In a 10-year period characterized by reduced state support and increasing student demand, NIU has expanded its reach, improved facilities and student services, increased external funding and delivered on its promise to become one of the nation’s leading regional public universities.
That according to NIU President John Peters, whose annual State of the University Address provided a sweeping overview of the last decade and a view of the challenges that await his university in the next 10 years.
Peters, who came to NIU in June 2000, said that a record number of student applications this year yielded a fall class of 24,424 undergraduates and graduate students – a slight increase over last year. More importantly, Peters noted, the university met and exceeded its targets for new freshmen and transfer students, while also increasing enrollment in its Graduate School and College of Law.
“It’s a great vote of confidence in NIU to see event modest enrollment gains in a period of such economic stress,” Peters said. “It’s clear that NIU continues to offer a very desirable experience and a very valuable degree to the citizens of this region.”
Throughout his address, Peters expressed concern about what he termed the state’s “disinvestment” in higher education, and called on faculty and staff to redouble their efforts in obtaining other forms of funding.
To that end, Peters announced that the university’s first-ever capital campaign, “True North,” has met and exceeded its $150 million goal a year early.
“When I came here, we were raising a few million dollars a year, awarding a handful of large scholarships, and had exactly one endowed chair,” Peters said. “Today, we’re raising five times as much in private donations, and since 2000 we’ve awarded 13,700 scholarships and established 20 endowed chairs. That’s progress we can all take pride in.”
Peters praised the work of NIU researchers who have brought in millions of dollars worth of federal grants, some of which have transformed their academic units. And he reiterated his call for more multidisciplinary research – a cornerstone of NIU’s now-2-year-old strategic plan.
While taking the occasion to celebrate many NIU accomplishments, Peters also warned the university community against complacency with respect to impending budget woes.
“When I came here, the state portion of our budget had plummeted to about 40 percent. Today it is less than 26 percent. There is a breach in the social contract that has for 150 years defined higher education as a public good. Today, as battles rage in state capitals across our nation, higher education is cast as a private benefit instead of the best possible investment we all can make in our future,” he said.
NIU’s current fiscal year budget has been described as “flat,” or equal to the previous year’s budget, but Peters said that is not accurate. Propped up with $4.5 million in one-time federal stimulus money, the state portion of NIU’s budget could well plummet even further next year.
But Peters saved his harshest words for what he termed “neglect of our state’s neediest college students.” Facing a complete elimination of spring semester funding in Illinois’ Monetary Award Program, or MAP grants, NIU could see as many as a third of its current undergraduates unable to return to school in January.
“Nothing in my 10 years at NIU has made me angrier – or more alarmed – than this,” he said. Peters and other Illinois university presidents continue to lobby state lawmakers to reverse the MAP cuts, taking their case to the public airwaves, newspaper editorial boards and to the state capitol.
“This is not something the universities can fix,” Peters said. “In a state struggling to rebound from recession, enhance educational attainment and create the skilled workers who attract new businesses and investment, this is about the most counter-productive move I can think of.”
In other announcements, Peters praised the work of a baccalaureate review panel that is overhauling NIU’s core curriculum; celebrated a new “engagement” designation from the Carnegie Foundation; and acknowledged the work of university faculty and staff who are expanding broadband internet access throughout the region.
Video and a complete copy of the 2009 State of the University address are available online.
Malaysia boasts the oldest written language in Southeast Asia, a growing modern economy, a population of more than 27 million people and a cordial relationship with its frequent trading partner, the United States.
Yet no American universities teach the Malay language on a regular basis, and the best English-to-Malay dictionary was written more than a century ago, said James T. Collins, director of NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
Led by Collins, the center is working to fill a critical need by building a high-quality multimedia online learner’s dictionary of modern Malay. The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded NIU with a grant of $534,000 over three years for the project.
“There has been no new Malay-English dictionary for quite some time, and online resources currently are very limited and sometimes inaccurate,” Collins says.
A linguist, Collins has worked in Malaysia and Indonesia since 1968. He lived and taught in Malaysia for the previous 14 years before coming to NIU in 2008 and is considered among the foremost authorities in the United States on the Malay language and dictionary creation.
“The Malay language was established as a written language 1,300 years ago, giving it the same historical depth as English,” Collins says. “But it has been neglected in Southeast Asian studies in the United States.
