March 14, 2005, Northern Today Abridged

Breaking News: Meet NIU's new Head Women's Basketball Coach!

All members of the NIU campus community are invited to attend Tuesday afternoon's announcement and introduction event for the new Head Women's Basketball Coach.

Director of Athletics Jim Phillips will introduce the new coach at 3 p.m. in the main lobby of the Convocation Center.

Refreshments will be served, and a new era in Huskie Athletics begun. Join the excitement!

Peters: NIU to make 'every possible effort'
to protect employee benefit pension programs

NIU President John Peters released the following statement earlier this month in response to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s budget address.

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the significant amount of concern generated recently as a result of Governor Blagojevich’s budget address to the General Assembly outlining his proposals for state pension system reforms, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with a summary of the governor’s proposals. Let me emphasize that these ideas are proposals, not law at this time, and are encountering significant obstacles in the General Assembly. As always, I will keep you up to date as to the progress of legislative discourse related to the pension reforms throughout the spring session.

Governor Blagojevich recently submitted for General Assembly consideration, a set of far reaching pension benefit/funding plan revisions designed to reduce future unfunded liabilities and utilize part of these savings to reduce funding requirements in the current state budget. The governor’s budget proposal outlined six changes concerning the Illinois public retirement systems. All of these (except for one related to the State Employees Retirement System), significantly impact benefit programs under the SURS.

The proposed changes are briefly outlined below:

Future Employee

• Automatic Annual Increase. The automatic increase to retirement annuities (currently 3 percent compounded annually) would be limited to the lesser of the change in the Consumer Price Index or 3 percent and be applicable only to the first $24,000 in annual (SURS) pension payments.
• Money Purchase Option. (Most) members of the SURS are entitled to have their retirement benefit calculated under the basic plan (General Formula) and under the Money Purchase Option, and receive whichever calculation results in a higher benefit. The Money Purchase Option accumulates employee contributions with interest credit determined (annually) by the SURS Board. At retirement, the accumulated employee contributions plus interest are then matched by the state at 140 percent (the SURS then annuitizes this total amount to determine the monthly benefit calculation under the Money Purchase Formula). The governor’s proposal would eliminate the Money Purchase Option for newly hired employees since this option is guaranteed for existing members.
• Retirement Ages. Members of the SURS are currently eligible for unreduced retirement benefits upon attaining age 60 (or 30 years of service). The governor’s proposal would change eligibility for unreduced benefits to age 65, with 8 years or more of service; age 62 with 30 years or more of service; or age 60 with 35 years or more of service.

Current and Future Employees

• Money Purchase Interest Rates. The interest rate credited to employee retirement contribution accounts (for purposes of the Money Purchase Formula) is set (annually) by the SURS Board (following the guidelines of section 15-125 of the Pension Code). The governor’s proposal would limit the interest credited under the Money Purchase Option to the (SURS) long-term rate of return, but not to exceed either the most recent five or ten year rates of return.

State versus Employer Budget Obligations

• Pay Practices. The governor’s proposal would require employing organizations including local governments and universities to fund the cost of pension benefits due to pay increases that exceed 3 percent during the final four years of employment (Final Rate of Earnings).

The governor’s proposals would establish a two-tier system where future employees would participate in a substantially reduced pension benefit system under the SURS and where the university organizations would assume direct responsibility for significant new funding obligations.

Conceptually, Northern Illinois University does not agree with a strategy of reducing pension benefits for current or future employees, especially when competitive compensation continues to be a significant challenge for the Illinois public universities. Further, the state Constitution protects the pension benefits of current SURS participants. The unfunded liability crisis is not caused by a lapse in employee contributions. Instead, the liability crisis is solely related to the state’s failure in past years to meet the contribution requirements specified by the Pension Code. As outlined by Governor Blagojevich in his budget address, Illinois ranks last among all of the states in meeting these obligations. Had these contributions been made, then there would be no unfunded liability issue, according to the SURS actuaries.

A 50-year funding plan was approved in 1995 to resolve the unfunded liability. This plan requires state contributions that greatly affect the status of the current budget. There is no question about the magnitude of the budget crisis. Ultimately, difficult choices will need to be made and there may be some modification of benefits for future employees. However, the proposed FY06 budget strategy is reliant upon deep future pension benefit reductions and the distribution of a portion of assumed long-term savings (that accrue during the remaining 35-year span of the 1995 funding plan) into the current budget.

For now, these reforms are in the budget proposal stage. NIU will make every possible effort to assure that employee pension benefit programs are protected to the maximum extent possible. As we are only in the initial stages of the FY06 budgetary process, and actual legislation has yet to be introduced, I will remain diligent and keep you informed of new developments.

