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 NIU officials and partners from Collegiate Development Services broke ground last Thursday for the first new student housing complex at NIU in 38 years.
The 120-unit Northern View Community will offer university operated apartment-style living intended specifically to serve the needs of graduate and professional students, international students, married students, students with domestic partners or children and others who wish to live on campus but for whom traditional residence hall living might not be feasible or attractive.
“This is another example of how we try to be a responsive university, attempting to better meet the needs of an important and growing population of students,” said NIU President John Peters. “The existing facilities for such students have long since served their duty, and replacing them with facilities that meet the needs of modern students has long been a dream for the university. This is truly an exciting day.”
NIU Trustee Robert Boey echoed Peters’ excitement, saying the project is an investment in the university’s future.
“Projects like this remind me of the definition of trustee: to hold this university in trust for future generations,” Boey said. “Strategic planning to meet the needs of our students – current and future – is one of the most important ways that we can fulfill our responsibilities as trustees. This project fulfills that duty.”
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 A new Blackboard site unveiled Friday, Oct.13, will allow NIU faculty and staff to monitor the progress of, and comment on, the development of NIUConnect.
NIUConnect is the Web-based student information system that promises to revolutionize the way students interact with the university and vice versa. The system will begin to roll out in the fall of 2007, a process that will continue for a full year.
When completely implemented, NIUConnect will dramatically simplify many functions for both students and university staff.
NIUConnect will provide staff a single, reliable, comprehensive and secure source of information on every student, eliminating the need to search for data across a variety of antiquated systems, many of which do not interconnect.
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 George Coutrakon, a professor in the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, will lead a colloquium on proton beam therapy for cancer patients at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, in Room 200 of Faraday West.
Coutrakon is doing consulting work for NIU, which last month received more than $3 million in funding to begin planning for a proposed particle therapy treatment and research program.
The university currently operates the NIU Institute for Neutron Therapy at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In many types of cancer, proton and neutron therapies are advantageous over traditional forms of radiation. Proton therapy offers great advantages for pediatric patients, in particular.
NIU, which frequently collaborates with both Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory, has been building a program in medical physics and related health practices. The university is proposing a new treatment program that would include proton therapy, greatly expanding the range of treatable diseases.
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 Two world-famous news organizations have taken a liking to NIU English Professor Amy Newman, an award-winning poet and teacher.
Newman has been named as the new poetry critic at the Chicago Sun-Times and this month is serving as online poet-in-residence for the British newspaper, the Guardian, based in London.
Both appointments come on the heels of Newman’s latest collection of poetry, titled “fall,” which was re-released in paperback in August. In the book, each of the 72 different definitions of the title word engenders a poem.
Newman queried the Sun-Times this past summer, asking if the paper would review the book even though it doesn’t typically critique poetry. “The editor wrote back and said, ‘You’re right, we don’t do poetry. But we should,’ ” Newman said.
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 Gene Roth wants NIU professors to get serious – about laughter.
“One of the things I realized when I won my presidential teaching award was that how I am perceived as a professor is greatly influenced by my use of humor,” says Roth, a Distinguished Teaching Professor honored in 2001.
“When I looked around the university, I saw it was nowhere to be found in preparing teachers. The word ‘humor’ was not in the graduate catalogue – until I developed my graduate level course on humor and adult learning,” he adds. “Whether faculty members realize it or not, their use of humor greatly influences how they are perceived by students.”
So Roth, who freely admits he’s no standup comedian, is on a mission to add levity to classrooms across campus.
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 Samie Chaudhry is a walking advertisement for a daily planner.
The NIU senior is scheduled to graduate in May with a bachelor of science degree with a double major in political science and geography. His grade point average in rigorous honors courses is 3.97. And throughout college he has juggled a dizzying array of extracurricular activities, from tutoring high school students to serving as the undergraduate representative on a search committee for a new NIU dean.
The 22-year-old from west-suburban Bartlett also has been working for months on an honors thesis analyzing the role of U.S. domestic politics in F-16 fighter jet sales to Pakistan over a 30-year span.
How does he manage his time? “The key is keeping a planner,” laughs Chaudhry, “and actually using it.”
The hard work, dedication and organization have generated numerous awards and honors, but none more prestigious than the most recent. Chaudhry has been named as the 2007 Student Lincoln Laureate at NIU.
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 Schools in Aurora West District 129 have an additional $250,000 to make them safer, thanks in part to the NIU College of Education.
