February 26, 2007, Northern Today Abridged

A mother’s influence

NIU celebrates Women’s History Month
with 23 events, focus on motherhood

NIU has nearly two dozen events on tap to highlight its Women’s History Month celebration in March. This year’s theme is “Re-Defining Motherhood.”

“We’re focusing on motherhood this year because it’s a universal theme. Even if women aren’t or can’t be mothers, they have had experiences with mothers and mother figures. The same is true of men,” said Amy Levin, director of the Women’s Studies Program at NIU.

The Women’s Studies Program, together with numerous co-sponsors, has planned many programs and activities throughout the month that will critically examine how the institution of motherhood and its relevance to women’s lives are changing.

A complete schedule of lectures, exhibits, performances and other activities can be found online at http://www.clas.niu.edu/wstudies/whmcurrent.htm.

Among the highlights:

Thursday, March 1

• This year’s Women’s History Month celebration will kick off with “This is What a Feminist Looks Like” Sticker Day, an event that aims to show that the faces of feminism are as varied as the faces of our nation. Stickers are available in Reavis Hall 103.
• An opening reception for “The Little Black Dress,” an exhibit showcasing the evolution of 20th-century fashion through the long and short “little black dress,” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Nehring Gallery, 111 S. Second St. Barbara Cole Peters is curator of the exhibit.
• An opening reception will be held for the Women’s History Month Annual Art Exhibit from 4 to 6 p.m. at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center, 1021 State St., DeKalb. 
• Throughout the month, Founders Memorial Library will display books, images and other materials related to the month’s motherhood theme. The displays can be viewed on the first and fourth floors during the library's normal operating hours.

Friday-Sunday, March 2-4

• The Women’s Alliance brings back three performances of “The Vagina Monologues.” The performances will be held in Diversions Lounge of Holmes Student Center, beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Donations will go to local charities that support women.

Monday, March 5

• Susan J. Douglas, the Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor and chair of communication studies at the University of Michigan, will give an informal seminar on representations of women in the media, as well as on methods for analyzing media images. The seminar will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the Heritage Room of Holmes Student Center. Douglas will also give a public lecture based on her book, “The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it has Undermined Women,” at 7 p.m. in the Barsema Hall auditorium. 

Wednesday, March 7

• The International Women’s Day Luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. in the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall. Chien-Juh Gu will discuss her research on Taiwanese women immigrants in the Chicago area. There is an $8 fee for lunch. For reservations, call (815) 753-9614.

Thursday, March 22

• Betsy Beaulieu, assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies at Appalachian State University, will use issues related to race and class that emerge in Showtime’s award-winning show, “Weeds,” as a springboard for investigating stereotypes of motherhood within a context of feminist and African-American critical theory and scholarship. The seminar begins at 9:30 a.m. in Room 100 of the Campus Life Building. Beaulieu will give a public lecture at 4 p.m. in the Heritage Room of Holmes Student Center, examining the positive and negative depictions of African-American motherhood in Rita Dove’s poetry.

Tuesday, March 27

• Marla Buchanan will discuss her experience as the mother of an abducted child and will examine U.S. government policy on international child abduction. Buchanan’s presentation will take place at noon in Reavis Hall 103.
• The Women’s Alliance will present the “Vagina Seminar: Re-imagining Women’s Bodies,” an event that promises to answer “what you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.” The seminar begins at 7 p.m. in DuSable Hall 176.

Thursday, March 29

• NIU’s Women’s Studies Program will host a panel discussion examining various women’s experiences of motherhood. Panelists will include a mother of a special-needs child, a lesbian stepmother and an expatriate mother. The discussion begins at noon in Room 100 of the Campus Life Building.

Saturday, March 31

• The final event on NIU’s Women’s History Month calendar is a lecture by Toril Moi, who will give the keynote presentation at the 15th Annual Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language and Media (MCLLM). Moi is the James B. Duke Professor of Literature & Romance Studies at Duke University. Her lecture will begin at 8 p.m. in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.

All events are open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, are free. Sign language interpreters will be provided upon request; call (815) 753-6515. One week’s notice is preferred.

