Two NIU researchers have each won National Institutes of Health grants of more than $200,000 that will enable undergraduates and graduate students to work on basic research projects in chemistry and biochemistry.
Professor Douglas Klumpp won an Academic Research Enhancement Award of $217,500 over three years. His research projects will involve as many as a dozen students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
“We’ll be developing new chemistry and biochemistry that hopefully could be applied to the synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds,” Klumpp said. “Ultimately, we hope to find more cost-effective ways to produce drugs or ways to make drugs that are more effective.
“This type of experience for our students is invaluable,” he added. “It certainly helps in a job search upon graduation and also when they’re applying for post-secondary education.”
James Erman, former chemistry chair and now interim vice president for research and graduate studies, won an Academic Research Enhancement Award of $211,200 over three years.
Erman will use the funding to work with between six and 12 undergraduates. They will investigate protein-protein interactions involved in carrying out electron transfer reactions within a cell. Electron transfer is an important component in the basic energy metabolism of all living organisms, yet many aspects of these reactions are still incompletely understood.
“The importance of this research, and the funding from the National Institutes of Health to allow the research to go forward, is not only to increase our understanding of fundamental biological processes but also to train students in the art of research,” Erman said.
“The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry really emphasizes undergraduate research, and two emphases within the program require students to do at least one full semester of research with a faculty member,” Erman said. “So these awards are particularly useful as we line up students for research projects that potentially will have real-world value.”
Over the past eight years, the number of undergraduates majoring in chemistry and biochemistry at NIU has more than doubled, to 200 majors this past fall. Additionally, the department has 49 graduate students.
Four members of the Supportive Professional Staff (SPS) have been chosen to receive the university’s Presidential Awards for Excellence.
The recipients are Nancy Apperson, coordinator of the Employee Assistance Program; Barbara A. Fouts, acting assistant director for team supervision in Career Services; Lina Davide Ong, director of the International Training Office; and Connie Uhlken, nursing program coordinator in the School of Nursing and Health Studies.
The quartet will be honored at a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center. The awards ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. Each will receive a plaque and $1,500 in appreciation for their outstanding contributions to NIU.
SPS Council President Bobbie Cesarek, NCAA compliance director in Athletics, will receive SPS Council Service Award.
Refreshments will be served, and the reception is open to all.
When NIU needs a shoulder to lean on, more often than not it’s Nancy Apperson’s.
Apperson, who came to NIU in 1996 with 25 years of experience as a clinical social worker, is credited with keeping the university and its morale on an even keel by helping staff and their departments work though personal, family and workplace issues. Her assistance comes with a set of coping tools.
“Time after time,” Physical Plant employee Elaine Pannell said, “Nancy managed to encourage and support me with balanced advice and guidance.”
“She has gone well beyond the expectations of the position in her consultations to supervisors about how to handle those delicate situations that occur when employees have personal problems that affect their work performance or that involve interpersonal relationship issues,” said Sharon Howard, a recovery specialist in the Employee Assistance Program.
“Since she is skilled in providing this service, and is a trained mediator, and knows the culture of NIU, Nancy has provided critical assistance that has helped departments keep on track in order to better serve NIU students.”
Beyond her counseling work, Apperson is dedicated to training supervisors. Her popular programs teach management skills such as communication, team-building and appropriate treatment of employees. Her materials on managing the multigenerational workplace are attracting positive notice across the country.
“NIU is a better university, and a better and more functional workplace, because she is part of our staff,” said Deborah Pierce, associate provost. “(She) is impeccable with her word and generous with her support.”
Barbara A. Fouts earned countless accolades during her 18 years at NIU’s Counseling and Student Development Center.
“She hit the ground running,” former colleagues Darsha Primich and Richard Long said. “Motivated by her desire to use her new knowledge and status to enhance our campus community she became, in 1991, the campus coordinator of Sexual Assault/Abuse Awareness Program.”
Those good works have continued in Career Services, where she arrived in January 2007.
During her interview for a career counselor position, she “simply dazzled” by highlighting the career concerns of students of disabilities. Two years later, she is acting assistant director for team supervision.
