To perform maintenance and repairs on high pressure steam lines on campus, the Physical Plant and Heating Plant will conduct the annual steam outage.
East Campus: 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.
Parking permits for the 2008-09 academic year go on sale June 2.
The price of the permits for faculty and staff increased by $15, while prices for student parking permits increased by $10. A blue, non-reserve parking permit now costs $100 a year, and permits reserving parking spaces between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. now sell for $580. (The price of a reserved permit was incorrectly reported in last week’s Northern Today.) Student permits now will range in price from $37 to $75 per year for non-reserve permits (depending on type) and $395 for reserve permits.
“We regret having to raise the fees so dramatically, but sharply rising costs and a lack of other funding alternatives leave us with little choice,” said Sam Baker, chair of the Campus Parking Committee.
Permits can be purchased in person at the Parking Services office on the corner of Normal Road and Lincoln Terrace or ordered via campus mail using the form sent to all current permit holders.
New permits must be displayed beginning July 1.
NIU’s Alumni Association will thank NIU faculty and staff for their support and dedication to the university by offering two-for-one pricing for two upcoming Chicago White Sox games Friday, June 13, or Tuesday, July 1.
Join the Alumni Association in a private suite featuring indoor and outdoor open seating and continuous buffet and bar starting at 6 p.m. through the seventh inning stretch. Packages cost $125 and include two game tickets, all food and beverages and a wonderful atmosphere. Join us on Friday, June 13 or Tuesday, July 1 for an exciting baseball reception.
Call (815) 753-1452 to order.
Discover Dalmatia’s ruggedly beautiful, island-dominated shoreline on this touring itinerary which takes travelers from Dubrovnik in southern most Croatia to Ljubljana, the beautiful capital city in Slovenia.
The trip begins Sept. 19.
The Dalmatian Coast offers an unmatched collection of Roman ruins, medieval towns, gorgeous rivieras, picturesque lakes, mountain views and idyllic islands. Visitors step back in time at beautiful Dubrovnik, an architectural gem that is more than 1,000 years old.
More information about this and other NIU Alumni Association Travel Programs is available online.
Portions of the campus parking deck will be closed through June 15 for maintenance.
During this time, crews will clean, seal and stripe the pavement in the parking deck. At any given time during this period, two levels will be closed while three will remain open for parking.
There is a possibility that the entire parking deck will close on the weekends of June 6 through June 8 and June 13 through June 15 to ensure that striping is completed and dried by the start of summer classes.
Linda Timm, assistant controller at NIU, is celebrating her retirement after 35 years of service.
NIU will honor Timm from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 28, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room in the Holmes Student Center. A presentation begins at 3 p.m.
NIU’s Community School of the Arts will hold auditions for the 2008-2009 CSA Sinfonia and the CSJazz Band beginning at noon Saturday, May 31.
All auditions are held in NIU’s Music Building. To arrange for an audition time, players should call the NIU Community School of the Arts office at (815) 753-1450. Auditions are free, but there is a fee upon joining one of the ensembles.
Wind, string, and percussion players wishing to join the CSA Sinfonia will be expected to play two pieces in contrasting styles for a maximum of five minutes and may be asked to sight-read. Musicians should be in middle school or high school.
The CSA Sinfonia, directed by conductor and cellist Linc Smelser, explores challenging and fun orchestral masterpieces from Dvorak and Vivaldi to the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings in the NIU Music Building. There are three performances throughout the year.
To audition for the CSJazz Band, players ages 14 to 20 are expected to play a prepared piece and may be asked to sight-read and perform a jazz improvisation. This top regional jazz band plays the classics of Ellington and Basie as well as new jazz band material, some composed by director Doug Stone. The band rehearses Sunday evenings in the NIU Music Building and performs three times during the school year.
To learn more about this program and the other music and arts opportunities offered by the NIU Community School of the Arts, call (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms.
Housing and Dining staff and its partners are working hard to coordinate the best Opening Day Team ever. Nearly 4,000 students will arrive at NIU for Opening Day – Thursday, Aug. 21 – and approximately 3,000 of these will be new students.
Join the Opening Day Team to ensure that students will remember their arrival on campus as a day filled with welcoming smiles and helping hands. Be the face of NIU for each student you greet, for each student you assist with a bulky suitcase or box and for each student you aid with a cold drink on that hot and busy day.
Be a part of a great Huskie welcome to our students on Opening Day. To volunteer, visit http://www.housing.niu.edu and click on the Team NIU link.
Huskie Pup Camp, a summer camp for children ages 6 to 12, is being offered again by Recreation Services.
The nine-week camp is designed to help campers become more independent, enhance self-confidence and develop both mind and body in a fun and safe learning environment. Camp registration is on-going. For complete information, a copy of the brochure can be obtained at www.rs.niu.edu.
If you’re a current or retired NIU faculty or SPS staff member who wants to extend the spirit of “NIU Cares” to new freshmen next fall, First-Year Connections (FYC) is looking for you: Join a team of volunteers interested in mentoring new students during their transition to NIU.
The Student-Faculty Links mentoring program is a component of Orientation & First-Year Experience. Mentors are asked to fill out a short survey to match them with new students who express similar interests or are in a related academic department.
Mentors and protégées are contacted in early August with each other’s contact information, and are invited to an informal reception hosted by the FYC staff Friday, Aug. 22. All meetings after the reception are to be determined by the mentor and the student.
Student-Faculty Links gives NIU faculty and SPS staff a unique opportunity to reach out and make a difference in the lives of new students. Your involvement is highly beneficial to new students seeking support and encouragement to make their college experience successful and enjoyable.
If you are interested in mentoring a new student for fall 2008 or would like to learn more, contact First-Year Connections by phone at (815) 753-0028 or e-mail firstconn@niu.edu.
NIU’s Fall 2008 Teaching Effectiveness Institute is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 14, and Friday, Aug. 15, in the Capitol Room of the Holmes Student Center.
Hosted by the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, the workshop is open only to NIU faculty and staff. Registered participants will receive workshop materials, lunch and refreshments and certificates of participation.
Advanced registration for both days is required by Friday, July 25. Register early at http://www.facdev.niu.edu or via e-mail at facdev@niu.edu. Those who register and later are unable to attend should inform the center by Monday, Aug. 11, so others on the waiting list can enjoy the opportunity.
Day One – “Fundamental Principles of Effective Instruction” – will introduce faculty to basic principles of teaching, offer information about support resources related to teaching and discuss how faculty deal with students’ needs. Participants will have opportunities to network with new and experienced faculty at NIU.
Day Two features speaker Robert Noyd, a professor of biology and former director of faculty development at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he teaches botany, general biology and senior seminar courses. Noyd is known for his innovations in faculty and curriculum development, including work with classroom observations, microteaching and course design.
Noyd will cover “Overteaching: When is Less Really More?” and offer his expertise on selection of effective instructional methods and simple ways to drive content, promote thinking and assess learning.