Event sponsors include the NIU Women’s Studies Program, Graduate Colloquium Committee, College of Business, Women’s Resource Center, Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, Nehring Center Gallery, NIU Alumni Association, School of Art, School of Family, Consumer & Nutrition Sciences, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences External Programming, University Women’s Club, College of Visual & Performing Arts, Women’s Alliance, DeKalb Area Women’s Center and the departments of Marketing, English, Communication and Political Science.

For further information, call the Women’s Studies Program at (815) 753-1038.

Women’s History Month kicks off in ‘Little Black Dress’ style

When French designer Coco Chanel introduced her famous little black dress in 1926, Vogue magazine declared it was the fashion industry’s answer to the Model-T Ford. Indeed, the LBD, as it is now affectionately known, was an instant success and has become a wardrobe staple for women.

NIU will kick off its Women’s History Month celebration in March with an exhibit examining the evolution of this 20th-century fashion icon.

Curator Barbara Peters will present a gallery talk during the opening reception for “The Little Black Dress” exhibit from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1, in the Nehring Gallery, 111 S. Second Street, DeKalb.

Featuring more than 30 period examples of the LBD from Peters’ personal collection, the exhibit is free and open to the public and will run through the end of the month. Gallery hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays, from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and by appointment. 

“The most striking characteristics of the little black dress are simplicity, versatility and functionality,” said Peters, an honorary faculty affiliate of the NIU Women’s Studies Program and private collector of vintage women’s fashions.
“The Little Black Dress” exhibit boasts day dresses, evening dresses and evening gowns from each decade. In a few instances, the pieces are accompanied by matching accessories.

Those who attend the exhibit will journey through 20th-century fashion, seeing how fabrics, ornamentation, silhouettes and styles changed from one decade to another. The exhibit also provides a visual testament to the importance and staying power of the little black dress and its place as one of the century’s most significant fashion developments.

“While Chanel is credited with invention of the little black dress, in fact multiple designers contributed to its birth,” Peters said. “World War I profoundly changed society and its myriad of rules, including fashion rules. Black dresses by Chanel as well as other designers began to appear in the late teens and early 1920s.

“Chanel’s greatest gift was her ability to understand and design for her time,” Peters added. “Her 1926 black dress was simple, elegant and appeared comfortable to wear. Although other black dresses existed before, her 1926 design was the one by which all came to be defined.”

Pieces in the exhibit include a French-made satin and silk cut velvet evening dress from the teens; a 1920s black taffeta evening dress, decorated with gold bullion leaf embroidery; a 1940s two-piece afternoon dress with silver studs and matching hat and shoes; a French-made afternoon dress from the 1950s with elaborate micro pleating and Chantilly lace; and an evening gown from the 1980s that displays the exaggerated style so prevalent in that decade.

Related to the exhibit, the Nehring Gallery also will host Sarah Cosbey, associate professor of textiles, apparel and merchandising at NIU, for a lecture and discussion titled, “New Woman Style: Fashion and Women’s Roles at the Dawn of the 20th Century.” The event will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22, and also is free and open to the public. 

“The Little Black Dress” exhibit is co-sponsored by the NIU Women’s Studies Program; College of Visual & Performing Arts; School of Art; Alumni Association; School of Family, Consumer & Nutrition Sciences; Department of Communication; University Women’s Club; and College of Liberal Arts & Sciences External Programming.

For further information on the exhibit, call the Nehring Gallery at (815) 758-6363.

NIU welcomes Susan Douglas, author of ‘The Mommy Myth’

NIU’s Women’s Studies Program is proud to announce that Susan J. Douglas, an award-winning author and nationally recognized expert on gender and the media, will visit campus to deliver two public lectures as part of the university’s celebration of Women’s History Month.

Douglas is the Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and chair of the department. She has appeared as a guest expert on a variety of television and radio shows, including “The Today Show” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” as well as NPR’s “Fresh Air,” “Weekend Edition,” “The Diane Rehm Show” and “Talk of the Nation.”

Douglas will present a public lecture, titled “The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined Women,” at 7 p.m. Monday, March 5, in the Barsema Hall auditorium. Earlier in the day, she will hold an informal seminar, titled “Researching Women in the Media.” It will take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Heritage Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Both of the events are free and open to the public. Sign language interpreters are available upon request by calling (815) 753-6515 V/TTY. (One week’s notice is preferred.)

Douglas’s lecture will focus on motherhood and the media. Specifically, she will examine the rise of what she calls the “new momism,” a romanticized notion of the perfect mother whose standards of success are impossible to achieve.

