Patrick José Dawson of the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been selected to take the reins of Northern Illinois University Libraries.
Dawson, 54, will become dean of University Libraries on July 1, pending approval by the NIU Board of Trustees at its March 27 meeting.
Dawson will bring to NIU more than two decades of experience in library administration.
He currently serves as associate university librarian for information and research services at UCSB, where his responsibilities include developing library budgets, strategic plan implementation and supervision of operations, staffing and planning for a number of library departments.
“Patrick Dawson has held positions of increasing levels of responsibility at the Riverside, Irvine and Santa Barbara campuses of the University of California,” NIU Provost Raymond Alden said.
“He has had extensive professional experience in research university libraries, and during his visits to NIU, all constituencies appreciated his insights and communication style,” Alden added. “He has the right mix of talent, enthusiasm and experience needed to lead NIU Libraries.”
As dean, Dawson will serve as the chief administrative officer of University Libraries, which includes Founders Memorial Library, three specialized libraries on campus and libraries at NIU outreach centers in Naperville, Rockford and Hoffman Estates. University Libraries houses 2.2 million volumes and has an annual operation budget of about $9 million. The dean will oversee a professional staff of 30 and a support staff of 76.
Dawson said he was impressed with the NIU campus, community and library, particularly the growing reputation of its digitization unit.
“When I learned of the position, I did some research into NIU and liked what I saw,” he said. “My positive feelings were reinforced during my campus visits earlier this year. I’m looking forward to working with a professional and very good group of people.”
A native of New Mexico, Dawson holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in history/Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico. He earned his master of library science degree from the University of Arizona.
He was a member of the Association of Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Program in 1998 and is a Fellow in the Association of Research Libraries’ Research Library Leadership Fellows Program. He has been actively involved in the promotion of innovative and emerging trends and technologies for the improvement of information retrieval and delivery.
Dawson has a focused area of expertise in Chicano Studies as well. While at UCSB, he served as head of the Colección Tloque Nahuaque, a nationally recognized resource for comprehensive Chicana/o and Latina/o information and specialized reference services. He also has been active on issues related to library services for Latinos and collection development of Hispanic American materials.
“I think my background in this area is important, because a growing number of Latinos are moving into the Chicago region and going to college. It will mean looking at the NIU collection to ensure the needs of the population are met,” Dawson said.
“My goal is to make NIU Libraries the best library it can possibly be,” he added. “It must continue to be an integral part of the learning and research experience.”
Dawson and his wife Sandra have one daughter, 1-year-old Anna. “It’s an exciting time for us, and we’re very much looking forward to becoming part of the NIU community,” he said.
When Jalene Thompson and Nick Bourdages of DeKalb held a party to mark their 13th birthdays, they went all out with a DJ, decorations and cake. The only things missing were presents.
Instead, the duo asked their friends to make donations to the NIU February 14 Student Scholarship Fund and collected $580 from the 35 friends who attended the party. They presented the gift to NIU President John Peters in his office Thursday, March 20.
The two had agreed in advance that they wanted to collect money for a charity, said Jalene, who is the daughter of Dan and Kelly Thompson. When the scholarship fund was announced, it seemed like a perfect destination for the gift, she said.
That was fine with Nick, the son of Dean and Kim Bourdages, whose brother Austin is a freshman at NIU and who had attended class in Cole Hall just hours before the shooting.
“I am deeply touched by the generosity of these two young people. It demonstrated a level of maturity you don’t always associate with individuals their age,” said Peters, who gave the two donors a tour of his office and reminisced about his own days as a seventh grader.
The February 14 Student Scholarship Fund was established to honor the memory of the students slain in the Feb. 14 tragedy. The money collected will be distributed through the university’s general scholarship fund.
Including the gift from Jalene and Nick, the fund has collected a total of $200,000 from more than 900 donors. To contribute to the fund, visit the NIU Foundation Online Gifts page or call the NIU Foundation at 1-877-GIV2NIU (1-877-448-2648).
