June 12, 2006, Northern Today Abridged

NIU steps up peace efforts in southern Philippines

NIU this past spring completed a three-year program aimed at planting seeds of peace among youth activists in a conflict-torn region of the southern Philippines. Now the university is cultivating established leaders there as well.

A dozen high profile Filipino leaders who are committed to peace in their homeland arrived on campus early this month for a three-week training institute and study tour.

The institute participants, all from the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, include a priest, lawyers, a university chancellor, a Muslim religious scholar, nongovernmental organization leaders, government representatives and former combatants in the region's civil unrest.

The U.S. Department of State provided a grant of $167,500 to NIU to partner with Filipino groups and offer the training institute, run by NIU's Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the International Training Office. Similar institutes have been offered on campus to youth activists from the same region of the Philippines.

“A great university does this kind of work,” said Susan Russell, a cultural anthropologist specializing in the Philippines. She also is co-director of the Mindanao project and former director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, a national resource center.

“The fact that NIU is doing this project is ample testimony that we've arrived on the global stage,” she said. “It's what national resource centers should be doing.”

The largest and least-developed island in the southern Philippines, Mindanao has been a frequent site of civil unrest. Enmity between Christians and the Bangsamoro, a linguistically and culturally diverse group of native Muslim minorities, has simmered over the course of centuries.

The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao was created in 1990 to help solve the conflict and promote economic development, and later a peace treaty was reached between the government and rebels. A separate rebel group is currently maintaining a cease-fire while participating in peace negotiations with the Philippine government. Sporadic episodes of violence continue, however, and the autonomous region remains among the most impoverished in the country.

“Peace is elusive in this part of the Philippines,” said Lina Ong, director of the NIU International Training Office and co-director with Russell of the Mindanao project. “They come here to acquire core skills for strengthening the foundation of peace and development in Mindanao and for forging partnerships among local government units, peace and development organizations and national government agencies.”

The adult activists want to turn away from the violence of the past.

“We would like to explore legal and peaceful avenues of promoting and enhancing our relationship with the central government and the majority Filipinos,” said Suharto Ambolodto, chair of the Caucus on Muslim Mindanao Affairs.

Most of the participants in the NIU program are minority Muslims. They want to observe and learn from American cultural, religious and ethnic diversity. At the end of the program, they will develop action plans to implement upon their return to Mindanao.

“We want them to develop a series of action plans that they can bring back to their own constituents and the national legislature,” Russell said. “We want them to be empowered with their new ideas.”

“People from all over the world want a functioning government, social justice and access to a better life,” Ambolodto added. “The only problem is: Do our societies have the material capacity to do it, the technical capacity to create a society as good as yours? Basically, we don't have a functioning economy. We rely on the central government.”

The Mindanao activists are learning about models and paradigms of majority-minority relations in the United States. They are attending presentations by NIU experts in race, religion, politics, action planning, public administration and strategic management of local government and nongovernmental organizations. Outside experts, including well-known peace activist Kathy Kelly of Chicago, have been brought in to address the visitors as well.

Additionally, the activists met last week with State Rep. Bob Pritchard and attended Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's reception for Philippine Independence Day. They have toured Chicago and St. Louis and visited Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, Ill. Today they are visiting Springfield, with a stop in the Amish community of Arcola, and later this week they will depart for Salt Lake City, where they will meet with Mormons, Muslims and Native Americans.

The wide variety of experiences will give the Filipino guests a firsthand glimpse of how ethnic and religious minorities interact in the United States. While those interactions aren't always perfect, Ambolodto feels there is still much to learn.

“It's a process – you learn and then you try to apply,” Ambolodto said. “Not only do we get to take advantage of observing your majority-minority relations, but we get to benefit from NIU scholars, who also have international experience.

“This treasury of knowledge should provide us with a very adequate background in further understanding our situation and the options available to us,” he added.

NIU's work in Mindanao might continue beyond this project. Ong and Russell have submitted another grant proposal to work with the region's young people.

