A new study by NIU scientists underscores the danger of nighttime tornadoes and suggests that warning systems that have led to overall declines in tornado death rates might not be adequate for overnight events, which occur most frequently in the nation’s mid-South region.
Over the past century, the tornado death rate has declined, in large part because of sophisticated forecasting technology and warning systems. But the researchers found that the nighttime tornado death rate over the past century has not shared the same pace of decline as the rate for daytime tornadoes.
“The proportion of nocturnal fatalities and killer tornado events has increased during the last half century,” said lead author Walker Ashley, an NIU meteorologist and professor of geography. “Unfortunately, this nocturnal fatality rate appears to be a major factor for the stalled decline in national tornado-fatality tallies during the past few decades.”
Ashley, NIU Geography Chair Andrew Krmenec and Research Associate Rick Schwantes published their study in the October issue of the American Meteorological Society’s journal, “Weather and Forecasting.”
The study found that from 1950 to 2005, 27 percent of tornadoes in the United States were nocturnal, yet 39 percent of tornado fatalities and 42 percent of killer tornado events occurred at night.
Ashley predicts that annual tornado fatalities might begin to rise. In 2007 alone, 80 tornado fatalities were recorded, with 59 of those fatalities occurring between sunset and sunrise. Nineteen of 26 killer tornadoes that year occurred at night. So far this year, 123 tornado fatalities already have been recorded – nearly double the annual average.
“The tornado death rate has bottomed out and is probably going to increase due to several factors,” Ashley said. “Because of population growth and development patterns, including urban sprawl, tornado risk to the populace has increased in recent decades. Tornadoes are impacting larger populations that are more spread out, resulting in higher tornado death tallies.”
The most dangerous window of time for a tornado, according to the study findings, is the period from midnight to sunrise. Tornadoes during this time period are 2.5 times as likely to kill as those occurring during the daytime hours.
People are more vulnerable during nighttime events because:
“Because most people go to bed after the late evening news, they are sleeping and unaware of televised weather alerts,” Ashley said. “And warning sirens give us a false sense of security. They’re not designed for warning people who are already indoors. We’re not seeing a forecasting problem but rather a communication breakdown.
“Scientists, along with emergency managers and people living in tornado-prone areas, must work together to solve this problem,” he added. “Right now, the best alert option during this overnight period is a weather radio.”
A relatively small proportion of American households own weather radios, though they are widely available, cost as little as $25 and come equipped with alarms.
As Ashley noted in previous studies, the nation’s mid-South region is most vulnerable to nighttime tornadoes. In fact, while the “tornado alley” region of the Great Plains boasts the most frequent occurrence of tornadoes, most tornado fatalities occur in the mid-South region, which includes parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
Among the reasons for higher vulnerability: The southeast United States has the highest percentage of mobile-home stock compared with any other region east of the Continental Divide. The NIU meteorologist said 45 percent of all fatalities during tornadoes occur in mobile homes, compared to 26 percent in permanent houses.
The new study also finds that seasonal factors also come into play. The cool and spring-transition seasons from November to April have the highest nocturnal fatality rates, despite having relatively few tornado events. Daylight hours are at a minimum during these months. Also, storms that occur before the national peak in the severe storm season, which spans May and June, are more likely to catch people off guard.
“Nocturnal tornadoes are dangerous anywhere, but the danger is enhanced in the South,” Ashley said. “There are more nocturnal events in the South than in the Great Plains. And the mobile-home density is much greater in the South as well. It’s a combination of factors.”
The Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation (NMFF) will supply radiation oncologists to provide proton cancer treatment services at the Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center (NIPTRC), according to an agreement announced by NIPTRC and NMFF officials last week.
NIPTRC, which is under construction in the DuPage National Technology Park, will be a world-class, state-of-the-art proton cancer treatment and research center for the Chicago area and the upper Midwest. NIU and NIPTRC officials broke ground for the center this summer after state officials approved the project, the first of its kind in Illinois.
“This agreement is the most significant milestone yet in our progress,” said Ray Alden, chair of the NIPTRC board of managers and executive vice president and provost for NIU, which is spearheading the project.
“Our center’s patients will be treated by the best cancer treatment physicians in the area,” said John Lewis, executive director of NIPTRC. “Under this agreement, our core doctors will provide proton clinical services exclusively at NIPTRC and will also be full-time faculty members and/or researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.”
