November 7, 2005, Northern Today Abridged

More NIU scientists named
to Antarctic geologic drilling program

Two additional NIU professors have been selected to participate in the $30 million drilling project known as ANDRILL.

The international effort endeavors to recover geologic records buried beneath the Antarctic sea to gain a better understanding of contemporary global warming trends.

Professors Reed Scherer and Melissa Lenczewski in the NIU Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences will join their NIU colleague, Ross Powell, as participating scientists on the project. Powell is co-leader of the U.S. contingent of ANDRILL scientists.

NIU Ph.D. student Matt Olney and NIU research associates Stefan Vogel and Charlotte Sjunneskog also were named to the ANDRILL team. Powell said the NIU scientists are seeking funding for three additional graduate- and undergraduate-level participants from NIU.

All told, about 150 researchers from the United States, New Zealand, Italy and Germany were selected this month to join the ANDRILL team. The project is expected to be a focal point during International Polar Year (2007-09), a worldwide campaign of polar research and education.

“ANDRILL presents a great opportunity for our university and is one of the launching pads for our new Analytical Center for Climate and Environmental Change, which was formed last year at NIU,” Powell said.

The geology department's center aims to support, expand and add visibility to the important global climate and environmental change research already being conducted at the university.

“In the past, faculty members typically worked on their own individual projects. This gives us the opportunity to establish the research center model, where a core group of scientists tackle a major research question from different angles,” Powell said. “We hope to get students involved as well, so they feel the excitement of being part of a research team.”

NIU and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln are ANDRILL's lead U.S. universities, with David Harwood at UNL serving as co-chief U.S. scientist along with Powell. Other institutions making up the American half of the ANDRILL program are Florida State University in Tallahassee, Ohio State University in Columbus and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst .

During the fall seasons of 2006 and 2007, ANDRILL scientists will use a powerful new drilling system partially owned by NIU and UNL to recover rock cores from the seabed in the McMurdo Sound area in the southwestern Ross Sea (off the Antarctic coast directly south of New Zealand), using floating ice as a drilling platform. By studying the cores, scientists will be able to develop a detailed history of the Antarctic climate and the expansion and contraction of the area's ice sheets over the past 20 million years.

Powell and Tim Naish of the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences in New Zealand will lead the 2006 effort, drilling from the McMurdo Ice Shelf south of Ross Island . In the second drilling season, a team led by Harwood and Fabio Florindo of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology will drill from a site west of Ross Island.

Powell likens the Antarctic to a “global thermostat.” The continent's massive ice sheet interacts with the world's atmosphere and oceans to help maintain worldwide temperature distributions.

The Antarctic region also appears to be quite sensitive to climate change. When global temperatures warm past critical thresholds, the ice sheet melts, accelerating the warming effect. When global temperatures cool, the ice sheet expands, accelerating the cooling effect.

Core samples provide a layered sedimentary record that scientists can read like a history book to infer past glacial and climatic changes. “The samples contain fossils and sediment left behind during repeated advances and retreats of the ice sheet,” Powell said.

Antarctica is about 1.5 times the size of the United States . The continent is almost totally covered by ice that is nearly three miles thick in places. Although Antarctica has had an ice sheet present for more than 35 million years, the current extremely cold climate has existed for only 3 million years. Through most of its history, the continent has been ice-free.

Today the ice cap accounts for some 60 percent of the world's freshwater. If it were to entirely melt, it would raise the level of the world's oceans by nearly 200 feet.

No one expects a catastrophe of that magnitude to happen in the foreseeable future.

However, there is concern about the future of the western portion of the Antarctic ice sheet, which is grounded well below sea level and is considered unstable. Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would raise global sea levels by about 20 feet, and NIU's Reed Scherer has shown that this portion of the ice sheet disappeared and then reformed within the past million years.

Scherer has served for the past two years as a member of the scientific steering committee for the U.S. ANDRILL program. Now as a participating scientist for ANDRILL, he will travel to the Antarctic for the first stage of drilling, which aims to capture geologic records that will shed light on the behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the past 5 million years.

