A series of public events Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009, will commemorate the anniversary of last year’s tragic shooting
on the NIU campus.
Two primary events will begin and end the day:
Additional events and opportunities for private reflection will be available throughout the
day. All events (unless noted) will be held in the Holmes Student Center (HSC), and will include:
In addition to events open to the public, NIU will hold a private luncheon for the families of the slain students, where the university will introduce five current students chosen to receive the inaugural “Forward, Together Forward” / February 14 Memorial Student Scholarships. A second private event will honor emergency responders who assisted at the scene Feb. 14, 2008.
For more information, visit www.niu.edu/forward or call (815) 753-1681.
Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago have reached an agreement that will guarantee admission of talented NIU students into the UIC College of Pharmacy, one of the nation’s premier pharmacy programs.
The degree-affiliation agreement is believed to be the first of its kind at NIU. Under the program, which will first appear in the 2009-2010 catalog, 10 places will be reserved each year for qualifying NIU students seeking admission to the UIC College of Pharmacy.
Established in 1859, the UIC College of Pharmacy stands as the oldest academic unit of the University of Illinois. The college is ranked among the nation’s top pharmacy programs (including by U.S. News and World Report) for scholarship, curriculum and the quality of faculty and students.
“This agreement truly represents a win-win for both universities,” NIU Provost Raymond Alden III said. “It helps both institutions cement their relationship and will allow NIU to recruit top students who from an early stage have their sights set on entering a highly desirable professional program. UIC’s College of Pharmacy is among the nation’s very best.”
UIC officials are equally excited to be working with NIU.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with Northern Illinois University with the purpose of training exceptional pharmacists for the state,” said Jerry Bauman, dean of UIC’s College of Pharmacy. “It is a great example of how public universities can cooperate in educational programs, and I hope it may serve as a template for others.”
Qualifying NIU students will be able to choose between the UIC pharmacy programs in Chicago or Rockford. In direct response to the continuing shortage of pharmacists in Illinois, the UIC College of Pharmacy recently created its Rockford regional program. The first students will be admitted there in 2010.
"This partnership should complement our new regional program in Rockford, where NIU students can track directly into the PharmD (doctor of pharmacy) program there, or the Chicago campus if they choose,” Bauman said.
Details of the new agreement between the two universities continue to be fine-tuned, but UIC will provide a program liaison on the NIU campus to guide students pursuing admission to the College of Pharmacy.
“NIU students will have opportunities to meet and interact with faculty and staff members in the UIC College of Pharmacy,” said Sue Warrick Doederlein, associate dean for undergraduate affairs in the NIU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LA&S).
“We’ve been delighted in the past with the success of our pre-pharmacy students who choose and who are chosen by the UIC College of Pharmacy. This agreement further enhances that success,” Doederlein added. “I think it’s fair to say this will make NIU an institution of real choice for students who want to do their pre-pharmacy education at a state university.”
NIU students seeking to take part in the UIC College of Pharmacy program will be required to meet academic and extracurricular qualifications.
They will enter the affiliation program after completing three semesters of full-time coursework at NIU and an onsite interview at UIC. Students then must meet all academic requirements to be retained in the program, complete a bachelor’s degree at NIU within five years and take the Pharmacy College Admission Test before being accepted into the UIC College of Pharmacy.
Students seeking more information should contact the LA&S advising office at (815) 753-0114.
NIU currently offers a pre-pharmacy curriculum, typically sought out by students majoring in biology, chemistry or health sciences. The curriculum allows students to meet pre-pharmacy requirements for most graduate programs.
“NIU students can still pursue the traditional route, but in addition to that, a select number will have a more assured pathway into UIC’s program, as long as they meet the requirements,” said Ken Gasser, an NIU biological sciences professor and LA&S pre-professional adviser for biomedical programs.
“We’ve been successful in sending NIU students to pharmacy programs,” Gasser said. “This will enhance our efforts and our recruiting.”