Dr. Bharat Mittal, chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, also hailed the agreement as a giant leap forward for Chicago-area patients who can benefit from the innovative cancer therapy.
“When proton beam therapy is an appropriate cancer treatment, patients in the Chicago area are forced to travel to one of the only five proton therapy centers currently operating in the U.S. because it is not yet available in Illinois,” Mittal said. “That’s why we chose to work with NIPTRC to serve this need and bring the first world-class proton treatment and research center to the Chicago area.
“This agreement is about more than addressing the geographic limitations potential proton therapy patients face today,” added Mittal, who also sits on NIPTRC’s board of directors. “This center is not-for-profit, and the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation and NIPTRC share a mission to serve all patients, regardless of ability to pay.”
NMFF joined NIU and NIPTRC in pursuit of a mission that includes delivering the highest quality of care for cancer patients and their families.
NIU’s excellent allied health faculty will provide patients and their families with support services not found at other proton treatment centers in the nation, including family and nutrition counseling, speech and audiology services and physical therapy for proton cancer patients. NIU’s College of Education will provide on-site tutoring for pediatric proton patients to assist them in their studies during the six- to eight-week treatment regimen.
In keeping with the holistic approach to treatment, NIU and NIPTRC also plan to establish a residential facility for patients and their families next to the NIPTRC facility.
NIU will provide a hospitality program that will operate and maintain the facility. Combined with the patient and family care services, this will catapult the NIPTRC facility to the premier proton cancer treatment and research center in the United States and world-wide. NIPTRC’s academic emphasis will point the way toward future advances in cancer therapy treatment, Alden said.
“NIU’s renowned reputation in accelerator physics makes the university the perfect partner for NMFF, which strives to develop innovative and effective cancer treatments,” said Cherilyn G. Murer, a member of the NIPTRC board of managers and chair of the NIU Board of Trustees. “This will be the only cancer treatment facility in Illinois with a mission to bring truly accessible proton treatment therapy to Chicago area residents and discover new medical applications for accelerator physics. It will also design new proton clinical trials and protocols in cooperation with Chicago’s outstanding academic medical centers.”
NIPTRC, along with the Northern Illinois Research Foundation and Northern Illinois University, has been working since 2004 to bring state-of-the-art proton treatment to patients in the Chicago area.
Proton therapy is a non-invasive and precise radiotherapy treatment. It is particularly useful for treating pediatric and certain adult cancers. As compared to conventional X-ray radiation therapy, proton therapy has the potential of significantly reducing damage to healthy cells in patients with cancer.
The not-for-profit NIPTRC is associated with NIU and is working cooperatively with Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory.
Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation is the regionally and nationally recognized physician group at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. The foundation has more than 700 physicians known for their use of innovative clinical practices and technology. The foundation supports the clinical and academic activities of the Feinberg School of Medicine and creates an environment where the best medical practices are demonstrated and learned.
NIU and the Girl Scouts of America are grooming a new generation of women engineers, thanks to a grant from the Motorola Foundation.
The $50,000 grant to NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology supports the Enhancing Engineering Pathways program. As part of that program, the college has established relationships with the Sybaquay Council and the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Council of the Girl Scouts of America to encourage Scouts to pursue careers in engineering.
The program targets girls in middle school because studies have shown that it is at that age when career aspirations are often shaped and when girls begin to lose interest in math and science – critical classes for future engineers.
A series of Saturday workshops at NIU-Naperville began last month. Girls work on fun projects that demonstrate how math and science skills are applied in engineering. Projects include building simple circuits, experimenting with magnets and “reverse engineering” (dismantling) household items to see how they are built and operate.
Integral to the program is a series of mentoring relationships.
The 48 middle school Girls Scouts who registered for the program have been divided into eight teams, each of which is overseen by two outstanding high school students. The activities of those young women are, in turn, supervised by five undergraduate engineering students from NIU who are guided by NIU professors. All of those participants are women.
It is hoped that the mentors will assist their protégés with everything from questions on homework to selection of high school classes to evaluating college engineering programs.
“We hope that these mentoring relationships create a sustainable pathway to help ease the transition for girls as they move from middle school to high school to college engineering programs,” says Mansour Tahernezhadi, associate dean of the college and co-principal investigator of the project.
“Young women rely upon social experiences for response and development, so we need good women role models to aid in the development of future engineers,” adds Suma Rajashankar, an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at NIU and lead principal investigator for the project.
