With so many parties holding universities accountable, from students to parents to employers to taxpayers to lawmakers, the importance of measuring success is paramount.
Few use the same tools or ask the same questions, however. Or, as geography professor David Changnon said, “assessment is something most of us weren’t trying to do.”
On the last day of classes before Spring Break, around three dozen faculty and staff gathered for NIU’s first assessment expo. Designed to highlight successful assessment practices on campus, the event included posters and a panel of speakers from departments across campus who shared their experiences with assessment.
“What really inspired us was to promote a more positive aspect of assessment – for people to be able to see good practices in assessment and to be able to borrow some of those practices for their own assessment,” said Carolinda Douglass, director of Assessment Services at NIU.
“This was a good start to holding more expos that will demonstrate the kinds of good practices people are doing.”
Virginia Cassidy, vice provost for academic development and planning, opened the expo by calling it an opportunity to learn from each other, to reflect on what’s happening on campus and to work collaboratively.
Some of the assessment models lauded at national conferences do not measure up to some of NIU’s work in that area, she said.
Posters outlined assessment tools for:
Panelists included Penny McIntire from the Department of Computer Science, Andrea Evans from the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations, Jinsook Kim from the School of Nursing and Health Studies and Changnon.
The work of assessment is complex and incredibly fluid, panelists said, and requires not only constant analysis and occasional revision of the tools but stability from year to year and in the rubrics used for good comparisons.
“Just because you’re trying to measure something doesn’t mean it’s going to be successful,” Evans said.
Evans addressed an assessment tool in her department that determines a degree candidate’s ability to support student learning and/or impact the learning environment.
Conducted during clinical internships, candidates collect and analyze school and/or district data, communicate the results of the analysis to relevant stakeholders, develop a plan using the data and revise and implement a program, policy or process that affects student learning or the learning environment.
Faculty in computer science appreciate assessment comments from employers, McIntire said, especially comments that demonstrate the learning abilities of the department’s graduates and internship students. “We can’t teach every technique,” she said.
Such external reviews sometimes can provide the department with a better picture of what students are capable of, McIntire added.
“I don’t think (students) know yet how much they know,” she said.
Changnon said he and his colleagues in the Department of Geography have learned a few things traversing the “long and winding road” of assessment. It’s an enhancing and enriching process. It reveals something more than what the final grade indicates. It need not measure everything all the time.
But among the good questions to ask, according to Changnon: Was there growth?
Three departments were awarded $500 each to spend on future assessment endeavors: the Department of Geography, the Department of Philosophy and the School of Nursing and Health Studies.
Ten departments, including the three award winners, received certificates acknowledging their outstanding assessment efforts.
The others include Business Administration; the Department of Computer Science; the Department of Economics; the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations; the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures; the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education; and the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences.
Another assessment expo is being planned for next spring, Douglass said.
NIU’s College of Education has spent the 21st century on a mission to make sure that students, professors and working school teachers stand on the cutting edge of technology.
Now the college has created a position to centralize those efforts, naming one of its faculty leaders in technology and research to spearhead the work.
Jeff Hecht, chair of the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment since August of 2000, is now the associate dean for technology, research and faculty innovation. Professor Lara Leutkehans is now serving as acting chair in ETRA.
“This was a real opportunity to go out and try some new things,” Hecht said. “I can have an influence in setting direction throughout an entire college rather than in just one department.”
Many of Hecht’s new duties are clear: He oversees tech support, provides guidance for moving into technology and supervises purchasing and maintenance of equipment. He will set direction on how to integrate technology into the college’s teaching, research and service, including concepts of e-learning, distance education, the Internet and classroom innovation.
He also will work with the college’s Research, Evaluation and Policy Studies office to encourage more extramurally supported research within the college and to reach out in new directions.
“I want to support our faculty in their research and in their efforts to secure the resources needed to support their research. Being active in scholarship is an important aspect of faculty life in the College of Education,” said Hecht, whose scholarship focuses on use of new technology in education and educational research as well as research ethics and technologies.
But the third plank of his office – faculty innovation – is a responsibility he continues to explore.
“I want to encourage faculty to try new things: to experiment; to be leaders in the innovation of practice and pedagogy of teaching,” he said.
