'Educator on the ice'
Crystal Lake teacher selected to participate
in Antarctic research program
 Fourth-grade teacher Betty Trummel is willing to go to the ends of the earth to make learning an adventure for her students. Toward that end, she's headed to the Antarctic this fall – again.
Trummel, an award-winning teacher at Husmann Elementary School in Crystal Lake, also has been a part-time faculty member at NIU, where she is working on her Ph.D. She is one of four teachers nationwide who will travel with scientists to Antarctica to participate in a unique science and outreach program.
Beginning in October, the 'educators on the ice' will spend about 2½ months in the south polar region with the scientific team for ANDRILL, a $30 million geologic drilling project involving scientists from the United States, New Zealand, Italy and Germany. NIU geologist Ross Powell serves as co-chief scientist for the U.S. contingent of ANDRILL, and at least five other NIU faculty members and students will be part of the scientific team.
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 As self-proclaimed Harry Potter freaks, Karley Adney and Caresse John certainly know quidditch from Quirrell, Hagrid from Hermione and the Weasley brothers from the Weird Sisters.
The NIU faculty members have read the Harry Potter series many times, know the characters and culture, have seen all the movies and even use the books as an instructional tool in their freshman composition and literature courses.
Now Adney and John are turning their attention to a younger audience in launching the first-ever NIU Muggle Academy, an academic summer camp that will be modeled after Hogwarts, the fictional school of witchcraft and wizardry where Harry Potter comes of age.
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 Tanuja Singh has big plans for the NIU Department of Marketing: She plans to take it global.
That might be overstating things a bit. However, the newly appointed chair does plan to work with faculty to create a new area of emphasis in worldwide marketing, a natural fit considering the university's service region.
“We have many global corporations in the area, but there are very few schools that offer any sort of globally focused program at the undergraduate level,” says Singh, who believes such a program would bolster an already strong department.
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 Two longtime members of the faculty in the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology have moved into leadership positions in the college.
Mansour Tahernezhadi has been named the associate dean of the college, while Omar Ghrayeb will become chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
“I am very pleased with both of these selections, and I look forward to working with both of these individuals to move the college forward,” Dean Promod Vohra said.
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 A Red Cross nurse, touted as “the best-dressed woman in the world,” stands ready and proud on a battlefield in France during World War I.
Next to her, surrounding a good-natured patient's hospital bed with hammers, saws and scissors, are a group of fun-loving nurses adorned in the starched white uniforms and crisp white caps not worn or seen in generations.
These are framed works of nearly century-old art – the first a print of a painting by Gilbert Gaul, the second a print of a black-and-white photograph – that depict Brigid Lusk's love of the history of nursing.
Yet it is the future of nursing that lies in her hands.
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 Six NIU students in the Department of Communication are shooting for the stars this summer, as in the Hollywood variety.
As part of a unique summer course, the students, who all have advanced production skills, are headed to Los Angeles to work on a film written and directed by Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, who also stars.
The graduate-level and undergraduate NIU students will work on the film 12 to 16 hours each day, six days a week, for five consecutive weeks beginning in early June. The first and last weeks will be spent on a Los Angeles set. In between, the students will work on location in the California desert.
The participants say they won't mind the grueling schedule.
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 Every December graduate from the School of Nursing passed the state board exams.
Scores in the 100th percentile on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensure Examination (NCLEX) mean NIU performed better than or as well as Illinois' 34 nursing programs with graduates in the fall semester of 2005 and the nation's 750 programs with fall semester graduates.
Comparatively, the pass rate is 86 percent for all nursing programs in Illinois and for all U.S. programs. Nursing school graduates must pass the comprehensive four-hour test to officially become registered nurses and practice anywhere in the country.
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 NIU's trio of Golden Apples will glow in the spotlight at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 1, when the awards ceremony is broadcast on Chicago's WTTW-Channel 11.
Two of this year's 10 Golden Apples are alumni of NIU College of Education, and one is a current Ed.D. student in the Department of Teaching and Learning: Kristie Charles, a third-grade teacher at Hunting Ridge Elementary School in Palatine; Dianne Hamelly, a first- and second-grade multi-age teacher at Fremont Elementary School in Mundelein; and Sandy Noel, a physical education teacher at Hatch Elementary School in Oak Park.
All were honored Saturday, May 13, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The ceremony will air again at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 18, on WTTW.