Provost Alden added that he hopes to duplicate the degree-affiliation format in other academic areas.
“We’ll look for other opportunities,” he said. “We can use the pharmacy program as a model for future arrangements with other professional schools.”
Legend has it that “The Windy City” moniker dates to the late 19th century, when New York and Chicago were vying for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. A writer for the New York Sun reportedly took Chicago’s blustery politicians to task for their boasts, hence “The Windy City.”
As is often the case, however, legend has it wrong, according to NIU English Professor Edward Callary, who notes that experts have proven that “The Windy City” sobriquet was popularized decades earlier.
“The blustery politicians’ source of ‘Windy City’ has been repeated so many times that it has taken on a life of its own,” Callary says. “It makes for a good story, but it’s just not true.”
Callary, an expert on onomastics, or name studies, has penned a new book shedding light on the names that dot the Land of Lincoln. “Place Names of Illinois” (University of Illinois Press) unearths the origins of the names and occasional nicknames of nearly 3,000 Illinois communities and places – from Chicago to Carbondale, the latter named for its rich deposits of coal.
Much can be learned from a name.
“Place names are the archives in which the history and culture of a people are stored,” Callary says.
“Our history, culture, beliefs, ambitions and dreams are encapsulated in the names we give our communities,” he adds. “The lives of Native Americans and national and local leaders, as well as the lives of less-well-known people, are compressed into Illinois place names.”
The NIU English professor conducted five years of research for “Place Names of Illinois,” visiting local libraries and genealogical and historical societies, as well as all of the state’s regional history centers.
Callary writes in the book introduction that it is customary to think of place names as layers on the land, “with each layer attesting to the presence of a particular group of people or the existence of a particular naming practice.”
Prior to the 20th century, names of Illinois places usually could be traced to five distinct layers:
Native American names represent the deepest layer of Illinois name origins – and also the thinnest because of a lack of written materials.
“If by Native American names we mean names from a Native American language that were probably used by Native Americans for the purposes of geographic reference, only a handful are found on modern maps,” Callary writes.
“These would include Chicago, Kankakee, Kishwaukee, Nippersink, Pecatonica, and Sinnissippi; probably Shokokon, Somonauk, and Maquon; and possibly others. Most of what we tend to think of as ‘Indian names’ … were applied by Europeans, in many cases decades after Native American occupation had ended.”
Callary notes that Germans, in particular, brought place names with them. “There have been at least 10 Hanovers in Illinois, nine Berlins, nine Hamburgs and nine Bremens,” he writes.
The most common name in Illinois is Union, which typically traces its origins to the federal union of states. There have been more than 50 post offices, communities, townships or precincts with that name.
In addition to name origins, Callary’s new book also examines different pronunciations for Illinois places. “The major surprises for me have been in the area of local pronunciation, which in a number of instances is different from what the spelling and non-local use would suggest,” he says.
For example, local pronunciations include BER-luhn for Berlin, SAN JOZ for San Jose and JO DAYVIS for Jo Daviess. Then there’s the Joliet debate. Is the town’s name properly pronounced JOE-lee-et or JAH-lee-et?
You’ll have to read to the book to find out.
Callary is the editor of several books on naming, including “Place Names in the Midwestern United States” and “Surnames, Nicknames, Placenames and Epithets in America: Essays in the Theory of Names.” He is also editor emeritus of “Names: A Journal of Onomastics.”
At least 13 meanings have been proposed for the word Chicago, from “something great” to “cracked corn makers.” It was recorded by LaSalle in 1680 as Checagou, and he later applied the name to the Des Plaines River, which was called the Chicago River into the 1790s. The name for our nation’s third largest city actually derives from “sikaakwa,” a Miami-Illinois word for striped skunk. The word was also homophonous with the word for the ramp or wild leek, thus the meaning “onion field.” Carl Sandburg wove both meanings into his poem, “The Windy City”: “Early the red men gave a name to the river / the place of the skunk / the river of the wild onion smell / Shee-caw-go.”