Scherer is an expert in the study of fossil diatoms (single-celled algae). The microscopic organisms live in surface or shallow waters, evolve rapidly and are eventually deposited on the ocean floor.

“The variety of diatoms is linked to water temperature,” Scherer said, “so we can track changes in water temperature based on the different species of diatom fossils that we find in the layers of sediment from the rock cores. In essence, they provide a record of climate and environmental change in the region through time.”

Lenczewski is an organic geochemist whose research focuses on identifying and tracing contaminants in the environment. She will examine whether the drilling process itself causes any contamination of core samples.

“We also want to ensure that what we are examining in the core is actually from the core and not from the drilling mud, which is used to lubricate the drilling system,” she said.

NIU considering certificate in homeland security

The national outcry over the response to Hurricane Katrina has intensified the call for greater professionalism in the field of emergency management, and Northern Illinois University is taking steps to meet that need.

The NIU Homeland Security Task Force, a cross-functional group of faculty drawn from 12 departments across four colleges, is working to create undergraduate- and graduate-level certificates in disaster preparedness and response.

To date, more than 40 classes that potentially could be part of such certificates have been culled from the university's existing course catalogue. The classes cover fields as diverse as political science and industrial technology.

“Emergency planners need to know a little bit about a lot of things and, more importantly, when or where to turn for help in each of those fields when the need arises,” said Professor of Technology Dennis Cesarotti, a member of the task force spearheading the effort.

Cesarotti, who teaches a class in disaster preparedness, brings to the team more than 20 years of experience in that field, having served as a responder, team leader and incident commander at a variety of incidents ranging from floods to anthrax scares. Having watched the response to recent disasters, he is convinced of the need for more professionals in the field.

“Recent experience has demonstrated the critical need for people who have the broad skill set required to advise public and private organizations on the best practices in risk management and on the proper approach to disaster response and recovery,” Cesarotti said. “On our campus we can draw from a wide range of talent that makes us uniquely prepared to produce graduates who can meet that need.”

The NIU task force began working last summer when the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity put out a call for universities across Illinois to create certificates. The federal government also has been encouraging colleges and universities across the country to create programs that will train the next generation of emergency managers needed to serve at every level of government and in the private sector.

Because of the complexity of disaster planning and response, the NIU Homeland Security Task Force is working to create certificates that include a series of tracks, each focusing on a specific set of skills.

Tracks under consideration include manufacturing technology, information technology/communications, health sciences security, biology and life sciences, administration, investigation, enforcement and behavioral and social aspects. As currently envisioned, students pursuing the certificates would be required to take two core courses and then choose four electives from their track.

It likely will take until next fall before a formal certificate will be offered.

However, many of the classes that will be part of such certificates will be offered in the meantime, and interested students might be able to take those classes and apply those credits toward a certificate at a later date. Students are encouraged to discuss such matters with their academic advisers.

While the certificates are not yet approved, NIU President John Peters said he is glad to see the university stepping up efforts in the area of homeland security.

“As a regional university, one of our primary roles is to identify and serve critical needs,” Peters said. “Considering the aftermath of recent natural disasters and the ongoing threat of terrorist attack, I can think of no need more important than this one.”

NIU teacher-training programs earn
high marks in survey of first-year teachers

Most first-year teachers with NIU degrees believe they were prepared well to teach their primary subject areas and to implement developmentally appropriate instruction.

Nearly 98 percent say they feel they meet the Illinois Professional Learning Standards regarding education as a profession and its benchmarks of professional conduct. Ninety-two percent say they are achieving the role of the teacher as a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates and whose actions affect the learning community. Ninety percent say they use effective communication to foster active engagement in learning and self-motivation.

They also give good grades to their classroom instruction at NIU and their pre-service clinical experiences.

“Our students do tell us that they feel really well-prepared for entry into the profession, and that's good feedback. We're obviously on the right track,” said NIU Vice Provost Earl “Gip” Seaver. “We do need to look further at the results and dig deeper into the numbers. There's always room for improvement, and things change over time. This hopefully allows us to be pro-active as well.”

