January 16, 2007, Northern Today Abridged

NIU physicists help achieve quark-y milestone

Scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory continue to close in on the Higgs boson, considered by some to be the holy grail of particle physics.

NIU physicists and advanced students are part of a large team of scientists at Fermilab announcing the first evidence of single top quarks produced in a rare subatomic process involving the weak nuclear force.

The DZero collaboration, an international experiment conducted by physicists from 90 institutions and 20 countries, announced the milestone in December.

The result is an important test of predictions made by particle theory, such as the number of quarks that exist in nature, according to Fermilab. In the longer term, the techniques employed in the analysis could assist scientists in the search for the Higgs boson.

The Standard Model of particle physics – the best explanation scientists have of the origins of the universe – predicts the existence of the Higgs boson. Its detection would confirm the existence of the Higgs field, which is thought to permeate the universe. When particles interact with this field, they gain mass. Without mass, all particles would travel at the speed of light, never sticking together, and only these tiny mass-less particles would populate the universe.

NIU physicists Gerald Blazey, David Hedin, Michael Fortner and Dhiman Chakraborty are members of the DZero collaboration, and about 10 graduate or post-doctoral students from NIU have worked on the experiment in recent years.

“Finding evidence of the single top quark and its characteristics is a very significant accomplishment in the world of particle physics. Not only is the measurement interesting in its own right, it represents a key precursor to finding the Higgs,” Blazey said. He served on the DZero editorial board at Fermilab that spent three months reviewing the analysis prior to the announcement.

“Other events resulting from particle collisions can masquerade as events with the Higgs, producing something akin to false positives, so it’s important for scientists to understand all the data,” he added. “Single top quarks are extremely rare in nature.”

Starting from a million billion proton-antiproton collisions produced by Fermilab’s Tevatron, the world’s most powerful particle collider, the DZero collaboration used modern sophisticated analysis techniques to search for about 60 collisions, each containing a single top quark.

Up to now, scientists had observed the top quark only in subatomic processes involving the strong nuclear force, which produces pairs of top and antitop quarks. Those observations, made by both the DZero and CDF experiments at Fermilab, led to the discovery of the top quark in 1995.

NIU making regional history available online

More than 3,000 people visit the Regional History Center reading room each year at NIU to delve through Civil War diaries, peruse turn-of-the-century postcards and study yellowed business and government records from across the region.

Now NIU is bringing the reading room to the people.

University Libraries is creating an Internet-based digital library of historical materials from all corners of northern Illinois dating to the mid-19th century. The Illinois State Library provided a grant of about $20,000 for construction of the Web site, which will debut late next summer, complementing an already completed site on DeKalb County history.

Located on the fourth floor of Founders Memorial Library on the NIU campus, the Regional History Center is the official depository for local government and business records for 18 of 19 northern Illinois counties, the lone exception being Cook County. The Web site will feature highlights from the center’s collection, which boasts about 3,500 postcards dating back as far as 1895 and as many as 10,000 photographs.

The center also has a number of diaries that provide intimate accounts of the daily travails of life in the 19th century. The diaries range from those of Civil War soldiers to people who lived on farms or in small towns.

“People say, ‘Wouldn’t you like to go back to the good old days?’ ” said Glen Gildemeister, director of the Regional History Center. “If you read some of this stuff, you wouldn’t.

“For example, one extensive set of diaries is from a woman and her daughter who were both school teachers in Sandwich,” Gildemeister added. “The woman once broke her leg in the middle of winter while her husband was in Michigan buying feeder pigs. She basically sat there in her home without any help for weeks.”

The center collects original manuscripts and records generated by private individuals, institutions and organizations. Holdings include historical records of farmers and their organizations, businesses and retail stores, state and local politicians, churches, cemeteries, civic agencies, individuals, women’s organizations and labor unions.

“There’s a really wide range of text and images that we will be digitizing so it can be presented in a user-friendly format on the Web,” said Drew VandeCreek, who heads the NIU Libraries digitization unit.

“We’ll have historical images from places in all of the counties, including postcards from local communities. A century ago, postcards were much more prevalent than they are today. You also can learn a lot about what was going on in a town at the turn of the century by looking at the railroad records, which include photographs and business information.”

The Regional History Center also actively collects local histories, atlases and plat books, city directories, maps, posters, oral histories and genealogical journals.

“The new Web site will be a unique and easily accessed resource, not just for history buffs but also for teachers and students in college, high school and middle school,” VandeCreek said. “People will be able to learn about broad topics through a local lens, which helps make learning history more meaningful.”

Chicago Lighthouse honors professor with medal

Gaylen Kapperman’s lifelong devotion to advancing the education of people with blindness and visual impairments always has placed the Northern Illinois University professor in good company.

And now it’s official: Kapperman, longtime coordinator of the NIU College of Education’s Programs in Vision, is the winner of a Centennial Medal from the Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired.

Representatives from the Lighthouse surprised Kapperman with the medal last month during its year-long campaign to celebrate the organization’s 100th anniversary in 2006. One hundred medals were awarded.

“When we took a look at who has had an impact, and who should be recognized, Kap was at the top of that list,” said Jim Kesteloot, president of the Lighthouse and a fellow Centennial Medal winner. “Sometimes you can have a national treasure in your midst and not be aware of it. Kap is really a national treasure.”

“Kap’s been a leader in the field in training teachers. He’s an innovative thinker,” added Mary Zabelski, director of educational services at the Lighthouse. “Over the years, he has probably taught thousands of teachers who became teachers of the visually impaired in our state.”

Kesteloot, Zabelski and Marla Garstka, a Lighthouse employee and NIU alumna who last year was named a Kohl/McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Award winner, placed the medal around Kapperman’s neck.

The presentation, made at a Department of Teaching and Learning staff meeting, left the typically talkative Kapperman speechless.

“I was very surprised. There are more-deserving people than I,” said Kapperman, who is legally blind himself.

