Join NIU President John G. Peters as he delivers his annual State of the University Address.
The address begins at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Altgeld Hall Auditorium. A reception immediately follows the address in the Altgeld auditorium foyer.
The focus of this address is NIU’s strategic plan. Your participation in this dialogue about our university’s future is highly encouraged.
For more information, call the Office of Special Events at (815) 753-1999 or e-mail ellena@niu.edu.
NIU’s Board of Trustees last Thursday approved a plan to increase salaries for NIU employees by an average of 4.5 percent this fiscal year.
“Maintaining competitive salaries for all faculty and staff is my No. 1 budget priority,” NIU President John Peters said. “The package approved by the board today reflects our best efforts at living up to that commitment.”
University officials called the FY08 salary plan “extremely competitive” compared with similar plans across the state.
“This plan will be a stretch for us, but it is entirely merited,” Peters said. “It is a reflection of the high regard in which this administration and its governing board holds the faculty and staff of Northern Illinois University.”
University trustees expressed unanimous support for the plan.
“I have never seen an administration more concerned with directing available funds to the salaries of faculty and staff,” board Chair Cherilyn Murer said. “These individuals are the heart and soul of our university, and we board members strongly support the high priority placed on competitive compensation.”
Trustee Manny Sanchez echoed Murer’s remarks, reminding fellow trustees that a 4.5 percent salary hike is more than twice the percent of NIU’s state budget increase for the current fiscal year.
“The simple thing would have been to say, ‘We got an increase in state funding of 1.8 percent, so we will just grant 1.8 percent raises across the board,’ but that is not the way we operate,” Sanchez said. “Instead we try to support our employees to the maximum that we can, and I am proud of those efforts.”
Trustee Bob Boey also commended the board for its work at maintaining competitive salaries in a climate of decreasing state support.
“When this board was created in 1996, the state provided nearly 50 percent of our funding. Today that number has dropped to nearly 25 percent. In light of that, I believe this plan demonstrates that this board will do all within its power to maintain our commitment to our employees.”
The increases will be retroactive to the July 1 start of the current fiscal year. Tentative plans call for employees to see the increase, along with retroactive pay reflecting that increase, in paychecks issued in mid-November.
The National Science Foundation has awarded Susan Mini, chair of NIU’s Department of Physics, a grant of nearly $1.4 million to make upgrades to a section of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.
The APS is an Argonne research facility that produces the most powerful X-ray beams in the Western Hemisphere, able to capture nano-scale wonders, such as still photographs of proteins or moving pictures of molecules at the atomic level. The circular-shaped APS is large enough to hold a baseball park in its center and houses a complex of machines and devices that produce, accelerate and store a beam of electrons. Scientists apply for beam time at the APS through a competitive peer-review process.
The APS upgrades will be made to the University of Chicago’s chemistry and materials science beamline of the Consortium for Advanced Radiation Science, known as ChemMatCARS.
NSF will disperse the grant over three years, during which time Mini will lead a team that will design, build and install upgraded X-ray optics for the APS. She and her collaborators, P. James Viccaro of the University of Chicago and Mark Schlossman of the University of Illinois at Chicago, have strong records of accomplishment in the field of synchrotron radiation research.
The APS is used by researchers from across the world, including NIU scientists and students. The powerful X-rays allow scientists to better understand the structure and function of materials, from characterizing the properties and potential functions of newly created nano-materials to identifying the composition of fragile archaeological artifacts.
Mini, an expert in spectroscopy and the application of synchrotron radiation techniques, has conducted research at the APS since the facility opened in the early 1990s. Her grant comes through NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI), designed to improve the condition of scientific equipment for research and training in U.S. research facilities.
“This is a significant award in terms of the dollar amount and the impact it will have on a wide array of interdisciplinary research projects at Argonne,” said Rathindra Bose, NIU vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School.
“Top research institutions from across the country compete for these MRI grants,” Bose added. “This award demonstrates that NIU has come into its own as a major research university. And the fact that this is the second such award for Dr. Mini definitely speaks to her expertise and considerable talents.”
Mini also received an NSF award in 1998 to construct a high energy-resolution monochromator currently in use at the APS.
“Scientists often need to design and build new devices or make custom upgrades to existing instrumentation in order to conduct experiments and remain on the cutting edge of science,” Mini said. “The new upgrades will represent one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art equipment.”
The equipment is expected to extend the energy range of the beamline, increase X-ray resolution and brilliance and result in more efficient use of beam time.