“I want to help faculty by providing resources and assistance, working collaboratively so they can achieve the goals in technology use, research and new practices that they want to. These could be new ventures for on- and off-campus programming, new modalities of instruction, new systems or technologies for the delivery of instruction – anything to provide faculty flexibility and support to try new and exciting things for themselves and their students.”
The mission is critical in a time when more working adults and other non-traditional students are seeking higher education while juggling families, jobs and record gasoline prices. Meanwhile, competition has heated up: Online colleges have appeared to offer those students an alternative to traditional universities.
NIU’s College of Education is the university’s leading provider of off-campus programming, offering well more than half of those courses, but Hecht said that constant reflection is a priority: “Can we be better? How does one do that?”
It also keeps NIU on the forefront of higher education rather than behind the trends, he said. “We want to remain a leader,” he said.
“We’ve come up with a model that one of our departments is trying out this semester. Students take two classes a semester but only meet one night a week” for four hours rather than two hours and 40 minutes, Hecht said. “The rest of their work is online as they’re able, and they love the model. There is less interference with lives and families, and they get to work when the kids are asleep. And it’s not fully online: some subjects don’t lend themselves to that.”
Rita Yusko, formerly a research development officer with the NIU Office of Sponsored Projects, has been named acting manager of the university’s Technology Transfer Office.
Yusko assumed the new post Feb. 1.
Prior to coming to NIU in early 2007, she had worked as a technology commercialization specialist, collaborating with researchers from the likes of NASA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Yusko replaces Gail Mitchell, assistant vice president for technology development and transfer, who retired earlier this year.
The Technology Transfer Office encourages and nurtures the development, disclosure and protection of university intellectual property. The office also works to promote and market university intellectual property to industry and increase awareness of NIU research capabilities.
“I’m thrilled to be working in tech transfer for NIU,” Yusko said. “This office plays a lead role in protecting faculty and university knowledge and successfully promoting future research. My experience allows me to effectively arch between the university setting and commercial marketplace.”
Yusko holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Cleveland State University and an MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.
She began her career as an engineer and project manager and later worked as business development manager for a national consulting firm headquartered in Cleveland. Before coming to NIU, she spent seven years as a consultant and technology commercialization specialist with Battelle Memorial Institute’s branch office at the DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago.
An international science and technology enterprise, Battelle explores emerging areas of science, develops and commercializes technology, and manages laboratories for customers, including the U.S. government.
Yusko forged links between government research labs and Illinois companies, big and small. She also provided technology transfer and commercialization services on five federally funded programs managed by Battelle. Those programs included the NASA Illinois Commercialization Center and the Environmental Technology Commercialization Center funded by the U.S. EPA.
While at Battelle, Yusko worked frequently alongside university scientists. At NIU, she helped faculty in College of Engineering locate grant funding and prepare proposals.
“Rita has the right experience for this position and is very good at what she does,” said Rathindra Bose, vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School.
“She has been involved in technology transfer with both public research enterprises and private companies,” Bose added. “And having worked with university researchers, Rita really has an appreciation for faculty-generated intellectual properties. She knows how to transfer innovation from university to marketplace.”
Yusko also knows where to look for innovation.
“The opportunities are all around us,” she said. “Most tech developments are hidden in the simple and practical streamlining of certain processes.”
She hopes to make faculty more familiar with the crucial steps involved in taking an invention or innovation from a concept to the marketplace.
“One of my goals is to remove the veil of mystery from the process of patenting or protecting intellectual knowhow and invention,” Yusko said. “The procedures and legal aspects can appear daunting, but I want to help faculty members become comfortable with the process and help them understand why it’s important to protect their innovations – even prior to publication.
“We’re here to assist them, and we have their best interests in mind,” she added. “Members of the NIU faculty are my true clients.”
Yusko and her husband David live in St. Charles. They have two sons attending college and a daughter in eighth grade.
Trustee Myron E. Siegel brings friend Roby Lakatos for concert
NIU will present the magical gypsy music of the Roby Lakatos Ensemble, direct from Brussels, Belgium, during a Thursday, April 3, concert in the auditorium of Altgeld Hall.
Lakatos is being brought to NIU as a result of a personal relationship with Myron E. Siegel, a member of the NIU Board of Trustees, and Siegel’s wife, internationally renowned artist Deborah Levy.
The concert, which begins at 5 p.m., also features Myriam Fuks, a Klezmer and Yiddish folk singer with performances on the big screen and stage. Admission is free.
