After more than a year of candidate speeches, ads, debates and politicking, it all comes down to one night – and WNIJ (89.5 FM) and National Public Radio will be there with live coverage of the 2008 general election.
Special coverage begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, hosted by NPR’s Robert Siegel, Michel Norris, Scott Simon and Debbie Elliott. Reporters and producers will be at more than two dozen sites around the country, including key battleground states and major candidate sites. The evening programming also will include analysis from NPR’s Ron Elving, Mara Liasson and others.
Locally, the WNIJ newsroom will follow election results for local and state offices, with particular attention paid to the race for the Illinois 14th congressional seat. WNIJ’s Susan Stephens will be joined by Christopher Hosken, Guy Stephens and Andy Mitchell. NIU political scientist Matt Streb will be live in the studio with analysis of the local results.
WNIJ is part of Northern Public Radio, the broadcast service of NIU.
The Women’s Resource Center will sponsor a Voter Appreciation Day and election-watching party from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, inside its building at 105 Normal Road.
Stop by throughout the day for food, prizes and fun; watch the election returns in the WRC lounge.
For more information, call (815) 753-0320.
The MyNIU training team has scheduled several training events this week.
Visit the MyNIU training Web site to view job aids and other helpful resources.
On the menu at Ellington’s this week: Autumn Harvest Café is scheduled for Tuesday, L’Amore di Cibo takes over Wednesday and Lady Liberty 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.
Autumn Harvest Café features butternut squash soup with apple brandy or baby greens, apple and walnut salad with cranberry vinaigrette for starters, pecan encrusted chicken breast or polenta with hearty vegetable casserole for entrees and hazelnut pumpkin spice cake or honey baked apples for dessert. Each table also will be served honey corn bread.
L’Amore di Cibo features marinated shrimp with Mediterranean salad or spanikopia for starters, chicken Mediterranean or eggplant marinara with couscous for entrees and ouzo-scented almond yogurt and olive oil cake or citrus ricotta figs for dessert. Each table also will be served pita bread with sun-dried tomato hummus.
Lady Liberty features capitol hill cornbread crab cakes or monumental sweet potato soup for starters, presidential pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables or Liberty Islands’ gratin with steamed asparagus for entrees and White House white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake or liberty bell apple crisp for dessert. Each table also will be served Charleston cheese garlic biscuits.
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 Jazz Ensemble will perform its annual fall concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center.
Directed by Ron Carter, the NIU Jazz Ensemble features vocalist Travaulya Wallace. The concert also welcomes guest artist Curtis Fuller, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.
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.
The University Women’s Club invites all members, spouses and friends to join the contingent of UWC fans Friday, Nov. 7, to cheer on the NIU women’s volleyball team at the Convocation Center. Game time is 7 p.m.
Funds raised at the UWC garage sales have been used to purchase new jerseys for the team. Everyone is invited to join the UWC group to check out the new uniforms and root for the Huskies.
For more information, contact Sharon Tourville at stourville@comcast.net.
Piano expert David Graham will present a short workshop at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, on how to purchase a piano. The workshop, titled “Piano Primer: What to Know When Buying a Piano,” takes place in the Recital Hall of the Music Building.
Topics covered include staying within a budget, how to consider the space needed for the instrument, discussion of a realistic budget, what to listen for when trying out instruments in the store, resources (books and Web sites) and rental options.
Graham has been a piano technician for a number of years. His training in piano technology was at the Moody Bible Institute, and he served an apprenticeship with Virgil Smith in 1980. He has been a craftsman member of the Piano Technicians Guild since 1983. He has worked as a piano technician for NIU since 1983 and for the Lyric Opera of Chicago since 1982. He has recently been trained to work on European pianos (including Fazioli) and works for Pianoforte Chicago.
There is a fee of $15 for the workshop; registration is required. For more information, call (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms.
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.