Douglas will pay special attention to the role of the mass media in helping to construct and reinforce the “new momism.” The lecture will be based on research Douglas conducted for her most recent book, “The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women,” co-authored with Meredith Michaels.

As the media becomes ever more pervasive in society, consumers increasingly need to be equipped with skills in media literacy. Douglas’s seminar will introduce participants to the process of conducting research on representations of women in the media. She will also discuss methods for analyzing media images.

Douglas is particularly well qualified to address these issues. In addition to countless scholarly and journalistic articles, she is the author of a number of books that focus on the media, including “The Mommy Myth,” “Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media” and “Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination,” which won the Hacker Prize in 2000 for best popular book about technology and culture.

Douglas has received many awards and honors, including two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for research on the representation of women in the media. She is a board member for the prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards. Douglas has also served on advisory councils for the Media Education Foundation, the Library of American Broadcasting and the American Studies Association.

The lecture and seminar are co-sponsored by the Graduate Colloquium Committee, Women’s Studies Program and College of Business, as well as by the departments of marketing and political science. For further information on the events, call the Women's Studies Program at (815) 753-1044.

Illinois congressional members pledge support
for NIU's plan to build proton cancer treatment, research center

Support continues to grow for NIU’s plan to bring proton therapy, the most sophisticated form of cancer treatment available today, to Chicago’s western suburbs.

NIU President John Peters earlier this month traveled to Washington, D.C., where members of the Illinois congressional delegation pledged to back the plan to build a world-class cancer treatment and research center at the DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago.

The center will eventually treat 1,500 patients annually, providing state-of-the-art proton therapy to patients across Illinois and the Midwest.

Proton therapy is an advanced, highly effective form of radiation treatment, utilizing proton beams to treat cancer. Non-invasive and painless, it is a preferred treatment in certain adult and pediatric cancers. Although the treatment is covered by numerous insurance plans, proton therapy is currently unavailable in Illinois.

“I’m thrilled to see that NIU has taken the lead to bring proton therapy to the people of Illinois,” said U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.). “This cancer treatment facility will save lives and improve the quality of life for countless others. I’m happy to support this plan.”

LaHood was joined by U.S. Reps. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Danny Davis (D-Ill.) in voicing their support for the plan.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) pledged to work on behalf of the center when plans were unveiled in October. NIU is seeking state and federal funds to cover roughly one-third of the estimated $120 million project cost.

“Our Illinois representatives in Congress are of one voice on the NIU proton therapy project,” Peters said. “They understand the necessity of bringing proton therapy, a technology that was advanced decades ago at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, back home to Illinois. The treatment and research center will be a major resource for cancer patients, as well as for students in numerous health-related fields, and further establish the state as a worldwide leader in health care technologies.”

The university has received $3.3 million in federal funding for formal planning of a non-profit proton therapy center at the DuPage National Technology Park. The park is contiguous to the northern boundary of Fermilab, which in the mid-1980s developed the first U.S.-based proton-therapy accelerator for use at a cancer treatment center in California.

Proton therapy is now recognized as the most precise and advanced form of radiation treatment available today, according to the National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT). Conventional radiation often radiates healthy tissue in its path and surrounding the tumor site. In contrast, proton therapy more efficiently targets the tumor, thus leaving intact the surrounding healthy tissue and organs. Patients experience minimal side effects, if any.

The NIU center will deliver proton therapy for the treatment of pediatric, prostate and head/neck cancers, as well as for treatment of patients suffering from certain ophthalmologic disorders. The facility also will advance research while educating and training health professionals in the growing field of particle therapy. NIU intends to partner with area academic medical centers, hospitals and physicians to provide this treatment.

Once funding is secured, the university will break ground in 2008 on a facility with four separate treatment rooms. The center complex is expected to total about 100,000 square feet of space on 13 acres of tech-park land. Plans call for treatments to begin in 2011.

What Illinois members of Congress say
about NIU’s proton therapy plan

“I commend the leadership at NIU for seeking to make this life-saving technology available in Illinois. I fully support the project and look forward to working with NIU to make this plan a reality.”

— U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

“While thousands of patients have realized the benefits of this cancer treatment, proton therapy is currently unavailable in Illinois. Yet this advanced technology was realized at Fermilab. The NIU plan, in a real sense, will bring this resource back home to Illinois.”