“I’ve known the Chicago Lighthouse folks for years, and have always held them in high regard,” he added. “Jim Kesteloot is a terrific advocate for blind and visually impaired people. His heart is in the right place, and he does his darndest to advocate in the state and federal government. I really admire him for that. He cares, and he’s effective.”

Kapperman’s colleagues, of course, support his worthiness for the award.

“We all know he was very deserving,” said Toni Heinze, who recently retired from the NIU College of Education after nearly 30 years alongside Kapperman. “He has worked continuously, both for individuals and issues. He has advocated for people’s rights, from the availability of appropriate educational materials for students with visual impairments to career and vocational opportunities.”

Kapperman came to NIU in 1974 as an assistant professor in special education.

Since then, the former math and German teacher has attracted millions of dollars in grant funding to train teachers of students with visual impairments. His grants also allow him to stay on top of new technologies and to explore their additional and perhaps unintended applications.

He remains a tireless recruiter of new students to his program, an enthusiastic promoter of their successes and a passionate advocate for people with blindness and visual impairments, one of the qualities that endears him to the Chicago Lighthouse.

When late-1960s and early-1970s advances in medicine and technology began to improve the survival rates for children of low birth weight – survival often coupled with blindness and multiple other disabilities – organizations such as the Lighthouse focused on the similarly growing need for certified teachers.

“Kap was at the root of training teachers in those early days to meet the needs of kids who are blind,” Kesteloot said.

In 2003, a national leader in education and rehabilitation came to the Chicago Lighthouse to address members of the staff, the strategic planning committee and the board of advisers, which includes Kapperman.

“He identified some major national issues we should be aware of when creating a five-year plan, and the No. 1 issue was certified, trained teachers. We have a major national shortage that is going to have a huge impact on the quality of education,” Kesteloot said, “and there was Kap, as always, in the middle of it, recruiting teachers to his innovative programs and innovative classes.”

Kapperman also played another critical role in the Lighthouse’s history.

The Illinois Instructional Materials Center long has provided Braille and large-print books to children with visual impairments and blindness. The books were the same texts of any and all topics provided to their sighted classmates.

But when parents began complaining a few years ago that their children were not getting books and that the program was eroding, the Lighthouse stepped forward with an offer to manage the center.

“Gaylen was very helpful in writing letters, contacting his colleagues and helping us give testimony about why that would be a good thing for the children of Illinois,” said Zabelski, who also is president of the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments.

“Any time there’s an issue that affects children with blindness or visual impairments, he will lead the charge with the teachers. He’s the first one there rallying the troops, making sure people contact their legislators, their constituents or the State Board of Education. Now that the IIMC is located at the Lighthouse, he’s helped us ask for additional funding to make it a much better materials center with more technology and more books.”

“The teachers Kap trained helped to pull that off,” Kesteloot said. “The right thing might not have happened if Kap was not as involved or concerned.”

William Baker’s book wins prestigious Choice recognition

NIU Professor William Baker’s bibliographical history on Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter has been selected as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2006 by Choice magazine, a publication of the American Library Association.

Choice is the premier source for reviews of academic books. Each January, the magazine publishes its list of Outstanding Academic Titles. The list reflects the best in scholarly titles from the previous year and brings with it the extraordinary recognition of the academic library community.

Only about 10 percent of some 7,000 reviewed works are named Outstanding Academic Titles.

Baker is an NIU Presidential Research Professor who holds a joint appointment with University Libraries and the Department of English. The British Library, as well as Oak Knoll Press, published “Harold Pinter: A Bibliographical History,” by Baker and co-author John C. Ross, shortly before Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The playwright and poet is among the most prolific British authors alive today. Pinter’s screenplay for the 1981 film, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman,” was nominated for an Academy Award, but he is best known for his more than two dozen plays, including “The Caretaker,” “The Homecoming” and “The Birthday Party.”

Baker’s bibliographical history provides a comprehensive account of the published writings and also texts in other media that Pinter wholly or partly authored. No author had previously consolidated Pinter’s body of work into a comprehensive text for libraries, archives, literary scholars, critics and Pinter enthusiasts.

Baker’s book also contains textual variants. It chronicles interviews, recorded in print and other media, and interview-based articles, generated from Pinter’s wide-ranging interest in literary projects, human rights and political causes.

Baker previously won a Choice award for “The Letters of Wilkie Collins,” a book co-authored with William Clarke and published in 1999. Collins was a popular 19th century British writer who helped invent the detective novel.

While Baker welcomes the latest Choice recognition, the highest praise for his work came from Pinter himself. “What a piece of work! I’m staggered,” Pinter wrote in a letter to Baker. “Apart from anything else, it gives shape to my own life.”

College of Education looks toward future

NIU’s College of Education is formally plotting a course for the next five years while the university conducts its own strategic planning.

Dean Christine Sorensen, who delivered her semi-annual All-College Speech last week, told the assembled administrators, faculty and staff to let their imaginations run wild.

The college’s long-time roadmap – “Shaping the Future with PRIDE,” which encompassed partnerships, research, innovation, development and evaluation – has served well “as a vision” and “has helped set our direction,” Sorensen said.

“Now is the time to dream, the time to think big ideas. Now is the time to begin planning for the future, to begin thinking about the direction of your program, your department, your college, and your university,” she said. “We are headed for the future and looking to build a new world here at NIU.”

It begins with questions.

Sorensen offered plenty as launching points for discussion and, she said, it is equally valuable to share thoughts on where programs should not go.

“What are the directions in your field? Where are programs such as yours headed? What are the specific strengths your program has, and what are its competitive advantages compared to other programs?” she said. “Are there particular opportunities that your program could take advantage of or opportunities that you anticipate in the future? What are the external and internal demands on your program?”