The program will be capped by a week-long camp in June that will include tours of local high-tech companies and an opportunity to meet women engineers and learn about the paths that led them to their careers. High school-age participants also will have an opportunity to visit NIU during the school year to get a firsthand look at college engineering courses and the type of projects that students do.
Promod Vohra, dean of NIU’s engineering school and one of the co-principal investigators on the project, says programs like this one are a matter of national importance.
“Studies have repeatedly demonstrated the need for the United States to graduate more engineers,” Vohra says. “To reach that goal we must work harder at recruiting women and minority students who presently give little thought to working in the field, and we need to start making girls aware of these opportunities at an early age. We are very grateful to Motorola for helping us extend our efforts in that regard.”
For more information on participating in the program, contact Rajashankar at (815) 753-9966 or via e-mail at sumedhras@gmail.com.
As the horrible events of Feb. 14 unfolded, young journalists employed by the Northern Star responded with notebooks, cameras and professionalism.
“It wasn’t a matter of, ‘Let’s make sure we do really good work.’ It was a matter of, ‘Let’s make sure we do the right thing.’ It was a matter of doing the only thing we knew to do,” said John Puterbaugh, editor of the student newspaper at the time.
Eight months later, and for the first time since 1974, the Star has won the Pacemaker.
The company is good for this year’s college press parallel to the Pulitzer prize: the Daily Northwestern, the Indiana Daily Student, the Harvard Crimson, the Daily Tar Heel, the Daily Iowan, the Kentucky Kernel, the State News (Michigan State University) and the Battalion (Texas A&M).
The Northern Star also won first place in “Best of Show” for daily tabloids and second place for “National Online Story of the Year” for Feb. 14 coverage.
More information is available online at www.studentmedia.org/acp.
“To put this in perspective, it’s the journalism equivalent of NIU football winning a BCS bowl game,” said Jim Killam, Northern Star adviser. “I’m really proud of the students. Sometimes difficult circumstances push you beyond what you know you can achieve. That happened with our students, not only with the shootings but with the flood and covering everything else that happened last year.”
“The work we did all year was worthy of this,” Puterbaugh said. “This is just a testament to the people who worked at the Star.”
Killam, Puterbaugh and Caitlin Mullen, the current editor-in-chief, understand and accept that NIU’s tragedy played a role in the award. Virginia Tech’s newspaper won a Pacemaker last year.
But they’re quick to point out that the award is based on more than Feb. 14 coverage. The general excellence award is based on five issues from 2007-08, four of which come from weeks prescribed by the Associated Collegiate Press. Only one issue of the staff’s choosing is allowed.
“It’s well-deserved. There are so many talented people here,” Mullen said. “A small part of me hopes it’s not like, ‘Oh, we’ve got the pity party because of Feb. 14.’ But someone said to me that we’re always considered. We’re often one of the top newspapers up there. How we handled Feb. 14 put us over the edge.”
“You never expect a student newspaper to be tested quite like this,” Killam said. “When students respond with maturity and professionalism beyond their years, I think it’s appropriate that they get that kind of recognition. There can be a quiet pride in the journalism they did and the way they handled themselves during those days without being inappropriate.
“It’s also a little awkward,” he added. “Nobody wants to feel good about anything related to Feb. 14. For that reason, any sense of celebration here has been subdued. Yet, in a way, maybe it brings closure to this chapter for our students. This is at least one good memory they’ll have, along with so many awful ones.”
Managing Editor Katie Trusk, Campus Editor John Ranallo, City Editor Jessica Sabbah and Photo Editor Ryan Strong accompanied Killam to Kansas City for the annual convention of the Associated Collegiate Press.
They all are working to improve the newspaper this year, Mullen said, and the Pacemaker offers further inspiration.
“There’s always room for improvement,” said Mullen, a senior from Oswego who joined the Star in 2006. “This will keep us going to strive to get another one.”
At the same time, she wants the Star staff to realize that the newspaper exists to inform readers and train future employees for the print journalism industry. Awards are simply icing on the cake.
“We work for the students and for the staff and for the people in this area. We’re a source of news and entertainment,” she said. “The Star is family, and I learned that even more after Feb. 14. I’m lucky it’s my learning lab.”
A reception recognizing the Outstanding International Educator for 2008 and a keynote speech by an executive for Cisco Systems headline International Education Week at NIU.
A joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, International Education Week will be celebrated on campuses nationwide from Monday, Nov. 17, through Friday, Nov. 21.
At NIU, the week will begin with the annual International Recognition Reception. It will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center. The event is open to the public.
During the reception, the Outstanding International Educator Award will be presented to an NIU faculty member who has contributed significantly to international education through his or her teaching, research, public service and student service. International Programs also will honor the department that has made the most significant contribution to the internationalization effort across campus.
Joe Grush, vice provost for resource planning, and Chris Jones, chair of the Department of Political Science, will speak at the reception. Jones heads a department with strong and diverse international activities; in 2007 Political Science received the Outstanding International Department Award.
Later in the week, the College of Business will present an evening keynote lecture by NIU alumna Sheila Talton, the vice president of globalization strategy for Cisco Systems. Talton will speak on the topic of “Competition in a Globally Integrated Economy” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, in the Barsema Hall Auditorium. A reception will follow.
Zeta Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Delta, the Honor Society for International Scholars, will hold its fifth annual induction ceremony, by invitation only, on Tuesday, Nov. 18. NIU’s Zeta Gamma Chapter was honored this year as the 2008 Outstanding Midwest Regional Chapter of the international society, in part thanks to excellent ongoing support from NIU faculty and staff
Christopher McCord, dean of the NIU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will be inducted into the society and will speak at the event. Megan Spillman, of the Chicago office of the Institute of International Education, will be initiated as an honorary member of the chapter.
Other International Education Week activities include:
The week will conclude with a joint presentation from International Programs and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies given by Professor James T. Collins, the center’s new director. It is NIU’s only Title VI-funded National Resource Center on area studies and foreign languages. Collins will speak on “The Role of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies in Making NIU a Premier International Institution.”
A full schedule of events for International Education Week is available online.
The NIU Department of Geography will showcase a wide array of uses for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) – from virtual 3D tours of the university campus to an exploration of Martian valleys – during an evening of upcoming demonstrations.
The demonstrations will be held in open-house format from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, in Room 114 of Davis Hall. The free event is open to the public and coincides with Geography Awareness Week and the 10th anniversary of GIS Day.
“NIU’s GIS program has a top reputation in the region, and this event gives us a chance to raise awareness of Geographic Information Systems and their many capabilities,” said NIU Geography Professor Wei Luo. “It’s also an opportunity to showcase our ongoing projects.”
GIS Night demonstrations will allow visitors to:
GIS Day is a global event that celebrates the innovative technology.
A GIS is a computer-based mapping tool that takes information from a database about a location – such as streets, buildings, water features and terrain – and turns it into visual layers. The ability to see geographic features on a map gives users a better understanding of a particular location, enabling planners, analysts and others to make informed decisions about their communities.
GIS touches our lives daily. It is used throughout the world to solve problems related to the environment, health care, land use, business efficiency, education and public safety. GIS promotes a more-efficient function of the power supply directed to homes, the patrol cars and fire trucks that keep neighborhoods safe and the delivery trucks on the road.
The NIU Department of Geography offers an undergraduate emphasis in GIS and GIS certificate programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. GIS Night is being held in the department’s Advanced Geospatial Laboratory, which is focused on GIS development.
Students in NIU’s physical therapy program hosted their first benefit Oct. 11 for St. Jude’s Children Hospital as a part of national Physical Therapy Month.
The benefit was held at the Newman Center and included a silent auction and a spaghetti dinner. Auction items ranged from gift cards to a hand-crafted wooden chair. The students solicited donations from the community and NIU students and faculty.
The evening was a huge success, raising more than $2,000 for St. Jude’s.
NIU’s College of Law ranked among the top 10 law schools in the nation for having the most diverse faculty, as published in The Princeton Review’s 2009 Edition of Best 174 Law Schools.
This is the fifth straight year that the NIU College of Law has been ranked in the top 10 for its diversity among its faculty. People of color make up nearly 40 percent of the College of Law faculty. Women make up nearly 40 percent of the faculty.
“NIU College of Law is proud of the diversity among our talented faculty,” remarked Interim Associate Dean Guadalupe Luna. “We are delighted that the Princeton Review, for the fifth consecutive year, has recognized our ongoing emphasis on diversity in the classroom and the benefits of having individuals with a wide range of teaching interests and backgrounds promoting a rigorous legal environment.”