Internationally acclaimed poet Lucien Stryk will return to his old stomping grounds for an afternoon of poetry readings and discussion that also will feature Illinois Poet Laureate Kevin Stein and NIU English Instructor John Bradley.
The English Graduate Student Association (EGSA) will host the event, titled “The Poet and His Craft,” from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 4, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center. Books by the three poets will be available for purchase, and a book signing will be held during a post-event reception.
“It’s a great panel,” said Alisa Smith-Riel, EGSA president. “By bringing together these three well-known published poets, the event should have broad appeal. We expect a big turnout.”
A native of Chicago, Stryk is a celebrated Zen poet and former NIU English professor. He has written or edited more than two dozen volumes of poetry, translations and edited collections, and his poetry has been translated into Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Swedish and Italian.
Stryk served on the NIU faculty from 1958 until his retirement in 1991 and was the recipient of the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Presidential Research Professorship. He also taught at universities in Japan, and was a Fulbright lecturer there and in Iran. Over the course of his career, Stryk has received numerous awards for his poetry and translations. He also is a highly sought presenter.
Stein is a professor of English at Bradley University.
In 2003, he was named Illinois Poet Laureate http://poetlaureate.il.gov/, following in a short and distinguished line that has included only Carl Sandburg, Howard Austin and Gwendolyn Brooks. The title is one of many honors and accolades Stein has earned during his career as poet, critic, editor and teacher. He is author of seven poetry collections, two scholarly books, two poetry anthologies and many poems and essays. Additionally, he has pursued a scholarly career as literary critic.
Bradley has been teaching composition and a variety of other courses at NIU since 1992.
Last year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him with a 2007 Literature Fellowship in Poetry. The award capped a string of successes for Bradley that also included a prestigious 2007 Pushcart Prize for his poetry. A year earlier he had two books published: “Terrestrial Music” and “War on Words.” Bradley also has been the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council grant and a previous NEA Fellowship in Poetry.
Byron Hurt, a self-proclaimed hip-hop head, former star college quarterback, documentary filmmaker and gender violence prevention worker, will visit NIU to screen his film exploring gender roles in hip-hop and rap music.
Hurt’s documentary, “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” will be shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center. A discussion about hip hop music and masculinity will follow. The event is open to the public but seats are limited; call (815) 753-0320 to reserve.
“Beyond Beats and Rhymes” premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and has been shown at more than 40 film festivals worldwide. It also was broadcast nationally on PBS. (For a preview, see www.bhurt.com.) The documentary features interviews with rappers, including Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes.
PBS calls the film “a personal and heartfelt documentary that goes beyond the bling to explore gender roles in hip-hop and rap music … Hurt tackles issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in today’s hip-hop culture by talking with rappers, moguls and fans.”
A New York native, Hurt quarterbacked the Northeastern University Husky football team from 1988-1991. He has a diverse career background in the media, with work experience in broadcast television, print, public relations and long-form documentary.
Hurt is a founding member of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, the leading college-based rape and domestic violence prevention initiative for college and professional athletics. He is also the former associate director of the first gender violence prevention program in the United States Marine Corps.
Over the last 15 years, Hurt has lectured at more than 100 college campuses, presented at numerous professional conferences, and trained thousands of young men and women on issues related to gender, race, sex, violence, music and visual media.
Hurt has been featured or mentioned in various newspapers and magazines. He has also appeared on The Montel Williams Show, CNN, Access Hollywood, MTV, BET, ABC News World Tonight, the Michael Baisden Show and the Michael Eric Dyson Show.
Prominent Latino rights leader Dolores Huerta, who with Cesar Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers union, will visit NIU next month to speak on the labor movement, civic engagement and the importance of the Latino vote in the upcoming election.
Huerta will deliver an address titled “The Need for Social Change: From the Fight in the Fields to the Halls of Congress” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center. The event is open to the public.