Named by one of its first settlers, James T. Gifford, for the Scots hymn, “Elgin.” Gifford had been a great admirer of the tune.
When the post office was established in 1837, there was a good deal of sentiment for naming the town Waubonsee after the Potawatomi leader whose main village was nearby. But Elias Terry, a cousin of settlers Samuel and Joseph McCarty, proposed Aurora for his former home in Cayuga County, N.Y., itself named from Latin for “morning” or “dawn.” That is coincidentally similar in meaning to Waubonsee, reported to mean daybreak or morning light.
The “island” was actually a swampy ridge of higher ground at the foot of Lake Michigan. The name reportedly was chosen for the blue wildflowers that grew along the ridge and from the purple haze that hung over the area in the early mornings and late evenings.
Several sources of the name have been proposed, including that it was taken from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” to complement the nearby community of Romeo (now Romeoville). But the name is indirectly linked to Louis Jolliet, who reportedly camped nearby in 1673. A map attributed to Jolliet identified a ridge along the Des Plaines River as “Mont Joliet.” (The ridge was leveled by quarrying in the 1800s.) Through popular etymology, the spelling became Juliet. By the early 19th century, both spellings “Juliet” and “Joliet” are found, often with the former referring to the general area and the latter to the ridge. The discrepancy was apparently pointed out in 1842 by President Martin Van Buren, prompting a petition to change the name to Joliet.
The Naper brothers, John and Joseph, left Ohio in the summer of 1831 and established a trading post and sawmill at what became known as the Naper Settlement. Joseph Naper formally laid out the community of Naperville in 1842.
The name is most likely an adaptation of Algonquian “makina” for turtle. It is the only town named Mokena in the United States.
The Winnebago County village was named for Cherry Valley, N.Y. For unknown reasons, the community in its early years had been known as Grabtown or Graball.
Founded on Bangs Lake in the 1840s by Justus Bangs. Wauconda was the name of an Indian character in a popular novel of the day.
Named for Mount Zion, a hill in the eastern part of Jerusalem, by John Alexander Dowie in 1901. Dowie was a Scottish fundamentalist preacher and faith healer, and Zion was founded as a community where church law prevailed. There were to be “no breweries or saloons, gambling halls, houses of ill fame, hog raising, tobacco shops, hospitals (or) theaters.” Original street names maintained the biblical theme and included Lebanon Avenue, Shiloh Boulevard and Horeb Avenue.
Created as Mann Township in 1852. The name was changed five years later for Vinegar Hill, County Wexford, in southeast Ireland. Local stories claim that a group of miners “while in a state of spiritual hallucination” christened an Indian mound by pouring whiskey over it and declaring, “Henceforth and forever, this place shall be called Vinegar Hill.”
Established as the temporary seat of Sangamon County in 1821 on land along Spring Creek, hence the name. The community was formally laid out as Calhoun two years later, but the name reverted to Springfield in 1825 when it became the permanent county seat. Because there were many U.S. towns that already went by Springfield, there was a good deal of sentiment to change the name – proposals included Sangamo, Illini and Illinopolis. Indeed, Springfield is a popular place name in the United States; 32 states have at least one Springfield, and many have several. Virginia alone has 11.
Percussionists from around the world will heat up NIU’s Music Building this weekend during Day of Percussion 2009, organized by the Illinois chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.
The day includes concerts, clinics and open houses that offer a peek into NIU’s world music curriculum.
All are welcome; admission is $5 for PAS members and $10 for the general public. Members of the NIU Percussion Club and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia will sell concessions throughout the day.
“We’re going to celebrate our art form, tip our hat to the history of our genre and make important strives for the future of our endeavors,” said Greg Beyer, professor of percussion in the NIU School of Music and host for the day.
“I’m hoping this is not just entertainment but has educational value,” Beyer added. “For students, especially, to see some of these internationally known artists giving clinics, master classes and concerts is going to be a huge inspiration for their growth.”