The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company, surveyed more than 18,000 students at 174 law schools and took their opinions, along with school statistics reported by administrators, to report the top 10 schools in 11 review categories. Best 174 Law Schools has two-page profiles of the schools with write-ups on their academics, student life and admissions, plus ratings for their academics, selectivity and career placement services.
“We select schools for this book based on our high regard for their academic programs and offerings, institutional data we collect from the schools, and the candid opinions of students attending them who rate and report on their campus experiences at the schools,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review vice president-publishing.“We are pleased to recommend Northern Illinois University College of Law to readers of our book and users of our Web site as one of the best institutions they could attend to earn a law school degree.”
To learn more about NIU Law and its commitment to diversity and public interest, visit www.niu.edu/law.
The NIU Art Museum can continue with the third installment of its Community Windows project thanks to the DeKalb County Community Foundation: From May 26 through Aug. 8, 2009, 10 local non-profit cultural institutions will have professional posters on display in the Museum’s Hall Case Gallery.
Community Windows III is a collaborative effort between the NIU Art Museum, the 10 participating sites and NIU Media Services. The 10 participating organizations each receive a professionally designed and produced poster highlighting their mission and features. The posters are designed to be used for promotion by the cultural organizations after Community Windows III display ends.
The NIU Art Museum is grateful for the DCCF’s support for this project that allows a single grant to benefit 10 non-profit organizations.
The main goal of the professionally designed promotional materials is to help make DeKalb County residents and visitors more aware of local cultural resources. The organizations involved in Community Windows would likely not have been able to produce such materials on their own. The long-range benefits of the DCCF “Community Windows I, II & III” will continue for years after the displays at the NIU Art Museum.
Proposed participants in Community Windows III are Ellwood House Museum, Joiner History Room, Just Make It Happen, Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Kishwaukee Valley Art League, Nehring Center Gallery, NIU Anthropology Museum, Shabbona-Lee-Rollo Historical Museum, Stage Coach Players and Sycamore Historical Society Museum.
The deadline to complete annual online ethics training is midnight Friday, Nov. 14. There are no extensions.
Under the terms of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, all full-time, part-time, regular and temporary faculty, staff, graduate assistants, extra help and student employees must complete this annual training.
The training covers such topics as accepting gifts and bribes, conflict of interest, inappropriate use of university resources for personal matters, whistleblower protection and avoidance of political activities during the work day. Everyone who receives a paycheck from the university must complete this training.
Training should be completed during normal work hours. Employees should check with their department on whether special arrangements are being made for workstations for employees without computers, or for scheduling of training times.
Employees can contact the Ethics Training Administrator at (815) 753-6039 or Human Resource Services at (815) 753-6000 for information or assistance. Technical questions will be addressed by Information Technology Services Helpdesk at (815) 753-8100.
The State of Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General notes that employees who do not comply with the annual training mandate can be subject to fines and disciplinary actions.
For further information, contact:
Try to imagine a class in an environment that looks like a video game – except that your avatar can walk through the halls of Altgeld Hall with other students or sit by the lagoon to debate ethics.
A networking luncheon and panel presentation scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, will examine the unique characteristics of a 3D virtual world called “Second Life” and how it is being used around the world to deliver online courses or to enhance collaboration, networking and education.
Members of the panel are moderator Aline Click, e-Learning Services; Jassamine Cooke-Plagwitz, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures; and Sharon Smaldino, College of Education.
The luncheon will be held in the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall. The presentation begins at 12:05 p.m. Reservations are due Tuesday, Nov. 11, at (815) 753-0320. Co-sponsors are the NIU Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and the Women’s Resource Center.
On the menu at Ellington’s this week: Cajan Jazz Café is scheduled for Tuesday, The Eiffel Tower Restaurant takes over Wednesday and Agapi Restaurant concludes the week Thursday.
New this semester is the option to enjoy wine with your meal. One red and one white wine choice will be available with meal service. Wine will be selected for the menu based on wine-and-food pairings made by the students. Wine selections will range from $4.50 to $6.50 per glass.
Cajan Jazz Café features Creole marinated vegetables or roasted red pepper tomato bisque for starters, Cajun-style Alaska salmon or Bayou’s best red beans and rice for entrees and homemade apple whole-wheat bread pudding or Delta deep-dish blackberry pie for dessert. Each table also will be served a basketful or honey cornbread accompanied with whipped honey butter.