A sought-after provider of workshops and presentations to classes and student groups, Fouts also has revitalized the department’s service to NIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
“Her name and reputation are synonymous with excellence,” said Joyce Keller, associate director for Career Counseling and Internships.
“She has been instrumental in developing relationships with faculty,” Keller added, “and has worked collaboratively with them to address the quality of graduate school applications, the application process for registered dietetics internships and the lack of career-related experiences among many of her clients in the natural sciences.”
Meanwhile, Primich and Long said, Fouts found a way to merge her two areas of expertise.
As she prepared for last fall’s return of students six months after Feb. 14, they said, she “invited the Career Services staff to honestly evaluate their own ability to listen deeply and respond broadly to students’ concerns – career and otherwise.”
As director of the International Training Office, Lina Davide-Ong provides vital and integral support for creating “Global NIU.”
Through the leadership and efforts of Ong and her team, NIU has been awarded roughly $2.5 million in grant support from the U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since 2002.
“Dr. Ong is committed to the highest standards in her profession, conducting careful research on grant opportunities and how they can fit with NIU faculty strengths before committing to write grant proposals,” said Deborah Pierce, associate provost. “She has an extremely high ‘hit rate’ on her submitted proposals because of that research and because of her strong network on campus.”
Ong, “who can solve the most intractable problem with confidence and without angst, the supportive mentor who leads her staff with grace and caring,” also manages international exchanges and professional development programs.
“I have been thoroughly impressed with her energy, insights and outreach to a wide range of actors and organizations both on and off-campus,” said Susan Russell, professor of anthropology and Ong’s co-project investigator for their Philippine grant programs. “Her commitment to ‘teamwork’ is very evident in the organization of all these activities, and her background as educator ensures that the impact of these programs is intensive and experiential.”
Ong, who joined NIU full-time in 1995, is a faculty associate with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. She also mentors graduate students, two of whom have now held internships at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
More than 1,000 students seek enrollment to NIU’s nursing program each spring. A year ago, that number reached 1,800.
Connie Uhlken reviews hundreds of the most promising applications.
“It is no exaggeration to state that Connie Uhlken is the face of NIU nursing throughout the northern part of the state,” said Brigid Lusk, chair of the School of Nursing and Health Studies. “With Connie’s efforts, this is one of the most successful nursing programs in the state.”
Uhlken’s job has grown tremendously since she became nursing program coordinator in 2006.
Grant funding allowed a 40 percent boost in enrollment. Partnerships with hospitals and community colleges mean off-campus program delivery. It requires Uhlken to secure more clinical experience sites – and she strives to make excellent matches, not easy ones.
For the first four months, she juggled her new duties with her previous responsibilities as undergraduate student adviser. As a registered nurse, she even has volunteered to teach courses for absent faculty.
The job also requires Uhlken, who joined NIU in 1999, to maintain a delicate balance between student advocate, adviser, mentor and administrative enforcer.
“I have witnessed Connie as a cheerleader,” said Sandi Splansky, academic advising director in the College of Health and Human Sciences. “I have also witnessed the kindness and empathetic style with students who have not been successful in the program. These students are able to walk away without feeling like a failure but rather with an understanding that perhaps nursing is not the right fit for them.”
When the last residents have moved out of Grant Tower C this spring, the building will be shut down so work can begin on a major remodeling project to make the building safer, more comfortable and more attractive.
The project marks the first major residence hall renovation at NIU since the remodeled Stevenson Towers were reopened in 2000.
Specifics still are being finalized, but when the work is completed (tentatively scheduled for fall 2011), improvements to the tower will include:
The NIU Board of Trustees approved a budget of $14.85 million for the work at its March 26 meeting. The project will be paid for from bond fund reserves.
“This is a necessary investment in our housing stock,” NIU President John Peters told the board. “Higher education has become an increasingly competitive business. Much of our revenue now is dependent upon tuition, so we must undertake projects like these to remain competitive with our peers around the state.”
As things stand, said Michael Stang, executive director of NIU Housing and Dining, most of NIU’s residence halls are at a competitive disadvantage.
“Just about every university across the state has some building program in process,” Stang said. “The expectations of students have changed significantly since this building opened in the late 1960s, and our halls are very outdated by comparison to those elsewhere.”
One of the primary features of the remodeled tower will be increased flexibility, Stang said.