NIU hybrid vehicles displayed at congressional hearing

Three members of the House Committee on Science got a firsthand look at NIU's efforts to reduce the amount of gasoline university vehicles burn each year.

Two of the university's hybrid Toyota Prius vehicles (one from the sedan pool, the other a part of the NIU police fleet) were prominently displayed at a June 5 meeting of the committee, hosted by U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Hinsdale), at the Naperville Municipal Center.

The Prius vehicles are hybrids, powered alternatively by a standard internal combustion engine and an electric motor, depending upon the situation. The university began adding the vehicles to its fleet in the 2003 model year. Currently, about 20 percent of the university auto fleet is comprised of the hybrids, including four of five police cruisers.

The hybrid cars have performed extremely well, NIU transportation manager Bill Finucane said. They have required no unusual maintenance and get dramatically better mileage. The standard sedans in the university auto pool currently average 25 mpg to 28 mpg versus 44 mpg to 48 mpg for the Prius. As for the police cars, Finucane said, the cruisers replaced by the hybrids got 8 mpg to 10 mpg in normal use versus 40 mpg for the Prius.

Biggert, who chaired the meeting, and her colleagues, Dan Lipinski (D-Western Springs) and Michael Honda (D-Calif.), toured the vehicles and were impressed to hear that the university was so successful in reducing its use of gasoline. Honda, who owns a Prius himself, was particularly interested to learn of their use by police on campus.

During the hearing, the lawmakers heard from experts on advanced technology vehicles who discussed the use of hydrogen, ethanol, battery-powered vehicles and hybrids such as the Prius to reduce American reliance on foreign oil. The consensus of those testifying was that a combination of all those alternatives, and maybe others yet imagined, will be required in the future.

Examples of all those types of vehicles were on display at the hearing, including a vehicle from the City of Chicago (a hybrid), experimental battery powered vehicles (Illinois Institute of Technology) and an E-85 vehicle from General Motors which can operate on fuel comprised of up to 85 percent ethanol.

All in the Family
Programs in Vision faculty teach their children well

Only one month after Jenna Sticken crossed the stage to collect an NIU bachelor's degree in special education, the 22-year-old has started graduate school.

And just like the last four years, as she begins her pursuit of a master's degree in orientation and mobility to work with children with visual disabilities, she will study in her mother's classroom.

Jodi Sticken has taught in the College of Education's Department of Teaching and Learning since 1982, two years before Jenna was born.

“I didn't know what I wanted to do,” Jenna says, “but I used to go to work with her when I was little, and right before I moved into school my freshman year, I realized I'd had so much fun. It's a rewarding career.”

“One summer, I was an O&M specialist for a transition program for high school-age blind kids, and she ended up coming with me. It was the summer after third grade for her, and she ended up having a great time,” Jodi says. “When she decided to go into this field, I said, ‘You've got to be kidding me. You always said the last thing you'd do is teach.' ”

Gaylen Kapperman, the longtime head of NIU's Programs in Vision, is neither surprised by Jenna's success nor to slow to boast about her.

Or about Eric Sticken, Jenna's oldest brother and another graduate of the program. Or about Gretchen Kapperman, his own daughter and yet another alum.

Students are desperately needed to serve a swelling population of people with visual disabilities and, at NIU, the faculty literally are birthing and growing their own.

“The reason there's such a shortage of professionals in this field is because people don't know about it,” Jodi says. “My kids grew up around it.”

“Our situation is very unique. Nobody – I mean the professors in this field – has their kids in class with them as their graduate students and advisees. We know of no one who has done that – ever – and we've got three of them,” Gaylen says. “Our kids had to do better. We expected more from our kids, and if they didn't work up to our expectations, they got called on it. Harshly.”

NIU's course of study is among the country's best and largest programs in blindness and visual impairment, preparing students to become teachers of visually impaired children, rehabilitation specialists for newly blinded adults and instructors of orientation and mobility.

Kapperman and Sticken say they never outwardly encouraged their children to follow in their footsteps, although they'll admit to little nudges.

When Eric Sticken quit his job as an associate editor at a trade journal during the uneasy economy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his mother proposed graduate school.