Released Thursday at a press conference in Springfield, the first Teacher Graduate Assessment Project was directed by the Illinois Association of Deans of Public Colleges of Education (IADPCE) in collaboration with the Illinois Teacher Data Warehouse. It surveyed 2004 graduates of the state's 12 public universities who are teaching in Illinois public schools and their supervisors.

Fifty-two percent of teachers and 64 percent of supervisors responded.

“The results indicate we're doing a pretty good job,” said Chris Sorensen, dean of the NIU College of Education and chair of IADPCE. “The supervisors of our graduates are saying we're doing well. It's not just the teachers' self-perceptions.”

Across the state, the survey reveals that 99 percent of first-year teachers are satisfied with their career choice (that number is 100 percent among NIU graduates) and that more than 95 percent plan to stay in education, with more than 85 percent of those in teaching roles. Ninety-eight percent of NIU's graduates plan to stay in education, with nearly 91 percent of those in teaching roles.

“Students are getting the information they need as they make these career choices, and that's certainly validated by the fact they want to stay,” Seaver said. “Somewhere along the line, whether it's here as part of our advising system or as the students explore different careers before they get to us, they're basing their decisions on good data.”

The deans of the public colleges of education intend the make the project an ongoing endeavor.

“Partly what's important about the whole project is the collaboration between not just the 12 public universities but the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Joyce Foundation, which all provided funding,” Sorensen said. “We have a commitment to continue the effort and expand it, and we're getting some national attention in terms of the unique partnership.”

At NIU, she said, deans of four colleges are sharing the survey results with faculty members and launching discussions about continuous program improvement. NIU's colleges of Education, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Visual and Performing Arts all prepare teachers.

“We're talking about where we have strengths, where we are doing an outstanding job, where we are doing an OK job and where we might want to improve,” Sorensen said. “We also want to look at it over time and look at trends. For now, I didn't see any specific areas of concern.”

Copies of the report are available online at www.iadpce.org.

Art professor Ashmann continues to beat illness, set goals

Type Jon Ashmann's name into Google, and the top result is a 2002 piece about the NIU art professor's struggle with a rare and insidious disease.

The story from NIU's faculty-staff newsletter details Ashmann's struggle to fight back from Pan Vasculitis, Polyarteritis Nodosaa, a multi-system disorder that has caused extreme pain in his hands and feet and has diminished his vision sharply.

As the article reveals, he won some personal victories despite prolonged symptoms.

“I'm still alive,” Ashmann says with genuine pride three years later. “I still suffer poor vision and a lot of pain – that hasn't really changed – but a lot has happened since then.”

Ashmann continues to teach full-time in the NIU School of Art, and has visited 45 countries since the original story was published. He directs a three-week design and architecture program in Italy each summer, and will travel to Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, this December to work with 15 graduate students of interior architecture.

With his foreign expeditions reaching 75 nations, he is three-quarters of the way to his goal of 100, and the man who once wondered if he was about to die now dreams about what he'll do in retirement.

Unbelievably, the obstacle to his accomplishments has become a lack of time in a busy schedule rather than a lack of health.

Yet the old Web link still gave pause to Hridayesh P. Deshpande, director of a new art school in Pune, India, who stumbled across it recently while negotiating to bring Ashmann to his country for lectures to students and faculty and program reviews.

Deshpande read of the gangrene, the hemorrhages, the temporary blindness, the wheelchair, the chemotherapy. He asked Ashmann: Is this you?

“Yes,” Ashmann replied, “but I think you will be amazed when you see me.”

Amazed they were. Ashmann will return to Creative-i College of Creative Arts in July, and hopes to make annual trips back.

And though the unaware here and overseas never would guess what corners of hell the professor has visited in recent years, he wants them to know – and he has advice from his unwanted journeys.

He is quick to laugh and, outwardly, seems as hearty as anyone his age.

He is able to talk calmly about MRSA, a critical foot infection that landed him back in the hospital and unfortunately removed him from the task of caring for his dying father, and how he was released just long enough to attend his father's funeral.

He continues to drive himself to work from the suburbs – during the worst times, his six-hour round trip involved riding the train and grabbing a lift from a colleague – and is cautious when he travels abroad.