“Right now all of the furniture in the rooms is bolted down and students have no input on how the room is arranged. When this project is done and new furniture and fixtures are in place, they will have many more options in how their room can look.”
Another change will be the much-improved community spaces on each floor, which designers hope will be as comfortable as the family rooms they left behind in their parents’ homes.
“We are really trying to respond to the needs of students,” Stang said. “We want this to be a place where students want to live, not only for their first year on campus but for a year or two after that.”
No timeline is in place to remodel other towers in the complex.
However, Housing and Dining administrators hope that as work is completed on C Tower, another wing of the building will undergo remodeling. Modernization is the eventual goal for all four towers and the main floor lobby, which will be transformed into more of a “main street” as exists in Stevenson Towers.
Completing all of that work could take a decade or more, Stang said.
Martin Luther King Commons, one of the main crossroads on campus, will undergo a major facelift this summer.
“It’s looking tired, in many ways,” said Patricia Perkins, who is overseeing the project for Finance and Facilities.
This is an encore for Perkins, who 20 years ago oversaw the conversion of the space from parking lot to plaza. That project was hailed as a major improvement, creating a grand public space in the heart of campus.
Over time, however, brutally cold winters and scorching summers have taken their toll. Paving bricks have cracked, sunken and heaved. Landscaping has grown out of proportion to the space. The storm drainage system also is in need of work, which was one of the primary motivators for the project.
“We knew we had to address the drainage issues, so the decision was made to improve the commons as a whole,” Perkins said.
While this summer’s work will not be as dramatic as when the plaza was created, the changes will be significant.
When completed the above ground improvements to the plaza will include:
“The basic layout of the commons will remain the same,” Perkins said. “We’re just trying to make it a little softer, a little greener and a little more inviting.”
The project will be a joint undertaking by the university and the Illinois Capital Development Board. The budget, approved by the NIU Board of Trustees at its March 26 meeting, is $525,000.
Work is scheduled to begin at the end of the spring semester and, weather permitting, completed by the resumption of classes in the fall. The commons will be fenced off during the work and pedestrians will need to find new routes during the summer.
NIU’s School of Music is celebrating continued funding from two external sources: the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts and the local George and Betty Dutton Foundation.
Despite a 50 percent reduction in funding resources and a cutback in the number of institutions receiving support, the Liberace Foundation will provide funding for a ninth consecutive year to support Liberace Scholars at NIU.
The funding of $4,000 likely will support two graduate students; administrators hope to continue the Liberace Jazztet. The group’s third CD, titled “Equity,” will be available by the end of the semester.
“The president of the Liberace Foundation contacted us to explain that based on NIU’s long-standing relationship with the foundation, and the fact that NIU is one of only two institutions receiving support for jazz studies, the foundation wanted to continue to provide some support to NIU,” Paul Bauer, director of the School of Music, wrote in an e-mail. “Since the foundation previously notified us that the economic downturn would eliminate funding, we are thankful for any support.”
The funds will go directly to students to fund junior/senior/graduate student scholarships or GA appointments.
Including the 2009-10 support, NIU will have received $98,000 in support from the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts. Successful renewal of funding is due in part to the detailed work of staff member Lynn Slater, who completes and submits several required reports and packets of information throughout the year to the funding foundation.
Since 1976, the Liberace Foundation has awarded more than $5 million in scholarship grants to more than 2,200 students at more than 110 colleges and universities. http://www.liberace.org/liberace_foundation
Meanwhile, in response to an invited application, the George and Betty Dutton Foundation will again fund a 10-hour graduate assistantship ($5,000) for 2009-10.
It represents 11 consecutive years for Dutton Foundation funding for the NIU School of Music, totaling $65,754.
“The School of Music is thankful that the Dutton Foundation is able to continue providing support in this challenging fiscal environment,” Bauer wrote in a separate e-mail.
The graduate assistant will serve five hours per week as a music intern in the Sycamore Public Schools and five hours per week in supportive work in the NIU School of Music.
Friends of NIU Libraries will present a tasty event titled “Death by Chocolate,” celebrating an anthology of short mystery stories that are all related to the City of Chicago.