Sincerely,

John G. Peters
President

NIU study gives public schools prescription
for academic success despite all odds

Public schools can succeed no matter the odds or obstacles, says a Northern Illinois University researcher.

Of course, it’s not easy.

The obstacles can include a high percentage of children from low-income homes, parents who themselves fell short at school, a disinterested community, an inadequate curriculum and – perhaps the most difficult challenge to overcome – a culture that accepts failure.

But ultimate triumph starts with a dynamic principal who steps outside the office and creates a positive environment where everyone truly believes that success is possible for all students. It takes a winning team of teachers that puts students first and dedicates itself to continuous improvement and, if necessary, change. It flourishes with teachers, administrators, students and parents who work as active partners.

Penny Billman’s study, “Mission Possible: Achieving and Maintaining Academic Improvement,” identifies six critical ingredients to keep good schools on track and to help struggling schools turn around.

The report was released March 3 in conjunction with the Illinois State Board of Education’s unveiling of the Illinois Honor Roll – www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu – a joint project with NIU that recognizes schools making the grade. Findings are based on interviews with 79 principals whose schools were lauded in 2002 and 2003 for keeping pace with the tough mandates of the federal “No Child Left Behind” legislation.

Billman says the report, which also is available online at www.p20.niu.edu, will benefit schools in Illinois and across the country. Although the six prongs of her prescription are common among all the examined schools, each building’s solutions were unique and local in flavor.

“We had 100 schools we could look at to learn what they did to reach the levels of academic improvement that schools all over the country will have to reach … (and) we learned that it takes a whole-school attitude that every child can and will succeed,” Billman says. Even “students are much more aware that they’re learning very specific things, and that it’s important that they learn these things. Many classrooms now have Illinois state standards on the wall.”

Principals of schools in high-poverty areas will find the report valuable, she says, as the so-called “achievement gap” between students from affluent and poor settings becomes more critical. Eighty percent of all new jobs require post-secondary education, forcing students to meet or exceed standards if they are to succeed in college and the workplace.

“For years, there was just an attitude of, ‘Oh, children from these socio-economic groups just have so much to overcome,’ ” she says. “Now schools are saying, ‘We can overcome that.’ Socio-economic status is not an excuse not to succeed.”

Billman’s report recommends these six components for a winning school:

• Create a climate focused on the students.
• Build leadership within the school to support ongoing improvement.
• Establish a quality teaching team.
• Deliver instruction based on individual student needs.
• Involve parents and the community.
• Provide resources and supports to support improvement.

“The most important action is that schools really did establish a climate that focused on each individual student and expected all children to perform at the level they could perform at – and they held the standards high,” Billman says. “The principals told me, ‘It seems like common sense – but it really is what we did.’ That positive learning environment is helping individual students achieve.”

Nonetheless, Billman says, the action “changed the whole philosophy of what teaching is all about. It wasn’t just up to the students to ‘get it.’ It meant a continuous improvement of instruction. All of the schools had a commitment to do whatever it took to help each child reach high standards.”

Principals also changed the way schools are managed, abandoning the traditional “top-down” method for a teamwork approach that empowers teachers and holds them accountable for collaborating across grade levels. For example, third-grade teachers work with their colleagues teaching kindergarten, first grade and second grade to make sure that children will know what is expected by third grade.

Meanwhile, “principals became much more concerned about hiring excellent teachers who fit the school culture and the team structure,” she says. “So much depends on the teachers, not only their ability to teach students but their ability to work together as a team, looking for ways to improve the whole school.”

Teachers also are conscious to align the curriculum to the Illinois state standards – “Each of the schools that won these awards really worked at that,” Billman says – and to conduct frequent assessments to make sure students were learning.

“Instead of just waiting for the yearly exam, or maybe twice-yearly, maybe they’re testing weekly so they can quickly identify any student falling behind and intervene,” she says. “Schools are also extending reading time and offering after-school and tutoring programs to catch students who are beginning to fall behind as soon as they can.”

The support components often require creativity.

Some schools involve all staff, including bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers, in the job of teaching the children. One principal near Chicago strived to greet as many parents as possible each morning as they dropped off their children for school. Many schools organized nighttime events for family reading activities, while one principal made sure every parent had a public library card to enable reading at home.

Meanwhile, she says, principals in districts that cannot afford professional development are staying current on the latest research by purchasing books on their own and sharing them with the teachers during lunchtime and staff meetings.

Now they can read “Mission Possible.”

“I’ve presented twice so far, to the Illinois superintendents’ conference and the Illinois Title I conference for reading teachers,” she says, adding she will continue to spread the word nationwide.