“She’s the most prominent Chicana labor leader, a seminal figure in Latino history in the United States,” said Emily Prieto, director of the NIU Latino Resource Center, which is sponsoring the presentation along with the Women’s Center and other groups on campus.
“She’s amazing, very articulate and powerful,” Prieto added. “I think Dolores will inspire our students to learn more about their histories and to become more politically involved. She delivers a message of hope that focuses on the need to be involved and engaged. She’s a true hero.”
Huerta began her career as an elementary schoolteacher but left the profession to join the labor movement. Today she is among the nation’s most powerful labor union leaders, having founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez in 1962. She worked with Chavez for more than 30 years until his death in 1993.
Earlier, in 1955, she had become a founding member of the Sacramento chapter of the Community Service Organization, which battled segregation and police brutality, led voter registration drives, pushed for improved public services in Latino communities throughout California and fought to enact new legislation.
Her many accomplishments include:
The mother of 11 children, Huerta also has been arrested more than 20 times for participation in civil disobedience protests. In 1988, she was beaten and seriously injured by police officers during a non-violent protest in San Francisco. She later won a judgment related to the beating and used proceeds to benefit farm workers.
Huerta’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the United States Presidential Eleanor D. Roosevelt Human Rights Award from President Clinton.
In 2002 she received the Nation/Puffin Award for Creative Citizenship, which included a $100,000 grant. She used the funds to establish the Dolores Huerta Foundation’s Organizing Institute, focusing on community organizing and leadership training in low-income under-represented communities.
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 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 baseball team will face Notre Dame in a 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, contest at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. Tickets are on sale today.
Proceeds from tickets sales will benefit NIU’s February 14 Student Scholarship Fund. The Huskies and Fighting Irish last met on the diamond in 2005.
“It is an incredible show of support from the Chicago White Sox and from [head coach] Dave Schrage and the University of Notre Dame to be able to do this,” NIU head coach Ed Mathey said. “To have the ability to put together an event like this at an amazing facility like U.S. Cellular Field to generate financial support for the scholarship fund is tremendous.”
All tickets are $10 for lower-level reserved seating and are available at whitesox.com, Ticketmaster phone lines, Chicagoland Ticketmaster outlets, the NIU campus box office and the U.S. Cellular Field box office.
Gates to the ballpark will open at 6 p.m. Parking is free in Lots A (bus parking), B and C, and concession stands will be open during the game.
“We look forward to a great contest on the field and hope that all the NIU alumni and fans in the Chicago area will come out to support this endeavor,” Mathey said. “Because the proceeds for this event are going to the February 14 Student Scholarship Fund, I would certainly like to see this become one of the highest-attended college games in the Midwest this season.”
“The White Sox are honored to host Northern Illinois and Notre Dame at U.S. Cellular Field for this special game and important cause,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox chief marketing officer and vice president. “Both schools boast a significant fan base in Chicago that will make for a great night of baseball while serving a much more important cause.”
On the menu at Ellington’s this week: Passaporte a Brazil is scheduled for Tuesday, The Dancing Sombreros takes over Wednesday and Garden of Eden concludes the week Thursday.
Passaporte a Brazil features Brazilian parmesan-filled cheese puffs or mango jicama chopped salad for starters, Brazilian churrasco beef skewers or Brazilian churrasco vegetable skewers for entrees and coconut bread pudding with dried apricots or Brazilian coffee banana surprise for dessert. Each table also will be served a guacho bean dip with tri-colored tortilla chips.
The Dancing Sombreros features chili con carne or Mexican toastadas for starters, Mexican flank steak or chili rellono soufflé for entrees and churro with chocolate dipping sauce or margarita angel food cake for dessert. Each table also will be served a basket of tortilla chips with fresh guacamole and sour cream.
Garden of Eden features mango spring rolls or fiery carrot and avocado soup for starters, stuffed green peppers with a side of basked sweet potato fries or spaghetti with roasted zucchini and olives for entrees and peach melba crisp or chocolate cake for dessert. Each table also will be served vegan blueberry smoothies.