“This beamline has a productive history of facilitating cutting-edge research,” Mini said. “In addition to facilitating existing experiments, the new optics could potentially result in new research directions. The proposed instrumentation will enable the chemistry and materials group to remain at the forefront of materials research.”
The field of nanoscience is among the areas expected to reap benefits from the improvements. NIU’s Department of Physics, in collaboration with the university’s Institute of Nanoscience & Engineering Technology, now offers a specialization in nanoscience, a new field that is developing materials, electronics and machines so small they approach atomic scale.
A new era in NIU lunchtime dining begins Tuesday, Oct. 2, when the Holmes Student Center’s Pheasant Room officially becomes Ellington’s and changes part of its business model to an elegant and chic restaurant.
Ellington’s is named after jazz pianist and composer Duke Ellington (and the namesake ballroom nearby) and gives a nod to the NIU School of Music, which often supplies noon-hour musical entertainment.
Students from the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences, who operate the room Tuesdays and Thursdays, now will serve three-course gourmet meals rather than preparing the all-you-can-eat buffet that was a hallmark of the old Chandelier Room. Each meal costs only $8; credit cards are accepted.
HSC food service staff will continue to stock traditional buffets Mondays and Wednesdays under the Ellington’s name; reservations for those days are made through the student center. The room is closed Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The Oct. 2 grand opening lunch – seating starts at 11 a.m. – has a 1920s supper club theme for the menu that includes “Duke Wellington,” “Cotton Club Rigatoni” and “Speakeasy Salad.”
A jazz trio performs from 11 to 11:50 a.m.
Reservations for Tuesdays and Thursdays are recommended (and strongly encouraged for groups of 10 or more) via phone (815) 753-1763 or online at http://www.ellingtons.niu.edu. Ellington’s is also open to the public; those who pay for visitor’s parking are reimbursed.
“It should be pretty exciting,” said Joan Quinn, coordinator of the quantity foods lab. “We do see it as a more upscale dining experience.”
Ellington’s sports a new logo and sign, reupholstered chairs, fresh coats of paint, various colors of linens, framed black-and-white photographs and fresh flowers on the tables. Servers will don black aprons and bow ties to complement their formalwear shirts and slacks.
Each of the fall semester’s eight themed menus features two starters, two entrées and two desserts. Other themes include “Autumn Harvest,” “Gusto Di Italia,” “Lotus,” “Ambrosia,” “Just Paradise,” “Fuego,” “California Grill” and “Vive le France.” Full descriptions of each starter, entrée and dessert are available online.
The changes come a year after FCNS, part of the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences, partnered with the student center to share the dining room and the more-spacious kitchen. Surging enrollment in hospitality and nutrition and dietetics had overfilled the Chandelier Room kitchen.
“We had a successful year over there,” Quinn said. “At the end of the year, the HSC staff and I got together and said, ‘Maybe we can try to snaz this up a little.’ Now the name is more updated and more enticing. At the same time, it allows our quantity foods class to show a new image.”
Mitch Kielb, director of the Holmes Student Center, said Ellington’s “should be fun.”
“The students expressed an interest in doing something a little different this year. We want to encourage their creativity, so we said, ‘Yes, let’s go, let’s run with it,’ ” Kielb said. “They put a lot of energy into what they do, and we’re happy to have them do that and make the switch.”
A contest was held to choose a new name. After nominations were solicited from FCNS students and staff as well as HSC staff, including “Food for Thought,” it was Ellington’s that fit best. “All of us loved it,” Quinn said.
The new name encompasses the dual ownership of the space, although it’s possible that students will operate Ellington’s four days a week in the future. The spring semester already could bring a three-days-a-week schedule for the FCNS 320 students, Quinn said.
It’s part of a move to incorporate the “serving experience” into the curriculum for hospitality and nutrition and dietetics.
Students assume different roles, including general manager, executive chef, dining room manager and wait staff. They must make decisions regarding staffing, themes, menus, nutrition, allergies, portion sizes and profit margins, marketing, dining room layout and décor and even silverware placement and napkin folding.
Working in the HSC kitchen alongside the professionals provides another layer of expertise and another opportunity for learning.
“This is one of the best programs we’ve ever had in the center,” Kielb said. “It’s successful from all standpoints: The students get great experience, and the customers get a wonderful eating experience and entertainment. It’s good all around.”
