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 NIU today joined higher education institutions around the state in offering help to Illinois residents who have been attending Gulf Coast universities and who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
While the complexity of interstate college transfers and other such arrangements are particularly daunting two weeks into the semester, NIU President John Peters says his institution will do what it takes to help.
“When we speak of ‘the higher education community,' it's not just an expression,” Peters said. “We really are a community of learners, and we take care of each other. The administrative difficulties presented by last-minute, mid-semester, interstate transfers pale in comparison to the utter devastation from which these college students have just escaped.”
Peters said NIU has designated one, central office to coordinate services for affected students. Illinois residents who were attending Gulf Coast colleges and universities closed by Hurricane Katrina may call the Office of the Vice Provost at (815) 753-0494 to learn about available options. Those include possible transfer options, off-campus degree-completion programs and online course offerings.
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 Gov. Rod Blagojevich has put out the call for Illinois state employees to offer aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
“As American citizens, and as public servants, it is our duty to do what we can to assist the many displaced individuals and families,” the governor said Thursday, announcing a two-week fundraising drive to assist victims of the natural disaster.
To facilitate that effort, the state will use the infrastructure already in place for the State and University Employees Combined Appeal (SECA) campaign. For this special and urgent campaign, SECA ambassadors will serve as facilitators and points of contact to gather your contributions.
“SECA gives you the opportunity each year to contribute financially toward helping those less fortunate in our state. This year, we need to stretch those contributions even further and open our hearts even bigger. People of the Gulf Coast need our help,” Blagojevich said. “It is my hope that we can make a real difference in helping the relief and recovery efforts.”
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 Gustaaf Van Cromphout of DeKalb, a beloved 37-year veteran English professor at NIU, died Thursday, Sept. 1, at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford. The 67-year-old professor had been hospitalized since Saturday, Aug. 27, after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
NIU Department of English Chair Deborah Holdstein said Van Cromphout was a scholar, teacher, mentor, trusted adviser and friend.
“There are few among us who profoundly touch the lives of all they meet,” Holdstein wrote in a message posted on the English department's Web site. “Gustaaf was such a person. By his very essence, he raised the standard by which we all hope to live; his spirit and legacy of intellectual accomplishment and compassion remain with us all. His memory will be a blessing.”
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