— U.S. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill., 14th District)

“This cancer treatment facility will be both a technological and economical boon for the state of Illinois. But most importantly, it will save lives.”

— U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill., 16th District)

“We all have friends and relatives who have suffered the devastating effects of cancer. The people of Illinois will benefit from easy access to the very best treatment options that are available. In the heart of the suburbs and next to a regional airport, the location of the NIU proton therapy facility would seem ideal.”

— U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill., 8th District)

“I’m delighted to be able to work on behalf of the NIU plan. It will cement Illinois’ reputation as being on the cutting-edge of health care technology and help the state continue to train and produce the most knowledgeable and advanced medical specialists in the world.”

— U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill., 3rd District)
Vice Chair, Science and Technology Committee

“This is an important, collaborative effort that promises to bring together the best and brightest minds in the medical profession across Illinois and beyond.”

— U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill., 7th District)

“I’m thrilled to see that NIU has taken the lead to bring proton therapy to the people of Illinois. This cancer treatment facility will save lives and improve the quality of life for countless others.”

— U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill., 18th District)

“NIU’s proton therapy facility will give doctors an important new weapon in the fight against cancer.”

— U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill., 13th District)

“Proton therapy holds great promise for thousands of cancer patients in Illinois, the Midwest and beyond.”

— U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, (D-Ill., 9th District)

CoE mourns passing of longtime chair

Getschman was college's first doctoral graduate

Keith Getschman was the superintendent of schools in Stillman Valley when he earned a place in the NIU history books.

In the spring of 1965, Getschman became the first person to earn a doctoral degree from the NIU College of Education. That fall, Ed.D. in educational administration in hand, he fulfilled a longtime ambition to become a professor by joining the faculty in his alma mater.

Only five years later, he was named chairman of the department of educational administration and services.

Retired since 1984, by which time the department had become Leadership and Educational Policy Studies, Getschman died Feb. 14 in DeKalb. He was 79.

“He treasured his time at NIU. He was proud of his contributions to the Leadership and Educational Policy Studies area,” said his wife, Mary Lou Getschman. “He was just very devoted to the university, and very proud of being a Huskies fan. We had season tickets to football and men’s and women’s basketball for years and years.”

“Keith was a wonderful department chair,” said Wilma Miranda, chair of the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations.

Miranda joined NIU when Getschman chaired the then-Department of Leadership and Educational Policy Studies.

“One of the things that made him so effective was that he had a strong commitment to the university, to higher education and to the academy. He was also a bridging person between the public school sector we serve and the academy,” she added. “He was very fair and a very honorable person with a high sense of integrity that no one questioned, even when they disagreed with him. We were young and naïve, and spouted our own opinions, but he never reacted to that in a negative way. You got the feeling there was space for that.”

“He was very fair and believed in participatory governance,” agreed Bob Rosemier, who retired 14 years ago from teaching graduate courses in statistics. “He was always upfront, and you knew where he stood.”

Jim Lockard, director of the College of Education’s Learning Center, is another Getschman hire.

“He was a kindly, fatherly figure, and always pleasant to visit with,” Lockard said. “He took a personal interest in his staff, and people were quite loyal to him.”

Born May 2, 1927, in Milwaukee, Getschman began his teaching career in Stillman Valley and kicked off the high school’s football program.

During his time at NIU, he was active in the Illinois Association of School Business Officials and held leadership positions.

He also served in 1973 as chairman of the Admissions Policies and Academic Standards Committee, which recommended to the University Council to place a greater emphasis on high school class rank and less on test scores. That change took effect with the freshman class of 1974.

In the late 1970s, he and two NIU colleagues consulted for the Rockford School District on a three- to five-year plan for facility utilization.

Getschman, James Heald and Nicholas DeLuca drafted a controversial plan that recommended the closure of 11 school buildings. School board members did followed that advice in 1981.

Despite Getschman’s record of active and strong leadership, Miranda said her boss was a quiet and thoughtful man.

“Even if things weren’t going his way, he was always unfailingly courteous,” she said. “He had a wonderful sense of humor and this slow smile.”

The College of Education now honors outstanding alumni from its educational leadership program with an annual award named for Getschman. Faculty in educational administration from the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations inaugurated the award.

