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 The NIU campus has rallied to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
In the days since the storm roared ashore, devastating large swaths of the Gulf Coast and inundating New Orleans with flood waters, the university has stepped forward with offers to assist displaced students and contributions to relief operations.
“It was impossible not to be touched by the human suffering caused by this disaster, and I am very proud of the way that the entire campus community has pitched in to help,” said NIU President John Peters, who issued a campus-wide plea for faculty and staff to reach out to victims of the storm.
One facet of that assistance was an offer to enroll college students from Illinois who were attending Gulf Coast schools only to have their education put on hold by Katrina.
“We fully realized the headaches that come with last-minute, mid-semester enrollment of students, and the complexities of interstate transfers,” Peters said, “but considering the trauma these students have experienced, it seemed like a small sacrifice to make.”
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 NIU and Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford are gathering together some of the world's most famous dinosaur experts to discuss one of the most enigmatic creatures ever to roam the planet, the tyrannosaurus.
The scientific symposium, the first ever on the life and times of the fiercest predatory dinosaur, will be held over the weekend of Sept. 16-18 at the Burpee Museum and Clock Tower Resort in Rockford. Presentations and discussions will be open to the public.
Dinosaur-hunting stars making the trek to Rockford will include Philip Currie, one of the world's top experts on tyrannosaurs, as well as a leading proponent of the dinosaur-bird link. In all, about 30 top scientists from across the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe are scheduled to present findings at the symposium, which will be covered by a reporter from National Geographic Magazine.
“We have an extraordinary lineup of experts who will be presenting the latest, cutting-edge research on Tyrannosaurus rex, the largest carnivore ever known to North America,” said Michael Parrish, NIU's chair of biological sciences and resident dinosaur expert. “It's no wonder the creature has long held the fascination of both scientists and the public alike.”
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 Tom Krepel understands first-hand the demands placed upon a university president in these times of shrinking budgets, rising enrollments and shifting demands.
While serving as president of Chadron State College in Nebraska for seven years, he dealt with those issues on a daily basis. Now, as assistant to the president at NIU, he will help John Peters wrestle with many of the same challenges.
“Dr. Krepel is an ideal fit for this job and, I believe, a very good fit for NIU,” Peters said. “In the current funding climate, we have to ensure that every dollar we spend, every investment we make, is efficient and helps us achieve our educational and research goals. Having a person of Dr. Krepel's experience to coordinate activities will allow me to spend more time working directly with vice presidents to see that we meet that goal.”
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 After the last golf cart has been unloaded, the Great Huskie Bash is over and the flurry of welcome-back events concludes, new NIU students begin to settle into campus life.
For most, that rush of activity has helped them make friends and get their bearings, setting them on a path that will end four or five years later at graduation.
For some, however, the process is more difficult. Classes are tougher than they anticipated, friends are harder to come by and the pace of life is faster than they were prepared for. Left to their own devices, many of those students would slip away from campus, victims of poor grades or homesickness, often never to return.
"Making the transition to college is not always an easy thing," says Vice Provost Earl "Gip" Seaver. "How well, or how poorly, those first few weeks and monts go can have a huge impact on whether or not a study ultimately graduates from here."
To ensure that newly arriving students are finding their niche and, when necessary, getting the assistance they need to settle into their new social and academic environment, the provost's office has placed a special emphasis this fall on retention programs aimed specifically at first-year students. FULL STORY
 NIU political scientist James Schubert, a pioneer in the field of biopolitics whose innovative research won both newspaper headlines and international recognition, died Monday, Sept. 5, at his home in upstate New York. He was 58.
“One of his favorite sayings was ‘sui generis,' which means one of a kind,” said colleague Margaret Curran. “Nothing fits Jim better. He was a mentor, teacher and scholar. For those of us who worked with him, he was first and foremost a friend.”
Schubert's natural curiosity led to a wide variety of studies in biopolitics, a field that examines the intersection of politics with the life sciences.
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 Gustaaf Van Cromphout of DeKalb, a beloved 37-year veteran English professor at Northern Illinois University, died Thursday, Sept. 1, at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford. The 67-year-old professor had been hospitalized since Aug. 27 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
Friends, colleagues and students described him as a brilliant educator who spoke or read about a dozen languages and was supremely versed in literature. Above all he was friendly, always greeting even casual acquaintances with his deep voice, still thick with the accent of his native Belgium.
“There are few among us who profoundly touch the lives of all they meet,” NIU Department of English Chair Deborah Holdstein wrote in a message posted on the English department's Web site. “Gustaaf was such a person.”
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 Music Professor Liam Teague is speaking in his third-floor office of the NIU School of Music building when a hearty bellow comes from the hallway, piercing the closed door: “Teague!”
“That's Cliff,” Teague says, rising to turn the knob for Cliff Alexis.
Alexis enters, clutching a plaque he received in June during the World Steelband Music Festival for his “outstanding contribution to the development of the steelpan in the U.S.A.”
“Oh,” Teague asks with a grin, “come to show off?”
Such congenial kidding is expected between these two countrymen, who both hail from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, where the steel pan was invented and remains the national instrument.
