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 For millions of tourists, the Hawaiian island of Maui, with its stunning natural beauty, is paradise on earth. But for NIU’s Michael Kolb, the island is a Pacific jewel for less-obvious reasons.
Because of Hawaii’s relative isolation from the rest of the world, Maui provides a unique test case for the NIU anthropologist in the study of the development of civilization. And after more than a decade of archaeological work there, Kolb concludes that civilization arose on the island in a pattern similar to others worldwide.
Kolb this month is publishing his extensive study in the prestigious journal, “Current Anthropology,” demonstrating how the ancient temple system on Maui was built over the course of at least 500 years, with cycles of construction peaking in periods of political tension.
The study is the most detailed of its kind to date and already has attracted mainstream media attention.
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 Veteran Professor Carl von Ende has been appointed to a two-year term as acting chair of the NIU Department of Biological Sciences.
Von Ende replaced Michael Parrish, who has moved on to San Jose State University, where he is now dean of the College of Sciences. The change was effective July 1.
With about 550 undergraduates and 75 graduate students, biological sciences is among the largest departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It boasts six areas of specialization: microbiology, bioinformatics, cell biology, plant sciences, human anatomy and ecology and evolution.
Von Ende, 61, of DeKalb, began his career at NIU in 1975, the same year he earned his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Notre Dame.
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 NIU is doing its part to promote diversity throughout the state’s system of higher education.
The NIU Division of Research and Graduate Studies recently initiated and hosted the first summer conference of the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois (DFI) program. About 65 DFI fellows from across the state attended the event, hoping to get a leg up in the higher education job market.
The state established the DFI program in 2004 to increase diversity among faculty and staff in Illinois higher education. The program has been a major source of graduate-level fellowship support for African American, Latino American, Native American and Asian American students.
“The NIU conference was a huge success,” said Rathindra Bose, NIU vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School. “The aim is to help fellows make a smooth transition from successful graduate students to successful faculty members.”
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 Grateful for the pro bono legal services provided to him by several NIU College of Law graduates, LaFonso Rollins has returned the favor with a gift of $10,000 to benefit the law school’s Innocence Project.
Represented by NIU Law alumni and prominent Chicago attorneys Robert W. Fioretti (’78), John B. Lower (’81) and Lonny Ben Ogus (’78), Rollins and his lead counsel made headlines earlier this year after winning a $9 million settlement from the City of Chicago for violating Rollins’ civil rights. This, Fioretti said, was the largest settlement by the city for false arrest.
“There is no cause more just than vindicating the rights of the innocent but wrongfully convicted in our criminal justice system,” Dean LeRoy Pernell said. “This generous gift will be used to both encourage and train our students to make a meaningful difference on behalf of the innocent.”
Rollins began serving a 75-year prison sentence at the age of 17 after he was wrongfully convicted of rape in 1994.
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 Northern Illinois University Press soon will receive major media recognition for its newly published book, “150 Years of Opera in Chicago.”
The book was written by Robert C. Marsh and completed and edited by Norman Pellegrini. Milt Rosenberg, host of “Extension 720” on WGN Radio, has invited Pellegrini to be a program guest Thursday, Aug. 17.
“Extension 720,” a two-hour discussion show that airs weeknights from 9 to 11 p.m., covers topics from politics to literature, journalism to corporate America. Rosenberg has hosted this popular show since 1973, having interviewed a wide range of notable guests, including John Updike, Henry Kissinger, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Murray and Jimmy Carter.
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 Read good news about – and send congratulations to – Art Ward, Charlotte Rollman and the Women's Studies Program.
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Plans are under way to welcome NIU's new and returning students for Fall 2006. The continued and valued support of the NIU family and DeKalb community is critical to transitioning this year's incoming students and their families into the Huskie family.
Michael J. Coakley, assistant vice president for Student Life, invites the university community to participate in this year's Welcome Days, from Thursday, Aug. 24, through Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Volunteers are needed to help the Division of Student Affairs at three events: Opening Day, Huskies Helping Huskies and House Calls. Volunteer for one, two, or all three activities. Any effort is appreciated.
Opening Day volunteers will assist students and their families, Thursday, Aug. 24, by driving golf carts loaded with student belongings from the family car to the residence hall. Student volunteers will help move students' possessions inside to their residence hall rooms. As a thank you, each volunteer will receive a free T-shirt and a $5 discount for the annual Huskie Bash that evening.