Four members of the College of Education family are taking part in the university-wide strategic planning task force including Richard Orem, a professor in Literacy Education, Sharon Smaldino, the college’s endowed professor of teacher education, and Lemuel Watson, department chair in Counseling, Adult and Higher Education as well as acting associate dean. Janet Holt, a professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment is representing the Faculty Senate. Several others are participating in roundtable talks.

Considerable change is already in the air.

The college will welcome Carol Logan Patitu in March as its new associate dean. Patitu comes to DeKalb from the State University of New York-Buffalo.

Meanwhile, searches are in progress for 15 new faculty members and two department chairs: Pam Jackson, retired professor from the College of Health and Human Sciences, continues to serve as interim chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning. Wilma Miranda, longtime chair of the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations is retiring this spring.

Jackson’s former College of Health and Human Sciences colleague, Sherilynn Spear, also is taking a job in the College of Education. Spear, former chair of the School of Allied Health, will head up the new College Leadership Educational Opportunity program.

As many as a dozen senior faculty will participate in a summer retreat and monthly meetings during the next academic year to interact across department lines, learn more about college and university operations and discover potential opportunities for faculty leadership roles.

For her part, Sorensen said she will begin spending more of her time in fundraising activities through continued cultivation of relationships with alumni and friends who have the means and potential to establish endowments.

The college will establish an endowment for academic excellence this spring that could provide dollars for research by students and faculty or support special program needs.

“Now it is time for us to work. The semester is under way,” Sorensen said. “Together we will begin to explore new frontiers.”

NIU mourns death of Morton Frisch,
renowned political scientist, teacher

Morton J. Frisch was a decorated soldier who fought in one of the most important battles of World War II. Later, he authored books in the field of American political theory and traveled the world as a sought-after scholar.

But Frisch was perhaps most accomplished in the classroom, where he left a deep impression on thousands of students over the course of more than five decades.

Frisch spent the majority of his academic career in NIU’s political science department. Arriving in 1964, he founded the now nationally recognized graduate program in political philosophy. He retired from full-time duties in 1992, but continued to write, lecture and teach, completing his final graduate seminar in December.

Frisch, 83, died Dec. 24, at Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Family members, friends and former students had spent the previous weeks at his side. A memorial service celebrating his life and work is being planned for February on campus at NIU.

“For Mort, teaching political philosophy wasn’t a job. It was a way of life,” said his friend and colleague Gary Glenn, an NIU political scientist. Many of Frisch’s students have gone on to posts in government, with leading think tanks and as university scholars.

“No one who took one of his graduate seminars on political philosophy wanted to miss the next one he taught,” wrote former student Matt Franck, political science chair at Radford University in Virginia, in a tribute read at Frisch’s Dec. 26 funeral service.

“From him we learned to read Montesquieu and Aristotle, to enter the labyrinth of Plato’s thought, to appreciate the statesmanship of Alexander Hamilton, to love our country more intelligently,” Franck added. “But Dr. Frisch was a man of decided opinions, and his writ ran to many subjects. And so we also learned to appreciate the wonderfulness of the Chicago Cubs, the delights of a good poached fish, and the unquestionable greatness of the movies ‘Zulu’ and ‘The Sand Pebbles.’ ”

NIU Ph.D. candidate Halima Khan took two seminars taught by Frisch in 2006. “He taught for the benefit of students, not for the benefit of himself,” she said, noting that Frisch had respiratory difficulties and brought an oxygen tank to class this fall.

Frisch’s students also recalled his avuncular nature and love of conversation. “Mort used to have spaghetti dinners for grad students,” said Laurie Bagby, a political scientist at Kansas State University. She credits Frisch for having a profound impact on her life and work.

“I also have him to thank for the guy I married,” she added, noting that she and her husband met at one of Frisch’s gatherings.

Frisch was raised in the Hyde Park area of Chicago’s South Side and went into the U.S. Army Air Forces shortly after America entered World War II. He served in anti-aircraft defense of Britain. While in transit to Brussels, his unit was redeployed to fight in the pivotal Battle of the Bulge, the last major Nazi offensive of the war.

The battle began in mid-December 1944 in the Ardennes Forest along the German/Belgian border. Hampered by cold, snow and fog, Allied forces suffered heavy casualties, in part because the weather prevented air support. The fog lifted on Christmas Day, enabling American aircraft to come to the rescue of surrounded troops that had been struggling to hold their ground.

“It is ironic that my father died on Christmas Eve, partly because of how he felt about this time of the year,” said his son, Rabbi Seth Frisch of Philadelphia. He recalled that his father had been put in charge of a small band of men and feared they would not survive the battle. They succeeded in defending their position until the fog lifted. Morton Frisch later received the Belgian Croix De Guerre for heroism under fire as well as other American decorations for his service.

“He would take out the Croix De Guerre often on Christmas and show it to us all,” Seth Frisch said. “My father felt that he had been given a new lease on life. It became a defining moment for him to have survived that battle. Subsequently, he acted in accordance with that. He never backed down from adversity and always stood his ground.”

After the war, Frisch earned a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, where he studied under renowned political philosopher Leo Strauss. He received his doctorate at Pennsylvania State University in 1953. He taught for more than a decade at the College of William and Mary and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Stockholm before coming to NIU.

“He came here because he wanted to be on the ground floor of building a program in political philosophy,” colleague Glenn said. “He was a hard worker and a fierce fighter for what he believed in.”

Frisch’s work in American political thought was in defense of the Constitution and the intentions of the founders. His work won him visiting appointments at the University of Minnesota, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Virginia, Oxford University, Knox College and two Fulbright Fellowships at Korea University.

He was the author and editor of eight books. His most recent book, on the great Hamilton-Madison debate of 1793 over the constitutional dimensions of foreign policy, will be published this spring.

“My dad thought there was a right way to do everything, and from an early age we would talk about those guiding principles,” said his son, Mark Frisch of Wilmette.