Officials from the college’s Research, Evaluation and Policy Studies (REPS) office helped to design and write a federal grant request to the U.S. Department of Education under the Emergency Response and Crisis Management program.
The district is one of 74 in 26 states to receive awards totaling more than $23 million to assist them in preparing, responding and recovering from crises.
“Knowing how to respond in a crisis, and the ability to do so quickly, is critical to ensuring the safety of our schools and students,” U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said in a statement.
Brent Wholeben, director of the REPS office, said NIU’s prominence begot the invitation from the district for the year’s worth of pro bono work.
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 Like a friendly ghost in the attic, NIU’s Haunted Physics Laboratory just won’t go away.
Now in its fourth year, the popular haunted lab will be staged from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, in the lower level of Faraday Hall on NIU’s DeKalb campus.
Geared for families with students in kindergarten through eighth-grade, the event is free and open to the public, although children must be accompanied by adults.
“The haunted lab isn’t designed to be scary,” says Pati Sievert, coordinator of NIU’s Frontier Physics outreach program, which stages the event. “We view Halloween as a learning opportunity. Real science can be every bit as intriguing as ghosts and goblins.”
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 The NIU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry invites the public to celebrate National Chemistry Week (Oct. 22 to Oct. 28) with an evening of chemical demonstrations.
The event will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in Faraday Hall 143. The theme is “Your Home – It’s All Built on Chemistry.”
NIU Chemistry Club members will conduct a dramatic “thermite reaction,” converting rust to molten iron; show how iron will burn more easily than people think; demonstrate how polyurethane, a foam insulation and common building material, is made; and create mirrors by plating silver onto a glass surface.
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All university employees (faculty, civil service, supportive professional staff, graduate assistants, extra help and student workers) must participate in mandatory Internet-based ethics training in accordance with the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (SOEEA).
Training will take place between Wednesday, Oct. 18, and Thursday, Nov. 16. Notices are being sent to all employees via GroupWise and campus mail. Those who do not comply are subject to the possibility of substantial fines and disciplinary action.
More information is available on the Human Resource Services Web site at www.hr.niu.edu under Ethics Training or at (815) 753-6000.
Huskie Athletics has received numerous emails and phone calls on how the university community wants to help NIU football player Garrett Wolfe win the Heisman Trophy. Your vote can count.
Heisman Trophy Winners are determined by votes from 924 electors representing sportswriters and broadcasters.
As the presenting sponsor for the Heisman Trophy, Nissan has the privilege of casting one official vote for the winner of the Heisman Trophy. Fans can voice their opinions through “TheHeismanVote.com.”
The winning athlete of the public’s vote will receive one vote in the official Heisman Trophy selection process. Throughout the college football season, fans can vote once per weekly voting period (from 1 p.m. CST Monday through 12:59 p.m. CST the next Monday).
Be sure to enter “Vote Heisman, presented by Nissan” after casting votes for a chance to win a trip for two to New York City to attend the 2006 Heisman Trophy Awards Show.
The School of Art Faculty Biennial, on display in the Jack Olson Memorial Gallery until Tuesday, Oct. 24, celebrates NIU School of Art faculty research and artistry.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. Call (815) 753-4521 for more information.
Faculty intending to purchase regalia can visit with Josten’s personnel from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the service desk on the lower level of University Bookstore for fittings.
Call (815) 753-1082 for more information.
NIU’s Campus Child Care Center will host its annual Children’s Book Fair during the week of Oct. 23 at the center along Annie Glidden Road just west of Gabel Hall.
The book fair will be open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
Come browse through a wide selection with multiple copies of books, early readers, parent resource materials, calendars and more. Approximately 1,800 books and other items are available for purchase. Checks and credit cards are welcome.
The center’s main entrance can be accessed by the circle drive in front of the white stone building in parking lot 38. Call (815) 753-0125 for more information.
A drunk, a gambler, an actor turned junkie, a transvestite and an out-of-work immigrant with his dying wife might all be inhabitants of the mean streets of Chicago, but in fact, they are actually characters in a play at NIU.
Opening Oct. 26, the junior class of the School of Theatre and Dance will present Charles Mee’s play, “Time to Burn,” in Stevens Building Players Theatre.
The black-box Players Theatre space will be transformed into the basement of an abandoned factory, inhabited by these social outcasts, asking each other, “Why life, why love and why this?”
This play is adult-oriented, charged with political themes and erotic scenes, and may not be suitable for people younger than 14.