Developmental biologist and author Sean B. Carroll, whose work in the field of evolution has been featured in such publications as The New York Times and Time magazine, will visit NIU to deliver the 2007 installment of the Layman Lecture Series.
Carroll is a professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He also is author of two recent and highly acclaimed books for the general reader, “The Making of the Fittest” and “Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo.”
Carroll will present a public lecture titled, “The Making of the Fittest: The Exquisite DNA Record of Evolution,” at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Montgomery Hall Auditorium. He also will sign copies of his new books, which will be available for purchase prior to the event.
The lecture will address “evo devo,” or evolutionary developmental biology, a new field of biology that seeks to understand the development of organisms in light of evolutionary “tinkering” with a conserved set of genes that comprise a basic “tool kit.”
Earlier that same day, Carroll will lead a more technical seminar titled, “Endless Flies Most Beautiful: The Role of cis-regulatory Sequences in the Evolution of Animal Form.” The seminar, focusing on current research in his lab, will begin at 9 a.m. in Room 442 of Montgomery Hall. The seminar also is open to the public.
In addition to his books, Carroll has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific papers. His research focuses on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity.
“Sean Carroll is a preeminent research scientist and is considered the leader in the field that has come to be called evo devo,” said Joel Stafstrom, professor of biological sciences at NIU. “Sean also has the remarkable ability of clearly communicating complex ideas to the general public. Understandably, his time is in great demand, so we are truly fortunate that he will be visiting NIU. This couldn’t have been done without support from the Layman endowment.”
The Layman Lecture Series is endowed by David Layman, an NIU alumnus who taught high school biology for nearly 40 years. The lecture series invites speakers to campus to discuss timely and compelling topics in biology. Past lecturers included John Avise (2005) and W. Ford Doolittle (2006).
Layman began teaching high school biology after graduating from NIU in 1957. He taught in the Chicago Public School system, 13 years at Richard T. Crane High School and 24 years at Carl Schurz High, before retiring in 1995. Layman’s recognition of the critical role that NIU plays in preparing good teachers has led him to establish various venues supporting education and students in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Author Luis J. Rodriguez, one of the nation’s leading Chicano writers, and motivational speaker Carlos Ojeda Jr. will visit NIU as the keynote speakers for Latino Heritage Month.
Rodriguez will present a public lecture titled, “The Rhythm of Growth: Keeping the Spirit of Learning Alive,” at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center. The talk will focus on contributing to the betterment of community and the role of higher education in discovering one’s potential as a future leader.
Rodriguez is best known for the 1993 memoir of gang life, “Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.” The memoir was designated a New York Times Notable Book and garnered a Carl Sandburg Literary Award and a Chicago Sun-Times Book Award.
Written as a cautionary tale for the author’s then 15-year-old son, who had joined a Chicago gang, the memoir is popular among youth and teachers. Despite this, the American Library Association in 1999 called “Always Running” one of the 100 most censored books in the country.
Rodriguez also has published award-winning works of fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature and poetry. His books include a novel, “Music of the Mill,” and a poetry collection, “My Nature is Hunger: New & Selected Poems, 1989-2004.”
Rodriguez also is known for helping start a number of prominent organizations, including Chicago’s Guild Complex, one of the largest literary arts organizations in the Midwest, and the publishing house of Tia Chucha Press. He is one of the founders of Youth Struggling for Survival, a Chicago-based not-for-profit community group working with young people.
Ojeda, the second keynote speaker of Latino Heritage Month, has been called one of the most dynamic young speakers in America today. His talk is open to the public and will begin at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Regency Room of the Holmes Student Center.
Ojeda’s remarkable journey began in the streets of Newark, N.J., and later in Reading, Pa., where his immigrant parents saw opportunities for themselves and for their first generation Puerto Rican children. Ojeda’s drive, passion and dreams led him to overcome educational obstacles in his youth and become the first person in his family to graduate from college with honors. He has since become a published writer and poet and sought-after speaker, determined to promote education, social activism and entrepreneurism.
The events are sponsored by the Latino Resource Center, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. A full calendar of events for Latino Heritage Month is online at www.niu.edu/lrc.
Professor Milivoje Kostic of the Department of Mechanical Engineering has contributed two articles as an invited author for a three-volume “Encyclopedia of Energy Engineering and Technology,” published recently by Taylor & Francis/CRC Press, a renowned publisher of scientific and technical information products.