“That’s a deficit that needs to be remedied, given the actual importance of the language, not only in Malaysia and Brunei, but also regionally and historically,” he says. “The historical role of Malay culture and language is of central importance to understanding the development of world trade, the world’s modern commercial system and the present powerful trend toward globalization.”
The new dictionary will be available on SEAsitewww.seasite.niu.edu, an NIU-operated interactive Web site that already offers language and culture training programs in Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Thai. First established in 1997, SEAsite is among the most-used free resource for Southeast Asian languages and culture on the Web.
The Malay dictionary project team members all have special expertise in online dictionary creation or Malaysia. In addition to Collins, they include NIU professors Jim Henry and Robert Zerwekh in computer science, Patricia Henry in foreign languages and literatures and Eric Jones in history. NIU undergraduates and graduate students, along with a native speaker of Malay, will be hired to assist with the project as well.
The Malay dictionary eventually will have as many as 8,000 entries and boast audio pronunciations, photographs and video to help put word usage into context. It also will possess an encyclopedic quality, allowing users to click to find embedded additional information within the site.
“This is going to be linguistically more sophisticated than our other language sites and will also include multimedia elements,” says Henry, who invented SEAsite’s online dictionary technology and further developed it with Zerwekh. “We’re also actually going to collect current materials in Malaysia – such as pictures, videos or examples of language usage – rather than depend exclusively on existing materials or things that have been done in the past.”
Henry says SEAsite’s past efforts have been extremely successful. The language areas of the site get thousands of hits each day from across the globe.
“The language resources on SEAsite are primarily used by scholars and students of Southeast Asia, but they’re also used by government workers, military personnel, tourists and a wide variety of others who, for whatever reason, are seeking language instruction,” Henry says.
“We’re like a radio station – we broadcast our product over the Internet. But we have no way to specifically identify audience members. We do know SEAsite reaches a lot of people.”
The new online dictionary is part of a larger effort by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies to develop SEAsite resources on Malaysia and Brunei. The university also hopes to expand classroom offerings in the area of study.
“We’ve occasionally taught courses in the language of Malay at NIU in the past – in fact I’m teaching one this semester,” Collins says. “But the courses all have been at the intermediate and advanced levels, typically for those already fluent in Indonesian, which has some similarities. We want to teach the language on a regular basis and hope to offer an introductory course in Malay as soon as next fall.”
Getting a little advice on choosing a major got a whole lot more convenient for students this fall.
Just before the start of the semester, the Academic Advising Center moved into new quarters in the former Wesley Foundation building at 633 W. Locust Street, immediately north of the parking deck and south of Founders Memorial Library. The building is also home to the newly created Office of Student Academic Success.
The Academic Advising Center will welcome the campus to its new facilities during an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17.
Academic Advising works with students who are undecided about their major (and are not affiliated with a particular college); those looking to change majors; and those who want to reassess their academic situation.
The center’s location is a huge improvement over their former offices on the fourth floor of Adams Hall.
“Just the fact that students see a building with a sign on it that says ‘Academic Advising Center’ is a big improvement,” Director Julie Schaid says. “In the few weeks we have been here we have definitely seen an increase in walk-in traffic.”
Not that the center was ever lacking for customers.
Records indicate that last year the center approximately had 130,000 Web site hits, 8,000 answered phone calls, 4,312 student contacts and 700 e-mail inquiries.
In a typical year, the six-person staff at the center sees about 950 students who start the academic year without a declared major and another 300 who decide over the course of the year to change majors. Each of those students meets with a counselor an average of about three times.
During periods of peak demand, that led to lengthy lines snaking down the hallway of Adams Hall, which was ill-equipped to handle big crowds.
Making matters worse, the former location offered nothing in the way of computer work stations. Students could not immediately attempt to register for classes suggested by advisers.
At best, they had to walk down to the ground floor, out the front door and across the street to the Holmes Student Center – and often back again if they found their desired classes filled and themselves in need of further advice.
The new facility is much more customer-friendly. It boasts a six-seat computer lab just outside the doors of advisers, which allows students to immediately pursue the classes they want and to quickly get further help when it is needed.
“It’s made a huge difference,” academic adviser Mazen Nagi says. “Now, if they have a problem, they just pop right back in and we can work something out.”
The shortcomings of the old facility did not go unnoticed.
In satisfaction surveys, students consistently gave high marks to the quality of advising. When asked what could improve the experience, however, they were quick to criticize the facilities – especially the fourth-floor location in Adams.
