Vermeer Quartet nominated for Grammy
for recording of Bartók string quartets
 Grammy nominees from Chicagoland include more than Kanye West, Common and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
NIU's Vermeer Quartet has earned its third Grammy nod, this time for a two-disc package that its members say represents the second notch on the measuring sticks for string quartets. “Bartók: Complete String Quartets,” released in 2004 on the Naxos label, is nominated in the Best Chamber Music Performance category. The Vermeer was nominated for Grammy honors in 1994 for Haydn's “The Seven Last Words of Christ” and in 2003 for a CD of piano quintets by Russian composers Shostakovich and Schnittke. Competition for the award comes from Martha Argerich, the Borodin Quartet, the Borealis Wind Quintet and the Emerson String Quartet. The Grammy Awards are televised Wednesday, Feb. 8, on CBS. FULL STORY
  NIU will collaborate with the Cambodian American Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial in Chicago to produce several new museum exhibitions and a collection of oral histories from survivors of the killing fields who now live in Illinois.
The Henry Luce Foundation in New York has awarded a grant of $115,000 over three years to NIU in support of the Cambodia cultural heritage project, directed by NIU's Judy Ledgerwood and Ann Wright-Parsons. Ledgerwood is a cultural anthropologist specializing in Cambodia, while Wright-Parsons directs the Anthropology Museum at NIU and also is a specialist in Southeast Asia.
“This project will improve the collections of the Cambodian American Heritage Museum in Chicago and our museum at NIU, while at the same time providing unique opportunities for student involvement,” said Ledgerwood, who serves as chair of the NIU Department of Anthropology. “The biggest beneficiary of the work, however, stands to be the Cambodian community in the Chicago region and beyond,” she added.
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 A group of researchers led by NIU Chemistry Professor Elizabeth Gaillard is developing a high-tech diagnostic tool that could vastly improve detection of blinding diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration.
Gaillard's research group has built two prototypes of its modified confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope. “This is a powerful diagnostic tool that will be enormously useful for clinicians. It also will help us understand how diseases progress,” Gaillard said. “With most eye disorders, by the time the doctor and patient notice something is wrong, irreversible damage may have already occurred,” she added. “This new tool is able to detect subtle metabolic changes in the tissue of the eye that are indicative of a problem. It should give ophthalmologists a tool for making much earlier diagnoses of retinal disorders. The earlier you intervene, the better the outcome for patients.”
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 For Greg Carnes, the chance to return to his alma mater as dean of the Lipscomb University College of Business was just too good an opportunity to pass up.
That doesn't mean, however, that it was an easy decision for the longtime chair of the NIU Department of Accountancy.
“Once I decided that I wanted to accept the job at Lipscomb, it took me two more weeks before I decided that I could leave NIU. It was really two distinct decisions,” says Carnes, who arrived at NIU in 1994 and became chair of Accountancy in 1999.
“NIU Accountancy is a very special place,” he explains. “There is a rich heritage. The program is very highly regarded by many different constituencies. We have great faculty and some of the best students on campus. You put all of that together and it's very difficult to leave.”
Prying him away required a special set of circumstances.
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 Jim Young, newly appointed chair of NIU Accountancy, says he is honored and excited about his new job – and also a little bit apprehensive.
“I've never done this before. This is a new experience,” he says, explaining that last emotion.
The reasons for the first two emotions are a bit more obvious. As the new chair of Accountancy, he inherits a program that has a history of excellence, which has earned it a reputation as one of the best in the nation.
“Our department is unique among its peers,” says Young, who came to NIU from George Mason University in 2000 and took over as director of the master's in taxation program a year later. “We stand out because of our close professional ties to the Chicago financial community; because we are consistently rated in the top 20 programs in the nation, despite the fact that we don't offer a doctoral degree; and because of our legacy.” FULL STORY
 Michael Z. Salovesh, a retired professor of anthropology who spent nearly three decades at NIU, died Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Baltimore, just two days prior to the death of his new bride, Louana M. Lackey. He was 74.
Salovesh underwent treatment for a type of melanoma three years ago, but the disease resurfaced this past spring, according to a family member. Salovesh and Lackey, a 79-year-old ceramics historian and archaeologist, married in May, and she was later diagnosed with cancer as well. Both had entered the Gilchrist Center in recent months.
Salovesh retired from NIU in 1998 after 28 years at the university but continued to live in DeKalb until earlier this year. He was preceded in death by his first wife of 45 years, Margaret L. “Peggy” Salovesh.