And Eric, who already had taken a couple of his mom's classes “just for kicks” while he was finishing his “record-length undergraduate career,” decided to lay the foundation for the Sticken Dynasty. He's now interested in research and public policy and, unlike his gig at the magazine, “doing something to make the world better.”

“He's a bleeding-heart liberal. All his life, since he was a toddler, he's been saving somebody,” Jodi says with a laugh. “He's now a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arizona in visual disabilities, but he worked for two years as a mobility specialist in Charlotte, N.C., and absolutely loved it. He doesn't understand why everyone isn't a mobility specialist.”

“No two days are the same,” Eric says. “Everyone says that about their job, but in my case, it really was true. A lot of days I didn't go into an office. Every new person I worked with had different abilities and different challenges.”

Gretchen Kapperman had a bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology and a master's degree in social work.

“I intentionally did not try to influence her,” Gaylen says, “because I want her to make up her own mind as with what she should do with her own life.”

But when she couldn't find a satisfying job in social work, her father could no longer bite his tongue.

“I made the suggestion when she was home visiting one day,” he says. “I said: ‘Why don't you think about coming on down and being with me in our program here? I know you can do it. I know your academic record. You have the GRE scores. Your GPA is high.' She thought about it for a while. I said, ‘I know where the financial aid is available.' I suggested places she could apply. It worked out.”

His daughter began a “weekend marriage,” living with her parents Monday through Thursday in their Sycamore house and returning to the home she shares with her husband in Milwaukee from Friday through Sunday.

Gretchen, who later received training at the Helen Keller National Center in Sands Point, N.Y., to serve deaf blind people, also worked as her dad's graduate assistant.

“It was tough, no question about that, and I knew it would be difficult. I told her, ‘You can do anything for nine or 12 months. You can do this.' I know her mother thought I was a little tough on her,” he says. “I flunked her on one of her assignments, and it was not a good scene. It was the only time we had words. She was pretty irritated with me, but we made up, tears and hugging. When she graduated, I really missed working with her. She's an extremely dedicated young woman who really, really does a great job.”

She now is an O&M teacher for the Milwaukee Public Schools and for the Center for Deaf-Blind Persons. Her two jobs put her in contact with clients of all ages.

“I'm really happy that I switched careers. My dad convinced me to at least check out the field, and I have no regrets. Working with people with blindness and visual impairments is really rewarding and fulfilling, and I get to be outside every day,” she says.

“What was the most interesting for me having my dad as an adviser came the first day of class, when I walked into the classroom – the classroom where I had gotten into trouble when I was much younger, scribbling on the blackboard with crayons,” she adds. “And because I know my dad so well, it was actually kind of easy. Some people would think that it would be hard to have him as an adviser, but I know exactly how he thinks. None of his quirks bother me.”

Jodi Sticken echoes her colleague's assessment of the teacher-student relationships the parents took on with their children.

“Kap and I have both been attentive to the idea of other students might be thinking our children's way is being paved, and we've never wanted that. They've had to work hard, and they've done well,” Sticken says.

“And the kids haven't tried to take advantage of the fact that I'm their mother. We separate what goes on at school with what goes on at home,” she adds. “When Eric first got his master's degree and started working, he really was looking to take a job out of state because he didn't want to be in my shadow. But he's more than capable of making a name for himself and, in fact, he did. He's pretty well known. Jenna is concerned about the same thing, and she'll also be fine.”

Jenna, like her mother and brother, loves the career she seemingly has inherited.

She remembers summer days spent watching her mother work with teens, “opening up their world. They were learning to cook and clean. They were outside playing adapted sports. It just kind of amazed me.”

But Jenna prefers younger children, working with babies from birth to age 3, “getting them to explore, move around, roll over, start to crawl.” During the spring semester, she completed a clinical placement at a Naperville elementary school, where she worked with seven boys in kindergarten and first-grade with a wide range of visual impairments.

Learning from Professor Mom is fine, she says.