Saturday begins with a morning “Uncontest” for young percussionists in middle school and high school who want constructive criticism on their preparations for upcoming solo and ensemble competitions. Amanda Legner from Wesleyan University and Tony Oliver from Monmouth College will serve as judges.
Open houses for NIU’s steel pan program and gamelan orchestra are scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon.
Afternoon activities begin with a 1 p.m. orchestral clinic presented by Vadim Karpinos, an assistant timpanist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a new member of the percussion faculty at Northwestern University. Karpinos will speak on preparation techniques for successful orchestral auditions.
She-e Wu, an internationally known marimba soloist, will hold a 2 p.m. clinic. Wu will perform and listen to students who have prepared pieces to play for her. Aiyun Huang, an advocate for contemporary percussion literature from McGill University in Montreal, will give a 3 p.m. solo recital.
At 4 p.m., musicians from six Illinois public universities – NIU, the University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University – will combine for a “summit concert” called “Hands On the Arc of History: Celebrating Our Percussive Legacy and its Hope for a Better Day.”
“All the pieces on the program form an arc in history,” Beyer said. “We having music from the classical period in percussion ensemble literature, which is the 1930s and 1940s, to music written in 2008 and heading back to the classical period.”
Each university group will perform one short work. William Moersch, marimba artist and professor of percussion studies at the University of Illinois, then will conduct the combined ensembles to perform José Ardevol’s “Estudio en forma de Preludio y Fuga” written in 1933 for 31 percussionists playing 37 instruments.
Sô Percussion, a renowned quartet from Brooklyn, N.Y., will give the 7 p.m. closing performance.
“It’s going to be a wonderful day packed with activity. Percussion is a universal language and nearly ubiquitous in all of the world’s cultures. We play many instruments, but it’s not really the instruments that unify us,” Beyer said. “It’s the hitting, the scraping, the striking, the caressing. Easily readable human emotions give percussion its instant accessibility. Through the power of percussion as a medium to bring people together, we can advance the purpose of peace and understanding in society.”
NIU’s University Writing Center, in collaboration with Founders Memorial Library, will open a satellite site Tuesday, Jan. 20, in Founders 302.
The site will be open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Appointments will be walk-in only on a first come-first serve basis.
Headquartered on the lower level of Stevenson Towers South, the University Writing Center is a place for all writers at NIU – undergraduates, graduates, staff and even faculty – to talk one-on-one about their writing with trained consultants. Visitors can:
Call (815) 753-6636 for more information.
The January edition of Scientific American magazine, focusing on “the evolution of evolution,” includes an eight-page feature article by NIU Presidential Research Professor David Buller.
In the article, titled “Evolution of the Mind: 4 Fallacies of Psychology,” Buller dissects and debunks some of the most well-known claims of popular evolutionary psychology, such as the assertion that human nature was designed during the Pleistocene, when our ancestors lived as hunter-gatherers.
Scientific American is one of the world’s most enduring and revered science and technology magazines. Editors contacted Buller and requested that he write the article for the magazine’s special edition, which marks the 200th anniversary year of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of “Origin of the Species.”
Buller, a professor of philosophy, is the author of the 2005 book, “Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature” (The MIT Press). The book delivers a powerful critique of evolutionary psychology and has been roundly praised in such publications as Science, Nature, Slate, New Scientist, the Wall Street Journal and The Times Literary Supplement (London).
Three NIU employees were prominently featured as presenters last week when the Illinois Recycling Association met in DeKalb last week:
Alfred A. Schilt, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 1962 until his retirement in 1989, died Jan. 9 in Noblesville, Ind. He was 81.
Inspired by the hit TV show, NIU’s FIT Program is creating a “Biggest Loser” competition.
At stake is a free fall 2009 FIT membership to both the woman and man who lose the most weight, and also a free fall 2009 membership to the team whose members who lose the most weight. Participants can sign up in teams of four or individually for placement on teams of four.