“Mission Possible: Achieving and Maintaining Academic Improvement” is available online at www.p20.niu.edu.

College of Education professor to teach in Namibia

A professor from NIU’s Department of Teaching and Learning will spend part of April in the African country of Namibia to help enhance environmental lessons given by “non-formal educators” outside the school system.

Bora Simmons is among a team of educators who will spend April 11 to 22 with about 20 Namibians who work at places such as zoos, parks and nature centers where they lead instructional tours for visitors of all ages.

The workshop trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, Environmental Education and Conservation Global, the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

“The Smithsonian Institution has as one of its objectives to improve environmental education practices in developing nations,” said Simmons, who came to NIU in 1987. “As a developing nation, Namibia has real challenges. They have a growing tourist trade, and that is a real opportunity, but it also puts pressure on the country and its resources.”

Simmons will show the Namibians how to design effective programs by “taking them through a tried-and-true process.” One message: Curriculum planned with specific audiences in mind makes a stronger impact, she said.

Other plans include a demonstration of how to use “social marketing” to influence perceptions about the environment and why and how to “do the right thing.”

“Citizens who are knowledgeable about the environment act accordingly to help preserve and conserve the system,” she said. “The notion of eco-tourism is important to the national parks. We want them to think about what they want to accomplish: How do you organize trips that don’t overwhelm the eco-system, and so people have a good experience and learn something?”

The project began in a pilot form last year, said Simmons, who was asked to join this year by a longtime acquaintance with the Smithsonian Institution. One of the student participants in the pilot project will return this year to help teach his countrymen, she said, as the Namibians are trained to take over the program eventually.

“The Smithsonian Institution has a strong dedication to building that local capacity so they’re not always bringing the resources in from the outside,” she said.

Simmons is making her first trip to Africa. She previously taught workshops in China in the early 1990s and in Thailand in 2002.

Judy Santacaterina honored for dedication to NIU forensics

On this day, NIU’s veteran forensics coach was left speechless.

During the March 5 Illinois Inter-Collegiate Forensics League Tournament hosted by NIU, coach Judy Santacaterina ended up on the receiving end of the event’s most heartfelt award.

Before a packed assembly in Cole Hall, Santacaterina was surprised with a special recognition and tribute from team members and about 20 returning NIU alumni. They raised nearly $3,000 to be donated to the university in her name.

“They completely blindsided me,” Santacaterina said. “It was the most memorable and profound moment of my professional career.”

Half of the gift will be used as seed money to start an NIU Alumni Foundation scholarship that will provide support to future forensics students. The other half is being used to purchase a tree to be planted outside the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, currently under construction along Annie Glidden Road at Stadium Drive.

Santacaterina, who typically refers to her students, past and present, as “my kids,” works as an adviser in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and has been involved in the NIU forensics program for the past 25 years, most often coaching students in individual events.

“She was an award-winning competitor in forensics at NIU and has remained committed to it her entire adult life,” said Communication Professor John Butler, who serves as director of the NIU forensics program, which finished fourth of 25 teams at the state meet. Butler and seven other alumni who were mentored by Santacaterina have gone on to forensics coaching positions at institutions across the state.

“I truly believe that Judy is the most talented individual-events coach in the country,” Butler added. “Students work very hard to get to Northern so they can work with her, and she has a lot to do with why we’re able to attract very strong communication graduate students who are interested in coaching forensics. The kind of devotion she shows to students is impressive and a joy to witness.”

This isn’t the first time Santacaterina, one of the few female forensics coaches statewide, has received recognition for her contributions to the field. Bradley University honored her with the Larry E. Norton Award in 1997, and the American Forensics Association awarded her the Distinguished Service Award in 1999.

“Each and every person who has and will come through this program will always owe a little piece of who they are to (Santacaterina),” communication alum Jeff Przybylo said during Saturday night’s awards presentation. Przybylo now serves as director of forensics at William Rainey Harper College.

“Judy, we wanted to do something to say thank you,” he said. “And we wanted to do it in a way that would always stand as a symbol of our gratitude.”

The tree that will be planted in honor of Santacaterina will be accompanied by a plaque. It will read: “Thank you for your love and guidance. We will always remember our roots. Love, the Kids.”

NIU, Rockford’s Ingersoll Cutting Tools
to partner to study ‘green manufacturing’

The Manufacturing Systems Research Group of NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology has partnered with Ingersoll Cutting Tools Corp. to study the effectiveness of dry and semi-dry machining and reduce the use of metal working fluids.