“I have known Roby for over 10 years,” Siegel said. “Deborah and I were the only guests from the United States at his daughter’s wedding in Budapest last year.”
Gypsy violinist Lakatos is known as the “devils’ fiddler” and mixes classical and jazz music with Hungarian gypsy magic to produce a different sound.
Born in 1965 into the legendary family of gypsy violinists descended from Janos Bihari, “King of Gypsy Violinists,” Lakatos was introduced to music as a child. At the age of 9, he made his public debut as first violin in a gypsy band.
His musicianship evolved not only within his own family but also at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Budapest, where he won the first prize for classical violin in 1984. Between 1986 and 1996, he and his ensemble delighted audiences at “Les Atéliers de la grande Ille” in Brussels, their musical home throughout this period.
He has collaborated with Vadim Repin and Stéphane Grappelli, and his playing was greatly admired by Sir Yehudi Menuhin, who always made a point of visiting the club in Brussels to hear Lakatos. In March 2004, Lakatos appeared to great acclaim with the London Symphony Orchestra in the orchestra’s “Genius of the Violin” festival alongside Maxim Vengerov.
Lakatos is not only a scorching virtuoso, playing 10 notes in the time it takes others to play just one, but a musician of extraordinary stylistic versatility.
Equally comfortable performing classical music as he is playing jazz and in his own Hungarian folk idiom, Lakatos is the rare musician who defies definition. He is a classical virtuoso, a jazz improviser, a composer and arranger, and a 19th-century throwback – and he is actually all of these things at once. He is the kind of universal musician so rarely encountered today, a player whose strength as an interpreter derives from his activities as an improviser and composer.
He has performed at the great halls and festivals of Europe, Asia and America with an incredible energy that music lovers of any genre will instantly love.
Accompanying Liatos are Lászlo Bóni as second violin, Jeno Lisztes on the Cimbalom, Laszlo Balogh on the guitar, Robert Fehér on the double bass and Frantisek Janoska on the piano.
They now tour the world with his ensemble and, on occasion, Fuks. In 2007, his tours took him to Chicago’s Grant Park where he thrilled more than 10,000 people with the magic of his gypsy violin.
Through her Klezmer Karma, Fuks sings the Yiddish blues with such songs as “Yiddishe Mama” and always with a story behind each song.
The NIU Chemistry Club invites the public to a chemical magic show at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, in Faraday Hall 143.
The event will be free of charge to attend, but donations will be welcomed to benefit the DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau, Inc. (YSB), a non-profit agency dedicated to improving the lives of DeKalb County youth.
“We are excited about partnering with the NIU chemistry department,” said Deanna Cada, executive director of YSB. “All donations received from the magic show will go to programming for youth throughout DeKalb County, providing mentoring experiences, school group counseling and life-skill development for all youth who need services.”
The show will feature a host of Chemistry Club favorite demonstrations and will include bright lights, big explosions and “magical ice cream” made with liquid nitrogen. As a special guest, Paul Kelter, professor and chair of the NIU Department of Teaching and Learning, will also add to the mix of chemistry magic.
Some of the experiments planned for the evening can involve loud noises and produce some smoke and/or unpleasant smells and might not be appropriate for small children. To ensure the safety of the audience and the presenters, flash photography will not be permitted and members of the audience might be asked to move away from the demonstration area during some experiments.
Parking will be available in the NIU Parking Deck, open for general parking after 7 p.m., except for reserved and handicapped spaces.
NIU Cares Day, a campus-wide day of service, is back for its second year.
Coordinated by Student Involvement and Leadership Development, NIU Cares Day brings students, faculty and staff together to complete service projects that benefit the communities of DeKalb and Sycamore to thank them for their support of NIU.
NIU Cares Day 2007 brought 1,000 participants together; this year’s event is expected to draw an even larger turnout.
The event begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 19, with a kick-off meeting at the Chick Evans Field House.
Projects in the communities will include painting, cleaning, park clean-up, resurfacing of playgrounds, landscaping, visiting retirement homes and litter pick-up. At the conclusion of the day, participants are led in a reflection activity to predict how the work they’ve completed will positively impact their surrounding communities.
Students can sign up online at http://niucaresday.niu.edu as individuals or with other students (student organizations, classes, residence hall floors, group of friends, etc.). Members of the NIU Cares Day committee also are available to come to meetings to answer questions about registration and the event itself.