Friends and relatives remember a man of many talents, with an intellectual sense of humor, an innate curiosity about life and a storyteller's gift.
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 The world renowned NIU Jazz Ensemble will perform two shows Tuesday at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago.
Admission to the 7 and 9 p.m. concerts at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave., is $10 for students and $15 for the public. NIU School of Music faculty – Steve Duke, saxophone; Rodrigo Villanueva, drums; Art Davis, trumpet; Fareed Haque, guitar; Tom Garling, trombone; and Willie Pickens, piano – join the band. For more information, call (312) 670-2473.
NIU Jazz Ensemble members also will celebrate the release of their new CD, funded by university retiree and friend Sally Stevens.
Titled “Swinging Every Which Way But Loose,” the nine-song disc features live performances from the 2002 and 2003 ensembles. It also includes original compositions by ensemble members Alex Austin and Wesley Jackson alongside tunes by Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington and Frank Foster.
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 The skies over NIU doctoral student Michelle Lia-Twohy grew brighter this fall.
Lia-Twohy, who is working toward an Ed.D. in the College of Education's Department of Literacy Education, was selected as one of 51 “American Stars of Teaching” by the U.S. Department of Education.
Already an NIU alumna with a master's degree in reading, she is a reading specialist at Western Trails School in Carol Stream. Lia-Twohy's principal nominated her, putting her in competition with 1,800 other educators across the country.
One winner was chosen from each state and from the District of Columbia.
FULL STORY
 Read good news about – and send congratulations to – Gerald Blazey.
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The Office of Public Affairs is in the process of updating the NIU Experts Guide.
The guide is a searchable, online tool for members of the news media who are looking for experts to comment on particular subjects. Faculty and staff are encouraged to visit the guide at http://experts.niu.edu and check their listing by searching the guide by area of expertise or academic department.
If your listing needs updating, or if you are not listed and would like to be, click on the “Add or Update a Listing” button and fill out the online form.
For more information, call 753-1681 or e-mail publicaffairs@niu.edu.
New and returning members are eligible to register for the FIT Program during the following days and times in Anderson Hall 127. Contact the FIT staff at (815) 753-0335 or via e-mail at fit@niu.edu for more information.
Today: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., returning members only.
Wednesday, Jan. 11: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., new members only. Each of the first 10 new members to join the FIT Program this spring will receive a free water bottle.
Friday, Jan. 13: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., open registration.
NIUTEL has changed its opening time to 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Call (815) 753-0963 for more information.
Poster-size 2006 calendars from NIUTEL are now available. They feature Julian dates, and university holidays and academic dates are highlighted. Calendars for anyone who pre-ordered are set aside. Remaining calendars are available for pick-up on a first-come, first-served basis. Call (815) 753-0963 for more information.
The service lobby at Campus Parking Services will close temporarily for maintenance through Tuesday, Jan. 31.
A temporary service office is open on the main floor of the Holmes Student Center near the computer lab. Visitors to this location can purchase parking permits, obtain temporary or visitor permits, file parking ticket appeals, report lost or stolen parking permits and make ticket payments.
Office hours through Friday, Jan. 13, are 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Extended office hours for Jan. 17 to 31 are 7:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays.
Customers still can use the depository on the east side of the Campus Parking Services building to pay tickets. Call (815) 753-1045 for more information.
The David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library has announced hours for the spring semester.
Hours from Tuesday, Jan. 17, through Friday, April 28, are 7:15 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 11:30 p.m. Sundays.
Hours during Spring Break are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, March 13, through Friday, March 17. The library is open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Sunday, March 12, and Saturday, March 18. Hours Sunday, March 19, are noon to 11:30 p.m.
Call (815) 753-0505 for more information.
Artemus Ward, an assistant professor in NIU's Department of Political Science, will present “Justice John Roberts and the Future of the U.S. Supreme Court” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19.
The program will be held in the Staff Lounge located on the lower level of Founders Memorial Library. Call (815) 753-8091 for more information. There will be an opportunity for discussion and light refreshments following the presentation.
Musicians, artists and thespians of all ages and abilities have much to choose from this spring at the NIU Community School of the Arts.
Lessons, ensembles and classes meet weekly and many begin in January. Teachers with the community school are NIU faculty and students, as well as community artists. All classes and lessons are taught on campus.
Call (815) 753-1450 for more information. -- MORE
The NIU Art Museum announces “Estuarine Spaces,” a solo showing of video and multimedia installations by noted Illinois artist Joan Truckenbrod.