More than 100 million gallons of metal working fluids are used in the United States each year, exposing about 1.2 million employees to potential health hazards. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, such exposure can result in a variety of respiratory disorders, including asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and also can cause conditions such as dermatitis and cancer.

The research, which is being directed by Professor Nourredine Boubekri, is of particular importance in Illinois, where metal-cutting industries account for about 37 percent of the state’s manufacturing sector, but also could have implications in the metal-cutting industry worldwide.

“The potential reduction of health hazards makes this project unique, even special, to Ingersoll,” said Don Yordy, Ingersoll die/mold product manager. “In addition, Dr. Boubekri’s projects will help us in our ongoing efforts to improve our products and processes to benefit our customers.”

Under the partnership, NIU researchers will benefit from the use of Ingersoll’s tools and facilities as they explore ways to design and build new tooling technologies and determine feasible conditions for dry and semi-dry machining, a variety of materials that normally require flood cooling.

Boubekri has conducted research in this area for some time, and his work is funded in part by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

This new partnership with Ingersoll formalizes a collaborative relationship that Boubekri has had with Ingersoll for the past two years. Boubekri also has been working in recent months to form a group on the NIU campus comprised of faculty and students from engineering, physics and mathematics to collaborate on ways to improve “green manufacturing” technology, particularly in the metal-cutting industry.

“The future looks very bright in this area as the whole industry is searching for new tooling technologies and machining processes that are economical and environmentally friendly,” Boubekri said. “Our collaboration with Ingersoll Cutting Tools, a world leader in this field, provides us with the necessary partnership to be able to lead this type of research and make a difference.”

Physics outreach program eyes new frontier

The Frontier Physics program at NIU has won a competitive grant to expand its outreach efforts, particularly to rural areas.

In conjunction with the World Year of Physics 2005, the American Physical Society awarded grants of $10,000 to Frontier Physics and 15 other “physics on the road” programs nationwide. The grants can be used for supplies and other costs associated with performing physics demonstrations.

The World Year of Physics is a United Nations-endorsed, international celebration aiming to increase public awareness of the importance of physics. The celebration coincides with the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s “miraculous year,” during which he published three now-legendary articles that provide the basis for quantum theory, the theory of relativity and the theory of Brownian motion.

NIU’s Frontier Physics is known for its traveling road show of eye-popping demonstrations.

Physics faculty and students have made more than 280 presentations over the past three years. About 25,000 K-12 students have seen the show, which features levitating magnets, dust explosions, liquid-nitrogen dipped flowers and a vacuum-powered bazooka, made with PVC pipe and a ping pong ball.

“We’ll use the grant to purchase additional materials for the Frontier Physics road show so we can do some larger demonstrations and reach students in rural areas of northern Illinois,” said Pati Sievert, Frontier Physics coordinator.

A new public address system will be purchased, and overnight travel money will be made available to undergraduate students who help lead the presentations. A portion of the funds will allow Sievert to set up the program’s Haunted Physics Lab at off-campus sites.

“The haunted laboratory features hands-on learning activities in advance of Halloween, and it’s been a very popular attraction for young students visiting campus,” Sievert said. “Next fall we hope to set up the laboratory at several community colleges in areas that typically might be overlooked because of their distance from DeKalb.”

Funding for the American Physical Society grants is provided by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Northern Illinois Center for Accelerator and Detector Development at NIU provides the majority of funding for Frontier Physics outreach.

Other NIU outreach efforts in physics also are meeting with success. Sievert is preparing for the April 16 Physics Olympics for high school students. Last year, the event attracted 95 students from 10 high schools. Frontier Physics, along with the Physics Club, also will stage a physics demonstration night on campus April 12.

For more information on NIU’s Frontier Physics, visit www.physics.niu.edu/frontier or e-mail Pati Sievert at sievert@physics.niu.edu.

NIU’s ‘virtual tour’ expands, will change hands

In 1999, Dan Turner dipped his toe in the online revolution to transform the walking campus tour into a virtual experience for Internet users.

Turner, assistant director of Orientation, and a graduate student developed the “Virtual Campus Tour” with 360 QuickTime images. Potential students and the parents could get an initial idea of what NIU had to offer without driving to DeKalb.

Now, as Turner prepares for a new job at the Academic Advising Center, he has launched a new-and-improved version of the Virtual Tour and is handing off future control of the project to the Office of Public Affairs.

Public Affairs webmaster Jennice O’Brien will manage the tour after May 1.

“A tour like this – as well as what you can do with a walking tour – helps to create an identity for the institution and set a tone for the institution. It does a lot to talk about the programs we have and the traditions we have,” Turner said. “Over the years, of course, things have to change and evolve.”