The first article, “Energy: Global and Historical Background,” presents a global and historical overview of energy use with emphasis on energy diversity and universality. It also provides a vision for energy future sustainability in the post-fossil fuel era, which represents only a blip on the human-history radar screen.
The second Kostic article, “Physics of Energy,” elaborates on the concepts of energy as “the building block” and fundamental property of, and indivisible from, matter and space – thus the fundamental property of existence. Furthermore, energy exchanges or transfers are associated with all processes (or changes), thus indivisible from time.
More information is available through CRC Press or amazon.com.
Kostic, whose interest and expertise is in thermodynamics and fluid/thermal/energy area, previously contributed in 2004 a fundamental article, “Work, Power, and Energy” to the six-volume “Encyclopedia of Energy.” Published by Elsevier/Academic Press, it was the first encyclopedia ever published on the entire field of energy.
DanceLoop Chicago arrives for a special engagement at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St. in DeKalb.
Tickets are available at the door and cost $15 general for general admission and $10 for students and senior citizens. Call (630) 391-1620 for reservations.
“Bernarda,” a collaboration between Paula Frasz and world-renowned Spanish choreographer Luis Montero, Luis Montero, is the dance interpretation of Garcia Lorca’s most famous play, “The House of Bernarda Alba.” The dance tells the story of a Spanish widow and her five daughters. Alone and restricted by the traditions of mourning, the six women find themselves in forced solitude for seven years. How do the women cope with the frustration of celibacy, isolation and grief? What happens when the sensual Pepe Romano enters the women’s lives?
The concert also will also feature Artistic Director Frasz’s award-winning dance, “The Old Woman of Wexford,” which garnered her the Illinois Arts Council’s coveted Choreographic Fellowship Award.
“Wexford” is a dance treatment of an Irish folk tale that begins: “There was an old woman of Wexford/In Wexford town did dwell/She loved her husband dearly/And another man twice as well.” The dance explores the sinister love triangle with Irish-inspired music and movement.
Finally, “American Girls” uses the music of Samuel Barber to present four separate female stereotypes on our society, each, in her own way, trapped and limited by her identity.
A fundraising benefit dinner will accompany the performance. For a $50 donation, patrons can enjoy dinner with choreographers Frasz and Montero at Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant, just across the street from the Egyptian Theatre. Tickets to the concert in special reserved seating are included with the dinner, and the performance is just a short stroll away from the party.
The party begins at 5 p.m. the day of the performance and will feature a buffet of Mexican dishes and discussion of the creation of “Bernarda” by the artists. For reservations, contact DanceLoop Chicago at (630) 391-1620.
For more information, photos and streaming video, visit www.danceloopchicago.com. More information also is available by calling (630) 391-1620 or (815) 753-5501.
NIU's annual celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender History Month will kick off on Monday, Oct. 1, with the fourth annual Banned Books Week drawing at the LGBT Resource Center and an evening presentation by Mark Bowman, project coordinator of the LGBT Religious Archives Network.
Other events during the month include Ally Program workshops, “Transgeneration” movie and discussion series, LGBT Studies 3rd Thursday series and more. The month will conclude with the annual fall reception Wednesday, Oct. 31.
Full details about these and all other events are available by calling (815) 753-5428, e-mailing lgbt@niu.edu or visiting the LGBT Resource Center Web site at http://www.niu.edu/lgbt/resourcecenter/index.shtml.
Did you ever wonder what Guanxi has to do with business dealings in China, or what is meant by “face” in Eastern cultures or when “yes” really means “yes” in a global negotiation setting? If you have ever been puzzled by signs that announce “Our wines leave you nothing to hope for” or “We take your bags and send them in all directions,” you are not alone.
Cross-cultural communication involves more than just language. It is a study of a broad range of subjects ranging from non-verbal and verbal language to cultural adiaphoras.
Tanuja Singh, chair and associate professor in the Department of Marketing in NIU’s College of Business, will present “Global Communication – The Cultural Dimension” as the featured speaker at a Friday, Oct. 19, networking luncheon.
Held in the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall, the luncheon is co-sponsored by the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and the Women’s Resource Center. The cost is $8 per person. Reservations are due Tuesday, Oct. 9, at (815) 753-0320.
Singh’s talk offers you a glimpse of the role of effective communication in a global setting and offers strategies that would facilitate your next global assignment whether for business or for pleasure. It offers useful guidelines and basic frameworks that would help you understand how to avoid culture shock when dealing with business partners from other countries and help you enjoy cultural nuances when traveling to foreign destinations.