“The NIU Cares Day committee hopes that our students as well as staff members will continue to develop lives that involve community service,” said Becky Harlow, assistant director for Student Involvement and Leadership Development “Participating in volunteerism projects like NIU Cares Day will help lay the foundation for the value of giving back.”
Members of the NIU Cares Day committee are seeking faculty and staff members to serve as project site leaders. Project site leaders will serve as a resource for students at each project site and ensure that students are having the best experience possible.
For those individuals who would like to show their support for NIU Cares Day but do not have the time to contribute to the event itself, the committee encourages participation in one of three fundraising events in the weeks ahead. Details on “Shop and Share at Jewel-Osco for NIU Cares Day,” “NIU Cares Day at Pizza Villa,” and “NIU Cares Day at Culver’s” can be found at http://niucaresday.niu.edu.
All questions regarding participation in or support of NIU Cares Day 2008 can be directed to rharlow@niu.edu.
NIU political scientist Matthew Streb has been in high demand with the media as of late.
Streb was interviewed recently for a segment on NPR’s Morning Edition examining the hotly contested congressional race in the 14th District. He also was interviewed by American Family Radio and has been a regular guest on WNIJ radio, the local NPR affiliate, providing analysis on the presidential primaries and local elections. He’ll continue in that role with WNIJ through the November general election.
Additionally, Streb’s political analysis has been used widely in newspapers across the region and country, from the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune to the Los Angeles Times.
He also has a new book out, “Rethinking American Electoral Democracy,” that has received attention from the likes of United Press International, the Beacon News in Aurora and the Courier News in Elgin.
NIU’s Department of Military Science (ROTC) will conduct tactical labs in the ECO Park woods, north of Stevenson Towers, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, and Wednesday, March 26.
ROTC students will be in uniform and carrying Rubber M-16 replicas during these tactical labs. Students, faculty and staff are being alerted to this activity in order to avoid unnecessary alarm. Those who have questions regarding these tactical labs can call Christopher Oertwig at (815) 753-6238.
NIU’s Regional History Center/University Archives has the mission of preserving and documenting the history of the university, including the tragic Feb. 14 event.
Although staff members already have been working with various departments on campus, they need to expand their outreach by asking faculty, staff, students and the larger university community to share their items and to spread the word.
No item is too small to be included in the archives, including e-mails, correspondence, poems, official documents, class projects, photographs and videotape.
For more information, or to share, contact the Regional History Center/University Archives in Room 400 of Founders Memorial Library or call (815) 753-1779 during regular office hours.
NIU’s Office of Assessment Services presents the Spring 2008 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 concludes the report on the Voluntary System of Accountability’s three-prong approach to increasing accountability and transparency of institutional outcomes. Also included: a look at portfolio assessment in the undergraduate nursing program, the “five column model” of an assessment-based student learning improvement process and an answer to the question, “Do we need to collect data on every learning outcome, using every assessment method, every year?”
are posted on the Assessment Services Web site. Contributions to the newsletter are welcome at any time. Send your assessment methods and outcomes of 300 words or less to cdoug@niu.edu or daskins@niu.edu.
On the menu at Ellington’s this week: Café Italiano is scheduled for Tuesday, Amour de Nouritture takes over Wednesday and Asian Flair concludes the week Thursday.
Café Italiano features minestrone soup or Caesar salad for starters, cavatappi pasta or pasta con brio served with tomatoes parmesan for entrees and lemon ice or almond biscotti for dessert. Each table also will be served a basket of bread.
Amour de Nouritture features roasted garlic and shallot potato soup with cheesy croutons or fresh tomato and onion Napoleon with balsamic vinaigrette for starters, coq au vin and leek or roasted pepper quiche for entrees and chocolate covered éclairs or cherry clafoutis with French vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of cherry sauce for dessert. Each table also will be served sparkling apricot-pineapple punch.
Asian Flair features veggie lettuce wraps or baked pork egg rolls for starters, chunks of white meat chicken and vegetables or vegetable lo mein for entrees and Indian chai cheesecake or Chinese five-spice pears for dessert.
Seating is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with service until 1 p.m. The cost is $8 per person. Ellington’s is located on the main floor of the Holmes Student Center. Call (815) 753-1763 or visit www.ellingtons.niu.edu to make reservations.