“When I got sick in '98, I was at the peak of my professional ability to do all this travel, and I didn't want to let it go,” he admits. “I really have to have adequate rest, but somehow I've been able to manage. I can have really down periods, and I can suffer from infections, but I still seem to have good energy.”

Work, he says, “keeps my mind off the pain. It doesn't make the pain disappear. It just pushes it back.”

Because he included work among his goals, he was sure he would teach again.

“Success is made by establishing goals. If you set goals, you can reach them. If you don't set goals, you're never going to be able to get anywhere,” he says. “The most fantastic thing, particularly in design, is the opportunity to work with young creative people. There's nothing better than that. I always see education as an experimental process – you're always trying to teach better, or get things across in a different way – and I see the classroom as a laboratory.”

Ashmann's other goals include writing books, one on his theories of design and one on his struggle, and introducing the rest of the world to his fellow Americans by sharing what's he learned through all this travels and presenting an exhibition of his travel photography.

“There are so many different ways of doing things. As Americans, we always think our way is the best. I've seen proof that isn't true,” he says. “When I take students abroad, they remember things they learn easier than in the classroom because it's immediate. Memory is really enhanced by the travel. Students' recall of information is better when it's embedded in experience.”

NIU racers get gift from Caterpillar

NIU engineering students who compete in vehicle design and racing events got a lift this fall from Caterpillar Corp.

The Peoria-based maker of heavy machinery, engines and other products made a gift of $6,000 to the college's NIU MotorSports Team for the purchase of a trailer to transport their vehicles to competitions around the country.

The team, part of the NIU student chapter of the Society of Automotive and Aerospace Engineers, competes in two classes of competition sponsored by SAE: formula (open wheel) and mini Baja (dune buggy-style). Both competitions provide student engineers the experience of conceiving, designing, fabricating and competing race cars.

The gift, said Promod Vohra, dean of the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, is just the latest example of the generous support provided to the college by Caterpillar.

“We have always been very grateful and proud of our partnership with Caterpillar,” Vohra said. “The company not only provides research and design project opportunities for our students, but is also a top employer of our graduates.”

The NIU MotorSports Team has participated in SAE competitions for five years, consistently placing in the top 15 percent in several aspects of the competition. The contests draw teams from across the country and around the globe.

NIU plans activities for International Education Week

Several events on campus will mark International Education Week at NIU, including a reception recognizing the university's Outstanding International Educator for 2005 and a presentation by a visiting Fulbright scholar from the Gaza Strip on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, International Education Week is celebrated on campuses nationwide Nov. 14 to 18.

“The week gives us a unique opportunity to promote the benefits of international education and exchange and to express appreciation for students and scholars who study and teach here,” said Deborah Pierce, executive director of International Programs at NIU. “We commend all at NIU who build and strengthen bridges of international understanding by organizing and participating in exchange programs.”

The annual International Recognition Reception will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center. Provost Ivan Legg will speak at the reception.

The Outstanding International Educator Award will be presented to an NIU faculty member who has contributed significantly to international education through his or her teaching, research, public service and student service. New this year, International Programs also will honor the department that has made the most significant contribution to the internationalization effort across campus.

Other highlights of International Education Week include:

• A Nov. 14 faculty panel discussion on the topic, “Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Role of Social Movements in Advancing International Justice and Peace.” Sociologist Kay Forest will moderate as faculty members share valuable insights on their regions of expertise. Panelists will include Margaret Mbilizi (Africa), Laurel Jeris (Asia) and Julio Rique (Latin America). The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.
• A Nov. 15 reception for international exchange scholars and visitors from 3:30 to 6 p.m. in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center. Visiting Fulbright Scholar Awni Al Karzon will deliver a presentation titled, “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Is Peace Possible?” Al Karzon is a professor in the Department of English at Al-Azhar University, Gaza.
• A Nov. 16 reunion of students who studied abroad during fall 2004, spring 2005 and summer 2005. The event will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. in the NIU Study Abroad Office, Williston 417.
• A Nov. 17 induction ceremony held by the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society, Zeta Gamma Chapter. The honor society for international scholars will be inducting NIU President John Peters as an honorary member, recognizing his contributions to the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Commission, a blue-ribbon panel looking at ways to increase international exchange. Peters will speak about his vision of NIU as a global university. The invitation-only event will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Sky Room.