All NIU women - students, faculty and staff - are invited to gather informally over lunch. This is a chance to meet new people, see women you'd like to get to know better and gain the support that a network of contacts can provide.
For more information, visit www.niu.edu/women/PCSW.
The NIU Division of International Programs is seeking nominations for two awards that will be presented later this fall during the annual International Recognition Reception.
The Outstanding International Educator Award recognizes an NIU faculty or staff member who has contributed significantly toward international education at the university. The award also aims to heighten visibility and awareness of the internationalization of NIU.
The 2007 award recipient will have made sustained contributions to the enhancement of international education at NIU through teaching, research, public service and student-service efforts. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, Oct. 19. See http://www3.niu.edu/intl_prgms/IntlEd07.htm for nomination forms.
Professors Jorge Jeria and Robert Self were the 2006 award recipients. The International Recognition Reception will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the Holmes Student Center Sky Room.
The second major honor, the award for Outstanding Contribution to International Education at NIU, recognizes the academic unit or support unit that has made the most significant contribution toward international education on campus during the last academic year. This will be the third year International Programs has presented the award. Faculty Development and Instructional Design won last year.
The deadline for the nominations is Friday, Oct. 26. See http://www3.niu/edu/intl_prgms/deptaward2007.htm for nomination forms.
For more information about the awards, contact Sara Clayton at (815) 753-9526.
The Office of Assessment Services presents the Fall 2007 issue of Toolkit, its quarterly “nuts and bolts” e-newsletter. Toolkit is specifically designed to assist the NIU community with practical assessment issues in a user friendly format.
This issue explores the Spellings Commissions recommendation for a comparative public database on institutional performance, and parallel efforts by NASULGC and AASCU in developing a Voluntary System of Accountability in which participating institutions will publish institutional data measuring each area of accountability.
Also featured are a look at YFCY survey outcomes in critical thinking and research ability; further information about the Problem-Solving Analysis Protocol, an instrument for assessing problem solving skills; and a look at how teacher certification programs can make their assessment reports do double duty, meeting both university assessment and UOTC data requirements.
Back issues are posted on the Assessment Services Web site under Toolkit. Contributions to the newsletter are welcome at any time. The deadline for submitting articles for the next issue is Wednesday, Oct. 24.
The Ally Program is a campus-wide program designed to foster a welcoming and supportive campus environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender students, faculty and staff by creating a visible network of allies.
NIU employees and students interested in volunteering for the Ally Program can learn more and can register online. The online form at http://www.niu.edu/lgbt/resourcecenter/programs/ally.shtml provides the specific workshop dates and times, and allows registrants to indicate first, second and third choices.
Training is divided into two two-hour workshops (Part I and Part II). Volunteers must attend both Part I and Part II. Space is limited, and advance registration is required. Multiple dates are available.
Part I
Part II
The Ally Program is a program of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, Division of Student Affairs.
Darryl Polak, college division sales representative from Jostens, will come to the Holmes Student Center Bookstore from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, and Thursday, Sept. 27, to sell complete sets of Ph.D. regalia.
The cost for Ph.D. regalia is $349.95; master's regalia costs slightly less.
The NIU Campus Child Care will hold its annual Children’s Book Fair during the week of Oct. 1. Don’t miss this great opportunity to purchase quality children’s books for birthdays or holidays.
The book fair will be open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at the Campus Child Care Center.
Come browse through this wide selection with multiple copies of books, early readers, parent resource materials, calendars and much more. Approximately 1,800 books and other items will be available for purchase. Checks and credit cards are welcome.
The center is located just off Annie Glidden Road on the west side of Gabel Hall. The main entrance can be accessed by the circle drive in front of the white stone building in parking lot 38.
The Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences has announced the schedule for its Fall 2007 Colloquia.
All talks are held at 4 p.m. in Davis Hall 308 unless otherwise indicated and are co-sponsored by the Graduate Colloquium Committee of NIU. Call (815) 753-1943 for more information.
Friday, Sept. 28: Greg Wiles, College of Wooster, “Changes in Alaskan Glaciers and Climate Over the Past Two Millennia.”
Friday, Oct. 12: Roy Plotnick, University of Illinois at Chicago, Paleontological Society Distinguished Lecturer, “Let Us Prey: Trace Fossils, Foraging Ecology, Chemoreception, and the Origins of Marine Landscapes.”