Turner shaped the new tour with the help of his wife, Rachel, who began the project a year ago as an employee of Media Services. Rachel Turner now works in NIU Outreach.

“We now have a campus tour that focuses on programs, on buildings and what’s in the buildings, and that follows what could be a potential walking tour, although a walking tour of that magnitude would take about three hours,” he said. “The second part is a ‘traditions’ tour. It really focuses on history, legends, traditions, stories.”

Among Rachel Turner’s additions were easier navigation, a drop-down menu, a printable campus map and an interactive campus map: Drag the mouse across a building on the interactive map and its name appears. Click on the building, and the tour launches there.

The tour includes 42 sites – “fairly inclusive, although I wouldn’t say we have every single thing on campus in there,” Dan Turner said – and a number of the sites feature multiple images while other still boast the 360 QuickTime shots.

Turner said he believes the tour’s May 1 move to Public Affairs makes sense.

“It’s really a public relations piece, and Jennice will do a wonderful job keeping it up-to-date and keeping it in sync with the overall feel of the homepage,” he said. “More and more students and family members are going online for their initial visit to campus to see what is out there and what services universities offer. The virtual tour is a very important piece of that.”

Area manufacturers to sponsor all
capstone projects for CEET seniors

Industrial Engineering students in NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology will get a head start on their professional careers this spring.

For the first time in the history of the college, all senior capstone projects for students in industrial engineering will be sponsored by area manufacturers. Companies providing capstone projects for students are Motorola, United Parcel Service, Philips, Elgin Industries, Wahl Clipper Corp. and steel maker Raynor.

“These projects are powerful examples of the real-life based experiential learning that is at the core of all of our engineering and technology programs,” said Dean Promod Vohra. “They are part of the practical, functional curriculum that has put our graduates in demand with potential employers.”

The projects that students are working on range from the redesign of packing, assembly and shipping areas, to inventory management, to analysis of freight overcharge fees, to redesign the layout of a whole plant and/or specific departments, to quality improvement, to standardization of work.

“These are precisely the types of challenges these industrial engineering students will work on after graduation. All of them are aimed at increasing efficiency or reducing waste,” said Professor Omar Ghrayeb, who is teaching the class and who helped solicit projects from the sponsoring companies. “This experience will help them as they look for jobs, because they will be able to demonstrate that they have worked on real-world problems and provided a solution.”

As they search for those solutions, students spend time traveling to the sponsoring factories to observe the problems they are studying and to speak with company officials about desired outcomes. Students also meet at least once a week with Ghrayeb to ensure that their projects are on track, and they are required to give presentations to their classmates throughout the semester.

“We have structured the class as if we are a consulting firm,” Ghrayeb said. “Each student, or team of students, is responsible for the success of their own project, but also has a stake in the success of all other projects.”

The consulting firm model is appropriate because, ultimately, the solutions provided by students are expected to live up to the standards of professional consultants.

While that set the bar high, students previously in the class have attained that goal. In the past, some companies that sponsored projects were so pleased with the solutions provided that they not only implemented them but actually offered full-time jobs to the students after graduation and had them oversee the process.

In return for their work on the projects, each student receives a stipend of about $600.

The students will present the results of their projects Friday, May 6, during Senior Design Day at the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology. They also will make formal presentations before representatives of their sponsoring companies.

Northern Star inducts nine to newspaper's Hall of Fame

Membership in the Northern Star Hall of Fame grew to 47 last month with the induction of nine new alums, including two who later returned to work for NIU.

Thomas Woodstrup, editor of the campus newspaper in 1949, became director of alumni relations for the university in 1966. Chuck Shriver, news editor in 1962, served as associate athletic director for marketing in the mid-1980s.

Woodstrup and Shriver are among a class that includes the author of more than 80 books, a New York City-based consumer journalist and a dot-com pioneer and survivor.

Heather McLindsey Dean, a 1999 alum and senior product manager for TAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc., received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Steve Dennis of The Marketing Store, and a 1992 alum, received the annual BridgeBuilder award.

The induction ceremony was held Saturday, Feb. 26, in newly renovated Altgeld Hall, NIU’s flagship building.

“It’s always a little awe-inspiring to see how the Northern Star has launched so many great careers from so many generations,” Northern Star adviser Jim Killam said. “To be able to honor a few of these alumni every year is a real privilege.”

The Northern Star Hall of Fame honors former students, advisers and friends of the Northern Star who significantly affected the Northern Star, journalism or related fields, or who have otherwise received acclaim based in part on experience gained at the Northern Star.

Created in 2000, the Hall of Fame serves as a means to keep alumni actively involved in support of the Northern Star and to encourage Northern Star students toward excellence in their chosen career paths.