A full schedule of events for International Education Week is available online at http://www3.niu.edu/intl_prgms/intweek.htm.

Delegation from Thailand, Philippines to visit NIU

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies is hosting a delegation of emerging religious and lay leaders from Thailand and the Philippines.

The delegation will arrive on Thursday, Nov. 10, and stay on campus until Sunday, Nov. 13, for a series of tours, lectures and cultural events. Delegation members include a journalist, student activist and university professor from Thailand as well as a Catholic priest, community health worker, Chamber of Commerce director and community organizer from the Philippines.

Tours will include visits to a mosque, the Hope Haven homeless shelter in DeKalb, the NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the NIU Center for Burma Studies, the NIU Anthropology Museum and the Donn V. Hart Southeast Asia Collection at Founders Memorial Library.

The visit from the delegation is part of the “Observation Study Tour on Religion and Society in the United States” arranged by The Asia Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous and open Asia-Pacific region. The Asia Foundation has arranged a series of exchanges for selected Southeast Asians and Americans to examine the role of religion in society.

The program in the United States explores the exercise of religion in a mature democracy. It also examines the range of important services provided by American religious organizations to their members, as well as the contribution of these organizations to the broader society.

During the delegation visit, the following events, all occurring Friday, Nov. 11, will be open to the public:

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies will host a lecture from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 110 of the Campus Life Building. Asia Foundation representatives will speak on “Public Policy and Religion in Southeast Asia.” A brief question-and-answer period will follow.

A reception for the delegation will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the NIU Asian American Center.

The Southeast Asia Club will hold a cultural event, titled “Mainland Southeast Asia Night,” from 5 to 8 p.m. in the gymnasium of Anderson Hall.

For more information, contact Julia Lamb, outreach coordinator for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, at (815) 753-1595.

NIU School of Music alums perform
with The Redwalls on NBC's 'Tonight Show'

Two alumni of the NIU School of Music performed Tuesday, Nov. 1, on NBC's “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Baritone saxophonist Tony Kidonakis and alto saxophonist Rich Moore helped to flesh out the live sound of The Redwalls, an up-and-coming rock 'n' roll band from Chicago. The trio also includes tenor saxophonist Jeff Snyder, who plays with Kidonakis in the Chicago swing band The Rhythm Rockets.

“Words can't describe how cool this is. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Moore, who plays professionally with jazz and salsa groups around Chicago and teaches private lessons. “To be able to perform in a situation like this is huge. All my friends were going to be watching.”

“It was an amazingly cool day. It was just one of those special things that not everybody get to do, to be on that set and see the inner-workings of that show,” Kidonakis said. “I really enjoyed being able to hear The Tonight Show Band play, and not just in and out of the commercials. They have some amazing players in that band, and they really entertain the crowd during commercials. You wouldn't know that if you weren't there.”

Kidonakis, the elementary school band director in Downers Grove, organized the trio at the request of Scott Ligon, who's been adding keyboards to live sound of The Redwalls. Ligon and Kidonakis are members of a four-piece cover band called The Federales.

“They're strictly two guitars, bass and drums – four guys – but on their new record, ‘De Nova,' there's a lot of vintage keyboard sounds: Hammond B3, Wurlitzer. On a few of the tunes, there's also saxophone, which was performed by one guy who mutli-tracked it,” Kidonakis says. “For the live shows, to really do these songs some justice, they've used two or three horns.”

The NIU-dominated sax trio first joined The Redwalls on stage in June for a sold-out CD release part at Cabaret Metro in Chicago. The expanded band played “Build A Bridge,” a song Kidonakis says “almost gives a nod to an old soul tune, like Otis Redding. Most of their music is pretty guitar-driven, but this particular song has a really strong sax texture.”

For Kidonakis and Moore, their musical journey together began at NIU in 1997. Later, as juniors, they were accepted into the legendary and internationally renowned NIU Jazz Ensemble.

Now they have some national TV exposure.

“The band is very happy with the way we played,” Kidonakis said. “The manager sent an e-mail Thursday to all the sax players and Scott, the keyboard player and my friend, just thanking us for making the trip on short notice and playing well and being such professionals.”

