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 Two professors from NIU’s School of Nursing are among the first class of the state’s new Nurse Educator Fellowship Program, thanks to a vote this morning by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
Judith Hertz and Donna Plonczynski each will receive $10,000. They and 13 colleagues from across the state are expected to collaborate with the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Center for Nursing, assist in reviewing nomination materials for future fellows and participate in conferences.
The program is meant to ensure the retention of well-qualified nursing educators. Illinois, like other states, is suffering from a critical lack of nurses and nursing educators.
“Gov. Blagojevich is promoting an appreciation of nursing education,” said Brigid Lusk, chair of the NIU School of Nursing, part of the College of Health and Human Sciences. “There’s such a nursing faculty shortage, and we need nurses so badly.”
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 NIU is moving forward with its plan to build a world-class cancer treatment and research center that will deliver state-of-the-art proton therapy to patients from across the Midwest.
The NIU Board of Trustees last week approved a request to go out for bid on equipment for the facility, which will be located in suburban West Chicago.
“Once established, the center will provide cutting-edge treatment and conduct important research on cancer therapy, building on Illinois’ past investments in accelerator technology,” NIU President John Peters said.
“The proton therapy center will eventually treat as many as 1,500 patients annually,” NIU Provost Raymond Alden added. “This is an important project for NIU and for the people of our region, and we are working diligently to keep it on schedule.”
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 Heidi Kelly, a graduate student studying geography at NIU, is working to advance her career from the ground up – quite literally.
Kelly’s research on soil recently took top honors in a nationwide competition, earning for her a $500 travel scholarship to a major conference in Indianapolis, where she presented her findings to an international audience of scholars and professionals.
The 25-year-old Sycamore native beat out 30 other applicants in winning the scholarship from the Association of Women’s Soil Scientists.
“This was no small feat,” said NIU Geology Professor Melissa Lenczewski, Kelly’s co-adviser. “Heidi was competing against students from a number of major universities with large soil programs.”
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 Most writers are fortunate to produce one book in a single year. NIU English Instructor John Bradley put out two books in a span of days.
“They both came out within a week of each other this fall, but it wasn’t planned that way,” Bradley explains.
He spent six years working on “Terrestrial Music” (Curbstone Press), a collection of poems that explores issues that affect our daily lives, such as ecology, genocide, hunger, violence and the nuclear age.
“It is personal poetry, but it also deals with a lot of social issues,” Bradley says. “There are quite a few references to DeKalb that make it into the book, including the first poem, which references the first house my wife and I lived in on Ninth and Lewis streets. There’s also a poem about DeKalb’s problems with radium in the water.”
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 NIU’s Academic and Advising Center might soon have a new home if and when the university negotiates the purchase of a key piece of real estate.
The NIU Board of Trustees last Thursday authorized university staff to enter into negotiations for the purchase of the former Wesley Foundation, located at 633 W. Locust Street, just north of the campus parking deck and south of the Founders Memorial Library.
If the university acquires the property, it will be remodeled and become home to the Academic and Advising Center, which assists students who have yet to select a major, as well as those who are in the process of changing majors.
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 Since 2001, unpredictable weather conditions have prevented the Chicago Festival Association from painting the official logo of the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade onto State Street between Madison and Washington.
But when the signals suddenly turned green this fall, Carole Jo Utech needed to scramble.
“It was a last-minute decision to do it, and I was left trying to figure out a group who could do it,” said Utech, event manager for the association and a 2001 NIU alumna. “Then I thought, ‘What better than calling my alma mater to see if those students are interested?’ It all came together within 10 days.”
Utech and Deb Smith-Shank, head of the art education division in NIU’s School of Art, quickly recruited about a dozen students interested in the unique project.
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 Everyone knows that the venerable Christmas Carol, “The First Noel,” has its origins in France. The trouble is everyone is wrong.
Northern Illinois University Professor Emeritus (and world renowned expert on Christmas carols) William Studwell has chosen the 450-year-old song as his Carol of the Year for 2006. He purposefully refers to it by its original title “The First Nowell,” and is using the occasion of the honor to set the record straight on the song’s history.
“Whenever the misguided and mistaken form “The First Noel” appears in the literature of carols, the usual and typical impression derived is that the carol is of French origin,” says Studwell, who has been selecting a Carol of the Year for 21 years. “But such an inference is thoroughly and unequivocally incorrect.”
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 Northern Public Radio’s WNIJ (89.5) is offering special holiday programming this month.
At 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17, enjoy the Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show. Clarence Fountain and his legendary gospel group have won four Grammy Awards in the last four years. In this program, we join them on stage as they present their own take on the Christmas classics “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World,” along with some gospel favorites, including “I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord.” Renee Montagne hosts.
At 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, tune in for J.R. Sullivan’s Hometown Holiday. Rockford’s own J.R. Sullivan returns home for his 13th annual holiday celebration, recorded live at Memorial Hall. Joining Jim this year are Megon McDonough, Randy Sabien, Shawn Wallace, Linda Abronski and Stephen Vrtol III. The program repeats at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 24.
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 Read good news about – and send congratulations to – NIU's Web Presence Team and Promod Vohra.
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John and Barbara Peters invite the NIU community to attend the President's Annual Holiday Luncheon, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center.
Also, don't forget the community holiday event at Altgeld Hall, held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8.
Call (815) 753-1999 for more information.
Founders Memorial Library has expanded its hours for Finals Week.
The library is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. today through Thursday, Dec. 14. Call (815) 753-9843 for information.