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.
Wellness Fair 2008 is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom and the Capitol Room of the Holmes Student Center.
Sponsored by the Employee Assistance Program and Recreation Services, the free event offers a variety of screenings and assessments. Appointments also can be made at the fair for $25 thyroid screenings and $35 chemistry profiles that include glucose, nitrogen, sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, protein and more.
Complete a wellness puzzle for a chance to win a 30-minute massage at Recreation Services. Bring old eye glasses, hearing aids, cell phones and ink cartridges to donate to the DeKalb Noon Lions Club.
Call (815) 753-9191 for more information.
NIU’s Civic Leadership Academy will present a workshop Thursday, March, 27, on “Managing Technology in Government.”
This workshop provides leaders with a foundation to better understand the whirlwind of demands that information technology presents for every organization. The seminar will present an up-to-date view on technology which every leader should know in order to survive in a digitally driven environment.
Government is not immune to the advances of technology. Participants will learn why technology matters and what is being embraced out there as “state of the art.” Participants also will learn about organizational decision-making approaches they can use to critically assess the viability of new technologies. These new models will enable leaders to better manage competing demands, as well as coordinate the integration of technological changes into old or new organizational arrangements.
The workshop will be presented by Yu Che Chen, associate professor of public administration at NIU; Alan Kraus, executive director of Broadband Development Group at NIU; and Sam Ferguson, director of Information Technology for the Village of Schaumburg.
Registration and more information and CLA and its upcoming workshops are available online.George D. Kuh, chancellor’s professor of higher education and former director of the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University, Bloomington, will present “What Matters to Student Success: Lessons for NIU” from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 28. The event will take place at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center ballroom. A reception will follow.
Kuh is a nationally renowned researcher focusing on the assessment of undergraduate student learning and personal development, campus cultures and the institutional conditions that foster student learning. He is the author of 21 books and hundreds of publications on many aspects of higher education and the student experience. He also is the founder of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and related surveys.
For more information, contact the ACCESS office at (815) 753-1141. This event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost.
The First-Year Composition Program is sponsoring a forum for NIU students to share their writing publicly.
The Showcase of Student Writing will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 28, in the Holmes Student Center Regency Room.
“In the spirit of moving ‘forward, together forward,’ we are hoping that many students and members of the NIU community and the DeKalb community will join us in supporting and celebrating the excellent academic writing that our students participate in,” said Kathleen Turner, a teaching assistant and member of the First-Year Composition Committee.
Students will display projects created in their courses taught by first-year composition instructors. The projects include aspects of visual rhetoric ranging from PowerPoint presentations, posters and brochures to debates and skits.
The ReadNex Poetry Squad, four spoken-word poets and emcees from New York City, will come to NIU at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 31, in the A/B Formal Lounge of the Grant South Complex.
Squad members will give a spoken word performance with the purpose to uplift urban communities using hip-hop, soul, Latin and Caribbean music. Afterward, they will host an open mic event.
Call (815) 753-1555 for more information.
After 15 years as a neo-Nazi white supremacist activist and recruiter, Tom “TJ” Leyden experienced a profound change of heart, turned away from hate and began teaching tolerance.
Leyden will visit campus at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, to speak on “Turning Away from Hate.” The free speech takes place in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center.
Call (815) 753-1963 for more information.
All University Women’s Club members, spouses and guests are invited to attend the annual potluck supper to be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, at the Ellwood House Visitor Center in DeKalb.
Bring a dish to share and your own table service. Donna Peterson of Sycamore’s Chapel in the Pines will entertain with “The Bride Wore Duct Tape.”
For details, contact Mary Lu Strack at (815) 756-4390 or strackfolk@tbcnet.com.
The NIU Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities (PCSM) invites nominations for the 2008 Deacon Davis Diversity Award. Created in 2004, this award recognizes the significant contributions made to the improvement of the status of minorities on campus by members of the university community.