Olson Gallery's ‘Black Box' to benefit hurricane relief

A semi-annual event first intended merely to fill space in the Jack Olson Gallery's calendar is taking on a greater significance this week.

“Black Box: Displacement,” an exhibition and silent auction held Tuesday, Nov. 8, through Thursday, Nov. 10, will feature works inspired by the recent hurricanes that ravaged much of the South.

All proceeds from the silent auction, which closes at 6 p.m. Thursday, will benefit the Southern Arts Federation Emergency Relief Fund. The federation established the fund to assist arts organizations and artists residing in Gulf Coast communities most devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The closing reception takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

“It just seemed appropriate to tie Black Box into hurricane relief and the Southern Arts Federation and their activities,” said Peter Van Ael, the gallery's coordinator. “Ultimately, Black Box serves as a metaphor for an individualized response to the events of the hurricane as they unfolded, their media coverage and the aftermath.”

Van Ael said he will not know how many works the exhibition will include until later today. Artists are bringing in their works this morning, and gallery workers will install them in the afternoon.

The artists expected to participate include many faculty, staff and students of the NIU School of Art, as well as artists from DeKalb County , Elgin Community College and high school art teachers.

In addition to works of art up for auction, local businesses are contributing gift certificates while NIU Athletics made available a package of four football tickets and the Hollinger Corp. donated three archival storage boxes.

For more information, call the gallery at (815) 753-4521.

Noted author Bleich to visit NIU for lecture, workshop

David Bleich, a noted author and professor of English at the University of Rochester, will deliver a public lecture at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in Room 211 of Reavis Hall at NIU.

Bleich is a sought-after speaker whose research specialties include literature, literacy, teaching, language use, feminist philosophy, science studies and Jewish studies. His work examines the way literature lives in communities and societies, the problems of language and truth-telling in interpersonal and social contexts, and the challenge of making schools into more successful institutions.

Bleich has penned a number of influential books, including “Subjective Criticism,” “The Double Perspective: Language, Literature, and Social Relations” and “Know and Tell: A Writing Pedagogy of Disclosure, Genre, and Membership.” He and NIU English Chair Deborah Holdstein also co-edited the 2001 book, “Personal Effects: The Social Character of Scholarly Writing.”

Bleich's lecture, titled “The Repression of Language in the University,” will be followed by an informal discussion and reception. The lecture will examine how the sponsorship and control of Western universities by church, state or corporations has restrained the free study and use of language.

“David Bleich is well known as both a top scholar and gifted educator, and we're very pleased that he is visiting NIU,” Holdstein said. “He's a very thought-provoking and challenging speaker. His lecture will be of interest to people with wide-ranging pursuits across campus, including our colleagues in linguistics and philosophy.”

Bleich also will conduct a workshop, titled “Mixed Genres,” at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, also in Reavis Hall 211.

The lecture and workshop are sponsored by the Lahorra Fund, supporting activities in the humanities, arts and medical sciences.

Kudos

The Iowa State University Alumni Association recently honored Brian Hemphill, NIU's vice president for Student Affairs, with an Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.

Established by the ISU Alumni Association in 1968 to recognize ISU alumni aged 40 who have excelled in their professions and provided service to their communities, a maximum of three awards are granted annually.

At the age of 36, Hemphill is one of the youngest university vice presidents in the country. He came to NIU in 2004 after serving as associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Arkansas for three years. He also worked in student affairs at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. His professional career began at ISU, the institution from which he earned his master's degree, as coordinator of minority recruitment and retention in the College of Education from 1993 to 1995.

He has taught college courses at various institutions on the subjects of African-American imagery in mass media, diversity studies and public speaking, and has been extremely active in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). He also has served as the national chair for NASPA's Minority Undergraduate Fellows Program, designed to encourage minority undergraduates to enter student affairs work.

* * *

Jack Marchewka, associate professor in the Department of Operations Management and Information Services in the College of Business, has been selected as a fellow of the International Information Management Association for his distinguished leadership in the field of information management, outstanding scholarship in the field and distinguished service to the association.