Renowned filmmaker Byron Hurt will come to campus Tuesday, March 25, for a showing of his film, “Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” followed by a discussion about the messages hip hop music sends about what it means to be a man today.
The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center. The Women’s Resource Center’s co-sponsors are NAACP, B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S., EBONY Women, S.I.S.T.E.R.S. and the Black Male Initiative.
This event is free, but seats are limited. Call (815) 753-0320 to reserve a space.
International Programs will hold a Student Fulbright Interest Workshop for NIU students who would like to learn more about the prestigious international exchange program.
The workshop will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, in the Heritage Room of the Holmes Student Center. Megan Spillman, a representative from the Chicago Fulbright Office, will give a presentation on the Fulbright program and answer questions.
The Student Fulbright program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and coordinated in the United States by the Institute of International Education, is a competitive fellowship program funding study or teaching abroad at the post-baccalaureate or graduate level.
In recent years, NIU students have won awards that allowed them to teach English in other countries or to conduct dissertation research. Returned Fulbright students often characterize the program as “life-changing,” and the prestige of the fellowship program is recognized worldwide.
More information on the program is available online at www.niu.edu/international/fulbright/index.shtml.
Join the Women’s Center and Recreation Services at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, March 27, for a women-only climbing night at Vertical Endeavors. The price is discounted to $15, but spaces are limited.
Reserve a spot by stopping by The Outing Centre on the west side of the Student Recreation Center. Transportation from the Outing Centre and belay staff will be provided. Beginners and first-timers are welcome.
WNIJ (89.5 FM) and classical music WNIU (90.5 FM) are preparing for a spring membership campaign from Wednesday, April 2, through Saturday, April 12.
Volunteers are needed to answer pledge calls. Those interested in helping should click on the “Volunteer” link at www.northernpublicradio.org or call (815) 753-9000 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to find out which hours are left to fill on the schedule.
Northern Public Radio is the broadcast service of NIU.
NIU’s Art Museum will present “Examining Audubon” in the South Galleries of Altgeld Hall from Tuesday, April 8, to Saturday, May 10. The public is invited to an opening reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8.
Prior to the reception, Brian “Fox” Ellis will present a first-person interpretation of John James Audubon as a storyteller. “Adventures with John James Audubon” begins at 5 p.m. in Room 315 of Altgeld Hall. From 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, Chicago History Museum Curator Joy Bivens will present “Assessing Excellence in Museum Exhibitions” in the South Galleries.
“Examining Audubon” considers the ways in which the works of Audubon created a bridge between art and science, and contributed to the fields of ornithology, ecology and conservation. Gathered from collections throughout the Midwest, this exhibition includes about 30 prints ranging from the small octavo prints to the large elephant folio, which portrays life-size birds such as the flamingo.
Since his death, Audubon’s name has become synonymous with conservation and his images have been adopted and commercialized by numerous organizations. This exhibition also presents a sampling of these products and reproductions. “Examining Audubon” is organized by students enrolled in ART 556, “Exhibition Interpretation” of the NIU Graduate Certificate program in Museum Studies.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the first floor, west end, of Altgeld Hall. The galleries are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment for group tours. Exhibitions are free; donations are appreciated. Exhibitions of the NIU Art Museum 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, call (815) 753-1936 or visit www.vpa.niu.edu/museum.
Members of the NIU Concert Choir will contribute to Wheaton College’s upcoming performances of the Berlioz Requiem, conducted by John Nelson. The performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19, in Edman Memorial Chapel on the campus of Wheaton College.
The Apollo Chorus of Chicago as well as the Valparaiso University Choir will join the Wheaton College choruses and orchestra. John Tessier is the tenor soloist.
Nelson, chorus master Paul Wiens, Dean Curtis Funk and Tony Payne, director of the Wheaton Conservatory of Music, are dedicating the concert to the memory of the NIU students who lost their lives in the Feb. 14 incident. Tickets will be made available at the Wheaton College family price.
Do you enjoy wearing a costume and performing before an audience?
NIU’s Blackwell History of Education Museum in the College of Education seeks an experienced teacher to play the role of a 1900-era teacher in the reconstructed Milan Township one-room school and occasionally in area schools.
This part-time position pays well and is flexible and fun. Retirees are welcome. For more information, contact curator Lucy Townsend at (815) 753-1236 or ltownsend@niu.edu.