“It’s great for our current students to hear some of America’s best journalists talk about their Northern Star days,” Killam said. “It says you can get there from here – that all the hard work really does pay off.”

More information is available online at http://www.northernstar.info/alumni/index.html.

This year’s inductees are:

• Mary Butler, a 1985 alum who went on to Consumers Digest in Chicago, where she stayed until 1997 and rose to senior Internet editor. She also spent five years learning personal finance while writing for the company’s “Your Money” magazine. More recently, she helped to launch cars.com. She also served 10 years as a member of the Star’s publication board. 
• Shelley Epstein, class of 1974, has spent his entire career writing, reporting and editing for the Peoria Journal Star. In 1990, he became associate editor for the paper’s editorial page. He also has taught at Bradley University and served as the unofficial, long-distance adviser for the newspaper at Emory University in Atlanta when his son, Reid, was editor.
• Bruce Gill, a 1973 Star alum and 1972’s “Best Damned Reporter,” has concentrated his newspaper career in DeKalb, Decatur and Milwaukee, his home for 25 years. He is senior editor/suburban news at the Journal-Sentinel, leading about 30 reporters and editors. He also was a teacher, grooming Marquette University journalism students for 16 years.
• Jim Murphy, class of 1993, leads the Chicago sales office for Yahoo! Inc. He began at the Chicago Tribune a year after graduation, where he spent five years selling entertainment and retail advertising and helping develop products such as chicagotribune.com and metromix.com. At Yahoo!, he has built partnerships with companies such as State Farm, Discover Card and Miller Brewing.
• Chuck Shriver, class of 1962, began his career as a news writer for WGN radio. In 1967, while filling in for a WGN-TV sports producer, he began working under Cubs broadcast legend and WGN sports director Jack Brickhouse. That led to a PR career that included 10 years (1967-76) with the Cubs and seven more in two stints (1977-78, 1980-84) with the White Sox. In 1988, he became a copy editor for the Daily Herald, where he retired in 2003.
• Jan (Gilarski) Touney, a 1975 alum, began her career at the Herald & Review in Decatur, Ill. She later became managing editor of the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa. Last March, she coordinated a project – “From Iraq to Iowa” – that examined the impact of the Iraq war on communities across Iowa. Touney also has trained and developed curriculum for assignment editors.
• Dean White, class of 1988, spent five years with the Chicago Tribune circulation department before relocating to Las Vegas in 1993. White joined the Las Vegas Review-Journal as home delivery manager, was promoted to circulation manager and, in 2004, became the director of marketing and promotions. He also formed the Las Vegas chapter of NIU alumni.
• Thomas Woodstrup, the 1949 graduate who later became NIU’s director of alumni relations, began the first national alumni clubs and created the first commercially published alumni directory. He is a past president of the DeKalb County Historical Society and has just completed four years as president of the Sycamore Historical Society and Museum, an organization he founded.
• Allan Zullo, class of 1969, is the author of more than 80 books, ranging from Simon & Schuster’s 11-book “The Baseball Hall of Shame” series to a kids’ ghost-stories series to titles such as “World’s Dumbest Crooks.” Zullo began his career at the Rockford Register Republic and spent almost a decade at the National Enquirer. His “Hall of Shame” books, first published in 1985, have sold more than 2 million copies.

Widely known geneticist John Avise
to launch Layman Lecture Series

Geneticist and author John Avise will visit NIU to present the inaugural installment of the Layman Lecture Series.

Endowed by David Layman, an NIU alumnus who taught high school biology in Chicago public schools for nearly 40 years, the lecture series invites speakers to campus to discuss timely and compelling topics in biology.

Avise, a research professor at the University of Georgia, is well known as a pioneer in the field of phylogeography, a branch of evolutionary biology that seeks to understand patterns and processes governing the geographic distribution of genetic lineages. He will present his public lecture, titled “Good and Bad Times for Evolutionary Biology,” at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, in the Montgomery Hall Auditorium.

“The 21st century will offer great challenges, but also opportunities, for the field of evolutionary biology, particularly in areas related to molecular genetic technologies, the environment, biodiversity analyses and public education,” Avise says. “In each of these important areas, the coming decades promise to be both the best and the worst of times for the evolutionary disciplines.”

Avise also will present a departmental seminar at 10 a.m. March 24, in Montgomery Hall Room 442. The seminar is titled “Genetic Assessments of Parentage and Reproductive Behaviors in Natural Populations of Fishes.”

His research centers on the natural history, ecology and evolution of animal populations in nature, primarily through the use of molecular genetic markers. In addition to extensive publications in scientific journals, he is author of two textbooks and editor of a third.