The association has been a leader in the information management field at the international and national levels since 1986, and publishes two peer-reviewed journals: “Journal of International Technology and Information Management” and “Communications of the IIMA.”

Marchewka served as president of the association from 2004-05 and just completed a successful conference in Dublin, Ireland.

* * *

Carol Scheidenhelm, assistant director of NIU's Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, was awarded the 2005 SLATE Star Award at the SLATE conference held Oct. 28 in Chicago. SLATE is the Blackboard users group of the Midwest region.

The SLATE Star Award was established in 2004 to recognize an individual who has shown leadership, demonstrated initiatives, presented new ideas, improved procedures, established effective relationships or provided substantial resources that have effected the success and promotion of SLATE, the educational experience, and/or the general Blackboard Community of Practice.

In addition to the recognition that Scheidenhelm has received at the 2005 SLATE Conference, she has been awarded free registration to the 2006 Blackboard Users Conference in San Diego plus hotel accommodations during the conference.

President Peters to host holiday open house

Save the date: NIU will host a Holiday Open House at historic Altgeld Hall from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16. A dessert reception and entertainment will be featured.

NIU schedules events for Deaf Awareness Week

Several events are scheduled for Deaf Awareness Week 2005 at NIU.

All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted, and are free and open to the public. Events are co-sponsored by: CAAR, COMD, DeafPride, Illinois Teachers of Hard of Hearing/Deaf Individuals (ITHI), Latino Resource Center , Program for Hearing Impaired, and Unity in Diversity (UID).

For more information, e-mail Jenifer Montag at jmontag@niu.edu or Maggie Cormier at mcormier@niu.edu.

Monday, Nov. 7: Carl Sandburg Auditorium, Holmes Student Center, “Personal Journeys.” Join the NIU community as we travel with our deaf community neighbors on their voyages through cultural landscapes. Enjoy the panel discussing first-hand life being deaf in two different cultures.

Tuesday, Nov. 8: Regency Room, Holmes Student Center, “Travel to DeafTown.” Come participate in a town of the deaf and complete your assigned tasks without the benefit of voice.

Wednesday, Nov. 9: Duke Ellington Ballroom, Holmes Student Center, “Deaf Nations Sign.” Learn signs of other cultures to expand your horizons and sign skills. Videos of native foreign sign languages will be shown and discussed.

9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10: Carl Sandburg Auditorium, Holmes Student Center, “Voyages! Sign Sync Performances.” Be an armchair traveler as you watch your classmates and friends “sign” their favorite songs – you don't even have to have a passport.

Friday, Nov. 11: Carl Sandburg Auditorium, Holmes Student Center, “One Woman's Deaf Voyage,” co-sponsored by Latino Resource Center. Meet a woman who has experienced many journeys into deaf and hearing nations as she has grown from a Latino, deaf child, growing up in foster homes, to earning a Ph.D. and becoming a deaf professional, a professor at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She will share with you her “voyage” through life.

Friends of NIU Libraries to host ‘The Griffith Letters'

The Friends of the NIU Libraries invite the public to attend “Editing History: The Griffith Letters and the Civil War,” presented by Joan Metzger at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9.

Metzger will read excerpts from her book, “The Griffith Letters: The Story of Frank Griffith and the 116th New York Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War,” and discuss how she went about editing the letters.

The Griffith family letters are contained in one of the collections located in the Regional History Center where Metzger has been the assistant university archivist for the past 10 years. She will have autographed copies of her book available for purchase.

The program will be held in the staff lounge located on the lower level of Founders Memorial Library. Free parking might be available after 7 p.m. in the visitor's parking lot on Carroll Avenue.

Call (815) 753-8091 for more information. An opportunity for discussion and light refreshments will follow the presentation.

School of Art hosts lecturer Ousterhout

The NIU School of Art's visiting artist-scholar program presents a lecture by Robert Ousterhout on “The Sanctity of Place and the Sanctity of Buildings: Jerusalem vs. Constantinople” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in Room 100 of the Art Building.

Ousterhout is a professor of Byzantine architectural history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The event is free and open to the public. Free event parking is provided in the parking lot on the south side of Jack Arends Hall from 4:45 to 7 p.m.