“He was just floored by that. He was so honored. It just gave him a warm feeling,” Mary Lou Getschman said. “He was just a great guy – so many people remember his smile – and he enjoyed working with people. His faculty were like his family in many respects, and he was proud of what they could do and what they did do to enhance the whole program.”

Career Services hosts record setting Spring Job Fair

Thousands of students poured into the NIU Convocation Center last week … and not just for the John Mayer concert.

While the Grammy Award-winning rocker got most of the attention, the Convocation Center also played host to the annual Spring Job Fair, an event that drew a record 250 employers and nearly 1,000 students.

“It was a huge success,” said Cindy Henderson, acting director of NIU Career Services. “The 250 employers were the maximum that we could accommodate, and we had to turn several away.”

Henderson offers a simple explanation for the popularity of the job fair, which has been the largest on any campus in the state for many years.

“Employers tell us again and again that they come here because they are so pleased with the quality of NIU graduates. They like the discipline, time management skills and professional demeanor of the students they meet here. They also tell us that students leave NIU well prepared for real world careers.”

That enthusiasm for NIU graduates holds true for long-time fair participants such as Walgreens, which scheduled interviews with 65 of the students that its recruiters met.

It’s also true for newcomers. Finansure, a residential mortgage lender, approached Henderson at the fair to say that not only would it return but to schedule a meeting to establish an ongoing working relationship with her office.

While the Spring Job Fair is the biggest event of the year on the Career Services calendar, it is just one of many events hosted by the office, all designed to make students more aware of career opportunities and to help them land that first job.

For instance, just one week prior to the Spring Job Fair, Career Services hosted the Spring Internship Fair at the Convocation Center, attracting 95 employers and agencies and 750 students.

Fall versions of both the job and internship fairs drew numbers just slightly lower than their spring counterparts. The department also hosts a job fair specifically for education majors, which draws well.

Career Services staff believe it's never too early for students to begin preparing for the job hunt. They work with students as early as freshman year to make them aware of career testing and counseling services and host seminars on resume-writing and job-interviewing skills.

It's an important part of the NIU experience, Henderson said.

“We call it the Spring Job Fair, but we hold it in February to give our students a jump on everyone else who is going to be graduating and looking for a job in May,” she said. “When they leave NIU, we want them to have not only a diploma in hand, but also a job.”

NIU awards scholarship to Elgin principal

DeKalb — Ryan Anderson, principal of Creekside Elementary School in Elgin, is the recipient of Northern Illinois University’s 2007 Crowell Scholarship in Educational Administration.

Anderson, 31, is a student in the doctoral program in educational administration in the NIU Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations.

He holds a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he also obtained his superintendent’s certification. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University.

The Crowell Scholarship was established in 1997 by Dr. Thomas R. Crowell Jr. and Mrs. Judith F. Crowell, both graduates of the NIU College of Education. The fund awards a scholarship each year to an outstanding student enrolled in the educational administration program to assist him or her in completing an education degree.

Anderson also served as assistant principal at Hadley Junior High School in Glen Ellyn, Ill., assistant principal and science and math teacher at Waterloo High School in Waterloo, Ill., and math teacher at South Tama County High School in Tama, Iowa.

He has coached football and tennis, and holds memberships in the Illinois Principals Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals and Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Society.

Anderson and his wife, Treva, are parents to son Gavin.

‘Locks of Love’ drive at NIU seeks
donations of hair from community

NIU’s Health Professions House and College of Health and Human Sciences will host a hair donation drive Monday, April 2, to benefit the Locks of Love Organization.

Members of the NIU and DeKalb County communities are invited to participate in the drive from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Diversions Lounge of the Holmes Student Center. Last year’s event was a great success: More than 20 ponytails were donated.

Stylists from area and regional salons have donated their afternoons to provide haircuts free of charge for individuals willing to donate 10 inches (or more) of hair. For persons who cannot donate this amount but still would like to participate, regular haircuts will be given for a $10 each with all proceeds donated to Locks of Love.

Contrary to popular belief, individuals with colored (dyed) hair in good condition still can donate their locks. Only completely bleached hair or recently permed hair cannot be donated.

Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization that provides recipients with a custom, vacuum-fitted hairpiece made entirely from donated human hair. The vacuum-fit is designed for children who have experienced a total loss of scalp hair and does not require the use of tape or glue.