“I lived on campus, and we'd laugh when I'd have to make an advisement appointment with my ‘parent-adviser,' ” she says. “It was weird at first, but it ended up being OK. I always go to class, and I always have my homework done.”

“It's been fun. The idea was a little nerve-wracking, but it has been great,” Jodi says. “They use me as a resource. I've used them as resources. It's kind of nice to have family in the same field.”

NIU chemistry has new chair, growing profile

With the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry on an upswing, Jon Carnahan is hoping to take it to a new level.

“We have an opportunity to become a force in Illinois and in the nation,” says Carnahan, a veteran NIU professor who officially took over as chemistry chair this month.

He replaces James Erman, who has retired after 36 years of service to the university, the last eight as chemistry chair. Under Erman, a Distinguished Research Professor, the department expanded its research role and further cemented its reputation for producing high-quality graduates.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has ranked the department, which boasts about 140 undergraduate majors, among the top 25 in the nation for the number of ACS-certified bachelor's degrees awarded annually. The NIU department also is well known for producing highly sought after chemistry and science teachers.

Another 50 students are working toward graduate degrees in chemistry and biochemistry, including more than 30 who are pursuing Ph.D.s.

Carnahan, 50, of Sycamore, began his career at NIU in 1983, the same year he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. He has held the title of director of graduate studies in chemistry and biochemistry for more than a decade and personally served as research adviser to 18 Ph.D. graduates.

Carnahan also has been active in departmental and university-wide committees. He has served in various capacities in numerous national societies, most notably as the governing board chair for the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies.

“Jon will be an excellent chair because he has a wealth of administrative experience, is an excellent team player and possesses a good sense of humor,” says Joseph Grush, acting dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Jon knows what he is doing, he does it well, and he does it fairly.”

Carnahan also is a widely published scholar. His research team focuses on the development of new optical spectrometric methods of chemical analyses. The group's research ranges from working with Pfizer Inc. developing methods to identify trace impurities in pharmaceutical drugs to working with NASA on ways to detect the presence or past presence of water on planets and other celestial bodies.

Carnahan hopes to ramp up the amount of external funding awarded to his department for research.

“We're training our students well, and they're getting good jobs, so we want to keep that up,” Carnahan says. “But one of my primary goals will be to enhance external funding. We're at a crucial period in our history in terms of development.”

The department's reputation is making it easier to recruit top faculty researchers and graduate students, which ultimately should help Carnahan in his efforts to pump up external funding. He's excited about the addition of three new faculty members who will join the department next fall.

“If this were a basketball team,” Carnahan says, “it would be akin to bringing in three All-Americans.”

Working closely with Carnahan in recent months, Erman has helped make the transition smooth. He'll still be a familiar face in the Faraday facilities on campus, where he continues to conduct research on the structure and function of heme proteins from various sources, including bacteria, yeast and higher organisms.

“The department will be in good hands with Jon,” Erman says. “But I'll still be around. I'm going to be an active emeritus professor. I still have a research grant and one doctoral student working with me, so I'll maintain an office and small lab in the chemistry department.

“You just can't go cold turkey,” he adds.

Rockford students to spend week on campus for taste of college life

Sixty students from Rockford Jefferson High School will spend the week of June 19 on campus for a close-up look at where college degrees could take them.

Camp organizers also hope the students will leave understanding the personal changes and hard work required to eventually – and actually – enroll in college.

Thirty sophomores and 30 juniors who are not necessarily college-bound are taking part in the second “summer institute,” paid for partly by Project REAL, NIU's federally funded partnership with the Rockford Public Schools and Rock Valley College.

Interest in the camp contrasts an otherwise indifference toward education among many of the students: Last year's debut proved so popular that the participants (who are now the returning juniors) formed an “NIU Club” at Jefferson in the fall and raised money to attend a second summer.

“These kids are a lot more focused now,” said Judy Cox-Henderson, coordinator of clinical experiences in the NIU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and adviser to the NIU Club. “Being in the NIU Club was sort of a source of pride for them, and they needed to do well in their classes because of that, and those who took on leadership roles say it really changed them.”