By the same token, students who have visited both facilities clearly notice the improvement.
“They come around the corner,” Schaid says, “and there is an audible ‘Whoa!’ from some of them.”
Linda Smerge is a well-educated woman.
She holds three degrees from NIU: Two are in education – a bachelor’s in elementary education and a master’s in early childhood education – and the third is a juris doctorate. She practiced transactional law for 13 years in Chicago, guiding her clients through complex retail and commercial real estate transactions.
But when Smerge felt the classroom beckoning her to return – she had taught second-grade and kindergarten before her legal career – she followed her heart.
Now she’s the 2009 Illinois Teacher of the Year; her students have posted school-record scores on the ISAT test, with 95 percent meeting or exceeding standards in math and 90 percent meeting or exceeding standards in reading.
Of course, these pedestals mean little when a young girl throws up on Smerge’s sleeve. Or when another girl empties her bursting-at-the-seams bladder on the floor where Smerge is standing.
“Linda is such a wonderful, bright person,” said Deborah Fransen, assistant to the dean in the NIU College of Education. “She’s someone who’s really got a passion for teaching and for students and who has great advice to give.”
Smerge, who teaches at Wilson School in Cicero, is now on a year-long journey around Illinois and throughout the nation as an educational ambassador. She visited NIU’s campus Friday morning to talk to dozens of pre-service teachers about “10 Things I Wish I’d Known About Teaching.”
Her speech included plenty of personal anecdotes and sage quotes about the teaching profession, including this one from Richard Elmore: “Teaching is not rocket science. It is, in fact, far more complex and demanding work than rocket science.”
“Trust me, I’ve been where you’ve been,” she told the audience. “If you’re coming into teaching because you think it’s easy, maybe you shouldn’t be here.”
Friday’s message opened with a thought from Robert Marzano, a leading researcher in education: Compared to any other factor, the quality of a classroom teacher has the greatest impact on student learning. To wit, students who rank in the 50th percentile can rise to the 96th or fall by a third within two years, depending on their teachers.
It’s a humbling amount of power, she said: Teachers have the responsibility to love and respect both their jobs and their students. With that will come “never-ending growth,” she added.
10. Collegiality
9. Flexibility
8. Empathy
7. Respect
6. Patience
5. Team sport
4. Creativity
3. Sense of humor
2. Amnesia
1. Self-care
Work to repair steam tunnels on the east side of campus will leave nearly a dozen buildings without hot water for about 10 days.
Beginning today, the following buildings will have only cold water service:
Steam service to those buildings will be shut down as crews work to repair the crumbling roof of the main stream tunnel leading from the East Heating Plant located on the north side of Altgeld Hall.
The tunnel is part of a network that runs beneath campus delivering high pressure steam to buildings around campus. The steam is used to heat buildings and water and, in the case of the Holmes Student Center, to cook food. It is far more efficient and less expensive than having individual boilers in each building.
NIU officials have been trying to secure money to repair portions of the steam tunnel network for several years, but lack of a capital bill delayed the work. As part of the capital bill recently signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, the university received $5.2 million to address deferred maintenance across campus, and had earmarked some of that money to repair the tunnels.
In recent weeks, however, a portion of the 60-year-old tunnel near the East Heating Plant began to deteriorate badly. A 40-foot section of the tunnel was deemed to be in such poor condition that the decision was made to repair it immediately rather than risk damage to the steam lines (and the accompanying loss of heating capacity) during the winter.
During the project, the parking area behind the west wing of Altgeld Hall will be closed and pedestrian access in that area will be limited.
Crews stripped insulation from the tunnel last week and begin today to excavate the tunnel and remove the roof. The posts and racks that hold the steam pipes will be repaired, and a new concrete roof will be installed.
The goal is to have steam service restored by Tuesday, Sept. 22. The entire project, including restoration of the parking lot, should be completed by late September, said Jeff Daurer, director of capital budgeting and planning for the Division of Finance and Facilities.
“We understand that this is an unpleasant inconvenience and assure you that we would not be taking such measures if it were not necessary,” Daurer said.
NIU’s Study Abroad Office will hold its 17th annual Study Abroad Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center.
All students who would like to learn more about the possibility of studying abroad are invited to attend. Students will have the opportunity to meet with host representatives of study abroad programs in about 75 countries.
