Web site on theater production
provides look ‘Behind the Curtain’

While NIU theater students gear up for the April production of “The Grapes of Wrath,” their counterparts in the Department of Communication are working diligently to capture the behind-the-scenes drama.

Student video and media crews are documenting the production’s progress in a project known as “Behind the Curtain.” And they hope you’ll tune in.

Vignettes are posted online regularly with more polished “episodes” appearing biweekly at www.comm.niu.edu/curtain/. Eventually, a full-length documentary will be produced for local public access television and used by the School of Theatre and Dance as a recruiting and marketing tool.

The video documentary crew members are all students in an advanced media production course taught by Communication Professor Laura Vazquez.

“We want to record the progression of the play, from rehearsals and stage construction to costume design and lighting,” Vazquez said. “Our goal is to document how it goes from a cast of students who might not even know each other to a major theatrical production.”

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Acclaimed writer Nicholas A. Basbanes, famous for writing books about books, will present the keynote address at an upcoming celebration of University Libraries’ acquisition of its 2 millionth volume.

The public is invited to the celebration, which will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Altgeld Hall Auditorium.

The event will include a reception with music, door prizes, hors d’ oeuvres and refreshments. In addition to Basbanes’ address, University Libraries Dean Arthur Young will name a representative 2 millionth volume to mark the occasion.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Nicholas Basbanes to campus,” Young said. “He is the premier writer about the world of books, book collectors and libraries.”

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When the 20 participants in this year’s Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute gather this May, their ranks will – for the first time – include instructors.

Originally conceived 12 years ago as a program for faculty, the doors opened in 2003 to members of the Supportive Professional Staff with teaching responsibilities. That change prompted NIU’s instructors to seek entry.

“I’m especially excited. Many of our instructors teach large, lower-level general education courses, so we hope that we will be able to reach more students as they first come into the university,” said Amy Levin, director of Women’s Studies and chair of the MCTI task force.

Scheduled for May 16 to 20, MCTI brings together teachers from across campus to learn more about multiculturalism and discuss how to weave its ideals into their courses.

Paula Rothenberg, director of the New Jersey Project on Inclusive Scholarship, Curriculum, and Pedagogy at William Paterson University, is the keynote speaker.

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Sondra King would do whatever was necessary.

To teach her dietetics students the principles of a good “diet recall” – an interview to determine what a patient has eaten – the longtime NIU professor from the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences would become Miss Daisy.

Drawing inspiration from her elderly mother and aunt, King would enter the classroom dressed in a small cape, white gloves and a little veiled hat, chatting about the drive over in her old Packard.

“She played this to the hilt, all the way down to saying she had amaretto in her coffee. She had the students eating out of the palm of her hand,” said Lucy Robinson, a former graduate assistant for King who played the role of the dietitian in the Miss Daisy skits. “She did such wonderfully creative things in her classroom.”

Yet King, who died March 16 at the age of 63, also did whatever was necessary to combat hunger and malnutrition at home and in developing countries. It was a devotion that carried her to nearly three dozen nations, including China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ghana, Nicaragua, Panama and Uzbekistan.

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Governors State University Professor Deborah Holdstein, editor of the country’s top journal in the field of rhetoric and composition, has been named chair of the NIU Department of English, effective July 1.

For the past two decades, Holdstein has served as a professor of English and rhetoric at Governors State. Since 2002, she also has been a faculty associate in the provost’s office at the far south suburban university, where she led and coordinated efforts to bring oversight and cooperation to all aspects of graduate study.

She now takes the helm of one of the largest departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at NIU. More than 500 students are majoring in English and another 100 are seeking minors. The department boasts 35 tenured faculty members and 30 instructors.

“I’m excited about the challenge,” Holdstein said. “I’ve been impressed with NIU’s Department of English, and I’m committed to building upon its already outstanding reputation.”

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Outbursts of terrorism and ethnic-fueled civil war are an ordinary part of life on the Philippine island of Mindanao, where enmity between Christians and the Bangsamoro, a linguistically and culturally diverse group of native Muslim minorities, has simmered over the course of four centuries.

That is why it was so unusual last summer to see Christian, Muslim and tribal youth come together – more than 2,000 of them in all – for a children’s peace festival in the southern Philippines.

“The children of Muslim separatist fighters were among those who performed cultural dances, and even some of the rebels themselves attended,” says Susan Russell, director of NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies. “It’s amazing.”

Lasting peace in Mindanao won’t be accomplished overnight, but NIU is helping to plant seeds of tolerance with hopes that they will blossom in the next generation.

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More than 300 scholars from across the world are expected to visit NIU for the upcoming Ninth International Conference on Thai Studies.

The conference will be held from Sunday, April 3, through Wednesday, April 6. It will be the first international Thai studies conference held in the United States.

Kasit Piromya, the Thai ambassador to the United States, and Darryl Johnson, former U.S. ambassador to Thailand, are expected to be among the attendees. The conference also is expected to draw nearly two dozen NIU alumni who hold scholarly posts in Thai studies here and abroad.

“In a lot of ways, this will be a coming home for many of the conference participants,” said Arlene Neher, an NIU scholar of Thailand who is serving as director of the conference.

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The Northern Illinois University Department of Communication and Ruckus Network will host the student documentary film festival Reality Bytes from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, in Diversions Lounge.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Student-produced short documentaries will be screened during the festival. Documentary festival winners will be selected from three genres: historical, biographical and social issue. The winning films, along with the Best of Festival winner, will be announced at 4 p.m. in Diversions Lounge.

Ruckus, a digital network that provides entertainment programming for college students at NIU, will provide snacks and a chance to win a $50 movie download giveaway.