The Christian Faculty and Staff Prayer Luncheon is scheduled for noon Tuesday, March 18, in the East Room of the Blackhawk Cafeteria.
Participants may bring a lunch or purchase one there. All are welcome.
Wouldn’t it be fabulous to have designer clothes, a great apartment and a job that provides you with all of the luxuries of life?
Join the Women’s Resource Center from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, to talk about the myths and the realities of the popular HBO hit “Sex and the City” during a discussion of balancing careers, relationships and sexuality.
The event, held at the women’s Resource Center on Normal Road, is co-sponsored by the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
The Nehring Gallery in downtown DeKalb will host “The Polish Connection,” an exhibition of work by the NIU art students and faculty who participated in a Study Abroad Program in Poland last spring. The exhibition is on display from March 20 through May 3, with the opening reception scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 20.
Before traveling to Poland, students studied Polish language, culture, history and art at NIU. The works created by the students after traveling throughout Poland suggest the historical, social and cultural life of the Polish community.
The exhibition includes examples of Polish folk art with such work as Pysanky eggs and traditional wooden birds as well as works by students addressing contemporary issues such as the desecration of Jewish cemeteries.
A drawing will be held for a Pysanky egg decorated by artist Billie Giese. Pysanky are a part of a rich history of tradition in Polish culture, as well as all over Eastern Europe. In Poland, they historically were an integral part of the cultural heritage and ritualistic practices.
Pysanky are a special type of decorative egg decorated with batik; that is, beeswax is used to trace designs on eggs that then are dyed in different colors according to the intention of the designer. Designs on eggs may be painted, scratched or dyed without design, but only Pysanky eggs are decorated using the beeswax-and-dye method. Tickets for the drawing are $1 each or 6 for $5. All proceeds will benefit the Nehring Gallery.
“The Polish Connection” is open and free to the public during regular gallery hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday or by appointment. Nehring Gallery is located on the second floor of the Nehring Center for Culture and Tourism in the historic First National Bank building. The gallery is cooperatively operated by the DeKalb Park District and the NIU College of Visual and Performing Arts Division of Outreach. An entrance accessible to all is available and located at the 111 S. Second Street entrance.
Call (815) 758-6363 or visit www.nehringgallery.org for more information.
NIU’s Art Museum will host “Peggy Macnamara: Nature Studies” from March 25 through May 10 in the North Gallery.
The exhibition features studies, sketches and large-scale watercolor paintings of flora and fauna depicted by The Field Museum of Natural History’s artist-in-residence and is part of a suite of nature-themed exhibitions at the NIU Art Museum.
The public is invited to a reception with the artist from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27. From 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 5, Macnamara will present an artist’s talk in Altgeld 315.
From 2 to 4 p.m. that same day, she will conduct a drawing workshop in the art museum corridor using the taxidermy birds and animals in the hallcase exhibit “Specimens and Studies” as models. Pre-register for this free workshop for ages 16 and older by calling (815) 753-7867. Space is limited.
“Peggy Macnamara: Nature Studies” will contain large watercolors from her most recent “Migration and Nest” series, which she has undertaken with two Field Museum scientists as well as past works based on museum collections. Several of her smaller drawings and field studies also will be included in this solo exhibition.
Macnamara is currently adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute (of Chicago) as well as an associate of the Zoology Department at the Field Museum, where several of her large-scale watercolors are on permanent display.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the first floor, west end, of Altgeld Hall. The galleries are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment for group tours. Exhibitions are free; donations are appreciated. Exhibitions of the NIU Art Museum 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, call (815) 753-1936 or visit www.vpa.niu.edu/museum.
NIU’s Art Museum will host “Gabriel Bizen Akagawa: Unpacked / Offset” from March 25 through May 10 as part of a suite of nature-themed exhibitions. A public reception for the artist is scheduled from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27.
Throughout the course of the exhibition, Akagawa is encouraging and seeking further community participation such as contributing a “tree story,” joining him on a nature walk and contributing to a dialogue by contacting him directly at cratespace@gmail.com. Anyone can contribute to the project in this way. More information about these and other related projects is available at http://www.unpacked-offset.wikispaces.com.