The Eiffel Tower Restaurant features classic French salad or spring soup for starters, pork chops with tomato sauce and freshly shredded potatoes or ratatouille bake for entrees and chocolate mousse or lemon tart for dessert.
Agapi Restaurant features Greek Caesar salad or avgolemono for starters, chicken oreganata with fashoulakia or spinach-feta calzone with orzo salad for entrees and Sifinos cheese and honey tart or phyllo nests with strawberries and honey for dessert. Each table also will be served tzatziki, a creamy dipping sauce of yogurt mixed with garlic and cucumbers and served with pita.
Seating is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with service until 1 p.m. The cost is $9 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.
The NIU Percussion Ensemble, directed by Robert Chappell and Greg Beyer, with graduate conductors Robert Houpe and William Cooley, will present its fall concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall.
The concert is free, open to the public and accessible to all. The focus of the concert will be on new works for keyboard percussion, world-influenced compositions and popular jazz adaptations.
The ensemble is preparing for two major performances in the winter of 2009 that will include a number of the works found in this concert. On Jan. 24, the NIU Percussion Department will host the Illinois Day of Percussion, bringing together percussionists and major artists from throughout Illinois and beyond. On Jan. 31, the NIU Percussion Ensemble will perform at the Illinois Music Educators Convention in Peoria.
Opening the Nov. 13 concert is “Sharpened Stick,” a composition for five multiple percussionists playing drums, metallic instruments and even brake drums.
World-influenced compositions include “Repercussion,” for six percussionists playing the Brazilian ground bow or berimbau; “Sud,” a composition from North Africa featuring Middle Eastern hand drums in a funky nine-beat pulse; and “Marimbando” from Costa Rican composer Marvin Araya for three marimbistas and Latin percussion.
Clarice Castilho, an NIU percussion major from Brazil, will be featured on the closing work, a samba version of George Gershwin’s “I Loves You Porgy.” Castilho will play the Brazilian tambourine.
For further information, contact Chappell at (815) 753-7973 or rchappell@niu.edu or Beyer at (815) 753-7981 or gbeyer@niu.edu.
Join others for a screening and discussion of “Hot and Bothered,” a groundbreaking video that explores the ties between the pornography industry and the feminist community.
The event will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the Women’s Resource Center, 105 Normal Road, DeKalb.
For details, call (815) 753-0320.
NIU’s Civic Leadership Academy will offer a Thursday, Nov. 20, workshop on “Reaching Out:
Managing Public Information & Getting Out the Message.”
This workshop will guide participants through a study of the theory, principles and practices of organizational public relations in the complex environment of leading in the public. Participants will engage in active learning exercises and discussion to help them understand the theories that make up a strong public relations/public information program.
The workshop also will explore the power of knowing and understanding what the media’s needs are and how to use them effectively. Topics include how to do interviews and presentations, and the difference that positive communication skills can make in leaving others with a strong professional impression. Crisis strategies and Freedom of Information Act requests also will be addressed.
Presenters are Cheryl Fayne-dePersio, director of communications for the Village of Northbrook; Mike Green, retired deputy police chief for the Village of Northbrook; Natalie Marquez, management analyst and public information officer for the Village of Skokie; and Greg Kuhn, Ph.D., assistant director and senior research associate for the Center for Governmental Studies.
Registration and more information about CLA and its upcoming workshops are available online.
Join alumni and friends for a private skating party from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the new DeKalb Community Ice Skating Rink located at First and Locust streets. Enjoy skating, hot chocolate, cookies and fun.
Tickets for this event are $7 for adults, $5 for kids and free for Cardinal and Black and Legacy members of the NIU Alumni Association. Ticket costs include entrance fees, skate rentals, hot chocolate and goodies.
Registration is required. Visit myniu.com or call (815) 753-1452 for more information.
The Office of External Programming in the College of Liberal Arts and Science is organizing a Friday, Dec. 5, trip to the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago to see “The Seafarer” by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson.
The bus departs from the Normal Road entrance of the Holmes Student Center at 4:30 p.m. with a pick-up at NIU-Naperville at 5:30 p.m.
“The Seafarer” tells the tale of Christmas Eve in Dublin. In the rundown house where Sharky cares for his blind brother, old acquaintances gather for a card game – and are joined by an ominous stranger.