“There was no wishy-washiness with dad,” he added, although his father was at the same time a gentle person. “He always tried to listen carefully to what you were saying and offer gentle but very persuasive arguments if he disagreed. You always knew you had a friend and an ally. You always knew you were loved.”

In addition to his two sons, Frisch is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joelyn; his daughter, Hollis; a brother and six grandchildren. He was buried with full military honors at the Garden of Shalom of Fairview Park Cemetery in DeKalb. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Congregation Beth Shalom, DeKalb, or the Northern Illinois University Foundation.

NIU student-athletes record highest GPA ever

Standards continue to rise
as Huskies combine for 3.074 mark

NIU student-athletes followed a record-setting semester on the fields of play with a record-setting performance in the classroom this fall as NIU student-athletes combined to post a school record 3.074 cumulative grade point average.

The 3.074 GPA surpasses the record 3.036 cumulative mark compiled by NIU student-athletes last spring as GPAs rose for the second straight semester.

"To be certain, I am extremely pleased that our student-athletes continued to raise the bar academically this semester," said NIU Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Jim Phillips.

"In light of the success our teams enjoyed on the field this fall, these academic accomplishments are even more impressive and reflect the commitment of these extremely talented young people to excel as both students and as athletes. In addition, our coaches and the staff of the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services unit in the Provost's Office have been essential to our continuing efforts to raise academic standards and ensure that each and every one of these student-athletes achieves the ultimate goal of graduation."

A record 11 of NIU's 16 programs recorded team grade point averages of 3.0 or higher this fall, led once again by the women's gymnastics team with a semester mark of 3.377. The gymnasts were closely followed by women's soccer, which compiled a 3.339 semester GPA; men's tennis (3.327), the leaders among seven Huskie men's teams; and women's basketball (3.316). Also above the 3.0 standard are NIU's women's cross country (3.263), men's golf (3.208), women's tennis (3.201), softball (3.186), women's golf (3.181), and volleyball (3.180) programs. Nearly as impressive is the fact that every NIU team now owns a cumulative grade point average above 2.6.

In addition to leading the way this semester, gymnastics continues to own the highest cumulative team GPA at 3.351, but are followed closely by women's cross country (3.347), women's basketball (3.312) and women's soccer (3.294).

Individually, 207 NIU student-athletes compiled a semester GPA of 3.0 or better this fall, with 25 individuals representing 11 different programs coming in with a perfect 4.0 mark for the term. More than 100 NIU student-athletes posted a grade point average of 3.5 or above this fall.

In terms of numbers, football had the highest number of 3.0s with 51 players – nearly half of the roster – attaining at least a "B" average in the fall. The football team also counted seven December 2006 graduates on its Poinsettia Bowl roster. Women's soccer and women's track and field were next with 19 3.0 student-athletes each, followed by gymnastics (17), men's soccer (14), softball and baseball (13 each), women's basketball and volleyball (12 each) and women's cross country and wrestling (11 each).

Francine St. Clair, NIU associate athletics director for Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS), said that academic success, like on-the-field success, is a team effort.

"It all starts with the student-athletes, but we have a very hard-working and dedicated staff here at SAASS and coaches that stress academics every day," St. Clair said. "We have received great support from [Vice Provost] 'Gip' Seaver and the staff at the Provost's Office and so many other offices throughout campus. It truly is a group effort and it's great to see those efforts rewarded."

On the field this fall, NIU claimed the Mid-American Conference men's soccer championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while the volleyball team won the MAC West crown and the women's soccer team advanced to the finals of the MAC Tournament. The Huskie football team played in its second bowl game in the last three years while recording its seventh straight winning season.

A complete list of student-athletes who achieved a 3.0 or above for the Fall 2006 semester is below. Individuals who posted a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. for the term are indicated with a *.

FALL 2006 NIU SCHOLAR-ATHLETES

BASEBALL (13)
Dan Atkenson, Mark Badgley, Justin Behm, Matt Behren, Joe Buonavolanto, Andy Deain, Matt German, Colin Grant, Brad Heinz, Tim Kamin, Jesse Seykora, Brian Smith, Bobby Stevens.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (12)
Mary Basic, Ebony Ellis, Tiffany Kline, Becky Smith*, Tara Michels*, Stephanie Raymond, Aileen Roussouw, Jennifer Uptmor, Shari Welton*, Jessie Wilcox, Kristin Wiener, Keishonda Williamson.

MEN'S BASKETBALL (3)
James Hughes, Zach Pancratz, Ryan Paradise.

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (11)
Meghan Ginter, Allison Grissom, Sarah Hilby, Elizabeth Lemrise, Christina Nieto, Ashley Rittenbacher, Stacey Rosch, Jessica Schauff, Mia Supanich-Winter, Denisse Valladares, Brenda Zepeda*.

FOOTBALL (51)
Eddie Adamski, Evans Adonis, Anthony Antonacci, Brandon Beal, Bryan Beckner, Brad Benson, Brandon Bice, Keenan Blalark, Jon Brost, Jarret Carter, Tyler Clasey, Jacob Coffman, Jason Cruikshank, Brandon Davis, Jon Ellison, Jeff Fontana, Doug Free, Ryan Gierke, Adam Grimm, Adriel Hansbro, Alvah Hansbro, Phil Horvath, James Jefferies, Dan Keller, David Koronkiewicz, Michael Krause, John Kremer, Alex Krutsch, Alex Kube, Billy Lowe, Anthony Mason*, Vincent Matthew, Tim Mayerbock, Josh McCormick, Tim McCarthy, Ryan Morris, Chris Nendick, Jake Nordin, Eric Pittman, Mark Reiter, Craig Rusch, Adam Schroeder, Matt Simon, Kevin Skatrud, Kevin Smothers, Justin Stewart, Panan Tense, John Tranchitella, Jake Wertz, Preston Williams, Spencer Williamson.

