President: Employee salaries to rise in January
NIU President John G. Peters sent this letter
last week to university employees.
 November 21, 2006
Dear Colleagues,
Last month, I used the occasion of my annual State of the University Address to talk about academic excellence as the overarching theme that must guide all our work going forward in this new century.
The challenges of the workplace, the modern home, and an increasingly complex society put a premium on well-prepared graduates with strong critical-thinking skills. Successful students enjoy strong support in their studies, feel part of a safe and nurturing living-learning community, and expand their knowledge by participating in research, internships, and other hands-on educational opportunities. In short, successful NIU students benefit from the work of all our faculty and staff, regardless of position or function.
Building and maintaining academic excellence at NIU requires a sustained investment in people. To that end, I have made faculty/staff salary enhancement the No. 1 priority of my presidency – and today I’m happy to share the latest manifestation of that commitment.
In addition to the 3 percent increment awarded in July, and following the same general guidelines for eligibility, regularly-appointed employees will receive an additional 1 percent salary hike beginning with the January 2007 payroll period.
READ THE COMPLETE LETTER
 Scientists at the Northern Illinois Center for Accelerator and Detector Development (NICADD) are celebrating the successful run of a prototype sub-detector for the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC).
“The brand new technology is extremely sensitive –
it can detect single photons of light with high efficiency,” said NIU Presidential Science Adviser Gerald Blazey, who serves as co-director of NICADD.
“Among scientists in the ILC detector community, this is a substantial achievement,” Blazey said. “And for the NIU physics department, the detector work complements the outstanding program in beam physics.”
The proposed linear, or straight-line, collider represents the next generation of particle accelerators, which smash together tiny bits of invisible matter to produce new particles. The experiments help researchers identify and understand the most basic building blocks of nature and the structure of the microscopic universe.
FULL STORY
 Just in time for the approaching winter, NIU’s Department of Geography has launched a new weather-related Web site that features reams of local historical weather data as well as real-time conditions at locations on campus and in the DeKalb area.
The NIU Cooperative Weather Station Web site can be found at http://climate.niu.edu/.
“We expect that this site will be interesting and useful to numerous audiences, including commuters, campus visitors, farmers, business owners and schools officials who have a need for current weather conditions or historical trends,” said Andrew Krmenec, geography chair.
NIU operates another weather Web site, www.weather.niu.edu, which provides current radar, weather bulletins, forecasts and more. Between the two sites, NIU faculty, staff and students who work to gather and produce the information have the weather virtually blanketed.
FULL STORY
 Professors across the nation have once again rated NIU’s public accountancy programs among the elite in the nation.
The Public Accounting Report’s 25th Annual Professor’s Survey ranked NIU’s undergraduate program 11th in the United States and its graduate program 10th. Both rankings are the same as last year.
The recently released survey asked professors in the field what five programs they would recommend to students interested in entering the field. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs have been a fixture on the lists almost since their inception
“We are very proud to once again find ourselves in the upper echelon of programs on this list,” said Jim Young, chair of the Department of Accountancy in the College of Business. “The goal of this program has always been, and continues to be, sustained excellence, so it is very satisfying to be included on this list year after year.”
Inclusion in the rankings places NIU in some highly regarded company, including six Big Ten schools.
FULL STORY
 Oh, the tales of adventure their families heard over Thanksgiving turkey.
For Ivy Dally, it was Rome: “It overwhelms the senses in a way looking at a slide or a picture can’t.”
For Mary Katherine Scott, it was Mexico: “Every day, we were meeting with the local Mayan families. They’d invite us into their homes to have lunch with them. We’d make tortillas around the fire with the women.”
For Coral Carlson, it was Florence. For Stephanie Sposito and Carolina Bodner, it was Burma. For David Ouellette, it was Belize.
They’re all graduate students in art history who journeyed overseas during the summer to experience first-hand the art they’ve studied in books.
FULL STORY
 When NIU research associate Kristin Stanford is successful at her job, biting and barfing often ensue.
Her work is so downright dirty and smelly that it will be featured as the lead story in the Nov. 28 season premiere of Discovery Channel’s popular program, “Dirty Jobs,” with host Mike Rowe. Show and viewing information is available online.
Stanford is known to the locals in Ohio’s Put-in-Bay Harbor as “the Island Snake Lady.” Although working toward her Ph.D. in biology at NIU, she spends most of her time at Put-in-Bay, where she serves as recovery plan coordinator for the endangered Lake Erie Water Snake.
The region encompassing the islands and mainland of Lake Erie between the Ohio and Ontario borders is a paradise for boaters and fishermen. It’s also the only place worldwide where the snakes can be found.
FULL STORY
 Award-winning historian Lizabeth Cohen will deliver the third annual installment of the W. Bruce Lincoln Endowed Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, in the auditorium of Altgeld Hall at NIU.
The event is free and open to the public.
Cohen is the Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University. She wrote the 1991 book, “Making a New Deal: Industrial Workers in Chicago, 1919-1939,” which won Columbia University’s prestigious Bancroft Prize for distinguished work in American history and was named as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
She has authored numerous essays on urban, social and political history in the 20th century and written two other books, including “A Consumers’ Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America.”
FULL STORY
 Read good news about – and send congratulations to – Cliff Alexis, Biswa Datta and Christine Sorensen.
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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.