Students are immersed in activities with faculty from the NIU colleges of Education, Engineering and Engineering Technology, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Health and Human Sciences.

Daytime adventures for the sophomores will range from making cheese and mayonnaise and testing blood samples to building paper helicopters and bridges and even probing a murder “CSI”-style. They'll also compete in a TV-like quiz show.

Juniors, who took part in the aforementioned activities last summer, will design roller coasters, program computer games, publish a camp newspaper and create ceramic masks and paintings.

NIU and RVC faculty also will host a career exploration fair Wednesday, June 21, helping the campers to identify their job interests and the paths to those positions.

All campers will live in an NIU residence hall, filling their nights with arcade games, billiards, bowling, dances, movies and sports. NIU students will serve as counselors, allowing the high-schoolers to develop informal friendships and relationships with college undergraduates.

“We want to expose the kids to college and what college is all about. It gives them goals in high school – things to strive for,” Cox-Henderson said. “If you hang around high school kids much, you learn that they don't really understand why they need to do well in high school. But if kids have goals, there's a good chance they'll work harder.”

Nearly all of the incoming juniors opted for honors English last fall, Cox-Henderson said. “They think of themselves as more serious students,” she said. “The camp had an impact on them.”

Meanwhile, word of their experiences in DeKalb spread through their high school.

“I was so surprised last year,” she said. “This was an experiment. I just put this together not knowing what their reaction would be, and they just loved it. I had kids coming up to me in the hallway at Jefferson to ask, 'Are you the lady who does the camp? Because I want to go.' ”

College of Education honors friends

The NIU College of Education's Donor Recognition Dinner was held Friday, May 19, at NIU-Naperville.

The Donor Recognition Dinner is sponsored by the college's Alumni Council and Development Board. The dinner provides the college an opportunity to honor its donors and to share with them how their gifts have made a difference to the college.

Each year at this event, the Philanthropic Award and Friend of the College Awards are presented during the dinner. The College of Education Development Board nominates and selects recipients who exemplify the spirit of giving and who have made a significant difference to the college through their generosity.

This year, the College of Education recognized Anthony and Carolyn Kambich, Donald G. and Helen Gum Westlake and IBM.

The College of Education Alumni Council also recognizes exceptional friends of the college. Recipients of the Friend of the College of Education are selected based on a number of criteria that include long-term service and/or support, influence over state and federal educational policy, and volunteerism in support of the college.

This year the College of Education recognized Thomas and Judith Crowell and Thomas Nolan.

Philanthropic Awards

Anthony and Carolyn Kambich

Tony and Carolyn met at NIU, where both graduated from the College of Education.

They have spent the past 45 years putting their NIU education to its best use on local, national and international levels. In 1966, they founded the Deerfield Montessori School, which has grown to four locations, enrolling children from more than 350 families.

Tony and Carolyn have been generous with their time and financial support for NIU and, in particular, the College of Education. Tony serves on the college's development board, where he is leading the drive to raise funds for the college's project to provide educational opportunities in Mwala, Kenya. Carolyn has led discussions and hosted tours of their Montessori facilities for education faculty, and she is helping to strengthen the Montessori component of the Kenya project.

The Kambichs also have provided financial support for technology needs, student scholarships, international development projects and faculty development in the College of Education. They most recently established the Tony and Carolyn Kambich Educational Endowment Fund to provide longer-term support for such projects.

Through their significant financial and volunteer support, Tony and Carolyn Kambich demonstrate their continued devotion to assisting others in reaching their fullest potential.

Donald G. and Helen Gum Westlake

Helen received her NIU undergraduate degree in education in 1949 and her master's degree in home economics education from Iowa State University in 1958. She taught in high schools for 33 years, and currently is an instructor at the College of DuPage.

A pioneer in the development of home economics-related occupations, Helen was a highly sought-after presenter; she authored three textbooks and co-authored two other books with Don. Don earned his Ph.D. in metallurgy from Iowa State University and joined Argonne National Laboratory as an analytical chemist and researcher. Since 1984, Don has focused his work on human relationships, parenting, and child development, as well as writing poetry.