The event will feature refreshments by Sweet Dreams Desserts and is focused around the anthology, “Chicago Blues: 30 Stories of Grit and Grime in the Windy City.” It will be held from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Ellwood House Carriage House. This event is free and open to the public.
Members of The Outfit, a mystery writers’ collective, will speak briefly on a short panel about mystery writing in Chicago. Each of the writers is a contributor to “Chicago Blues.” Books will be available for purchase, and the authors will conduct a book signing.
Appearing authors include:
For more information, call (815) 753-8091.
For the third straight year, BusinessWeek Magazine has ranked the NIU College of Business among the best in the nation.
Of more than 500 AACSB-certified business schools, BusinessWeek invited only 137 to participate in the rankings. Out of those, NIU ranked 73rd.
The ranking was based on a rigorous review that looked at the academic performance of students and solicited feedback from companies that recruit new college graduates from schools across the nation.
Another major factor in the rankings was ratings from students, and the NIU College of Business brought home an outstanding report card, including:
A – Quality of facilities and services
A – Quality of job placement services
B – Quality of faculty
Student comments showed that the college’s motto, “Where the classroom meets the business world,” is more than just words.
“Professors invite CEOs, presidents and high-level executives into the classroom to talk about the business world,” wrote one student. “The access to business contacts is extensive. I interact with alumni on a weekly basis and have opportunities to tour businesses regularly,” another wrote.
To learn more about the Business Week award, or about the NIU College of Business, visit www.cob.niu.edu.
The Diversity Dimension is examining how NIU encourages first-year students to experience diverse ideas, worldviews and cultures by interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. The committee also is exploring how NIU prepares students to become members of a global community both inside and outside of classes.
The Diversity Dimension is examining the diversity education and diverse interaction opportunities on the campus, unlike the All-Students Dimension, which focuses on the resources available to meet the needs of individuals or groups of students.
The committee members will
For additional information about, to participate in, or to provide information for the Diversity Dimension, contact co-chairs Sonya Armstrong (sarmstrong@niu.edu) and Emily Prieto (eprieto@niu.edu).
The Foundations of Excellence Task Force is pleased to announce that Laura Kozor from Orientation and First-Year Experience and Jan Gerenstein from Housing and Dining are also $50 cash prize winners in the faculty/staff survey drawing.
NIU’s Office of Assessment Services presents the Summer 2009 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 looks at highlights from the 2009 Assessment Expo, including links to view each poster presented at the event. Also included are the debut of NIU’s Assessment Manual, a new resource for assessment on campus; a tool for assessing poster presentations; a look at assessment myths; and results from the class of 2007 alumni survey and annual update reports.
Back issues are posted on the Assessment Services Web site under Toolkit. Contributions to the newsletter are welcome at any time.
To help celebrate April 2009 Asian American Heritage Month at NIU, faculty, staff and students have displayed 30 enlarged photos of their travels in Asian countries such as Taiwan, China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and others.
Photos displayed through Tuesday, April 14, in the Holmes Student Center’s Gallery Lounge portray historical sites such as the Terra Cotta Soldiers, Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, as well as everyday photos that depict the heritage and culture of people, foods and lifestyle.
The purpose of the “Tour of Asia” exhibition is to visually represent and raise global awareness of Asian heritage through the use of photography.
Photographers include Leo Ku, Philip Wilkinson, Linh-Han Nguyen, Lavinia Lement and F. Michelle Bringas.
Visit http://www.niu.edu/aac/ for a compete calendar of events for Asian American Heritage Month. For more information, call (815) 752-1167.
Student and faculty composers from the NIU School of Music will give a concert at 8 p.m. today in the Recital Hall of the Music Building.
The concert will feature works by undergraduate composers Jason Gregory, Doug Merar and Stephanie Pieczynski; graduate composers Abram Breiling, Nathan Edwards and Adam LaSpata; and faculty composers Robert Fleisher, Ted Hatmaker and David Maki.
Former faculty composer Oscar Haugland and special guest composer Chinary Ung, who briefly served on the NIU music faculty in the 1970s, also will be featured. Ung will hold a “meet the composer” talk at 6:30 p.m. today in the Rectial Hall.
A wide variety of chamber works featuring woodwinds, brass, strings, voice, piano, steel pan and electro-acoustic music, are on the program.