He also has written four books aimed at more general audiences, including “Captivating Life: A Naturalist in the Age of Genetics” (Smithsonian Books, 2001) and “The Hope, Hype, and Reality of Genetic Engineering: Remarkable Stories from Agriculture, Industry, Medicine, and the Environment” (Oxford University Press, 2004).

“We expect this to be the first of many timely and challenging presentations in the Layman Lecture Series,” says Michael Parrish, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. “Mr. Layman’s generosity has made it possible for us to expose our students, faculty, staff and the community to speakers who are on the cutting edge of the biological sciences.”

Layman began teaching high school biology immediately after graduating from NIU in 1957.

He taught in the Chicago Public School system, 13 years at Richard T. Crane High School and 24 years at Carl Schurz High, before retiring in 1995. His recognition of the critical role that NIU plays in preparing good teachers has led him to establish various venues supporting education and students in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Kudos

Sean Farrell, assistant professor of history, has been named the O’Brien Visiting Professor in Irish Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. Farrell will teach courses there next fall on the history of Northern Ireland and the making of the Irish Diaspora. New to NIU last fall, Farrell is the author of “Riots and Rituals,” an award-winning book on 19th century Catholic-Protestant violence in the north of Ireland. He previously taught at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y.

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Michelle Crase, associate director of the NIU Department of Environmental Health and Safety, and Phil Voorhis, head athletic trainer, attended a Feb. 17 press conference at the State Capitol in Springfield.

Crase and Voorhis were invited by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who saluted volunteers from across Illinois for their efforts in placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in their communities.

The first phase of public access to NIU’s defibrillation program began in the fall of 1999, when six AEDs were placed in campus facilities where people exercise on a daily basis and in the School of Nursing. The second phase placed AEDs in each University Police vehicle, the Physical Plant and University Health Services. The third phase – still ongoing – has placed AEDs in all four off-campus facilities, the Convocation Center, the Holmes Student Center and Barsema Hall, bringing the total so far to 26.

Each year, NIU trains 750 staff members and 450 students in the use of these devices.

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NIU’s Southeast Asia Club would like to thank everyone who supported the Feb. 27 Tsunami Relief Benefit at Holmes Student Center. The benefit raised more than $4,700 to be donated to Habitat for Humanity International. Proceeds will be used to rebuild homes in the areas affected by the disaster.

NIU seeks host families for brief international exchange

NIU is seeking families in DeKalb and Sycamore to host Muslim and Christian high school students and adult leaders from the Southern Philippines for two weeks in April.

The visitors will be participating in a training institute led by the university’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies and International Training Office. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the institute is designed to promote conflict resolution and interethnic and interfaith dialogue. Participants were selected through a competitive application process, have outstanding academic credentials and are fluent in English.

The training institute will introduce participants to American institutions that promote tolerance and will expose them to the religious and ethnic diversity of the United States. NIU hopes to place the high school students with local families who have students of the same age if possible.

The Filipino students and adult leaders will stay with their host families from April 17 to May 1. Host families will provide the visitors with transportation to and from campus, where workshops will be held daily. Students will join their host families for breakfasts and most dinners. The students also will have at least one free day each week during the two-week host-family experience.

Host families will be required to attend an orientation session. During the orientation, past host families will share their experiences from a similar program that was held last year.

Interested families should contact Julie Lamb, outreach coordinator for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at (815) 753-1595 or jlamb@niu.edu. More information is available online here www.niu.edu/cseas/outreach/PhilAccess/accessfs.htm.

Clarinetist Karl Leister to perform Sunday

Karl Leister, one of the world’s foremost clarinetists, appears on the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall stage at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 20.

Leister, who is making his only Illinois appearance while on a U.S. tour, will play the works of Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Allgulin. His appearance is sponsored by the NIU School of Music, the NIU Music Society and the German Consulate in Chicago.

A reception follows the concert. The cost is $15 for the general public; NIU students are admitted at no charge with student ID. For more information, call (815) 753-1450.

HSC to host mobile driver’s license facility

NIU and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White are proud to announce that NIU students, faculty and staff will be able to renew their driver’s license or state ID and purchase their annual vehicle sticker on the NIU campus.

White will attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:15 a.m. Monday, March 21, in the Diversions Lounge of the Holmes Student Center. All NIU students, faculty and staff are invited to attend and meet White and NIU President John Peters.

This new program, in conjunction with the student center, will bring the Secretary of State’s Mobile Unit to the NIU campus on a regular monthly basis with the necessary equipment, technology and staff to operate a “mini facility.”