MEN'S GOLF (5)
Andrew Frame, Zachary Jecklin, Timothy Kay, Jared Steger, Alex Wagner

WOMEN'S GOLF (8)
Jackie Bailey, Kim Bailey, Lisa Bailey, Kim Hunley, Abby Many*, Anne Senn, Nicole Schultz, Allison Williams.

WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS (17)
Tiffany Anderson, Natalie Blum, Nicole Brugnoni, Meghan Cronin*, Ashton Flora, Allison Holysz*, Amanda Johnson, Kelly Kramer, Jessica Marston*, Jennifer Naughton, Bethany Plapp, Jennifer Rice, Amy Ristvedt, Jocelyn Sandoval, Brittany Swantek, Amber Whitecotton, Jody Yednock*.

MEN'S SOCCER (14)
Bryan Abdallah, Steve Algozino, Brad Bahr*, Alan Bickel, Chris Brown, David Claxton, Luis De La Cerda, Matt Galanes, Kyle Knotek*, Steven Kolzow, Chris VanDuerm*, Kevin Woerner, Curt Zastrow, Aaron Zendejas.

WOMEN'S SOCCER (19)
Michelle Christian*, Lindsey Curnock, Micaela Damas, Erin Dunbar, Elaine Eliadis, Karen Enockson*, Erin Fahey, Audrey Holmer, Megan Kolkay*, Thea Johnson, Hannah Nussbaum, Marisa Oriente, Kimberly Schmitt, Jamie Sitter, Katie Sturges*, Cara Stutler, Kelly Swisher, Brandy Tarnowsky, Alexis Terry.

SOFTBALL (13)
Katie Colby, Renee Dearborn, Kelly Drozd, Paige Granath, Kate Greenough, Michelle Nendza, Bailey Ouellette, Kelly Park*, Allie Parker, Jenna Roberts, Ellen Stoddard, Dani Thompson, Katelyn Welsh.

MEN'S TENNIS (4)
Javier Bernabe, Jimmy Chu*, Brian Livingston, Alfonso Monroy, Diego Zegarra-Ballon.

WOMEN'S TENNIS (6)
Jenny Edner, Brooke Forsberg, Chrissy Nagel, Stephanie Okuma, Nao Umemura.

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD (19)
Jennene Anthony, Cora Caulfield, Meghan Ginter*, Allison Grissom, Sarah Hilby, Lauren Kubasiak, Elizabeth Lemrise*, Brandie Lindo, April Lowery, Rochelle Muskeyvalley, Christina Nieto, Ashley Rittenbacher, Stacey Rosch, Jessica Schauff, Mia Supanich-Winter, Jessica Statler*, Denisse Valladeres, Abigail Wyatt, Brenda Zepeda*.

VOLLEYBALL (12)
Laura Baetzel, Joelle Beisel, Maria Benitez, Mandi Caputo, Gina Guide*, Jody Hardwick*, Irene Johnson, Monica Lang, Megan Schoenrock, Amanda Tadla, Amy Ward, Casey Yates.

WRESTLING (11)
Vince Castillo, Bryan Deutsch, John Giuliano, Dave Herrera, Kalen Knull, Will McDermott*, Pat McLemore, Matthew Owen, Anthony Victor, Patrick Walsh, John Weinert.

– NIU Sports Information

Eleven-digit dialing coming to DeKalb area

If you make a lot of phone calls to off-campus numbers, it’s time to start toughening up your dialing digit.

Beginning Saturday, Feb. 17, calls from any on-campus phone to any off-campus phone will require dialing 1+area code + the seven-digit number. This rule applies whether the call is to a business in downtown DeKalb or an office in New York City.

For those living within the 815 area code, the change means that all calls made from home (including those to campus) will require 11-digit dialing. The change is being made because of a ruling last year by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

If your calling at work is restricted mostly to other on-campus numbers, the impact of the change will be minimal. Because the university owns its own telephone switching equipment, dialing from any phone with a 752 or 753 extension to another phone with one of those extensions can still be accomplished by dialing seven digits. That includes calls made to 752 and 753 extensions at university facilities outside of DeKalb.

If the prospect of dialing 11 digits every time you make a phone call does not appeal, there are other options available on campus phones, says NIU Telecommunications Manager Teri Reid.

• Speed Calling. Many campus phones (including all residence hall phones) are equipped for Speed Calling, which allows users to pre-program up to 30 frequently used phone numbers into their phone, then complete calls to those numbers by dialing * and a one- or two-digit code they assign to a phone number. Speed Calling is free and is currently activated on about 60 percent of campus phones. If it is not activated on your phone, call NIUTEL at 753-0963.
• Built-in Directories. Some faculty and staff have single-line CLAS phones that can be programmed with a directory of up to 50 commonly called numbers that users can scroll through and then dial at the touch of a single button.
• Auto Dialing. Some campus phones allow users to program a handful of frequently dialed numbers, which can then be dialed at the push of a single button.

For more information on any of the above features, call NIUTEL at 753-0963.

The ICC mandated the new dialing rules in response to concerns that all of the pool of phone numbers in the 815 area code will be exhausted in the not-too-distant future. Less than 200,000 unused numbers currently are available within that area.

The 11-digit solution, called an overlay, was selected as an alternative to splitting the 815 area code in half and assigning an entirely new area code to half of that region. Creating new area codes is unpopular because it requires people to change phone numbers they have had for many years and forces businesses to reprint stationery, business cards and signs.

After March 17, 2007, new residents within the current 815 area code can be assigned an area code of 779.

NIU Philharmonic to play IMEA conference

The NIU Philharmonic will perform Friday, Jan. 26, at the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Convention in Peoria.

Conductor Brett Mitchell applied for the spot last spring, and received the good word during the summer. It’s the orchestra’s first invitation in more than a decade.

“What really got us the gig, as it were, was the recording I sent in made from two of our concerts last season,” Mitchell said. “Part of what makes it such a great honor is that we were invited for how we actually played, not just how we look on paper.”