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SPS will recognize
award winners

Recipients of the Supportive Professional Staff Presidential Awards for Excellence will be honored at a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Winners are Joanne Dempsey, J. Daniel House, Lori Marcellus and Judy Skorek, Deborah Haliczer, winner of the SPS Council Service Award, also will be honored.

The awards ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m.

ITS starts final phase
to stop spam e-mail

Implementing enterprise spam controls for NIU has been a yearlong project for Information Technology Services. On Thursday, March 31, the final phase of stopping mail before it hits our enterprise mail servers is set to begin.

All GroupWise and student mailboxes will enter the Do Not Deliver Spam option. Any mail currently tagged in the subject line as [Spam:***Spam Score] is rejected. Creating a permit list assures mail delivery from specific senders.

Find out how to do this along with answers to other common concerns on the Web at www.its.niu.edu.

NIU librarian to talk
on writer Philip K. Dick

Friends of the NIU Libraries invite the public to attend the school year's third program at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31. Stephen Wright, associate dean of NIU’s University Libraries, will present “The Shadow of Philip K. Dick.”

Dick was an American science fiction writer and author of more than 30 novels and more than 100 short stories. His science fiction extended beyond the use of robots and space travel into memory implants and counterfeit worlds.

He lived in poverty while working for low-paying science fiction publishers until he sold the rights to “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” – the basis for the film “Blade Runner.” He died before the movie was released in 1982, but his popularity increased. Other movies produced from Dick’s writings include “Total Recall,” “Minority Report” and “Paycheck.” Dick’s work gained acceptance and respectability among serious literary circles, with just about all of his works currently in print.

Wright will talk about Dick’s personal life and religious experiences, his influence on popular culture and film, and his own experiences collecting Dick’s work.

The program will be held in the Staff Lounge located on the lower level of Founders Memorial Library on the NIU campus in DeKalb. Free parking might be available after 7 p.m. in the Visitor’s Parking Lot on Carroll Avenue.

There will be an opportunity for discussion and light refreshments following the presentation. For more information, call (815) 753-9394 or e-mail cditzler@niu.edu.

LGBT co-sponsors
Ally Awards reception

The university community is invited to the first Ally Awards reception, sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center and the Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

The reception is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, April 4, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center. Individuals are welcome at any time. A brief program will be held at 2:30 p.m. to present the awards.

The Ally Awards recognize individuals, departments or groups who have shown their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people or the LGBT community during the 2004-2005 school year. All are welcome.

For more information about the Ally Awards, click here, call (815) 753-5428 or e-mail lgtb@niu.edu.

LGBT Awareness Month
includes concerts, lectures

Concerts, workshops, panel discussions, multi-media presentations, lectures and more are on the calendar for April’s celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Awareness Month.

Featured speakers for the month include Columbia College’s Edna Johnston presenting “Identity of a Deaf Woman: Perceptions and Awareness,” Arizona State University’s Thomas Nakayama speaking on “The Problem of Asian-American Sexuality,” and the University of New Mexico’s Laurel Lampela presenting “Out Loud: Works and Words of Lesbian Visual Artists.”

Full details about these and all other events are available by calling (815) 753-5428, e-mailing lgbt@niu.edu or clicking here.

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 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.

Affirmative Action/Diversity Resources
concludes Spring Semester Series

The 2005 Spring Series featuring Collective Stories and Cultural Experiences concludes Tuesday, April 19, with "The Spectrum of Advancement." The session will be held in the AADR-178/166 training rooms from noon to 1 p.m. All are welcomed to attend.

In celebration of Asian/Pacific American National History Month (May), this discussion/dialogue will highlight implications of the advancement of Asian Americans in the higher education setting.

Specifically, movements of attainment in learning and curriculum development, climate and retention of students/faculty and how persons of the Asian populations perceive the cultural environment for success will be addressed. Guest panelists are Sherri Fang, School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences, and Deborah Pierce, director of International programs.

For more information, contact Phinette Maszka, assistant director, Mediation and Diversity Awareness Programming, at (815) 753-6030, TTY (815) 753-2000 or at pmaszka@niu.edu. Feel free to bring a lunch. Light refreshments are provided.

University Bookstore urges
‘Rate Your Books’ survey

Faculty members are encouraged to participate in the “Rate Your Books” survey by ordering Scantron forms for students before the end of the semester. Please call (815) 753-1082 by Friday, April 22, with the number of questionnaires needed. A packet will be sent in time for the final class.

First-Year Connections seeks
UNIV 101/201 instructors

The First-Year Connections program is recruiting UNIV 101/201 instructors for the fall.

UNIV 101 is a one-credit, 12-week course designed to assist freshmen in developing the necessary academic and social skills to be successful at NIU. UNIV 201 is the UNIV 101 equivalent designed specifically for transfer students.

Instructors must be current or retired members of the NIU faculty, staff or administration, have completed at least a master’s degree or have prior experience teaching at the college level. Interested candidates who do not meet the last two criteria may have the opportunity to co-instruct.

This is a great way to impact new students as they transition to the university. Additionally, you have the opportunity to work with upper-class students who serve as peer instructors to assist with the planning and facilitation of the course.

Those interested must attend a one-day instructor development workshop in May. UNIV instructors typically receive a stipend of $1,000, with co-instructors sharing this amount.

Please e-mail firstconn@niu.edu to request an instructor application and for more information. All those interested are invited to attend a new instructor overview from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 22, in Room 505 of the Holmes Student Center. Please RSVP via e-mail.

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 promotes 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 Filipino students and adult leaders will stay with their host families from April 17 to May 1. Host families provide the visitors with transportation to and from campus, where workshops are held daily. Students 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 at (815) 753-1595 or jlamb@niu.edu. More information is available online here.

Annual disclosure of
economic interests

FY05 cut-off dates

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