The Westlakes' ongoing support of students in the College of Education through the Julia Calliss Morris Endowed Scholarship Fund, as well as their generous support of the college's School University Partnership program through the Donald G. and Helen Gum Westlake Endowed Grant Fund, is ensuring a bright future for NIU students and P-12 students and teachers in the college's partnership schools.

IBM

IBM is one of the largest corporate contributors of cash, equipment and human resources to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions across the United States and around the world. The College of Education is delighted to be a partner in IBM's efforts to improve educational experiences for public school students.

This year, IBM donated 16 Young Explorer computer units for the College of Education's partnership initiative.

These innovative computer workstations with educational software programs are designed for children ages 4 to 7 and have been placed in four elementary schools: one in DeKalb, one in Malta and two in Rockford. These elementary schools partner with the College of Education to prepare future teachers and are part of the college's partnership network.

Children and teachers in the schools, as well as NIU students engaged in clinical experiences at these locations, are learning ways to enhance the curriculum and classroom experience with this innovative technology. IBM's Young Explorer units are playing a key role in providing young students with a focused learning environment that teaches through multiple educational strategies and a curriculum infused with technology.

By providing these essential tools, IBM is helping the college prepare the next generation of teachers and is significantly changing the lives, the learning and the teaching experiences of everyone involved in our partnership schools.

Friend of the College Awards

Thomas and Judith Crowell

The College of Education is pleased to recognize Dr. Thomas Crowell Jr. and Mrs. Judith Crowell for their commitment to the future of the college.

Both are graduates of the College of Education and have remained close to their alma mater over the years. Their interest in supporting the alumni relations efforts in the college led them to help establish a College of Education Alumni Group in the Houston area. Eventually, they hope to expand the group to include alumni in the northeastern part of Texas.

Tom and Judy believe it is equally important to support the college and its students financially; with that intent, they have established the Dr. Thomas R. Crowell Jr. and Mrs. Judith F. Crowell Education Scholarship for postgraduate students.

Thomas Nolan

The College of Education is pleased to recognize Dr. Thomas Nolan for his loyal and passionate support.

Tom received his doctorate in adult continuing education in 1999 and has remained in contact with the college in the intervening years. He always is excited to learn about new faculty projects and student activities and routinely reviews the College of Education Web pages, providing valuable feedback for improving our communications.

Tom visited campus last fall, bringing innovative ideas and program proposals for the higher education program. In March, Tom and his wife, Joanne, hosted a reception in their Arizona home for College of Education alumni in the Tucson area. They also recruited a fellow alumnus (and close friend) to host a similar event in Phoenix .

Tom continues to demonstrate his conviction to “give back” by acting as a volunteer liaison for the College in Arizona.

Passages

Mary M. Uscian, co-founder and longtime director of NIU's Tri-County Community Health Center, died June 2 in Maple Park. She was 51.

Wesener to join NIU to lead Housing and Dining

Kelly Wesener has accepted the position of executive director of Housing and Dining and will join NIU in early July.

Wesener currently is the director of residence life at Southeast Missouri State University. Previously she was at Hope College in Michigan, Indiana University, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Western Illinois University.

She has an Ed.D. in higher education administration from Indiana University; a master's of science in college student personnel from Western Illinois Univeristy and a bachelor's of arts in communication from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Founders exhibition examines DeKalb's 150th anniversary

An exhibition titled “DeKalb at 150: The DeKalb Sesquicentennial” is open through June 30 in the lobby of Founders Memorial Lobby.

Community School offers summer day programs

NIU's Community School of the Arts is offering a variety of summer day programs for children and adults.

Rhythm in Motion, ages 8 to 13 – Get hands-on experience with different instruments, including mallets, shakers, triangles, toms and the snare drum.

CSA Chamber Intensive, for instrumentalists ages 12 to 19 – Participate in seminars on music theory, history and rehearsal techniques. The experience concludes July 25 with a recital.

General music classes, a group piano class and a lively introduction to classical piano are on the schedule, for ages 1 to 9.