Yet Teague, one of the world's steel pan virtuosos, and Alexis, regarded internationally for his craftsmanship at building and tuning steel pans, are profoundly serious and passionate about their mission here: to provide their native instrument with global legitimacy in the music world.
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 Manny Sanchez is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve. So picture him, if you will, in an NIU jersey.
“I never have and never will forget where I came from,” he says. “I appreciate the valuable role Northern Illinois University has played in my life. I can't forget and won't.”
Sanchez, who grew up in a tough melting-pot neighborhood on Chicago 's west side, was a first-generation college student at NIU. He later earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was class president, and went on to found Sanchez & Daniels, the second largest minority-owned law firm in the nation.
Today, at the top of his profession, he sits on numerous corporate and civic boards.
Now Sanchez and his wife, Pat Pulido Sanchez, are contributing $100,000 toward construction of the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center.
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 Like most longtime alums, Mike and Louise McSweeney were delighted with the newly remodeled Altgeld Hall.
In many respects, the building is much nicer than it was during their days on campus in the late 1950s and early '60s. However, something was missing. Gone from the main entryway was the old mosaic bearing the name of Northern Illinois State Normal School.
“We toured the building shortly before it opened and we were rather disappointed that the seal was gone,” said Louise, who graduated in 1960 with a degree in elementary education.
“The building felt incomplete,” added Mike, who graduated in 1961 with a degree in economics.
The seal in question was part of Altgeld Hall almost from its origins, but its history is a bit vague.
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 Female high school students searching for college and career guidance are invited to attend the 2005 Conference for Young Women, hosted by NIU from 8:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, at Holmes Student Center.
The ninth annual conference is geared for young women in their sophomore through senior years of high school and aims to introduce the students to a variety of career areas, including professions where women are historically underrepresented, such as math and engineering.
“This conference offers an exciting chance for female high school students to explore the academic side of college life,” said Amy Levin, director of the NIU Women's Studies Program.
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 Read good news about – and send congratulations to – Norman Stahl, Denise Rode and Sheena Williams.
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The Women's Resource Center and the Employee Assistance & Wellness Program have announced their 2005 fall programming schedule.
Sessions will be held on topics including Native American crafts (suggested pre-registration so adequate crafting supplies will be available), study skills and anger issues. Support groups available at this time are: Bi-Polar (Thursday evenings), I Am Beautiful – Body Image (Monday evenings) and Workplace Support (noon Wednesday).
College Parents Support Group also will meet every other Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Women's Resource Center. The next meeting is Thursday, Sept. 15. For more information on this group, contact Shameka Hill at (815) 753-1142.
For complete information, visit www.niu.edu/women/urw and check out “what's happening” or call (815) 753-0320.
Plans are under way for the annual Fall Reception hosted by the University Women's Club. The event is scheduled for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the home of NIU President John Peters, 901 Woodland Drive.
Barbara Peters and members of the board of the University Women's Club will meet and greet women of the NIU community as the new academic year begins.
This year's reception is a wine-and-cheese event with an opportunity for newcomers to meet women with an NIU connection. Current members are encouraged to invite women who are eligible, but who have not already joined.
Membership in the University Women's Club is open to women who are employed at the university, the spouse of an employee, retirees or the spouse of a retiree.
For more information, contact membership co-chairs Nancy Norris at (815) 756-3292 or Sally Stevens at (815) 756-2343. -- MORE
The Nehring Center Gallery will exhibit work by famed Mexican-American artist Oscar Romero, whose paintings are among those gracing the walls of Eduardo's restaurant.
Roermo will attend an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15. Meanwhile, Conexion Communidad will preview its annual fiesta with food and dancing by Ballet Solazteca in the parking lot in the rear of the center.
Nehring Center Gallery is located on the second floor of the Nehring Center at the corner of Lincoln Highway and Second Street in downtown DeKalb. Gallery hours are 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 3 to 5 p.m. Sundays. The gallery is ADA compliant.
The Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences has announced the schedule for its Fall 2005 Colloquia.
All talks are held at 4 p.m. in Davis Hall 308 and are co-sponsored by the Graduate Colloquium Committee of NIU. For more information, call (815) 753-1943 or click here.
Friday, Sept. 16: David B. Rowley, University of Chicago, “Paleo-elevation history of Tibet : Implications for the tectonics of continent-continent collisions.” -- MORE
The Convocation Center will welcome hard rock bands 3 Doors Down, Shinedown and Alter Bridge for a 7:30 p.m. concert Wednesday, Oct. 19. 3 Doors Down is promoting its third release, “Seventeen Days.”
Tickets for this reserved-seating event go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16. Tickets are $37.50 for the general public and $32 for NIU students (limit two). Tickets are available at the Convocation Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at (312) 559-1212. For more information, visit www.niuconvo.com or call (815) 752-6800.
The Jack Olson Memorial Gallery will present “Bushwick Farms Presents … the Traveling Variety Show” from Thursday, Sept. 22, through Wednesday, Oct. 12.
Special events include a lecture at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Room 100 of the Visual Arts Building and an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22.