Friday, Oct. 19: Terry Engelder, Pennsylvania State University, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer, “Craquelure in Masterpieces of the Louvre (Paris, France) as Analogue Models for Development of Joints in Fractured Reservoirs.”
Friday, Oct. 26: Anders Carlson, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “North Atlantic Ice Sheets and Ocean Circulation During the Last Deglaciation.”
Friday, Nov. 9, 4:30 p.m.: Charlotte Schreiber, University of Washington, International Association of Sedimentologists Distinguished Lecturer, “Reworking of Evaporites: Case Histories from the Messinian of Italy.”
Friday, Nov. 16: Eric Erslev, Colorado State University, Structural Geology, title to be announced.
Friday, Nov. 30: John Luczaj, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, “Paleo-fluids/MVT deposits/Arsenic-contaminated Groundwater.”
The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute invites participatants in its fall 2007 field trips.
To sign up for the field trips, call (815) 753-0277 or visit http://www.niu.edu/clasep/lifelong/lli/2007fall/index.shtml and click on Field Trips to register online. For further details, contact Anne Petty Johnson at apetty@niu.edu or (815) 753-5200.
NIU’s Academic Advising Center will host the Exploring Majors Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom.
Designed for all students who want to learn more about majors, minors and other academic opportunities, the fair offers a chance to speak with faculty members and staff from each of NIU’s academic units in a centralized location. Additionally, the program provides departments with an opportunity to showcase particular majors, minors and programs to a broad group of NIU students.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to promote this event in classes and in conversation with students. Also, please remember that the Exploring Majors Fair is for all students exploring their academic options, and not just for those who are currently without a major.
For further details, contact the Academic Advising Center at (815) 753-2536.
NIU’s Unity in Diversity steering committee will present “Reflecting on Our Past, Looking to Our Future,” an exhibition of artifacts, art, documents and ephemera from the project’s past 20 years.
An opening and reception for the 20th anniversary celebration is scheduled for 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, in the Holmes Student Center Gallery.
Barbra Henley, vice chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is the keynote speaker. Henley will speak at 6:30 p.m. in the Duke Ellington Ballroom.
RSVP to Shirley Mashare in the Diversity and Equity Office at (815) 753-1513.
Female high school students interested in exploring career possibilities and learning more about the academic side of college life are invited to attend the 2007 Conference for Young Women, hosted by NIU from 8:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, at Holmes Student Center.
The 12th annual conference will introduce young women in their sophomore through senior years of high school to a variety of career areas, including professions where women have been historically underrepresented.
The conference will include a panel discussion on career opportunities for women and presentations by faculty on topics related to women’s collegiate experiences and career options. Tours of the NIU campus and its facilities also will be offered.
This year’s speakers will focus on career opportunities in fields ranging from marketing and laboratory science to athletics and communication.
“Faculty and students enjoy this opportunity to showcase the best NIU has to offer young women,” said Amy Levin, director of the NIU Women’s Studies Program. “In turn, the high school girls who attend often comment on the way the event gives them a more realistic sense of what they can accomplish in college and afterward. They are excited by career opportunities they hadn’t imagined.”
The conference is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the NIU Women’s Studies Program. To register, call (800) 345-9472. For additional information, call (815) 753-1038 or visit www.clas.niu.edu/wstudies/ywc2007.htm. The registration fee is $38 before Oct. 15, with a $5 additional late charge. Limited scholarships are available.
All letters of nomination for the 2008 Presidential Teaching Professorships should be submitted to Earl Seaver, Vice Provost, Office of the Provost, Altgeld Hall 215, no later than Monday, Oct. 1.
Following receipt of a letter of nomination, the selection committee will invite each nominated faculty member to prepare materials in accordance with the published procedure. Only full professors with tenure and at least six years service at NIU are eligible for the award.
The Presidential Teaching Professorships were established in 1990 to recognize those outstanding teachers who have demonstrated over time that they:
The procedure calls for a rigorous and thorough portfolio review including contacting former students. The 2008 recipients will be announced next spring.
The University Women’s Club of NIU will host its annual fall open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the home of Barbara Peters, 901 Woodlawn Drive, DeKalb.
The University Women’s Club invites every woman associated with the university, whether she is a current or retired faculty or staff member, or the wife of a current, retired or deceased faculty or staff member, to join this long-standing organization of NIU women.
Meet people with a common interest in N IU, participate in distinct interest groups, enjoy social events and support the club’s philanthropic endeavor of providing scholarships to deserving NIU women students.