The representatives include NIU faculty members who direct short-term study abroad programs worldwide and agents from independent study abroad organizations that offer programs for which students may earn NIU academic credit.
NIU Student Financial Aid Office staff members will be present to answer financial-aid questions and provide information on loans and scholarships. Representatives from Career Services, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Latino Resource Center and other campus departments also will be on hand.
“The fair provides an opportunity for students to get answers to their questions and accomplish a great deal of research all in one place on September 24,” said Anne Seitzinger, director of the Study Abroad Office. “Representatives will help students identify programs that best fit their majors or career interests. There are dozens of options that allow students to find a program in their major area of study, or they can explore options where they might earn credit toward NIU general elective requirements.
“Some students will prefer a semester or academic year program that offers a variety of courses, while others might want to focus on a topic such as a field school in Cambodia or Sicily, accountancy in Switzerland or robotics and manufacturing in China,” Seitzinger added. “It’s imperative that NIU students understand their profession or area of study from a global perspective.”
The fair will feature voting for the Study Abroad Office Photo Contest, and all attending the fair will receive free goodie bags and have a chance to win one of several raffle prizes. Raffle and photo contest prizes have been donated by several area businesses, as well as by several offices on campus.
Each year, the Study Abroad Fair attracts about 600 NIU students seeking study abroad experiences outside the United States. The NIU Study Abroad Office helped more than 300 students to participate in such programs this past year.
“Students who attend the fair will learn about programs and financial aid and loan options that will allow study abroad to become a reality,” Seitzinger said. “Past participants will be present to provide first-hand information and offer guidance and encouragement.”
The fair is for faculty and staff as well as students.
“Faculty members will learn how creating their own study abroad programs can benefit them both personally and professionally,” Seitzinger said. “Directing an NIU study abroad program provides faculty-development opportunities as well as the means for internationalizing on-campus courses. We hope more faculty will consider attending this year’s fair.”
Students who must miss the fair can plan to attend an informative presentation and question-and-answer session titled, “Study Abroad 101: First Steps to Study Abroad.” Study Abroad 101 content is the same at each session, so students need only go once to learn the basics. The presentation will be offered at 3:30 p.m. every Wednesday and Thursday in the NIU Study Abroad Office.
Both the Study Abroad Fair and Study Abroad 101 are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.studyabroad.niu.edu, send an e-mail to niuabroad@niu.edu or call (815) 753-0700.
Nearly 500 local fifth-graders will carry the international flags of more than 100 nations during the 10th annual Parade of Flags, set to step off at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18, from the east side of Huskie Stadium.
Participants will march along Lucinda Avenue to the Martin Luther King Commons, where Emily Prieto, director of NIU’s Latino Resource Center, and Jim Briscoe, superintendent of DeKalb Community Unit School District 428, will address the audience. DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen also will speak to the marchers.
“Displaying all these beautiful flags reminds us all of the wonderful diversity of our campus and in our community,” said Deborah Pierce, associate provost for International Programs at NIU. “Our strong partnership with District 428 and area private schools helps us celebrate these global perspectives, right here in DeKalb.”
The students, teachers, chaperones and other parade participants will enjoy a pre-parade luncheon on the grass near the stadium (with a rain location in the Convocation Center). Prior to the parade, participating students from DeKalb-area public and private schools will have an opportunity to meet with NIU international students and study-abroad participants, to learn directly from the NIU students about other countries where they have lived.
Students from 78 nations are attending NIU this semester, including substantial student contingents from India and China. NIU also enrolls students from such countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Colombia, Iran, Indonesia, Mali, Russia, Rwanda, Trinidad and Uzbekistan.
“In our recently completed strategic planning process, NIU endorsed the imperative to strengthen and extend our regional and global impact,” Pierce said. “Bringing local fifth-graders to campus for this internationally focused event allows us to forward both efforts on one very colorful, very exciting day.
“We value global diversity and perspectives on our campus, so we continue to raise our promotional activities to attract international undergraduate students from even more countries,” Pierce added.
NIU’s Department of Communication and filmmaker Andrew McCormick will debut the biographical documentary, “The Legendary Dee Palmer and his Fantastic Band,” at the historic Egyptian Theatre.
The documentary, which focuses on one of DeKalb’s most beloved music makers, will premiere at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18. Following the film screening will be a question-and-answer session with Dee Palmer and the filmmaker. The event, which is free and open to the public, will conclude with a reception in the theater lobby.
