sculpture and monumental painting.

Particularly spectacular developments, such as the portraiture of Palenque and the elaborate mural paintings of Bonampak, also will be considered.

Miller most recently served as the guest curator for “The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya,” a highly acclaimed exhibition of Maya art that took place in 2004 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Bullying support group continues through May

Anyone experiencing or witnessing abuse in the workplace or at home are invited to join a safe and confidential support group offered through the Women’s Resource Center.

The group meets from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays through May 11 in the Douglas Room on the second floor of the Holmes Student Center. Participants will find personal and educational support for dealing with repeated emotional, verbal and physical abuse.

Call 753-0320 for more information.

Trio to discuss U.S. presence in Iraq

Three experts will explore “Stuck in Iraq – Withdraw or ‘Stay the Course?’ ” during a 7 p.m. Thursday, March 3, panel discussion in the Lincoln Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Panelists will discuss the question from a variety of perspectives. Lyle Sykora will explore the consequences of the U.S. either staying in Iraq or leaving. Retired NIU history Professor Al Resis will address the topic of “Iraq: the Way Out.” IU History Professor Jim Schmidt will put U.S. involvement in Iraq in its historical context in terms of U.S. foreign policy.

Sponsors of the panel include the Northern Coalition for Peace & Justice and the DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace & Justice.

Nominations sought for Eychaner Award

The NIU Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (PCSOGI) and Prism of NIU are seeking nominations for the Eychaner Award, which is presented annually to recognize individuals affiliated with NIU who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender community.

The award is presented in two categories, one recognizing contributions made by an NIU student and one recognizing the contributions of a faculty or staff member or an NIU alumnus/a.

A full description of the award, including eligibility and nomination guidelines, is available online at www.niu.edu/lgbt/eychaner.htm. The Web page also includes a list of past recipients and a printable nomination form.

The nomination deadline is noon Friday, March 25.

Nomination forms also are available at the LGBT Resource Center, Holmes Student Center, 7th Floor. For questions, contact Margie Cook, LGBT director, at 753-LGBT(5428) or lgbt@niu.edu.

University Bookstore to close for inventory

The University Bookstore will close for inventory from Monday, March 14, through Wednesday, March 16. Regular store hours will resume Thursday, March 17.

World renowned clarinetist to perform at Cornucopia

Music lovers in the northern Illinois area have a chance to hear one of Europe’s finest musicians at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 20, in the Music Building at Northern Illinois University.

Karl Leister, world renowned clarinetist, will perform the works of Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms and Allgulin. Leister was principal clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for 35 years, and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician with many of the leading musicians and conductors of our time.

Leister will be at NIU the weekend of March 19 and 20 as the featured artist at the annual Clarinet Cornucopia. He will conduct a master class at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19.

Other features of the 2005 Clarinet Cornucopia include a talk on German romantic music by NIU music historian Brian Hart, a participants’ clarinet choir that rehearses and performs March 19, and a clarinet vendor display.

Now in its fourth year, Clarinet Cornucopia is organized by NIU clarinet professor Gregory Barrett. Barrett performs with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, and has performed chamber works in Vienna’s Musikverein.

All events take place in the NIU Music Building.

The cost to attend Clarinet Cornucopia is $40 before Friday, March 4; this fee includes the cost of a ticket to the March 20 Leister performance. Individual tickets for the concert are $10 if ordered before March 4. All prices increase after March 4. There are group discounts for five or more people who register at the same time.

For more information about the Clarinet Cornucopia, contact Renee Page, Office of External Programs, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, or call 753-1450.

More information is available at www.niu.edu/extprograms.

NIU hosts LSAT workshops

The LSAT (Law School Admission Test) is required by all College of Law programs. The next administration of the LSAT is June 6. Test takers receive scores on verbal and writing portions of the test. The review segments include reading comprehension, logical reasoning, analytical reasoning and writing sample.

The first session of the workshop will be Saturday, April 23, and will run for four sessions, through Saturday, May 7, at the Holmes Student Center.

The fee for the refresher workshop is $495. Full-time students or recent NIU alumni pay $395. The fee is $445 or $345 if registered by April 15.

For information on the program, call 753-5200, e-mail LASEP@niu.edu or visit http://WWW.NIU.EDU/CLASEP. To register, call NIU Outreach at 753-0277, toll free at 1-800-345-9472 or visit www.niu.edu/CLASEP/TEST/LSATCLASS.HTML.

NIU also offers review courses for the GRE, GMAT, ACT and the SAT in classroom formats as well as online.

2-28-05