The orchestra will play at 9:30 a.m. in the Theatre of the Peoria Civic Center, one of eight venues used by the conference attendees during the four-day event.

First on the program is “Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” a brisk, five-minute piece by American composer John Adams. The Philharmonic will perform the piece on campus Monday, Feb. 12, three days before Adams’ 60th birthday.

“John Adams is one of the pre-eminent composers alive today,” Mitchell said. “This performance is our ‘birthday card’ to him.”

The Philharmonic then will tackle Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, a 45-minute piece the young musicians played on campus this past September as part of their Shostakovich Centenary Tribute. “It’s representative of what we can do at our best,” the conductor said.

Other NIU involvement:

• Marching Band Director Tom Bough will lead clinics on “Recruit, Train and Retain Your Low Brass Section” and “The Band Boot Camp: A Supplemental Method Book for Band.”
• Eric Johnson, director of choral activities in the NIU School of Music, will lead an executive committee meeting of the American Choral Director’s Association. Johnson is the ACDA’s state president in Illinois.
• Ronnie Wooten, associate professor of music education, will lead a clinic with the help of the NIU Wind Ensemble on “Call and Response: The Secret Relationship between Concert and Jazz Band Styles.”

NIU’s spam fighters waging noble battle

If you are frustrated at the amount of spam e-mails in your inbox, know this: It could be worse. A lot worse.

On a recent day in January, spam blocking measures put in place by Information Technology Services blocked nearly 85 percent of all e-mail sent from off campus to university servers. Even at that, mailboxes were sprinkled with unwanted stock tips, unsolicited cures for baldness and unwelcome ideas on how to overcome (ahem) alleged personal deficiencies.

While that day was something of an extreme example, it is common for university spam filters to block 60 percent of all e-mail sent from outside sources, says ITS Software Support Supervisor Jon Ostenburg, one of nearly 20 university employees who devote at least part of their work day to handling spam-related issues.

In all, more than 200,000 e-mails are blocked on a typical day.

“It’s a back-and-forth battle,” Ostenburg says. “Spammers keep coming up with new tricks, and we keep coming up with ways to block them. It’s a cycle.”

NIU employs three levels of spam filtering.

The first level is a commercial service which typically blocks 50 percent of all mail sent to NIU servers. A second piece of software scans for viruses and forbidden attachment types, snagging an additional 1 or 2 percent. Finally, a third piece of software analyzes who sent the message, what servers it passed through and other factors, then calculates a spam score, with about 8 percent of all messages failing that test.

Despite such efforts, spam still gets through. For instance, the stream of e-mails with nonsensical subject lines users might have seen recently in their in-boxes is the spammer’s way of avoiding many commercial filters. The text of such messages is little more than random words, none of them deemed objectionable by filters.

However, users who view the item as HTML will see an advertisement. For a while, spam blockers were able to use optical scanning software to battle those tactics; spammers then responded by degrading the quality of the image to the point where it was readable by the human eye, but gibberish to scanners. The battle goes on.

By default, all those who use university e-mail systems (such as GroupWise) are subscribed to the most stringent level of screening. A piece of legitimate mail occasionally gets blocked, Ostenburg says, but it is an extremely small percentage.

Those concerned that important messages are being blocked can adjust their personal spam filtering settings at www.canspam.niu.edu. At that site, users can make changes that will allow them to receive e-mail from specific senders that would otherwise be blocked. Users also use that site to block senders who repeatedly get through the system.

The site also provides information on more advanced ways of personal spam handling, and the ITS Helpdesk (753-8100) is always willing to assist with that process.

One tool Ostenburg does not recommend is the Junk Mail handling feature in the GroupWise desktop software. Using that feature accomplishes little, he says.

The blocking it provides is based on things such as e-mail addresses and domains, most of which spammers never use more than once, so blocking is a waste of time. There is also the risk that users might mistakenly block an important sender. “If you use it, be very careful,” Ostenburg says, “and occasionally check your block list to make sure you haven’t inadvertently blocked someone important.”

There are steps that all NIU employees can use to minimize spam, Ostenburg says.

Never respond to spam in any way. In particular, never click on links that invite you to opt out from future e-mail from that address. In all likelihood, it will actually increase the amount of spam sent your way.

Use your NIU e-mail account for official business only. When subscribing to a Web site, for example, never give your NIU address.

Look for repeat offenders. If unwanted mail from a particular company or individual repeatedly makes it to your in-box, use the advanced blocking features at www.canspam.niu.edu.

Manage your listservs. Newsletters and listservs resemble spam to scanning software, so add any such subscriptions to your permit list at www.canspam.niu.edu.

For more information on dealing with spam e-mail, contact the ITS Help Desk at (815) 753-8100.

NIU Art Museum plans busy spring

Several exhibitions are planned for the early weeks of this semester at the NIU Art Museum. Public receptions for these exhibitions are scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18.

Gallery Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment for group tours.

Pay parking is available in the Visitor’s Lot on Carroll Street and at metered spots in front of Altgeld Hall. Free parking is available Saturdays, and during receptions and visiting artist lectures in the lot northeast of Gilbert and College Drives.

Exhibitions are always free. The exhibition and brochure are funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, the Friends of the NIU Art Museum, and the Arts Fund 21.

For more information, visit www.vpa.niu.edu/museum.

Rotunda Gallery

The NIU Art Museum announces a 10-year retrospective of NIU alumnus and Chicago artist Mark Arctander’s found object sculpture.

The exhibition, titled “Surveillance,” will run in the NIU Art Museum’s Rotunda Gallery until March 10. A public reception will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, with the artist presenting an informal gallery talk at 6:30 p.m. The exhibition will be accompanied by a brochure with an essay by Chicago art critic Polly Ullrich.

Arctander playfully manipulates ordinary objects through contextual change to deliver an out-of-the-ordinary visual experience and new insight through works with double meanings and philosophical layering.