The concert is free and open to the public, and the auditorium is accessible to all.
On the menu at Ellington’s this week: Bella’s is scheduled for Tuesday. Touch of Thai takes over Thursday.
Continuing 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.
Bella’s features artichoke heart vinaigrette or bruschetta Romana piccante for starters, eggplant parmesan or orrechiette carbonara for entrees and kiwi fruit gelato or tiramisu for dessert.
Touch of Thai features tom yum soup or spicy cucumber salad with peanuts for starters, vegetarian pad Thai or Thai-style stir-fried chicken for entrees and coconut milk sticky rice with mangoes or green tea cheesecake with raspberries and raspberry-mint tisane for dessert. Each table also will be served Thai iced tea.
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 Broken Bread Poverty Dinner, scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, will portray different levels of poverty around the world and will compare people who live on less than $2 a day with those who are more fortunate.
Two speakers from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless will share their experiences living without a home.
Learn about poverty and the factors that contribute to it, such as disease, hunger, homelessness, social inequality and human trafficking. Information on non-profit organizations, lobbying, fair trade and advocating for the millennium development goals also will be available.
The event is free and open to all. It is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board and Bread for the World.
For more information, e-mail brokenbreadNIU@yahoo.com.
Carmen Aguilar, deaf service team leader at the FITE Center for Independent Living in Elgin, will speak Tuesday, April 7, at NIU.
The event takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Heritage Room of the Holmes Student Center. It is free and open to all.
Aguilar, who is deaf, is the founder and President of the Illinois Deaf Latino Association (ILDA) and is one of the board members of the National Council of Hispano Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
American Sign Language interpreters are available. Contact Jenifer Montag at jmontag@niu.edu for other reasonable accommodations.
For more information, call (815) 753-1986.
The submission deadline for Academic Convocation faculty presentations has been extended to April 15.
Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your faculty/undergraduate student academic and/or research project to 3,000 new students and 150 of your faculty colleagues. Submissions from every discipline are encouraged; this opportunity is not limited to the traditional sciences.
Committee members will make presentation selections based on the following:
Student and faculty team members must be available to present for five to 10 minutes at the Academic Convocation, scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 21, in the Convocation Center.
A proposal form can be downloaded at www.convocation.niu.edu. Submit proposals to
Academic Convocation Committee, c/o Mary Spring, Student Affairs, AL 208, or fax to (815) 753-5100.
NIU’s Literacy Clinic will hold a book fair Friday, April 17, at Barnes & Noble, 2439 Sycamore Road.
A percentage of the net sales during the fair – exclusions include gift cards, bookstore memberships, textbooks and magazine subscriptions – is donated to the Literacy Clinic. Customers must present Literacy Clinic vouchers prior to making their purchases.
Children can create pictures of their favorite stories for the Literacy Clinic Student Art Gallery. Several other events also are planned:
The Literacy Clinic also is accepting donations of books purchased that day. A “wish list” will be available at the store.
Supporters unable to attend can call in orders to the store at (815) 787-3234, prepay and reference the Literacy Clinic book fair number: 505099.
For more information, call the Literacy Clinic at (815) 753-1416 or e-mail literacyclinic@niu.edu.
The Division of Research and Graduate Studies will hold its Outstanding Graduate Student Reception from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center.
An awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. to honor students who are receiving the following awards: the Carter G. Woodson Fellowship, Jeffrey T. Lunsford Fellowship, Dissertation Completion Award, University Fellowship, Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Award and the Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
Graduate faculty and advisers are encouraged to attend the event. Refreshments will be served.
The David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library has announced its schedule covering April 25 through May 31, which includes reading period and final exams.
Extended hours for Saturday, April 25, through Tuesday, May 12, are from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays. The library is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 13.
Hours from Thursday, May 14, through the end of the month are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The library is closed Saturdays. An exception comes Memorial Day Weekend, when the library is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 23, and closed Sunday, May 24, and Monday, May 25.
Call (815) 753-0505 for more information.
NIU Political Scientist Larry Arnhart, author of the book, “Darwinian Conservatism,” will be the keynote speaker during an upcoming University of Chicago weekend retreat focusing on Charles Darwin.