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 Few who saw Kristi Yamaoka's accident on national television, as it aired live or in endless highlight reels, will forget it.
Yamaoka is the Southern Illinois University cheerleader who fell from the top of a pyramid of her teammates in early March, plunging 15 feet onto her head.
The 18-year-old, who suffered a chipped neck vertebra and a concussion, made her terrifying drop to the gym floor even more memorable by moving her arms in time to the school's fight song while paramedics wheeled her out in a back and neck brace.
High school sophomores attending next month's Rural Health Careers Camp at NIU will have the opportunity to see and experience how first-responders and health care workers react to such an emergency.
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A retirement party for 31-year NIU employee Keith Lowman is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. today in Media Services, Still Hall 110.
A retirement reception for Sharon Howard, director of the Women's Resource Center, is scheduled for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1, at the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall. Presentations will take place at 4 p.m.
A Subway sandwich shop soon will take the place of the former McDonald's in the lower level of the Holmes Student Center.
McDonald's chose not to renew its lease for the restaurant space, creating an opportunity for new options, HSC Director Mitch Kielb said.
“McDonald's was a good tenant and popular with a lot of people, but I think this will be a good change,” said Kielb, adding students he has spoken with are excited to have a “fresher” fast food option available.
Kielb expects construction to take place during June and July, with the sandwich shop likely to open in August.
Once in operation, the shop will likely have hours similar to those kept by McDonald's and will offer some sort of breakfast menu.
The NIU Art Museum's popular “Art to Lend” program takes place next month.
NIU employees can view available artworks from the museum's permanent collection that can be rented for display in university offices. Visit the Altgeld Gallery, on the west end of the first floor, between Monday, June 5, and Thursday, June 15, to view and make selections from the works on exhibit. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.
As in previous years, works will be assigned by lottery based on preferred selections. The lottery is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, June 15, in the North and Rotunda galleries of Altgeld Hall.
Works on paper currently on loan to borrowers, and those that have been out for more than the maximum five years, will need to be retrieved by the museum for conservations purposes. Museum staff will contact current borrowers regarding their return. To cause less disruption to offices, a single de-installation of current holdings and installation of new selections can be arranged.
All funds generated from this program are used for the direct care and maintenance of the collection, including matting and framing, which makes new selections available. Fees have risen over the years, but both the initial installation fee and the yearly rental fee cover only part of the museum's actual incurred costs.
Delivery and installation for artwork will take place during the latter half of June and resume in August and September, depending on the amount of work selected and the availability and schedules of museum staff. Those not at the drawing, or without completed contracts, will be notified by phone June 19 or 20. A contract/invoice then will be sent.
For more information, or a copy of the “Art to Lend” policy, call (815) 753-1936.
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 Huskie Bash.
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.
“Welcome Days are exciting, exhilarating and a little bit scary for new students and families,” Coakley said. “Thank you for considering joining our efforts to provide a warm welcome and a smooth transition to the NIU community.”
For more information, contact Linda Odom at (815) 753-9611 or lodom@niu.edu.
NIU's Alumni Association is offering a private viewing Friday, Aug. 11, of “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” at the Field Museum in Chicago.
“Tutmania” is returning to the Field Museum for the first time in nearly 30 years. The 1977 exhibition attracted crowds of 10,000 to 12,000 a day, with more than 1.35 million visitors overall.
According to the Chicago Tribune “Though the new Tut show will run two months longer here than the first one, the museum said far fewer people will get to see the new one because of more rigorous security and conservation measures taken to protect the artifacts. Those measures mean the exhibit will be shown in a space just one-fifth the size the 1977 show was presented in, limiting the number of people who can move through it.”
The Alumni Association has secured a limited number of tickets for this private viewing. The ticket price of $150 includes a reception and dinner, an exclusive viewing for NIU guests and complimentary valet parking.
Register at www.myniu.com or call (815) 753-1452.
Limited seats are available for the NIU Alumni Association's “The Wonders of China,” a trip scheduled for Sept. 8 to 19. The cost is $3,599.
This land-and-river tour will visit Beijing, Xian and Shanghai and include stops at Tiananmen Square, the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs and the Tomb of Emperor Qun Shi Huangdi. The three-night Yangtze River cruise includes visits to Shibaozhai, Wushan and the Three Gorges Dam site.
For more information, visit www.myniu.com or call (815) 753-1512.
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