The “Unpacked / Offset” exhibition is a collaborative installation project in which area students, community artists and visiting artist/curator Akagawa recreate “nature” within reclaimed art shipping crates and contribute additional artwork commenting on environmental concerns, such as offsetting carbon emissions. A publication with essay by Audrey Peiper is in production.
Akagawa has exhibited at such Chicago venues as the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Walsh Gallery, Gallery 400, Gene Siskel Film Center, The Beverly Arts Center and Berlin’s Galerie Lifebomb. He recently was awarded a yearlong residency at the Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art in Canada, in which he conducted environment-based, community-collaborative projects.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the first floor, west end, of Altgeld Hall. The galleries are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment for group tours. Exhibitions are free; donations are appreciated. Exhibitions of the NIU Art Museum 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, call (815) 753-1936 or visit www.vpa.niu.edu/museum.
NIU women faculty, staff and students are invited to a networking luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, March 28, in the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall. The presentation begins at 12:05 p.m.
Jeanette Rossetti, assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies, part of the College of Health and Human Sciences, will speak.
“Factors that Make Outstanding Professors Successful in Teaching” will highlight findings from Rossetti’s dissertation in which she conducted an interpretive analysis of the educational philosophy and goal statements of 35 professors who received NIU’s prestigious Presidential Teaching Professor award. The findings of the study and the narratives of the Presidential Teaching Professors give meaning to successful and inspirational teaching.
A Caesar salad lunch will be served at the cost of $9 per person. Please reserve before Tuesday, March 18. To make a reservation, call (815) 753-0320.
Interested in helping first-year students learn how to succeed at NIU? Become a UNIV 101/201 instructor for fall 2008.
UNIV 101 is a one-credit, 12-week course focused on helping freshmen develop the essential academic and social skills needed to make an enjoyable and successful transition to NIU. UNIV 201 is a similar course designed specifically for transfer students.
In fall 2007, NIU offered 91 sections of UNIV 101/201; more than 1,800 first-year NIU students enrolled. As a UNIV 101/201 instructor, you can impact the experiences of these new students and provide them with resources to help them adjust to life at NIU.
Instructors must be a current or retired member of the NIU faculty, staff, or administration, hold a master’s degree and have prior teaching experience. Candidates who do not meet the last two criteria might be paired with teaching coaches.
UNIV 101/201 instructors typically receive a stipend of $1,000 for teaching an individual section or $500 for co-instructing. Once hired, all instructors are required to attend training workshops and department meetings and participate in course feedback through e-mail correspondence and surveys.
An overview session is scheduled for 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in the Illinois Room of the Holmes Student Center to share more information about teaching these courses. Please RSVP to firstconn@niu.edu.
More information and application materials are available online. Contact First-Year Connections at firstconn@niu.edu.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences External Programming announces its academic summer camp lineup.
It will include Speech Camp, Creative Writing Camp, Sci-Camp Explorations Jr., Sci-Camp Explorations Sr., Film Camp and the Muggle Academy.
Each of the five-day residential camps for pre-collegiate students will be held on the NIU DeKalb campus, with the exception of Sci-Camp Explorations Jr., which will take place at the Lorado Taft Field Campus.
The camps for middle and high school students are designed to foster friendships and keep young minds active over the summer. NIU has a rich history of offering excellent Academic Summer Camps at very competitive prices.
For more information, call (815) 753-5200, e-mail lasep@niu.edu or visit www.niu.edu/clasep.
NIU is proud to offer the Izzo-Inge Family Award for Students with Disabilities for the 2008-2009 academic year. This scholarship was made possible by a generous gift from Charmaine Izzo-Inge and David Inge.
The scholarship is available to students who will be full-time (minimum 12 hours a semester), degree-seeking juniors or seniors at NIU.
Candidates must possess a grade point average of at least 2.5/4.0 and demonstrate a significant disability that affects the cognitive process. Qualified disabilities include learning disability, traumatic brain injury, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)/ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), deafness or hard of hearing, visual impairment or other disabilities that affect the cognitive process.
Preference will be given to students who exhibit financial need (as determined by the Student Financial Aid office) and plan to teach special education. Students who do not exhibit financial need nor plan to teach special education are still encouraged to apply.
The deadline for applications is Tuesday, April 1. For an application and/or more information, please contact the Office of the Dean, College of Health and Human Sciences, Wirtz Hall 227 or call (815) 753-1877 or TTY (815) 753-3000.