The PCSM encourages nominations from the university community including current NIU undergraduate, graduate or professional students; faculty, SPS or Civil Service staff; academic units, offices, programs or organizations. Nominations and an additional letter of support must be in writing and be received by Thursday, April 10.
The Deacon Davis Award is named in honor of the founder and former director of the CHANCE (College Help & Assistance Necessary for College Education) Program. Davis died March 20, 2003.
Award recipients in 2007 were Promod Vohra, dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology; Luis and Clersida Garcia, associate professors in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education; and Nicole Gabriel, Ruth Molokwu and Heema Soni, student officers of the Minority Science Association.
The Deacon Davis Award is a non-monetary honor. Awards will be bestowed upon the selected recipients Tuesday, April 22, during the Annual PCSM Spring Banquet. Nomination forms and guidelines can be found at www.niu.edu/pcsm/ or by contacting Melody Mitchell at (815) 753-1027 or mmitchell@niu.edu.
NIU’s Latino Resource Center, along with Castle Bank, is seeking nominees for the 2007-08 Outstanding Latino Community Awards.
Self-nominations are welcome as are nominations of NIU students, NIU faculty and staff, Latino student organizations and local businesses. Nominations are due Friday, April 11, to the Latino Resource Center, LC-515 Garden Road, NIU, DeKalb, Ill., 60115.
Winners will be announced Saturday, May 3, at the annual Outstanding Latino Community Awards gala luncheon.
Nomination applications are available online. For more information, call (815) 753-1986.David Solomon, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, will speak at NIU at 3 p.m. Friday, April 11, on “Elizabeth Anscombe’s ‘Modern Moral Philosophy’ and Virtue Ethics.”
Solomon’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Graduate Colloquium Committee and the Department of Philosophy. It takes place in the University Suite of the Holmes Student Center.
Call (815) 753-0331 for more information.
NIU will salute administrative professionals Tuesday, April 22, during the 11th annual Administrative Professionals Day Seminar in the Altgeld Hall ballroom.
The event takes place from 7:45 to 10 a.m. and includes a deluxe breakfast buffet and several door prizes contributed by local businesses. Rita Emmett, author of “The Procrastinator’s Handbook” and “The Clutter-Busting Handbook,” will speak on “Blast Away Procrastination! Mastering the Art of Doing It Now.”
Parking is available for $5 in the NIU visitor’s parking lot for off-campus registrants. Parking passes are mailed with receipts if registration is received by Friday, April 11.
Registration is $44 per person (or $54 after April 11) and includes breakfast, the presentation and all materials. Employees of NIU and other governmental agencies are invited at a special rate of $34 per person ($44 after April 11). Registrations are not accepted without full payment, and there are no refunds on or after April 11. Parking payments are not refundable.
To register, call (815) 753-0277 or visit www.niu.edu/clasep. For more information, call (815) 753-5200 or e-mail lasep@niu.edu.
The Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities (PCSM) will host its ninth annual Friendships Abloom Spring Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22.
All are invited to attend the luncheon in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center. Brief remarks and award presentations begin at 12:15 p.m.
To perform maintenance and repairs on high pressure steam lines on campus, the Physical Plant and Heating Plant will conduct the annual steam outage.
West Campus: 9 p.m. Monday, May 19, through noon Friday, May 23. This will include all buildings west of Carroll Avenue, except Stevenson and the Neptune Complex, and various other smaller buildings not served by steam. Domestic and heating hot water will not be available.
East Campus: 9 p.m. Sunday, May 25, or Monday, May 26, through noon Thursday, May 29. This will include all buildings east of Carroll Avenue and the Neptune Complex, except for various other smaller buildings not served by steam. Domestic and heating hot water will not be available.
Address any questions or concerns to Kevin Vines, chief engineer, at (815) 753-6090 or via e-mail at kvines@niu.edu.
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?”
Back issues 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.
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.
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.
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.