The show is the creation of Tara Cuthbert and Stuart Solzberg, a husband-and-wife team obsessed with actualizing the history and genealogy of a fictitious traveling variety show they named Bushwick Farms. Blending fact and fiction, they have been traveling the country for the last four years, incorporating slide shows, tent shows and live performances.
For more information, call (815) 753-4521.
Have your job responsibilities changed? Are you looking for training on how to use the financial forms for completing check requests, travel vouchers and purchase requisitions? Are you trying to figure out how to read monthly financials reports?
Finance and Facilities has the classes you need.
Please refer to the Accounting Office home page and click on FMS Training to see a listing of available classes, or call Cindy Kozumplik at (815) 753-8077 to register for these classes.
An exhibition honoring Hispanic Heritage Month is in the lobby of Founders Memorial Library through Friday, Sept. 30. Call (815) 753-9896 for more information.
The deadline to apply for the Operating Staff Council Dependent Award is Friday, Sept. 30.
Its purpose is to award financial assistance to children of NIU Operating Staff (Civil Service) employees while attending NIU. This award is made possible through dollars presented by the NIU Civil Service Employees' fund-raising activities.
To be eligible, applicants must be the children of NIU Operating Staff employees or Operating Staff retirees; full-time students pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree at NIU; meet all admission requirements of college, department or program in which they plan to pursue degrees; and have an overall 3.0 GPA.
The award of $250 per semester will be awarded for both fall 2005 and spring 2006. Previous award recipients may reapply. The maximum that will be awarded to any individual is $2,500.
For an application and more information, click here to visit the OSC Web site.
Employers will descend on campus this month to start recruiting for their spring hiring needs at the annual Fall Job Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, September 28, in the Convocation Center.
Meanwhile, students looking for a major related career experience prior to graduation are encouraged to attend the Internship Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, in the Convocation Center.
There is no fee to attend these premier events, two of the few opportunities to meet face-to-face with a wide array of employers. Students are required to provide their resume at the registration table for admittance to the fairs.
A convenient shuttle service will be available both days. The shuttle will run from the corner of Normal Road and Lucinda Avenue to the Convocation Center.
The fairs are student-centered learning events where employer representatives provide students insight into their hiring trends, job and internship openings, how to apply for jobs and internships and what students can expect from the interview process. -- MORE
All letters of nomination for the 2006 Presidential Teaching Professorships should be submitted to Vice Provost Earl Seaver in Altgeld Hall 215 no later than Monday, Oct. 10.
Following receipt of a letter of nomination, the Selection Committee will invite each nominated faculty member to prepare materials in accordance with the published procedure. Only full professors with tenure and at least six years service at NIU are eligible for the award.
The procedure calls for a rigorous and thorough portfolio review including contacting former students. The 2006 recipients will be announced next spring.
Call (815) 753-8381 for more information. -- MORE
There is a cost-effective way for current NIU employees to help in the effort to maintain all future retirement benefits: Consider joining the NIU Annuitants Association.
The NIUAA's membership of 1,300 is made up of current NIU employees, including President John and Mrs. Barbara Peters, as well as retired colleagues and their spouses.
Members of the NIU Annuitants Association also are members of the umbrella organization, the State University Annuitants Association (SUAA), which speaks and lobbies for more than 13,000 members in Springfield.
To join, click the membership forms link online at http://www.niu.edu/annuitants/, print it and send it to Lee Ann Henry, at University Advancement, or call her at (815) 753-7406 to receive a form directly.
For further information, call Henry; NIUAA President Bob Rosemier at (815) 758-7317, Treasurer Larry Sallberg and (815) 753-6061 or membership chair Don Buckner at (815) 756-4044. -- MORE
The NIU Community School of the Arts needs used sheet music, music books, old tapes, CDs and records. Clean out your piano bench, attics, and basements and donate to a great cause. The used music items will be sold Feb. 25 at the music swap of the Performathon.
Held every two years, the Performathon is the major fund-raising event of the community school. The funds raised are used for the scholarship programs which enable children unable to afford the full cost of arts education to take music lessons, join music ensembles or take classes in music, art or theater.
Since the program began in 1993, nearly $40,000 in scholarship support has been awarded to local youngsters.
Please bring your items to Room 132 Music Building from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. If you are unable to do so, contact the office at (815) 753-1450 to arrange for pickup of the items.
The Illinois Secretary of State's mobile driver services facility will return to Diversions in the lower level of the Holmes Student Center from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the following dates: Oct. 24, Nov. 7, Dec. 5, Jan. 23, Feb. 20, April 10 and May 8.
Visitors can renew or replace driver's licenses or state IDs and renew vehicle stickers. Information about the Organ & Tissue Donor Program also is available.
The third annual NIU Homecoming Jam will bring the Ciara, Twista and special guests to be announced.
The show is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14. Tickets are $29.50 for students (limit two) and $35.50 for the general public. Tickets are available at the NIU Convocation Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling (312) 559-1212 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.niuconvo.com or call (815) 752-6800.
A printable abridged version of Northern Today is available. --CLICK HERE |