Measurements of girth (arms, waist, hips, thighs) and pounds lost will take place every two weeks, and the competition will conclude the week of April 20. Exercise physiology students will be available to train individuals and teams.
For more information, call (815) 753-0335.
Fourteen contemporary artists utilize the broad spectrum of the fiber medium and a variety of techniques for “Crossing Threads, Crossing Boundaries,” an exhibition opening today at the NIU Art Museum.
In “Crossing Threads, Crossing Boundaries,” artists freely cross back and forth over the old divides between genders, high art vs. low, 2D vs. 3D and fine art vs. craft. Either the process or the material, or its laden history, is critical to the artist’s choice of media.
The show is open through Friday, March 6. An opening reception takes place from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, with an artist talk featuring Yvette Kaiser Smith scheduled for 6 p.m. Curator Ellen Roth Deutsch will speak at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7.
The exhibition features work by Renie Breskin Adams, Mary Bero, Ilse Bolle, Judith Brotman, Sun Choi, Cat Chow, Susan Etcoff Fraerman, Christine LoFaso, Danny Mansmith, Darrel Morris, Lindsay Obermeyer, Smith, Sharon Wright and Betsy Youngquist.
Beaded paintings, crocheted fiberglass, mixed media beadwork, embroidery, weaving, upholstered furniture, stitchery and fiber constructions are just a few examples of the diversity of the exhibition.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the west end of the first floor Altgeld Hall. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment for group tours. Admission is free, and the museum is open to the public.
For more information, visit www.niu.edu/artmuseum or call (815) 753-1936.
An exhibition of contemporary paintings that opens today at the NIU Art Museum will examine how “surface” comes into play with the use of various techniques and media to create diverse and contrasting results.
“Push, Pull, Scrub, Drip … Drip …” is open through Friday, March 6. An open reception is scheduled from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, with a curator’s talk and a presentation by artist Jim Lutes at 6 p.m.
Paint has physical characteristics that can be exploited for the creation of interesting surfaces. Texture can be implied or actual; sometimes the physical nature of the act of painting itself becomes manifested in the work of art.
Curator Frank Trankina, associate professor of art at NIU, said the exhibition’s title can be taken
semi-literally and metaphorically as it refers to various physical acts and to the residues of paint layered and/or migrating across the two-dimensional picture plane.
“Push, Pull, Scrub, Drip … Drip …” features artists Dan Devening, Tim Doud, Dorothee Joachim, Lutes and Tracy Miller.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the west end of the first floor Altgeld Hall. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment for group tours. Admission is free, and the museum is open to the public.
For more information, visit www.niu.edu/artmuseum or call (815) 753-1936.
The Civic Leadership Academy’s next workshop, “Managing Personnel and the Human Capital of Your Organization: Part I” is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 29.
This two-part workshop will help leaders better appreciate and understand this strategic component of any service organization: The most expensive and expansive asset of your governmental organization is your human capital – your personnel.
Sessions will explore and explain why the management of governmental employees is somewhat unique. How does employee recruitment, selection and retention actually work? Do these techniques matter? How do you find and select the right people? What are the ramifications if you don’t? Why are management employees different? Are they worth the money?
Leaders also will learn to appreciate the impact of described but misunderstood concepts such as organizational culture and silent leadership.
Greg Kuhn, assistant director and senior research associate for the NIU Center for Governmental Studies, is the presenter.
Registration and more information about CLA and its upcoming workshops is available online.
Adults are invited to dust off long-ago piano skills or start from scratch in a new group piano class offered by the NIU Community School of the Arts. “Group Piano for Adults” is for ages 18 and older. The class meets in the piano lab in the NIU Music Building. Every student works at a piano station.
The class meets for 12 Mondays beginning Feb. 2. Level 1 for beginners meets from 7 to 7:55 p.m. Level 2 meets from 8 to 8:55 p.m. and is for those who have limited playing experience and want to take their skills to the next level.