The exhibition takes place in the South Galleries of Altgeld Hall from Tuesday, Jan. 17, through Saturday, March 11. The opening reception is from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18. A special closing reception and artist tall takes place Thursday, March 9, with the reception from 5 to 7 p.m. in the museum galleries and a slide talk at 7 p.m. in Room 315 of Altgeld Hall.
The NIU Art Museum Altgeld Galleries are located on the first floor, west end of Altgeld Hall. Gallery Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The Galleries are accessible to wheelchairs, and exhibitions are free and open to the public.
The programming of the NIU Art Museum is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, the Friends of the NIU Art Museum and the Arts Fund 21. For more information, call (815) 753-1936 or visit www.vpa.niu.edu/museum.
The NIU Art Museum announces “Jin Soo Kim: roll-run-hit-run-roll-tick-,” a sculpture-sound installation in the Rotunda Gallery of Altgeld Hall from Tuesday, Jan. 17, through Saturday, May 13.
The exhibition will change monthly with the additional installation of NIU students' work created during a series of workshops with Kim as a visiting artist. The opening reception for the exhibition will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, followed by a public slide talk by the artist in Room 100 of the Visual Arts Building (Jack Arends Hall) at 7 p.m.
The installation, consisting of eight 10-inch-tall-by-8-foot-long steel tunnels and an audio element featuring layered sounds of ticking clocks, breaking light bulbs and clanging plates from railroad tracks reverberating from speakers within the tunnels, emphasizes the physical and psychological nature of travel, experience and memory. It first was exhibited in the NIU Chicago Gallery in the fall of 2003.
Participants in the workshops (Feb. 3-4, March 3-4 and April 7-8) will explore materials and methods including drawing, assemblage, installation, poetry and recorded sounds, to address issues of displacement, immigration and travel, and memory and loss.
Each workshop will culminate in the installation of the participant's work in the NIU Art Museum Rotunda Gallery where it will remain on view until the next workshop. A public reception will be held on the Saturday of each workshop from 5 to 6 p.m.
“roll-run-hit-run-roll-tick-” was funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council, Friends of the NIU Art Museum and the Arts Fund 21. The workshops were funded by the NIU School of Art Visiting Artist Fund.
For more information, call (815) 753-1936 or visit www.vpa.niu.edu/museum.
The NIU Art Gallery in Chicago announces the Biennial Exhibition of Work by NIU School of Art Faculty through Feb. 25.
Thirty-one artists, featuring work in a variety of media including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, fiber, jewelry, performance and design, reflect and celebrate the diverse interests and disciplines of the School of Art faculty.
Exhibiting artists include Jeffrey Morgan Adams, Jon Ashmann, Michael Barnes, Karen Brown, Todd Buck, Andrew Byrom, Yale Factor, Billie Giese, Aleksandra Giza, Debra Grall, Larry Gregory, Manny Hernandez, Katie Kahn, Frank Kulesa, Yih-Wen Kuo, Andrew Liccardo, Christine LoFaso, Kimberly Martens, Ron Mazanowski, Ashley Nason, Jamie Obermeier, Steve Quinn, Charlotte Rollman, Lee Sido, Deborah Smith-Shank, Kryssi Staikidis, Mary Stewart, Adrian Tió, Frank Trankina, Elizabeth Vallance and Harry Wirth.
The NIU Art Gallery in Chicago is located at 215 W Superior, 3rd floor. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call (312) 642-6010 or visit www.vpa.niu.edu/museum.
Three NIU fine arts graduates will lead off the 2006 exhibition schedule at the DeKalb Area Women's Center in a group show titled “Recent Graduates: aka Grads A-Go-Go” until Jan. 27.
The artists, Sarah Beth Woods of Palatine, Lori Ann Ayers of DeKalb and Jennifer Krantz of Machesney Park, will attend a free and open reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19.
Woods will exhibit new work in the On Stage Gallery including a large-scale painting on handmade paper, an artist's book made of handmade paper illustrated with woodcuts, and small gouache paintings. Ayers' paintings are created in gouache on paper. Her powerful images depict aerial views that take the form of idealized environments. From her “Opulent Indulgences” series, Krantz presents 10 chandelier paintings inspired by the antique chandelier that hung in her 1920s-style home.
The DAWC is located at 1021 State Street in DeKalb, and the exhibition is open for public viewing from 7 to 9 p.m. Fridays, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. the first and third Saturdays, and by appointment.
Parking is available in the newly paved lot 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 further information or to arrange a group showing, call (815) 758-1351. -- MORE
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