Most of the applicants suffer from an autoimmune condition called alopecia areata, for which there is no known cause or cure. Others suffered from severe burns, or endured radiation treatment to the brain stem, in addition to many other dermatological conditions that result in permanent hair loss. If you know a child who need the organization’s help, please contact the event coordinators or Locks of Love for an application.

The organization, which began in 1997, has helped more than 1,400 children since its fist year of operation. Thousands of bundles of donated hair arrive from around the country as a result of national publicity Locks of Love receives in newspapers, magazines, and television programs. Children comprise more than 80 percent of the donors, making this a charity where children have an opportunity to help children.

For more information about the donation drive, call (815) 753-1891.

Friends of NIU Libraries will help
determine worth of your rare books

Ever wonder what that old book that grandma gave you might be worth? Or how about that first-edition children’s classic, or your coveted comic book? Friends of NIU Libraries can help.

The group will hold a Book Appraisal Fair from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 18, in the Marshall Gallery of Swen Parson Hall on the NIU campus. The event is open to the public.

“It’s like the ‘Antiques Roadshow,’ but with books,’ said Angie Schroeder, a senior library specialist who is helping organize the event.

Appraisals will cost $5 per book or set, although members of the Friends of NIU Libraries will receive their first seven book appraisals free of charge. Thomas Joyce of Thomas J. Joyce & Company and the Chicago Rare Book Center, who has also appeared on HGTV’s “Appraisal Fair,” and Bill Butts of Main Street Fine Books in Galena will serve as book appraisers.

“The Friends of NIU Libraries wanted to put together an event that would be really inviting to the public,” said Lynne Thomas, head of rare books and special collections for NIU Libraries and the faculty liaison to the Friends.

“The market for rare books is quite active,” she added. “We hope that the fair will draw a wide range of people, from those who might be curious about something they found on their shelves, to those serious collectors who want to show off their prizes and see what other people have.”

Thomas receives frequent inquiries from people wanting information about book values but is prohibited by law from providing appraisals. Old books aren’t inherently valuable, she cautioned, while some new books could have great value, depending on market trends.

“First-edition children’s books that are in good condition tend to be quite collectible,” Thomas said. “African-American-related materials have had a surge recently. Civil War materials are always sought after, and in Illinois, so are materials related to Abraham Lincoln.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Friends of the NIU Libraries. More information about the Friends can be found online at http://www.niulib.niu.edu/friends/.

For more information on the book fair, call (815) 753-8091.

Kudos

Two faculty members in the School of Art’s printmaking division have received funding from the Illinois Arts Council. The grants are highly competive and only offered every other year for visual artists.

Ashley Nason, assistant professor of art in printmaking, received an Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Grant award for $7,000. Her work can be viewed online at http://www.niu.edu/art/faculty/nason.html.

Michael Barnes, associate professor of art in printmaking, received an Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Grant Finalist award for $700. It’s the second IAC grant for Barnes, who received the full $7,000 award in 2001. His work is available online at www.michaelbarnes.us.

Africanist to speak at NIU College of Law

Africanist law professor Jeremy Levitt, an associate professor of law at Florida International College of Law and a former special assistant to the managing director for global human and social development at the World Bank Group, will give a public talk at noon today at the College of Law faculty conference room.

The presentation is titled “Illegal Peace: Power-Sharing with Warlords in Africa.”

Levitt has traveled, researched or worked in 22 African countries as a diplomatic trainee with the State Department, Bureau for African Affairs, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; as a legal aide to the Constitutional Assembly of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa during that country’s constitution-making process; and as an election observer in Liberia’s first democratic election.

He is a term member of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, the United States’ premier think tank on world affairs, and a patron of the American Society of International Law (ASIL). He is a regular contributor to the Chicago Sun-Times and has been a frequent source for the national and international media, including Fox News Live, BET Nightly News, National Public Radio and the Chicago Tribune.

Faculty needed for fall UNIV 101/102

Want to teach one of the most rewarding classes on campus and help incoming students learn how to succeed in their first-year at NIU? Become a UNIV 101/201 instructor for fall 2007.

UNIV 101 is a one-credit, 12-week course aimed to help freshmen develop the essential academic and social skills needed to make a successful and enjoyable transition into NIU. UNIV 201 is a similar course designed specifically for NIU transfer students.