Teacher Susan Breitner is a long-time piano teacher who has experience teaching children and adults. She teaches Suzuki and traditional piano lessons for the community school.
This class is among many classes, ensembles and lessons offered by the NIU Community School of the Arts this spring. The office is located in Room 132 of the Music Building. For more information, call (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms.
Guitarists have two great opportunities to play in a group this spring at the NIU Community School of the Arts. The Group Guitar Class is for beginners and the CSA Guitar Ensemble is for advanced beginners and intermediate players.
Both classes are for ages 13 and older. The group class is a fundamentals class. Students learn all the basics, including tuning, picking and chords. The ensemble helps guitarists expand their musical horizons.
Both classes meet for 12 Wednesdays beginning Feb. 4. The ensemble meets from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the group class meets from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m.
Teacher Quentin Dover is a graduate of the NIU School of Music, where he studied guitar with Fareed Haque. He has taught guitar lessons for a number of years.
This class is among many classes, ensembles and lessons offered by the NIU Community School of the Arts this spring. The office is located in Room 132 of the Music Building. For more information, call (815) 753-1450 or visit www.niu.edu/extprograms.
The “Picturing Hemingway” lecture has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5.
This lecture will be presented by Redd Griffin, founding director and past chair of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park. It is offered in conjunction with the “Picturing Hemingway” traveling exhibit, developed by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery and on display on the first floor of Founders Memorial Library through the end of January.
This event is free and open to the public. For details, visit the Friends of the NIU Libraries Web site, call (815) 753-9838 or contact Angela Schroeder at aschroeder@niu.edu or Lynne Thomas at lmthomas@niu.edu.
The DeKalb Festival Chorus invites vocalists to join this spring’s exciting performance of Haydn’s “Theresienmesse,” scheduled for Sunday, April 19.
Rehearsals are held from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays in Room 171 of the NIU Music Building. Auditions are required; e-mail the director at festivalchorus@gmail.com to arrange a brief audition.
Rehearsals begin Monday, Jan. 26. Come before 7 p.m. to register. Adult membership costs $30. Full-time student membership is $15.
For more information, visit www.dekalbfestivalchorus.org or call (630) 453-8006.
The Ally Program is a campus-wide program designed to foster a welcoming and supportive campus environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, faculty and staff by creating a visible network of allies.
NIU employees and students interested in volunteering for the Ally Program can learn more and register online. The online form provides the specific workshop dates and times and allows registrants to indicate first, second and third choices.
Training is divided into two two-hour workshops (Part I and Part II). Volunteers must attend both Part I and Part II. Space is limited, and advance registration is required. Multiple dates are available.
Part I:
Thursday, Jan. 29: 2 to 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 4: 2 to 4 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 9: 9 to 11 a.m.
Part II:
Tuesday, Feb. 17: 2 to 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 25: 2 to 4 p.m.
Monday, March 2: 9 to 11 a.m.
The Ally Program is sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, Division of Student Affairs.
NIU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Studies Program is currently accepting nominations for new faculty associates and program affiliates. The program offers undergraduate and graduate certificates of study and serves students in a number of colleges and disciplines across campus.
Faculty associates typically teach and/or research some aspect of LGBT studies whereas program affiliates are employees of the university who support the program but are not necessarily involved in related research or teaching. This visible link with the program hopes to facilitate collaborative programming, instigate grant proposals and foster other research and teaching activities.
To nominate yourself or someone else, contact Diana Swanson at dswanson@niu.edu. The nomination deadline is Friday, Jan. 30.
NIU Prism, the student-led LGBT and Ally social group, will begin an experimental book discussion group on the fourth Monday of each month in the LGBT Resource Center. The center is located on the seventh floor of the Holmes Student Center.
The first meeting of the semester is from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26. Books selected are Lambda Award-winning works that address the issues of the LGBT community.
NIU’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women is accepting nominations for the 2009 NIU Outstanding Women Student Awards.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, Jan. 23.