The Basic Program in the Liberal Arts at the University of Chicago is a “great books” program that was originally established in 1946. Twice a year, the Basic Program has a weekend study retreat, organized around a particular theme and set of related readings, at the Illinois Beach Resort in Zion.
This year’s event will be held May 1 through May 3 and is open to all. The Darwin theme commemorates the bicentennial of his birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work, “Origin of Species.”
Arnhart will open the program with a Friday night lecture, speaking on “Does Darwin Support or Subvert Morality?”
Information about the weekend program and how to register is available online.
Registration is open for ACT test prep scheduled for four Saturdays in May.
Classes meet from 9 a.m. to noon May 9, May 16, May 23 and May 30 in the Monat Building, 148 N. Third St. in DeKalb.
The program covers English, math, reading and science reasoning. The final session covers a sample testing of an actual retired ACT test and scoring.
Cost is $175 (or $200 one week before start of class) and includes instruction, textbook, CD-ROM and retired ACT tests. It does not include registration to take the actual ACT test.
For more information, contact Mark Pietrowski at (815) 753-1456 or pietrowski@niu.edu.
Students are now able to apply for the NIU Speech Camp, Creative Writing Camp, Film Camp, Sci-Camp Discovery, Sci-Camp Explorations, Sci-Camp Investigations and, for the first time, the KEMPA Journalism Workshop.
The camps allow students to explore topics of interest to them, experience life on a college campus and have fun learning.
The camp fees include room and board. An early bird discount applies until June 1, but parents and students are urged to apply as soon as possible to guarantee spots in their camps of choice.
A full application packet is available for download at www.niu.edu/clasep under Academic Summer Camps.
For more camp details, contact Mark Pietrowski at (815) 753-1456 or pietrowski@niu.edu or visit www.niu.edu/clasep.
Experience the cultural explosion and natural beauty of Iceland with the NIU Alumni Association from July 20 to July 26.
Where else can travelers witness such marvels as a tremendous icecap and slow grinding glaciers, spouting geysers, magnificent waterfalls, a multitude of birds, cavorting whales just offshore and fearless little puffins? Meanwhile, because of Iceland’s endless supply of geothermal energy, pollution is nonexistent.
Visit myniu.com or call (815) 753-1512 for more information.
Nearly one dozen programs and activities are planned throughout the month to raise awareness of and help bring an end to sexual assault and other forms of relationship violence.
“This month is designed to create many different avenues for people to discuss and learn about issues surrounding sexual violence,” said Andrea Drott, health educator for NIU’s Health Enhancement. “Everyone is encouraged to support the events and be a part of the solution.”
A complete schedule of discussions, performances and other activities is available online.
Events include:
All events are open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, are free. Sign language interpreters will be provided upon request; call (815) 753-6515. One week’s notice is preferred.
Event sponsors include NIU Health Enhancement; Men Against Sexual and Interpersonal Violence; Women’s Resource Center; Women’s Rights Alliance; PRSSA; Women’s Studies; and Safe Passage.
For more information, call Health Enhancement at (815) 753-9767.
Candidate interviews for the position of director of NIU’s University Honors Program have been scheduled. A 20-minute candidate presentation will be followed by an open interview forum for faculty and staff.
Interested in helping first-year students learn how to succeed at NIU? Become a UNIV 101/201 instructor for fall 2009!
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 2008, more than 1,600 first-year NIU students enrolled in 84 sections of UNIV 101/201. 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:
If candidates do not meet the last two criteria, they can be paired with a teaching coach.
Instructor overview sessions are being offered from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2, and Monday, April 6. The meetings take place in Holmes Student Center Room 306. If you are interested, please RSVP to firstconn@niu.edu.
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, department meetings, and participate in course feedback through e-mail correspondence and surveys.
More information and application materials are available online or by e-mail at firstconn@niu.edu.
Friends of NIU Libraries is sponsoring an evening of pizza and discussion with author and NIU alumnus E.E. Knight about his book, “Choice of the Cat,” the April selection for the DeKalb Public Library's Destination Wonder SF Book Club.
The event is free and open to the public. It will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 9, at Pizza Villa, 824 W. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb. The DeKalb Public Library is co-sponsoring the evening.