NIU Art Gallery presents ‘Pan/Sonic'

The NIU Art Gallery in Chicago announces “Pan/Sonic,” a group exhibition that will run Friday, Nov. 11, through Saturday, Dec. 17, with a public reception for the artists from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. All gallery events and programs are free and open to the public.

Participating artists Kristin Bly, Sheree Hovsepian, Rashid Johnson, Eduwardo Kac, Heidi Norton, Kaz Oshiro and Todd Pavlisko comment on how constant streams of information and increased technological innovations have shaped Americans' understanding of identity, race, ethnicity and self.

Through a visual exchange of ideas, the artists encourage civic responsibility and aim to expose and correct social ills propelled by inherently flawed systems. While in the gallery, the viewers literally find themselves immersed in a wash of sound and visual stimulation.

The NIU Art Gallery is located at 215 W. Superior , third floor. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The gallery is closed Nov. 23 through 26. Visit http://www.vpa.niu.edu/museum or call (312) 642-6010 for more information.

The project was funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, friends of the NIU Art Museum and Arts Fund 21.

University Bookstore adds clothing, souvenirs to discounts

The University Bookstore's 10-percent discount policy for faculty and staff now includes clothing and souvenirs, supplementing already-discounted text and trade books, art supplies and most school supplies.

Purchases can be made at any cash register, including satellite stores at the Convocation Center and the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center. Please bring your OneCard for identification. Department charge discounts remain the same.

For more information, call (815) 753-9880.

Season tickets for hoops on sale, remember past

Season tickets for the Huskie men's and women's basketball teams are on sale, and fans of the women's team can enjoy “Back to the Future” pricing.

In honor of new head coach Carol Owens, and for this season only, season tickets to the women's squad are based on the prices for the 1989-90 Hall of Fame team. Packages are $40 for the public and $33 for seniors, faculty and staff.

Packages for the men's team are $99 for the public and $80 for seniors, faculty and staff.

To buy tickets, call (815) 752-6800 or log onto www.niuhuskies.com.

Chemistry Club holds glassblowing demonstration

The NIU Chemistry Club will hold its annual glassblowing demonstration Tuesday, Nov. 15. It will feature the work of chemistry department glassblower, Dan Edwards. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Room 143 of Faraday Hall. It is open to the public.

“This is an opportunity to see a master of the art at work,” said Michael Spires, coordinator for recruitment and public relations for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “It's fascinating to watch as Edwards turns an ordinary glass rod into a sparkling icicle, or a hummingbird perched on a stylized tree. It's great fun for the whole family, from children to adults.”

A glass sale will be held after the demonstration, where items made by Edwards will be available for purchase. They will include Christmas ornaments, icicles, small animals and beaker mugs. The sale will continue on the following day, Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the Faraday West lobby.

“All of the items Edwards makes throughout the year will be sold at this event. They make great gifts,” Spires said. “The prices are reasonable and all the proceeds go to support our students. Everybody wins in a situation like that.”

All of the money earned will help support various activities held by the NIU Chemistry Club, an American Chemical Society student program and pre-professional program that promotes the chemistry field to undergraduate students.

Parking for the event will be available after 7 p.m. in the NIU Parking Garage on Normal Road . The parking facility is located across the street from Faraday Hall West. For more information on the demonstration, contact Michael Spires at (815) 753-1133.

Faculty Development offers grants for SPS

The Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center and Human Resource Services are offering grants up to $1,000 each to Supportive Professional Staff (SPS) pursuing professional development activities that benefit the individuals as well as their academic units.

Proposal guidelines and other information are available at http://www.niu.edu/facdev/development/grants.htm

Five copies of each proposal, including other relevant documents, must be submitted to the SPS Awards Committee, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, by Friday, Nov. 18, for activities proposed between January and June 2006.

Kishwaukee band presents holiday concert Dec. 8

The Greater Kishwaukee Area Concert Band will present a holiday concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the NIU Music Building.

Conductor John Hansen has put together a wonderful program of popular holiday music guaranteed to instill the spirit of the season. The concert is free and handicapped accessible.

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