As the booze flows and the game intensifies, Sharky discovers he is playing for his soul. In this eerie, darkly humorous tale, McPherson examines how we face the demons of our past as we struggle to find redemption. For more detailed performance information, visit www.steppenwolf.org.
Cost is $25 for NIU students and $45 for others (includes transportation and theater ticket). For more information or to register, call (815) 753-5200 or e-mail LASEP@niu.edu.
In accordance with President Peters’ holiday closure schedule for 2008-09, all departments within the Materials Management area will close from 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, until operations resume at 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5.
No receiving of U.S. mail, parcel post, UPS, Fed Ex, Fed Ex Ground, DHL/Airborne or any common carrier packages will take place during this time.
Employees who anticipate delivery of any packages to Central Receiving at NIU near or during this time period should make necessary arrangements for delivery to an alternate address to avoid delays or packages being returned to sender as undeliverable.
When operations resume in January, Central Receiving and Campus Mail Services will begin processing the backlog of mail and packages as quickly as possible. Exercise patience and do not call to find out where or when packages will be delivered.
NIU’s Women’s Resource Center will host “Exposed: Celebrity & Raunch Culture Unveiled” at a discussion scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Join others in a conversation that explores the destructive messages, such as drug and alcohol abuse, that exist within the celebrity culture to determine why they are glorified and how they affect young women today.
The discussion at the center at 105 Normal Road, DeKalb. For details, call (815) 753-0320.
Hearing loss is not just a part of old age: It can affect people of any age. Unfortunately, too many people wait years before seeking help.
NIU’s Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, 3100 Sycamore Road in DeKalb, will host two free hearing screenings and technology demonstrations, scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, and 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Dec. 8.
The screenings and demonstrations are by appointment only. Call (815) 753-1481 (voice) or (815) 753-2000 (TTY) for more information or to reserve a time. The clinic is part of the College of Health and Human Sciences.
NIU’s Supportive Professional Staff Council is requesting nominations for the Presidential Supportive Professional Staff Award for Excellence.
This award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the university. All Supportive Professional Staff are eligible. If you have previously nominated an individual, please consider re-nominating them.
Four awards worth $1,500 each will be presented. In addition, each recipient will receive a plaque in recognition of their accomplishments. To be eligible, an employee must be actively employed at the time the award is presented (in March or April 2009).
The nominator is asked to address the following topics in a letter addressed to the SPSC Awards Committee:
A completed application packet consists of the
nomination referral form and four letters: a nomination letter and three letters of support.The support letters must address the above topics. Only these four letters will be considered for each nominee. All nominations must include the nominee’s and nominator’s name, title and department.
Awards will be announced by the president in February 2009, and awards will be presented at a reception hosted by the president in March or April 2009. Nominators are responsible for submitting the complete set of nomination materials. Contact Deborah Haliczer at (815) 753-6039 or via e-mail at dhaliczer@niu.edu for more information.
The nomination referral form, nomination letter and three letters of support should be sent to Deborah Haliczer, co-chair of the SPSC awards committee, and must be received in the office of Human Resource Services (1515 W. Lincoln Hwy.) by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3. There will be no extensions of the deadline.
Do you wish you could spend money freely and not increase your debt? Do you feel you are spending too much money each month but there is nothing you can do about it?
Is your spouse constantly nagging you about spending too much money? Are other poeple always telling you to cut up your credit cards?
NIU’s School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences and The Family Center of NIU, both part of the College of Health and Human Sciences, are offering two free workshop sessions to explore these challenging issues.
“It’s Your Money” is offered from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, and Thursday, Nov. 13, in Room 103A of Wirtz Hall. Call (815) 753-0031 for more information and to register.
A movie-themed concert to benefit the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of the NIU Music Building.
Concertgoers will enjoy the red-carpet treatment, complete with “paparazzi,” spotlights, movie characters for photo opportunities and other surprises. The orchestra’s performance features soundtrack pieces from “Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Harry Potter,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Theme from the Elephant Man” and “Phantom of the Opera.”
A pre-concert champagne and chocolate reception begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $15 per person.
Other fundraisers will include a silent auction and raffle of silver-screen related items, one week in a Florida condominium and much more.
Tickets for the concert are $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens age 62 and older, $10 for students with valid ID and $5 for children age 12 and younger.
Visit www.kishorchestra.org or call (815) 756-3728 for more information.