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.
On the menu at Ellington’s this week: A Hard Day’s Lunch is scheduled for Tuesday. Bayou Grill 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.
A Hard Day’s Lunch features King Edward soup or cabbage and mixed greens salad with tangy herb vinaigrette for starters, beef roast sirloin or vegetable shepherd’s pie for entrees and oatmeal pecan pie or cranberry and apple crisp for dessert.
Bayou Grill features Cajun shrimp or Cajun Caesar salad for starters, grilled Cajun chicken or vegetable gumbo for entrees and sweet potato pie or banana bread pudding for dessert. Each table also will be served Cajun tortilla chips.
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.
Join the National Marrow Donor Registry and see if you match a patient in need. It takes just 10 minutes to join. Complete the registration form and swab your cheeks with a Q-Tip.
The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, in the DuSable Hall entrance and is cosponsored by the Psi Chi Fraternity and the National Marrow Donor Program.
For details, call (815) 961-2341 or visit www.marrow.org.
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.
NIU’s Avalon Quartet will complete its 2008-09 season with an 8 p.m. Thursday, April 2, concert in the Boutell Memorail Concert Hall. The Avalon Quartet’s NIU concert series is sponsored by Castle Bank.
Members of the School of Music’s string quartet in residence will play Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade, Franz Schubert’s String Quartet in A Minor, D. 804, “Rosamunde,” and String Quartet in G Major, Op. 111 by Johannes Brahms.
The concert is free and open to the public, and the building is accessible to all. For more information, contact Lynn Slater at (815) 753-1546 or via e-mail at lslater@niu.edu.
Clarinet and mime enthusiasts will find much to enjoy at a most unusual concert at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 4, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the NIU Music Building. The concert features well-known clarinetists Steve Cohen of Northwestern University and Greg Barrett of NIU. Also on the program are Chicago mime theatre artists T. Daniel and Laurie Willets.
Cohen performs works by Stravinsky and Piazzolla, as well as four movements of Prokofiev’s Suite from Romeo and Juliet. He is joined by Greg Barrett for J.S. Bach’s Two Part Invention #15 for Clarinet and Bass Clarinet.
T. Daniel and Laurie Willets are masters of the art of mime. They create and perform original non-speaking plays, productions and eclectic visual interpretations of classical music and contemporary classical music for orchestras and soloists. Their eclectic music project, INnOvaTionS, allows them to collaborate with many professional musicians and artists.
Daniel and Willets are performing the world premiere of a piece that has been created for the event by a young composer, Piotr Behr. It was created collaboratively by the three artists and is called Simple Dynamics for E Flat and B Flat Clarinet. Cohen and Barrett also perform on clarinet. Behr is originally from DeKalb and recently graduated from the University of Chicago.
The performance of Daniel and Willets has been funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council. Cohen’s performance is sponsored by Buffet Clarinets.
The concert is part of Clarinet Cornucopia, a daylong festival celebrating the art of the clarinet held at NIU since 2001. For more information about the concert or about Clarinet Cornucopia, call Renee Page at (815) 753-1450 or go to www.niu.edu/extprograms.
The NIU School of Music will host its annual Spring World Music Concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 5, in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall.
The concert will feature a collaborative music selection, “Hands Without Borders,” performed by Chicago-based percussionists specializing in drumming styles of different cultures – Syrian-born Omar Al Musfi on the Middle Eastern drums and Venezuelan-born Javier Saume and Mexican-American Ruben Alvares on Latin American percussion instruments.
Following this modern world music fusion trend is a series of traditional Chinese music featuring Taiwanese pipa soloist Wang Chen Yung-Hsin, flutist Santina Sheng-Ting Lin and vocalist Vicky Yu-Kuan Wang. The NIU Javanese gamelan ensemble will again present a mixture of traditional and modern compositions on the gamelan featuring soloists Shari Heda on clarinet, Robyn Sutton on flute and Dennis Dzuekan on vocal.
The Chicago Okinawa Kenjinkai performance group will showcase folk music and dance traditions of Okinawa, Japan. NIU percussion majors Maggie Bergren and Clarice Cast will perform folk tunes from Spain and Brazil, respectively, on the pandeiro (tambourine). The concert will conclude with NIU percussion faculty member Greg Beyer playing a modern composition incorporating yet another world music element, the Venezuelan maracas.
Discover this diverse sound scape in our community and share this wonderful multi-music feast prepared by the musicians and performers. Children of all ages are welcome. For more information, contact Jui-Ching Wang at jcwang@niu.edu or (815) 753-7979.
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.
NIU’s Civic Leadership Academy will host a workshop Thursday, April 16, titled “Managing Technology in Government: Collision or Seamless Integration?”
This workshop provides leaders with a good foundation to better understand the whirlwind of demands that information technology presents for every organization. The seminar will present an up-to-date view on technology which every leader should know to survive in our digitally driven environment.
Participants also will learn about organizational decision-making approaches they can use to critically assess the viability of new technologies. These new models will enable leaders to better manage competing demands as well as coordinate the integration of technological changes into old or new organizational arrangements.
Presenters are Yu Che Chen, associate professor of public administration at NIU; Alan Kraus, executive director of the Broadband Development Group at NIU; and Robert Giddens, director of management information systems for the Village of Buffalo Grove.
Registration and more information about CLA and its upcoming workshops are available online.
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.
Education, activism, art and entertainment are all part of the calendar of events for April’s celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Awareness Month.
A new art installation focused on the themes of pride, empowerment and community is taking shape at the LGBT Resource Center; there will be multiple dates in April for participation. The fifth annual Ally Awards reception takes place Thursday, April 2.
Many other events are also planned throughout April. Full details about all events are available by visiting the online calendar of events at www.niu.edu/lgbt/resourcecenter/news. Request a printed or electronic copy of the calendar by contacting the LGBT Resource Center at (815) 753-5428 or lgbt@niu.edu.
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.
Volunteers are needed Saturday, April 4, to serve as project judges for the Region V IJAS Science Fair.
The judging of the high school and junior high projects lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with lunch included. Contact Mark Pietrowski at (815) 753-1456 or via e-mail at pietrowski@niu.edu to obtain a form to become a judge.
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.
NIU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center invites members of the campus community to participate in the awards and contests that recognize leadership and achievement related to the LGBT community.
The awards include the Ally Awards, LGBT Essay Contest, Eychaner Award for Outstanding Contributions on behalf of the LGBT Community and recognition of graduating LGBT students.
Information and nomination or submission forms are available online. Deadlines range from Wednesday, March 18, to Tuesday, March 31. Award recipients will be recognized at the annual end of year Award Dinner during LGBT Awareness Month in April.
For more information, contact the LGBT Resource Center at lgbt@niu.edu or (815) 753-5428.
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.