More than 83 sections were offered last fall, and more than 57 percent of first-time freshmen enrolled in one of these courses. Teaching UNIV 101/201 provides the opportunity to learn about incoming students and help them adjust to life at NIU.

An instructor overview session for all interested faculty and staff will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. today and Thursday, March 8, in the Heritage Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Instructor candidates must be a current or retired member of the NIU faculty, staff, or administration, hold a master’s degree and have prior experience teaching at the high school or college level. Candidates who do not meet the last two criteria can be paired with a teaching coach.

UNIV 101/201 instructors typically receive a stipend of $1,000 for teaching a section or $500 for co-instructing a section. More information and application materials are available online at http://www.orientation.niu.edu/orientation/FYC/InstructorApplications.htm or by e-mail at firstconn@niu.edu.

Women’s Resource Center offers
advice on making life changes

NIU women who want to make a life change, big or small, but are unsure of how to do so can find help at the Women’s Resource Center, 105 Normal Road.

Support is available from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, and Tuesday, March 6. Women can learn how to develop, set and achieve goals while helping each other in the process.

For more information, call Sarah Breithaupt or Marianne Tomlinson at (815) 753-0320.

Support group available for women back in school

NIU’s Women’s Resource Center is offering “Back to Your Future,” a support group for women who have returned to school.

The group helps its members to build a network of emotional and practical support, manage barriers and challenges, identify transferable skills and feel empowered to manage life’s many roles.

Meetings are from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. Wednesdays through April 25, excluding March 14, at the Women’s Resource Center, 105 Normal Road. Call Sarah Breithaupt or Marianne Tomlinson at (815) 753-0320 for more information.

Retirement reception to honor Mary Lou Rempfer

Mary Lou Rempfer, manager of the Holmes Student Center Blackhawk Food Court, is retiring after 25 years of service to NIU.

Join in celebrating Mary Lou’s retirement Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the Blackhawk Food Court. Cupcakes and coffee will be served from 9 to 11 a.m.; a sweet table and beverages from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. All are welcome.

Moreno lecture rescheduled

In honor of Black History Month, the Latino Resource Center and the Center for Black Studies present The African Presence in México.

The lecture by Cesáreo Moreno, the visual arts director of the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum (MFACM), takes place at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, March 1, at the Center for Black Studies. A reception is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Latino Resource Center.

Prior to 1995, Moreno was MFACM’s exhibitions coordinator for three years. His most important assignments at the museum have included curating “The African Presence in México, From Yanga to the Present,” a milestone traveling exhibition that surveyed nearly 500 years of Afro-Mexican history and artistic expressions.

The Latino Resource Center is located at 515 Garden Road and the Center for Black Studies is located at 701 W. Lincoln Highway. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, call (815) 753-1986.

GroupWise interface to change

GroupWise WebAccess has been upgraded to GroupWise WebAccess 7 and will have a new interface as well as new features starting March 1.

Find out how to use the new GroupWise WebAccess 7 features and interface. Learn more, visit http://its.niu.edu.

Users on campus and/or those with an NIU IP address, explore the Online Tutorials for the GroupWise 7 Client and WebAccess at: http://www.its.niu.edu.

Training offered for new classroom technology

The computer monitors in the Provost-sponsored general purpose classrooms located in Anderson, Cole, Faraday, Faraday West and Montgomery halls will be replaced with new interactive monitors during Spring Break.

These new touch screens enable software to be activated by using a stylus instead of a computer mouse. The stylus also can be used to annotate and highlight over information displayed on the computer monitor in a variety of ways.

Users are invited to attend an introductory training session on the use of these interactive displays Wednesday, March 7. SMART Technologies representatives will demonstrate the hardware and introduce the accompanying software at the following times and locations:

Cole Hall Auditorium 101, 9 to 10 a.m.
Still Gym 207, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Those unable to attend but who would like additional information about the interactive displays or other training opportunities can contact Jim Bollenbach at (815) 753-6677 or jbollenbach@niu.edu.

Nominees sought for Ally Awards

The LGBT Resource Center and the Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity are seeking nominations for the third annual Ally Awards, which recognize individuals, departments and groups who have shown support for the LGBT community over the 2006-2007 school year.

The Ally Awards were created to recognize the many ways people make NIU a better place for LGBT students, faculty and staff. All nominees who are qualified receive the award.