This recognition program was created in 1980 and is held annually to encourage the full participation of women students in all facets of the university experience and in their communities; to support their development of corresponding strengths, both cooperative and competitive; and to celebrate their achievements and contributions, including those not usually recognized by other award programs.
Details about eligibility and nomination forms are available online and by calling (815) 753-0320.
The NIU Operating Staff Dependent Scholarship is intended to provide financial assistance to children of NIU Operating Staff (civil service) employees while attending NIU. This award is made possible through funds presented by the NIU Civil Service employees’ fundraising activities.
Eligibility requirements:
The maximum amount that will be awarded to any individual is $2,500 over five academic years.
The award of $250 per semester will be awarded for both fall and spring or for just an individual semester. All scholarship and award requests must be made payable to NIU. This scholarship will be routed through the Office of Student Financial Aid and applied directly to the students’ bursar accounts.
The application deadline is Sunday, Feb. 1, or the first business day thereafter. Send completed applications to Jay Monteiro, president, Operating Staff Council, Human Resources, NIU, DeKalb, Ill., 60115.
Student Involvement & Leadership Development will provide a new alternative for students looking for Spring Break plans: The Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program offers students the opportunity to use their time to complete volunteer work and explore a significant social issue in another part of the country.
ASB 2009, held the week of March 7, will take students to the Houston/Galveston area to help with the continuing relief efforts from Hurricane Ike. Airfare, meals on-site and lodging for participants are included in the $550 fee. Fundraising opportunities are available.
The Alternative Spring Break program is the latest addition to the events and services provided by the Student Involvement & Leadership Development office. Students can use SILD’s resources to explore community service opportunities in the surrounding communities as well as participate in events such as Huskie Paws for a Cause and NIU Cares Day.
SILD administrators hope that the ASB program will grow into an annual event, with participants assisting in locations across the country and learning about a variety of social issues, including homelessness, poverty and literacy.
An application and $150 deposit are required to secure a spot on this year’s ASB trip. The deadline is Friday, February 6. Registration information is available at the Student Involvement & Leadership Development web site, located by clicking on the Volunteerism link at http://www.niu.edu/studentinvolvement.
Interested individuals can contact Becky Harlow, ASB adviser, at rharlow@niu.edu or join the “Alternative Spring Break 2009” group on Facebook.
The Parents’ Association staff welcomes all Huskie fathers and mothers back to NIU this spring to participate in special traditions: Dad’s Weekend and Moms’ Weekend.
Scheduled for Feb. 27 through March 1 (fathers) and March 27 to 29 (mothers), the weekends allow students and their family members the opportunity to enjoy an array of events, both on the campus as well as in the DeKalb community.
Included are Huskie sporting events, theater productions, a Casino Night for dads and exhibitions for moms.
The Parents’ Association also has coordinated several special events especially for Dads’ Weekend participants, including a welcome reception and unlimited bowling and billiards in the Huskies Den. Moms’ Weekend participants can enjoy a jewelry-making session and a “Taste of DeKalb” progressive lunch, allowing students and family to experience a selection of DeKalb’s local restaurants.
First-year students and their parents and families “appreciate the opportunity to spend time with their students in their home away from home,” said Becky Harlow, adviser to the Parents’ Association. “Events like these allow an opportunity for students to ‘show and tell’ about their experiences as NIU students.”
Event and registration information are available at the Parents’ Association Web site, located by clicking on the Parents’ Association link at http://www.niu.edu/studentinvolvement. Registration is due Friday, Feb. 13, for Dads’ Weekend and Friday, March 13, for Moms’ Weekend.
Interested individuals can contact Harlow at www.parents.niu.edu.
NIU’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women is seeking nominations for three staff awards: the Wilma D. Stricklin Award for Enhancement of the Climate for Women on Campus, the Outstanding Mentor Award and the Women Who Make a Difference Award.
Criteria and nomination information on these three awards is available online or by calling (815) 753-0320. The nomination deadline is Monday, March 2.