Huskies Helping Huskies volunteers will be stationed at kiosks across campus Monday, Aug. 28, or Tuesday, Aug. 29, to answer students' questions or direct them to a particular destination on campus.
House Calls volunteers will greet first-year students at assigned residence hall floors the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 29. Volunteers will welcome these students to campus and answer any questions. Because college is the first time many students are away from home, these house calls serve to calm any lingering fears these students might have.
Huskies Helping Huskies and House Calls volunteers each will receive a $5 discount for the annual Huskie Bash, the evening of Aug. 24.
Those who are able to join the Division of Student Affairs as it rolls out a red-carpet welcome for our new students should complete the volunteer registration.
Volunteers will be contacted over the summer with further details. Members of the NIU Operating Staff who wish to participate can request release from their normal duties. Staff participation is subject to supervisory approval and should not interfere with the normal operational needs of the university.
For more information, contact Linda Odom at (815) 753-9611 or lodom@niu.edu.
NIU’s Department of Commuter and Non-Traditional Student Services is offering a free car pool service to students, faculty and staff. Commuter Car Pool Connections is intended to reduce commuting costs, ease parking congestion on campus and promote informal interactions among students, faculty and staff at NIU.
The IRS estimates that commuting costs (gasoline, maintenance and depreciation) average about 34.5 cents per mile, and carpooling is a great way to cut those
transportation costs by at least half if not 75 percent or more.
The Commuter Car Pool Connections service is a secure database which matches commuters geographically through anonymous e-mails generated within the database. You will be notified by e-mail when you have been matched with another commuter, but your personal information is not shared until you choose to proceed.
We encourage potential car pool participants to meet initially in the commuter collegia space located in Suite 110 of the Chick Evans Field House.
Visit Ride Share to create your user profile. Call (815) 753-9999 or e-mail to commnontrad@niu.edu with any questions.
The August offering in the 2006 DeKalb Sesquicentennial Series at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center Galleries is a portraiture exhibit by local artist Melissa Laurich. A transplant from Joliet to the DeKalb and Sycamore area, Laurich earned her B.F.A. in drawing from the NIU School of Art last spring.
The art exhibit presents close-cropped expressionistic portraits in oils, acrylics, and mixed media from small canvasses to large-scale works. In these paintings, Laurich conveys an emotional sense with her choice of colors and brush strokes. She achieves the textured surfaces through experimentation and processing of materials. Some layers are broken down by sanding and built up in other areas with paint.
The public is invited to view the artwork from 7 to 9 p.m. Fridays; from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. the first and third Saturdays; from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, and also by appointment through contacting DAWC Gallery Director Anna Marie Coveny at (815) 758-1351. The exhibition ends with an opportunity to meet the artist at a mid-week closing reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29. Refreshments will be served.
Guest parking is located one-half block south off of Eleventh Street. The accessible lift can be reached from the alley on the north side of the building.
Members of the NIU Christian Faculty and Staff Prayer Group meet from noon to 12:50 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month in the East Room, Blackhawk Cafeteria. Participants can bring lunch or purchase one there.
This month’s gathering is Tuesday, Aug. 15.
An outstanding undergraduate senior from each of the four-year degree-granting institutions of higher learning in Illinois is chosen annually to receive the Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award. The University Scholarships Committee asks your assistance in identifying the student, graduating during 2006 (August 2006, December 2006 or May 2007), who will be NIU’s recipient of this year’s award.
Lincoln Student Laureates are honored for their overall excellence in both curricular and co-curricular activities. The NIU Student Laureate should have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher and should have demonstrated leadership in extra-curricular activities.
The person selected will represent the university at one of the most distinguished gatherings in the state, a special ceremony held Oct. 28 in the House of Representatives of the Illinois State Capitol. Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (or his designee) will present each Student Laureate with a Lincoln Academy Medallion and a check for $150. The ceremony will be followed by a luncheon. Nominator(s) of the recipient will be asked to represent the university at this event.
The person selected from NIU to receive this award should be our most outstanding undergraduate senior student. Please be selective in your nomination. Nominations are due to the Office of the Scholarship Coordination, 344 Williston Hall, by noon Monday, Sept. 11.
Nomination forms are available online. Questions should be directed to Michele Niedermeier at 753-4829 or mniederm@niu.edu.
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