Nomination forms are available online at http://www.niu.edu/lgbt/allyawards.htm or at the LGBT Resource Center in the Holmes Student Center (HSC) room 707. The deadline for nominations is 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 9. They can be submitted to Patricia Liberty-Baczek at the LGBT Resource Center, by fax at (815) 753-2201 or by e-mail at lgbt@niu.edu. The awards ceremony will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, April 2, in the HSC Sky Room.

BAVC to host St. Patrick’s Day celebration

Come celebrate all things Irish at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Centers’ St. Patrick’s Day party from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10. Enjoy an Irish buffet, open bar and three types of live entertainment, including City of Chicago Pipe Band, Irish comedy and music by Paul McHugh, and two performances by the McNulty School of Irish Dance.

Tickets are $55 per person.

Register online at www.myniu.com or call the Alumni Association at (815) 753-1452. This event is presented by The Northern Illinois University Alumni Association.

Daylight Saving Time change begs
caution from NIU GroupWise users

Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States and Canada has been extended by three weeks in the spring and one week in the fall. This will affect some messages sent out by GroupWise or any other collaboration e-mail system. 

NIU’s GroupWise WebAccess system has been patched for the DST change effective March 1. Please note that appointments made before this time, via GroupWise WebAccess or from unpatched workstations, will still be affected by the new DST dates.

The problem is that appointments and other scheduled events sent out before workstations received the updated DST time zone changes might be off by one hour during the period from March 11 to March 31 as well as from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4.

To avoid confusion, ITS strongly suggests that, during this DST period, users include the intended time of day for appointments in the subject line of each appointment.

For more information about preparing for the DST change, visit http://www.its.niu.edu.

HSC Bookstore to close for inventory

The University Bookstore in the Holmes Student Center will close for inventory from Monday, March 12 through Wednesday, March 14. Regular store hours resume Thursday, March 15.

Remodeling project to move
Student Financial Aid/Veterans Office

NIU’s Student Financial Aid Office will move temporarily beginning Wednesday, March 14, to make room for a remodeling project.

The temporary location is Holmes Student Center Room 114, across from the Duke Ellington Ballroom and Capitol Room. Telephone numbers, e-mail and mailing addresses will remain the same for all areas.

For more information, and for project progress updates, check www.fa.niu.edu and click Contact Us. Completion of the remodeling is expected in August.

Nominees sought for Eychaner Award

The NIU Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Prism of NIU are seeking nominations for the Eychaner Award, presented annually to recognize individuals affiliated with NIU who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender community.

The award is presented in two categories, one recognizing contributions made by an NIU student and one recognizing the contributions of a faculty or staff member or an NIU alum.

A full description of the award, including eligibility and nomination guidelines, is available online at www.niu.edu/lgbt/eychaner.htm. The Web page also includes a list of past recipients and a printable nomination form. The nomination deadline is noon Friday, March 23.

Nomination forms also are available at the LGBT Resource Center on the seventh floor of the Holmes Student Center. For more information, contact the LGBT Resource Center at (815) 753-5428 or lgbt@niu.edu.

Northern Public Radio seeks volunteers

Northern Public Radio, the broadcast service of NIU, hosts its annual spring membership campaign from March 24 to March 31 at the NIU Broadcast Center, 801 North First Street in DeKalb.

During the campaign week, NPR relies on volunteers to help take pledges from callers. The task requires good communication skills: handling phone conversations and writing legibly within a busy environment. 

Volunteers find this is a great way to meet fellow WNIJ and WNIU listeners while providing a valuable service during a fun and lively week at the radio station.

Volunteers are welcome to sign up for just a couple of hours or for multiple shifts throughout the week as their schedules and interests allow. Campaign hours vary by day. Learn more about the stations at www.northernpublicradio.org or e-mail ddrake@niu.edu to find out how to get on the volunteering schedule.

Secretarial Advisory Council seeks additional members

The Secretarial Advisory Council (SAC) is an advisory group of secretaries whose mission is to identify issues and/or concerns that impact the secretarial workforce at NIU.

The SAC is looking for someone to serve on the council to assist in developing ideas to support and promote the vital role of secretaries in the NIU community. Interested secretaries should contact Rose Miller in Human Resource Services at (815) 753-6033.

2-26-07