South Gallery

“Beggars and Choosers: Motherhood is not a Class Privilege in America” occupies the South Gallery through Feb. 17. The public is invited to an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18.

Jessica Witte, NIU Art Museum education coordinator, will present an informal gallery talk titled “Motherhood, Public Policy and Representation” at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, in the gallery.

Forty-seven leading documentary photographers challenge the assumption that money and advantage define a “proper” mother. “Beggars and Choosers” provides an intimate look into the complexities and challenges of motherhood for those who are, for example, “too” young, disabled, poor, homeless, immigrants or incarcerated.

The 60 black-and-white images aim to stimulate a re-examination of motherhood and public policy as well as sharing the work of award-winning photographers.

Curated by Rickie Solinger with Kay Oberling and traveled by Wake Up Arts, the exhibition is supported by The Open Society Institute, The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Puffin Foundation. 

North Gallery and Hall Case Gallery

“Heart of Africa: Artistry within Ritual Artifacts and Raffia Textiles” is on display in the North Gallery and Hall Case Galleries through March 9.

The exhibition will be supplemented with a lecture by collector William Darrell Moseley with details available at a later date.

The exhibition provides a glimpse of the Congo through textiles and three-dimensional objects. Presentation mats woven in intricate geometric patterns will be featured. In addition, the exhibit will showcase clothing of palm fiber (raffia), ceremonial knives and carved wooden cups, boxes and ancestral figures. These objects demonstrate the artistry of people from the Kasai River region.

This exhibit was prompted by a recent donation to the NIU Anthropology Museum collection and is augmented by loans from local collectors. Graduate anthropology student Sara Phalen organized the exhibition with Ann Wright Parsons, director of the NIU Anthropology Museum.

Get-On-The-Bus trips

The NIU Art Museum also has planned two Get-On-The-Bus Trips to coincide with the Heart of Africa exhibition.

On Saturday, Feb. 10, the African and African-American Legacies Tour will visit exhibitions on African architecture and African-inspired sculpture at the Chicago Cultural Center as well as visit two historical exhibits at the DuSable Museum of African American History.

“Lasting Foundations: The Art of Architecture in Africa,” the exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center, includes a viewing of David Philpot sculptures which evoke a sense of African ceremonial artifacts. The trip continues to the DuSable Museum for a tour of the exhibitions “From Dreams to Determination: The Legacy of Dr. Percy and Anna Julian” and “381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story.”

The bus departs DeKalb at 10 a.m. with return arrival at 5:30 p.m. Transportation and entry fees are $15 for NIU Art Museum members, $18 for students and seniors and $21 for others. Prepayment and registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 26.

The fiber-rich, textile-themed trip planned for Saturday, March 3, will contrast Christian Dior’s Chicago designs at the Chicago Historical Museum and Mayan textiles at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum.

NIU’s travelers will encounter Dior’s “The New Look” at the Chicago Historical Museum and Mayan textiles at the National Museum of Mexican Art (the new moniker for the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum). Lunch is on your own in Lincoln Park.

The bus departs DeKalb at 9 a.m. with return arrival at 6:15 p.m. Guided tours, museum admission and transportation fee is $25 for NIU Art Museum members, $28 for students and seniors and $32 for others. Prepayment and registration deadline is Monday, Feb. 12.

Fans of Get-On-The-Bus trips also are invited Saturday, Feb. 24, to Racine, Wis. The newly reopened Racine Art Museum features one of North America’s most significant collections of contemporary crafts.

The featured exhibition at the RAM is Akio Takamori’s “Between Clouds of Memory,” an exhibition of ceramic figures portraying historical characters, contemporary society and images from the artist’s childhood.

Lunch is on your own at RAM. The trip continues to the Wustum Museum for “Watercolor Wisconsin 2006.”

The bus departs at 9 a.m. with return arrival at 6 p.m. Transportation and entry fees are $30 for NIU Art Museum members, $35 for students and seniors and $40 for others. Prepayment and registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 19.

To register for these trips, either visit the museum, call (815) 753-1936 or e-mail jburke2@niu.edu. Payment may be made with cash, a check made out to NIU or a major credit card.

Payment must be made in advance to guarantee seats on the bus. NIU Art Museum members receive discounts on bus trips as well as access to members-only trips. Dates and prices of bus trips are subject to change, and trips are frequently added throughout the year. Visit the museum’s Web site for updated information.

Financial system upgrade scheduled to begin Feb. 9

The PeopleSoft Financial System will be upgraded beginning Feb. 9.

The system will be down for approximately two weeks. Once the system is back up, staff from accounting, procurement and the other central offices will work diligently to process transactions as expeditiously as possible.

For a more detailed article regarding the upgrade, please refer to the report in the Nov. 13 Northern Today. In addition to the regular e-mails and notices that have been sent to campus users, further updates regarding the upgrade can be found on the Accounting Office and Procurement Office Web pages.

NIU art alumna featured at DeKalb Area Women’s Center

Danielle Lavetta Burbach, a recent graduate of the NIU School of Art, will exhibit her work in a show titled “Visionary Visuals” during January at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center OnStage Gallery.

A local artist originally from Apple River, Ill., Burbach emphasized oil and watercolor painting as well as printmaking techniques during her studies.

Her work rarely refers to material objects. Instead, she relies on “formal abstract elements to convey universally abstract ideas.”

The public is invited to view the exhibit from 7 to 9 p.m. Fridays, and Tuesday, Jan. 9 and 16, or by appointment with Anna Marie Coveny, gallery director. An artist’s reception will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25. The reception is free and open to the public.

The DAWC is located at 1021 State Street in DeKalb, four blocks north of Lincoln Highway. Parking is available one half block south of the building, off of 11th 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.

NIU Community School offers
private lessons in music, art, theater

Private lessons in music, art and theater for children and adults are available through the NIU Community School of the Arts and begin this week. Private music lessons are taught on a wide variety of instruments, including voice. Students choose to study for either 30, 45 or 60 minutes.