The mini facility will be open for business in Diversions from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on March 21, April 4 and 18, May 9 and 23, June 27, July 25, Aug. 15 and 29, Sept. 12 and 26, Oct. 11 and 24, Nov. 7 and 21 and Dec. 5 and 19.

Students, faculty and staff can get a new or duplicate driver’s license or state ID card as well as renew annual vehicle license plate stickers. Appropriate identification for a new, lost or stolen license or ID is required and a list of these documents can be found on the Secretary of State’s Web site at www.cyberdriveillinois.com.

Cash, money orders and personal checks are acceptable forms of payment.

Panel to offer advice on Fulbright program

International Programs will hold a Fulbright Interest Day for students and faculty who would like to learn more about the prestigious international exchange program.

The event will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, in the Heritage Room of Holmes Student Center.

“We’re hoping to get more NIU faculty and students to take advantage of these outstanding Fulbright opportunities,” said Deborah Pierce, executive director of the Division of International Programs.

“For example, students can apply to teach conversational English in France – there are as many as 50 openings,” she said. “Last year there were also English-teaching opportunities for students in Korea, Spain, Hungary, Chile, Argentina and the Czech Republic. Additionally, funding opportunities are available for dissertation research in other countries.”

Fulbright Interest Day will feature a panel of NIU faculty who have held “senior scholar” Fulbright fellowships, including Diane Jackman of the College of Education; Lemuel Watson, chair of the Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education; and Judy Ledgerwood, chair of the Department of Anthropology.

International Programs is sponsoring the event in cooperation with the Office of Sponsored Projects, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the Honors Program, the Office of Scholarships and the Zeta Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Delta.

AADR to offer mediation program

The Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources presents a new mediation program that will allow supervisors, administrators, employees and students to address workplace concerns through the voluntary process of mediation.

The sessions are held Wednesday, March 30, Tuesday, April 12, and Wednesday, April 27. Supervisors and administrators are invited from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Employees and students are welcome from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

All sessions are held in Room 305 of the Holmes Student Center. Call (815) 753-6030 for more information.

Campus Child Care hosts open house

The NIU Campus Child Care Center is hosting an open house Friday, April 8, in celebration of the Week of the Young Child.

Tours, refreshments, a slide show and early childhood materials will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The facility is located in a white stone building between Annie Glidden Road and Gabel Hall.

The Center is now welcoming community families into its preschool program. Part-time and full-time enrollment options are available. Enrollment for NIU students, faculty, and staff includes care for children ages 2 months to 5 years, and ages 6 to 8 years during the summer.

For more information, please call (815) 753-0125, e-mail cherrmann@niu.edu or visit www.ccc.niu.edu.

Convocation Center welcomes bootscooters Brooks & Dunn

Country music stars Brooks & Dunn, with special guest Gary Allan, will visit the NIU Convocation Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 30.

Ticket prices are $51.25 and $31.25. Tickets are available at the Convocation Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling (312) 559-1212 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, call (815) 752-6800 or visit www.niuconvo.com online.

NIU spring Elderhostel seeks senior citizens

NIU is part of the international Elderhostel network, presenting residential educational programs for people 55 years and older.

Northern offers a one-week Elderhostel this spring – “The Mississippi River” – from May 8 to 13.

Join NIU’s most popular Elderhostel on a Mississippi riverboat dinner cruise and explore the river’s exciting and transforming history. Experience the geological and cultural aspects of the Mississippi River Valley. Study the physical aspects of the river from prehistoric to modern times. Feel the vibes of the valley through the music that originated there, from jazz to blues to rock. Rediscover Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn.”

To register or for more information, call (815) 753-5200, e-mail LASEP@niu.edu or click here. http://www.niu.edu/CLASEP Elderhostellers may choose to stay on campus in NIU’s Holmes Student Center guest rooms or register as commuters.

NIU sponsors trip to Vietnam, Cambodia

NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies will sponsor a trip to Southeast Asia from Aug. 16 to 30.

A repeat of past popular trips to Southeast Asia, this trip is led by NIU Professor Emeritus Clark D. Neher. Neher, retired from the Department of Political Science, already has spent 75 days in Southeast Asia this year.

In Vietnam, the group visits Ho Chi Minh City, DaLat, Nha Trang, Buon Ma Thuot, Pleiku, DaNang, Hue and Hanoi. The group will travel to Cambodia on Monday, Aug. 29, to experience “Angkor Wat” and to view the sunset over the ancient site.

The group size is limited to 20, and reservations are being taken now. For more information or to make reservations, calling 753-5200 (or toll free at 1-800-345-9472) or e-mail LASEP@niu.edu. The fee covers housing, most meals, guided tours in each city and air transportation from Chicago.

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