Join the NIU Community School of the Arts in December for two recitals at the NIU Music Building. All the performers are studying with teachers from the NIU Community School and range in age from 5 to adult.
The Suzuki piano students of Marilyn Montzka perform at 5 p.m. today in the Recital Hall. Cello students of Linc Smelser perform at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Recital Hall.
Recitals and concerts are free and open to the public.
The NIU Community School of the Arts is sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts and offers programming in music, art and theater for children and adults throughout the year. Scholarships are available for those in need.
For more information, call (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms.
Human Resource Services will host its annual blood drive Wednesday, Dec. 13.
The blood drive will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in rooms HR166 and HR178 of the Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources section of the HR building. The average time for blood donation is 45 minutes.
Heartland Blood Centers will conduct the blood drive. HBC is a community blood center open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that provides and delivers all blood products to local hospitals for total patient care. HBC works to collect more than 100,000 units of blood annually, and at least 1,900 donors are needed each week.
One blood donation can save up to three people.
Appointments can be made by calling (815) 753-6000. Walk-ins also are welcome, but appointments will be taken first. Donors should remember to bring a photo ID to the drive. Each donor will receive a free pair of “Drop Everything Donate Blood” boxer shorts.
Lyndsey Soithong-Koutsoures, an NIU senior drawing major and bachelor of fine arts candidate, is exhibiting her works in two local shows this month.
The BFA group show will take place in the Olsen Gallery of the Art Building through Wednesday, Dec. 13. Her solo exhibition, “Exposed and Undone,” will be held through Wednesday, Dec. 27, at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center OnStage Gallery.
The public is invited to view the exhibit from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15 and 22; from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12; or by appointment with Anna Marie Coveny, gallery director. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
The DAWC is located at 1021 State Street in DeKalb. Parking is available one-half block south of the building off of Eleventh Street. The handicapped accessible lift can be reached from the alley north of the building. For more information or for a group showing, call (815) 758-1351.
The Blackhawk Food Court in the Holmes Student Center is once again collecting Toys for Tots, sponsored by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. New, unwrapped toys will be accepted in the food court until Thursday, Dec. 14.
Jo Abbott, executive assistant to the president, is retiring.
A dessert reception is planned in her honor from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, in the Altgeld Hall Auditorium. Come congratulate her and wish her well.
Call (815) 753-1999 for more information.
Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, one of the most distinguished active honor societies in higher education, is looking for members for the 2007-2008 NIU chapter.
Eligible students must have senior status for the 2007-2008 school year, have at least a 3.2 GPA and be committed to Mortar Board’s ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. Mortar Board is a selective senior honor society and will choose only 50 to 60 eligible students for membership in the 2007-2008 chapter.
Founded in 1918, Mortar Board has a long history of recognizing outstanding students for their active contributions to the community.
Please encourage students who are eligible to complete and submit membership applications. Applications are online at www.mortarboard.niu.edu and are due Friday, Dec. 15.
For more information, e-mail mortarboard@niu.edu or visit the chapter Web site.
NIU’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, in cooperation with the Office of the President, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, Women’s Studies Program and the Women’s Resource Center, annually recognizes the achievements of outstanding women students.
Nomination forms are due Wednesday, Dec. 20.
Female seniors, third-year law students and graduate students with graduation dates in May, August or December 2007 are eligible.
Information sheets will be completed by nominees regarding departmental and university leadership roles, community involvement, other awards and scholarships, goals and aspirations and obstacles overcome in pursuit of their education. Preference is given to candidates with a 3.0 GPA or better.
For information, call (815) 753-0320 or (815) 753-9614.
Barbara J. Millis is the presenter at the Spring 2007 Teaching Effectiveness Institute, sponsored by the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center.
Millis, from the University of Nevada, Reno, will lead activities on “Using Cooperative Activities to Promote Learning.” The institute is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, in the Sky Room.
Online registration is required by Friday, Dec. 22. Call (815) 753-0595 for more information.
It’s time to think about financial aid again. Visit www.fa.niu.edu after Jan. 1 for important information.
The computer monitors in the Provost-sponsored general purpose classrooms in the Art Building, Davis Hall and the Music Building will be replaced with new interactive monitors by the start of the spring semester.
SMART Technologies representatives will demonstrate the hardware and introduce the accompanying software at the following times and locations:
Art 102: 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10
Music 173: 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10
Davis 308: 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12
PM 253: 1 to 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12
Those who are unable to attend but would like additional information about the interactive displays or other training opportunities should contact Jim Bollenbach at jbollenbach@niu.edu or (815) 753-6677.
The NIU Foundation invites applications for the 2007 Venture Grants. All proposals must be received in the Foundation Office by Feb. 2. Awards will be announced no later than the first week of April.
The Foundation anticipates awarding between two and four grants at a minimum level of $5,000 and up to $25,000, with a total amount available of $55,000. All faculty and staff from units within the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, the Division of Administration and University Outreach and Intercollegiate Athletics can apply.
For complete information about the grants, as well as application information and forms, visit the NIU Foundation Web page.
The NIU Foundation looks forward to supporting faculty and staff in the pursuit of excellence in research, teaching and outreach to the larger community. Call (815) 753-7539 for more information.
The Greater Kishwaukee Area Concert Band will present a Christmas concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of NIU’s Music Building.
Sponsored by Creative Therapeutics, the concert offers a delightful hour of holiday music. Jeneane Bejnarowicz is the featured vocalist.
The concert is free and open to the public, and the concert hall is accessible to all.
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President Peters to host 