After a student registers, he or she is contacted by a teacher, who arranges for weekly lessons at the Music, Art or Stevens buildings on the NIU campus at a time and day that are convenient for the student. Teachers are NIU faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as community artists. 

Semi-private lessons are available for students interested in studying with the same teacher at the same time; students share the cost of the lessons.

The NIU Community School of the Arts offers a wide variety of arts programming for children and adults in music, theater and art. For more information, call Renee Page at (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms.

Community School offers art classes

Adults and children can enjoy art classes this spring offered by the NIU Community School of the Arts. Classes are taught in the Art Building.

Classes for students ages 13 and older

Note: A supply list will be provided at the first class of all adult art classes.

“Using Value in Drawing” shows students how to make their drawings more dramatic by enhancing the range of darks and lights. The instructor is experienced teacher and artist Victoria Peel. The class meets from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays from Jan. 27 through March 3.

Students gain an appreciation for the abstract in “Abstract Painting and Drawing: An Overview.” Gain experience learning about the two main approaches to abstraction from instructor Joseph LoPresti, NIU art instructor. The class meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays from Jan. 23 through March 13.

Students learn more about working with paint in “Painting with Acrylics and Watercolors.” Students gain experience and confidence as they explore basic composition and color mixing techniques. The class is taught by Danielle Barton, experienced teacher and graduate student in the NIU School of Art. The class meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays from Feb. 4 through March 25.

“Artwork in Progress: Open Studio” is an opportunity for artists to work on unfinished pieces of artwork and get some expert advice at the same time. Bring unfinished artwork from a previous class or from your own studio. There is no group instruction – just plenty of individualized attention and time to work. Barton is the instructor. The class meets from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sundays from Feb. 4 through March 25.

Class for children ages 4 to 12

Children enjoy a variety of creative art activities in “Art Express.” Taught by art education majors in the NIU School of Art, this popular class meets from 1 to 3 p.m. for five Saturdays from Feb. 3 to March 3. The curriculum is brand new every semester. All materials are supplied. Children of NIU staffers receive a discount.

The NIU Community School of the Arts offers a wide variety of arts programming for children and adults in music, theater and art. For more information, call Renee Page at (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms.

WNIJ stars at film fest

After a strong launch last winter, the 2nd Annual Beloit International Film Festival has already drawn considerable attention from filmmakers and movie buffs across the globe.

This four-day festival in Wisconsin’s gateway city of Beloit presents more than 100 films from 26 nations, 31 of which are debuts. The films – shorts, documentaries, animated, feature length – screen in eight venues around the city from Thursday, Jan. 18, through Sunday, Jan. 21.

Listeners to NPR’s Morning Edition or the locally produced Saturday Blues on 89.5 WNIJ might also keep an eye out for the actress-sister of public radio host Dan Klefstad. Heidi Klefstad appears as Julie in “An Open Door,” scheduled within the festival’s Short Slot programming track. The Klefstads also plan to be among the weekend’s festival-goers.

Meanwhile, fans of old classics will enjoy the Silent Film Showcase, sponsored by WNIJ from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, in the Eaton Chapel at Beloit College.

This multimedia experience features Charlie Chaplin onscreen in “The Circus.” This silent movie will be presented with a live orchestral score, arranged and conducted by Robert Tomaro and performed by the Beloit Janesville Symphony’s 12-piece Chamber Orchestra.

Tickets for the Silent Film Showcase are $15 and are available at the door. A complete listing of film festival events, show times and ticket information is accessible through the radio station’s Web site at www.wnij.org.

WNIJ is the News/Talk service of Northern Public Radio, the broadcast arm of NIU.

NIU Foundation invites proposals for Venture Grants

The NIU Foundation invites applications for the 2007 Venture Grants. All proposals must be received in the Foundation Office by Feb. 2. Awards will be announced no later than the first week of April.

The Foundation anticipates awarding between two and four grants at a minimum level of $5,000 and up to $25,000, with a total amount available of $55,000. All faculty and staff from units within the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, the Division of Administration and University Outreach and Intercollegiate Athletics are eligible to apply.

For complete information about the grants, as well as application information and forms, visit the NIU Foundation Web page at http://www.niufoundation.org/news/current/venture_grant.html.

The NIU Foundation looks forward to supporting faculty and staff in the pursuit of excellence in research, teaching and outreach to the larger community. Call (815) 753-7539 for more information.

Deadline approaching for Cobb travel fellowships

The application deadline is fast approaching for Lillian Cobb Faculty Travel Fellowships.

The fellowships will support faculty members for international travel from May 16 through Aug. 15. All tenured or tenure-track faculty members at NIU are eligible to apply. Proposals must be turned in to the Division of International Programs by Feb. 9. Applicants will be notified whether they have received an award by March 9.

A total of $8,000 will be available for awards of varying amounts. Except for extraordinary circumstances, a match of 20 percent (with a maximum of $500) is expected from the faculty member’s department and/or college.

The travel fellowship was established with an endowment from the estate of Lillian Cobb, the first chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

The aim of the program is to support international travel for teaching and public service activities that are not normally funded by the university. Faculty members who have received a Cobb Fellowship in the past are eligible again, although preference may be given to those who have never received the grant.

Program details are available online at http://www.niu.edu/intl_prgms/resources.htm.

NIU salutes administrative professionals

The Tenth Annual Administrative Professionals’ Day Seminar will be held from 7:45 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 24, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.

The event includes a deluxe breakfast and a presentation titled “Clutter-Busting” presented by Rita Emmett, author of “The Clutter-Busting Handbook” and “The Procrastinator’s Handbook.”

Cost is $44 per person ($54 after April 17). Employees of NIU and other governmental agencies are invited at a special rate of $34 ($44 after April 17).

Register online at http://www.niu.edu/clasep/conferences/academic/adminprof.shtml or call (815) 753-0277.

1-16-07