The performances run Oct. 26 through Oct. 29, and Nov. 1 through Nov. 5. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $14 for adults, $8 for seniors and $7 for students. Tickets are available at the box office in Stevens Building O’Connell Theatre lobby weekdays from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.
For information and reservations, contact the NIU School of Theatre and Dance Box Office at (815) 753-1600 or visit their Web site at www.niu.edu/theatre.
NIU composition instructor Loren Hecht will present an upbeat, inspiring one-woman show in which audience members learn through music and storytelling why reading is important.
The performance will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center.
“Once Upon a Time, Discovering the Magic in Reading” is a colorful, interactive play written by Hecht in collaboration with her brother, Bruce, in response to what she has seen as a marked decline in active reading and reading comprehension skills among today’s college students.
Hecht believes the show will appeal to a broad audience, including literacy volunteers and professionals, middle school students and their parents, education faculty and students, librarians and others interested in literacy and story performance.
The show runs 45 minutes with a 15-minute discussion following. A $3 donation is requested; educators with ID are admitted free. The event is funded in part by the Mary E. Stevens Concert & Lecture Fund.
The DeKalb Area Women’s Center is located at 1021 State Street in DeKalb and is on Huskie Bus Route 7. The accessible lift can be reached from the alley on the north side of the building. Parking is provided one-half block south off of 11th Street.
For further information, contact DAWC director Anna Marie Coveny at (815) 758-1351.
NIU’s Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center and Human Resource Services are offering grants up to $1,000 each to Supportive Professional Staff (SPS) pursuing professional development activities that benefit the individuals as well as their units.
To be considered for one of these grants, candidates must have completed a minimum of two years of at least half-time employment as Supportive Professional Staff at NIU and should have demonstrated an interest in professional growth supporting the instructional, research or service functions of the university.
Academic or support service units can submit proposals for arranging programs (not already available at NIU) that benefit a large group of SPS in their units or several units.
Five copies of each proposal, including cover sheet, letters of support and other relevant documents, must be submitted to the SPS Awards Committee, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, 319 Adams Hall, by Friday, Nov. 17, for activities proposed between January and June 2007.
Complete proposal guidelines, cover sheet and a sample proposal can be found on the Web.
SPS who plan to submit a proposal by the deadline and need more information are encouraged to register to attend the SPS Development Grant Writing Seminar from noon to 1 pm Friday, Nov. 3. Register online or e-mail facdev@niu.edu.
The NIU-NATIONS Pow-Wow takes place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Student Recreation Center. Grand Entry is scheduled for 1 and 7 p.m.
The event features Native American dance, food, crafts and music, and is free for all. Invited drums only.
For more information, call Michael Augsburger at (815) 753-1406, David Armstrong at (815) 501-7089 or e-mail NiuNations@yahoo.com.
The Spring 2007 Course Offerings are available online on the NIU Course Finder.
A printable Schedule of Classes in Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) and a printable PDF file of the registration information pages (such as the semester calendar, add/drop deadlines, TRACS timetables, etc.) is online at www.reg.niu.edu. Click on “Schedule of Classes & Registration Information.”
Registration for Spring 2007 begins the week of Nov. 6.
Registration time assignments are assigned to undergraduate students based on the total number of credit hours earned at the completion of the Summer 2006 term, including transfer, proficiency and NIU hours. Graduate students and students-at-large are assigned registration times alphabetically based on the first letter of the last name within the classification.
Students can logon to WebConnect and choose “TRACS Registration Eligible Times” for the specific day and time they become eligible to register. Students also can view encumbrances (holds) that might prevent registration by choosing “Encumbrances” on WebConnect.
The 2006 State and University Employees Combined Appeal (SECA) campaign continues through Nov. 10. Employees have an important opportunity to support various organizations and agencies that provide critical charitable services locally and globally.
“Discover the Gift of Giving” through payroll deduction or check. For more information, call Terry Kessler at (815) 753-6037 or Barb Rice at (815) 753-0458.
Help new students adjust to college life by sharing your own personal experiences from NIU.
Gain leadership skills and teaching experience by aiding faculty and staff in planning course activities, facilitating class discussions and providing information to students on a peer level.
Have fun knowing that you are making a difference in the NIU community.
Applications are due Nov. 22. Positions are limited, however, so apply early. For more information, visit the First-Year Connections Web site or contact the staff at firstconn@niu.edu or (815) 753-0028.
In recognition of National Career Development Month, the Career Resource Center will host an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, in Campus Life Building 235. Come see the newest Web sites and technology and meet the team.
Desserts and punch will be served. Call (815) 753-1641 for more information.
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