Jazz Intensive, ages 12 to19 – Play jazz standards with your jazz friends and learn about improvisation, no jazz experience required.

Jazz History, ages 12 to 19 – Get the lowdown on this unique American art form including jazz styles such as New Orleans jazz, the swing era and the blues. No jazz performance experience necessary.

Oil Painting, ages 13 and older – Learn how to translate a still life and a photographic image. Students receive individual instruction while learning about basic techniques of composition, value, color mixing and layering.

CSA Celtic Band, ages 13 and older – Enjoy playing the magical folk tunes of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. The instruments in the band are fiddle (violin), flute or whistle, harp, guitar, bodhran, banjo, dulcimer, accordion and mandolin.

Arts Jam, ages 6 to 12 – This exciting multi-arts day camp combines classes in visual arts, drama and music. New this year is a one-day version of Arts Jam, Arts Jam Xpress, scheduled for July 25.

To learn more about summer offerings for children and adults, contact Renee Page at 815-753-1450. More information is available online at www.niu.edu/extprograms.

Women's Center gallery welcomes new NIU alum

David Zoberis Sr., who received a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from NIU's School of Art in May, shares his view of everyday town life in DeKalb through a series of new watercolors in the sesquicentennial exhibition on display at the DeKalb Area Women's Center galleries during June.

In addition to this main attraction, Zoberis also will exhibit additional works created over a span of five years. Each series, from the downtown marinas of Chicago to DeKalb to points in between, will present different techniques in a variety of media including charcoal, oils, mixed media and digital.

The public is invited to view these “Works from Within” through June 28 at the OnStage Gallery and the Great Hall Exhibition space in the DAWC, which 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, from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 14, and by appointment at (815) 758-1351.

The artist's reception will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 23, and is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The DAWC Galleries are located at 1021 State Street in DeKalb, with the accessible lift entrance from the alley north of the building. Parking is provided one-half block south of the corner at State and 11th Streets.

Library upgrades online catalog

The library's online catalog system (provided by CARLI, a statewide consortium of academic libraries) will be upgraded to a new version this month. This upgrade will affect some features of the system.

Users will not be able to place requests for materials in other CARLI libraries through the online catalog or through I-Share (the statewide version of the online catalog). Users can, however, submit interlibrary loan requests through this request form. http://1libws0010.lib.niu.edu/clio/

Starting Wednesday, June 14, the online catalog will be “frozen” in read-only status; no new materials will be added the catalog during this period, and the circulation status of items may not be up to date. Users still can check out materials after June 14. Items cannot be renewed via the “My Account” function in the online catalog, but renewal is available in person at the Circulation Desk. Anything returned during the upgrade period will not be discharged until the upgrade is completed; however, no items will become due during this period.

The exact duration of the upgrade is still unknown, but it should be completed by the end of June. Please check the library's Web site http://www.ulib.niu.edu for updates.

Course catalogs go online

NIU's catalogs are now available in a new online content management format.

Both the 2006-07 undergraduate and graduate catalogs can be viewed at http://catalog.niu.edu. Among the features of the online catalogs are advanced search capabilities; a portfolio option where the user can save favorite programs and courses and connect with the Office of Admissions for additional information; and the ease of making changes and communicating revisions to faculty and staff who work with curriculum.

Print versions of the 2006-07 undergraduate catalog are already available, and print versions of the 2006-07 graduate catalog should be available by June 30. Archives of past undergraduate and graduate catalogs are available. www.reg.niu.edu/regrec/ugcat/ www.grad.niu.edu/gradcat.htm Print versions of the 2006-07 catalogs are posted to those respective Web sites.

Women's hoops team hosts Aug. 7 golf outing

The NIU Women's Basketball team will host the Fore Hoops Golf Outing from 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7, at River Heights Golf Course.

The cost is $100 for golf & dinner, $25 for dinner only, $100 for hole sponsorship, $25 for cart sponsorship and $475 for foursome golf and hole sponsorship.

Register by July 31 by contacting Assistant Coach Melissa Parker at (815) 753-1492 or parker@niu.edu.

6-12-06