Northern Public Radio’s WNIJ (89.5) will offer special holiday programming in December.
At 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, enjoy “Peter Ostroushko’s Heartland Holiday.” The internationally renowned instrumentalist and “A Prairie Home Companion” regular and his Heartland Ensemble will warm souls with folksy holiday favorites and traditional carols from around the world.
At 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, tune in for “Hanukkah: A Time for Superheroes.” This special begins with the Hanukkah legend of the Maccabees, the ancient Hebrew band of brothers who overcame oppressors against overwhelming odds. The program traces this influence and other Jewish experiences on artists and writers who created comic book icons Superman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman.
For more information, visit www.wnij.org.
A retirement reception for Joe Koch, associate director for client services in the Office of Publications, is scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the Pollock Ballroom at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center.
Koch has worked in Publications since 1978. He earned a bachelor’s degree from NIU in 1972.
Call (815) 753-1379 for more information.
The Office of Assessment Services is pleased to present the Winter 2006 issue of Toolkit, its quarterly e-newsletter. Toolkit is specifically designed to assist the NIU community with practical assessment issues in a user-friendly format.
This issue features a look at the challenges of assessing general education, self- and peer-assessment as a way to develop critical thinking skills, and how the Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures is using E-Portfolios.
Also featured are a video interview with Meteorology Professor David Changnon, a look at upcoming assessment conferences and an opportunity for faculty to earn a $1,500 stipend by developing a capstone course.
Back issues are posted on the Assessment Services Web site under Toolkit. Contributions to the newsletter are welcome at any time. The deadline for submitting articles for the next issue is Jan. 16.
The David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library has announced its hours for Dec. 2 through Jan. 15.
The law library will extend its hours for reading period and final exams, beginning Saturday, Dec. 2, and ending Tuesday, Dec. 19. Hours are 7:15 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:15 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays.
The library is open 7:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21. The library is closed Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday, Jan. 1.
Hours in the first part of January are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Hours on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, Jan. 15) are 1 to 10 p.m.
Regular hours resume Tuesday, Jan. 16. Call (815) 753-0505 for more information.
Alpha Sigma Omega is sponsoring an “Angel Tree” through Friday, Dec. 8, and accepting gifts for children through Monday, Dec. 11.
Pick up an angel ornament at one of the two locations on campus and help make a child’s holiday a little brighter. Ornaments are available for boys and girls, and a variety of ages, at the Latino Resource Center, 515 Garden Road, or in Suite 150 of the Campus Life Building. Presents for children are accepted at both places.
Call (815) 375-7253 for more information.
Eric Mogren, associate professor of history at NIU, will speak about his recent book, “Native Soil: A History of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau,” at Borders in DeKalb at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9.
Mogren will be available to sign copies afterward.
“Native Soil” details the rich history of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, one of the oldest, most innovative and most influential agricultural organizations in the United States. Mogren explains how one group of progressive farmers attempted to cope with the problems they faced as agriculture turned to mechanization and productive farming required scientific and technological advances.
The book is of interest to DeKalb County residents, farmers, and those concerned with America’s agricultural past. It features 55 photos ranging in date from the early 1900s to the present.
“NIU Press is delighted to publish a local-interest book which helps strengthen our ties with the community,” said Mary Lincoln, director of NIU Press. “We have had a very positive response to the book so far.”
In addition to publishing on a variety of topics in the humanities, arts and sciences, NIU Press also focuses on the history of Chicago and the Midwest.
The photography work of Northern Illinois University fine arts major Jeni LoDolce of West Dundee, Ill., will be featured in the exhibit, “Cabinets of Curiosity,” at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center (DAWC) Galleries from Dec. 8 through Dec. 29.
LoDolce comments on her work: “Cabinets of curiosity, or wonder rooms, were an early form of museum – literally cabinets filed with mysterious and extraordinary objects created and maintained by individuals of prestige.” She photographs objects in Midwest museums using traditional black and white with a medium-format, twin-lens reflex camera.
The public is invited to view the exhibit from 7 to 9 p.m. Fridays, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, or by appointment with Anna Marie Coveny, gallery director. An artist’s reception will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17. The exhibit and reception are 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 further information or to arrange a group showing, call (815) 758-1351.
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.
The DeKalb High School Music Department presents the 19th annual madrigal dinners Tuesday, Dec. 19, and Wednesday, Dec. 20, at NIU’s Altgeld Hall. Audience seating begins at 6 p.m. The performance starts at 6:30 p.m. Dinner is served at 7 p.m.
The dinners showcase the DeKalb High School Chamber Choir, an audition-only vocal ensemble of 26 singers directed by DHS Choral Director Travis Erikson. Vocal and instrumental groups also performing include troubadours, pages, a brass ensemble and a string quartet.
The menu includes spinach salad with strawberries and fresh rolls, apple-glazed chicken breast, sage dressing, whipped potatoes, Prince Edward mixed vegetables and, for dessert, trifle. Wassail also will be served, and vegetarian and children’s meals are available.
Tickets are $25 for a dinner seating, or $5 for adults and $3 for students for balcony seating. Call (815) 754-2120 for ticket reservations or questions.
Bowl for Kids’ Sake will come to NIU’s Huskies Den in late February as Big Brothers Big Sisters of DeKalb County works to raise $135,000. -- MORE
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President Peters to host 