Knight is an award-winning author of works in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres. “Choice of the Cat” is his second book in the “Vampire Earth” series.
The Friends of NIU Libraries was founded in 1983 as an association of library supporters interested in developing and supporting the resources of University Libraries. Through membership, gifts and bequests, the group provides funds for the purchase of materials that the library is unable to acquire. Throughout the year, the Friends hosts speakers, programs and book appraisal fairs open to the public.
For more information on the event, call (815) 753-8091.
The Baccalaureate Review Task Force will hold one more open forum to give the NIU community additional opportunities to provide input regarding the university’s baccalaureate goals.
NIU’s Strategic Planning Initiative has identified general education reform as a priority for the institution. The first phase of this reform is a review of the university’s baccalaureate degree goals: What skills, knowledge and abilities should NIU graduates achieve? What values and ideals should be promoted?
The remaining open forum will last 60 minutes and will be held:
Those unable to attend but who want to share ideas can read and respond to the Baccalaureate Review Online Survey at http://www.niu.edu/bacreview/index.shtml.
The School of Music will host the NIU Jazz Ensemble Concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center.
The ensemble is directed by Ron Carter. The concert features special guest artist Benny Golson, jazz master, saxophonist, composer and arranger.
The concert is free and open to the public. It is cosponsored by WNIJ, the Northern Star, NIU Center for Black Studies and NIU Jazz Studies.
For more information, e-mail rcarter@niu.edu.
NIU is engaged in recertification of its athletics program. A campus-wide committee has undertaken a self-study to ensure the integrity of its athletics operations, and the final draft of the self-study will be posted on or about Wednesday, April 1.
As part of the certification process, three public forums will be held to give members of the campus community the opportunity to comment on the self-study. All students, faculty, staff, alumni and interested parties are welcome to attend the forums. Those who cannot attend the forums but would like to comment are encouraged to submit feedback online.
Forums will be held:
For Thursday’s forums, parking is available in Lot 35 free of charge to the public.
For further details, contact Tom Krepel at (815) 752-8362 or via e-mail at krepel@niu.edu.
Join the Lifelong Learning Institute in a fascinating and picturesque trip Friday, April 24, through regional and national history: A professional tour guide will take participants on a day-long tour of the Illinois-Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor.
The opening of the 100 mile-long canal in 1848, from Chicago to LaSalle-Peru, linked the Gulf of Mexico with the Great Lakes and launched Chicago on its greatest period of growth. While eventually superseded by the Sanitary and Ship Canal, a rediscovery of the old canal and the communities along it has resulted in an impressive array of restored buildings, landscapes and historic sites.
Participants will go to the St. James of the Sag Church in Lemont, the headquarters of the I&M Canal at Lockport. Members will visit the marvelously restored Gaylord Building along with a small museum devoted to the canal as well as the Public Landing Restaurant, where they will have lunch. Afterward, they will continue on a driving tour of Lockport and the Joliet Museum, featuring a replica lock used on the I&M and a Route 66 Experience Exhibit.
The trip will depart from the Normal Road entrance of the Holmes Student Center at 8:15 a.m. and return at approximately 6:30 p.m. Fee includes professional guide, lunch, entrance fees and transportation.
The field trip is open to everyone in the community, while LLI members, NIU Cardinal & Black Alumni members and University Women’s Club members are eligible for a discounted rate.
For more information or to register for the field trip, contact the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences External Programming at (815) 753-5200, online at http://www.LLI.niu.edu or in person in Room 152 of the Monat Building, 148 N. Third St.
A minimum of 25 registrants is needed by Friday, April 10, to offer this trip.
Richard Carwardine, Rhodes Professor of American History at St. Catherine College and incoming president of Corpus Christi College at Oxford University, will speak Monday, April 6, at NIU.
Carwardine is the author of “Abraham Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power” and the winner of the 2004 Lincoln Prize. In 2008, he was elected to the Order of Lincoln by the State of Illinois.
His lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Room of the Holmes Student Center.
The event is hosted by the University Honors Program. It is sponsored by a grant from the Abraham Lincoln Illinois Bicentennial Commission and endorsed by the Illinois Library System Director’s Organization.
For more information, visit http://www.lincolnread2009.org.