“The Legendary Dee Palmer and his Fantastic Band” is told through the eyes of Palmer. Born in 1915, Palmer spent his entire life bringing joy to other people through music. He gave up the life of a professional musician in 1948 and returned to his hometown of DeKalb to become director of the community band, a post he has held for more than 60 years.
The DeKalb Municipal Band is one of the two oldest bands in the United States, dating back to 1854. Today, Palmer’s name is so synonymous with the band that a statue of his likeness stands near the Dee Palmer Band Shell.
McCormick, who interned this past summer in Hollywood, graduated in August from NIU with a master’s degree in communication studies. Under the guidance of professor Laura Vazquez, McCormick spent the better part of two years capturing the history and music of Dee Palmer and the band.
“The best documentaries in my opinion are ones that concentrate on an individual and what they do or accomplish in the world,” McCormick says. “Dee is passionate about music, and I found it inspiring that he continues to direct the band with such energy and zeal.”
Sponsors of the premiere include NIU’s Department of Communication, the DeKalb Park District, DeKalb Confectionary, Pizza Villa, the Hillside Restaurant and Alford Enterprises. The film also benefitted from grants from the DeKalb County Community Foundation and the University Film and Video Association, as well as from numerous volunteers and contributors.
DVDs of the documentary film will be available for purchase at the premiere for $12 each. Contact Vazquez at (815) 753-7132 to order a DVD ($15 with shipping and handling) or for more information about the event.
Sinclair Bell, assistant professor of art history in the School of Art, is the co-editor of a new book titled “New Perspectives on Etruria and Early Rome.”
Published by the University of Wisconsin Press, the book covers one of the most dynamic periods in the history of the ancient word: the transition between pre-Roman and Roman Italy.
The contributing scholars shed “new light on the evidence of well-known and recently excavated sites and the objects they have yielded – their iconography, manufacturing techniques and afterlives.” Their essays follow “the first archaeological traces of the rise of ancient Italy to its rediscovery in the Renaissance and its reinvention in contemporary fiction.”
Among the international scholars, some previously unavailable to an English-language audience, are Giovannangelo Camporeale of the University of Florence and Francesco di Gennaro and Paolo Togninelli, both of Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma.
Bell, who joined the NIU School of Art last fall, also served as co-editor of “Role Models in the Roman World: Identity and Assimilation,” published by the University of Michigan Press.
Faculty, staff, students and friends of NIU “got the scoop” as they gathered Thursday, Sept. 10, for an ice cream social after President Peters’ State of the University Address to celebrate the launch of the faculty and staff campaign.
NIU’s first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign, True North, has surpassed its $150 million goal – almost a year early in spite of the extraordinary challenges faced by the university, state and nation in recent years – also gave the crowd good reason to celebrate.
“We have reached our dollar goal, but our work is not done,” Peters said in his address. “Our students are under greater financial pressure than at any other time in recent memory.”
The president cited the uncertain status of state MAP grant funding, decreases in parents’ college savings funds, and the scarcity of student loans and jobs as major obstacles for students today: “Keeping our students in school, on the path to opportunity, is an act of kindness from a caring university. At the end of the campaign, we will know that we did all that we could for our students.”
For more information, visit www.truenorth4niu.com, send an e-mail to niufoundation@niu.edu or call (815) 753-1913.
Nominations are being sought for NIU’s 2010 Presidential Research Professorships, which recognize outstanding accomplishment and future potential in academic research or creative artistry.
Faculty members may be nominated, or may initiate their own candidacy, by submitting letters of nominations or self-nominations to James Erman, interim vice president for research, by Monday, Oct. 12.
The nomination and self-nomination letters must include the candidate’s qualifications in accordance with the award specifications. Four complete sets of application materials must then be submitted to Erman’s office by Monday, Nov. 2.
Up to three new Presidential Research Professors are designated each year. Upon appointment, each award recipient will receive a base-salary increment of $2,000.
Additionally, a grant of $5,000 will be provided during each year of the appointment, provided the recipient remains a full-time NIU faculty member. The grant money is to be used for scholarly activities. Award recipients also receive one semester of release from teaching and other non-research responsibilities.
More detailed information on the award and on the call for nominations is available online.
Several events are scheduled this week in celebration of Latino Heritage Month.
Latina Portraits: 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. The Latino Resource Center and the Jack Olson Gallery invite visitors to come and enjoy photography by NIU student Wendy Palma that depicts Latinas’ struggle for parity. This event will take place at the Latino Center, 515 Garden Road.
Meet-and-Greet with “Crafting Maya Identity” artists: 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16. The Latino Resource Center, the art history department and Alpha Psi Lambda invite visitors to welcome contemporary Yucatán Mayan artists from Mexico. It’s a great opportunity to interact with Mayan artists and learn more about their artwork and their culture. The meet-and-greet will take place in the Latino Resource Center.
El Grito: 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept.17. Come for a fun-filled day of free food, games and music to celebrate Latin American Independence Day. All are welcome. El Grito, sponsored by the Latino Resource Center and Alpha Psi Lambda, will take place in the Latino Resource Center.
Conexión Comunidad Fiesta Comunitaria: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. Meet and interact with the residents of the DeKalb community. Conexión Comunidad will host a block party with delicious food, beverages, music, folklorico dancing, games and prizes. The address for this event is 637 N. 11th St. in DeKalb.
For more information about any Latino Heritage Month events, contact the Latino Resource Center at (815) 753-1986, log on to www.niu.edu/lrc or visit 515 Garden Road.
NIU will offer free flu shots to any full- or part-time faculty or staff with health care coverage through one of the State of Illinois Health Care Plans including the HMO. Retired employees and survivors with State of Illinois health care coverage, not yet eligible for Medicare, also are eligible to receive the free flu shot.
Flu shots will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the Holmes Student Center, Duke Ellington Ballroom.
Participants must present state health insurance cards and NIU OneCard IDs and be prepared to provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers to receive free flu shots. Adult dependents and other also can receive flu shots at a cost of $37 each. Flu shots for children younger than 19 must be received at the DeKalb County Health Department.
For more information, call (815) 753-9191.
NIU’s Off-Campus and Non Traditional Student Services office and The Writing Center are offering a free seminar for students on how to use the Word 2007 Citation application. This function makes writing research and other assigned papers easier.
The seminar is important for undergraduates and even more so for graduate students, who might have several papers to complete in a single semester. Faculty and staff also are encouraged to attend.
The seminar is scheduled from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Learning Center on the lower level of Gabel Hall.
Phi Sigma Biology Honors Society, the Pre Professional Association and the Chemistry Club will host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the Holmes Student Center Capital Room.
Refreshments will be provided after the donation, and every donor will receive a free pair of flannel pants.
To schedule a time to donate, contact Kate Krise at (815) 821-5688 or by e-mail at katekrise@yahoo.com. Walk-ins also are welcome.
Join NIU’s Alumni Association on a trip to France next March. This travel program combines the ambiance and culture of Paris with the history and geography of Normandy.
Whether it’s the lovely tree-lined boulevards with their animated cafes or the brilliantly illuminated monuments and squares or the exciting nightlife, Paris is inviting. The “City of Light” offers a vast array of scenic, cultural, culinary and emotional experiences.
Normandy is a distinct region on the northern coast of France famous for the D-Day landings of June 1944. Normandy also offers the beautiful French countryside with deep river valleys and forests, fine manor houses, thatched cottages and picturesque seaport villages.
The NIU Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences has announced dates for its Fall 2009 Colloquia, co-sponsored by NIU’s Graduate Colloquium Committee.
All talks will be held at 4 p.m. Fridays in Davis Hall 308. For directions and updates to the schedule, visit http://www.niu.edu/geology. Call (815) 753-1943 for more information.
The Division of International Programs will host its Fall 2009 Brown Bag Series from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays in Faraday West, Room 300.
Attendees are invited to bring lunch and listen to speakers covering a variety of topics such as international perspectives, cultural diversity and study abroad experiences.
Upcoming lunches:
For other details, contact Heesun Majcher, director of the International Student and Faculty Office, at (815) 753-8275 or hmajcher@niu.edu.
NIU students, faculty, staff and local residents can renew driver’s licenses and state IDs, purchase their annual vehicle license plate stickers, register to be an organ and tissue donor or conduct other transactions at a mobile office coming to campus.
The mobile office will visit campus from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, in the lower level of the Holmes Student Center. Other fall dates include Monday, Oct. 19, and Monday, Nov. 16.
Acceptable forms of payment include personal checks, cash, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit and debit cards. Other services available include vehicle title registration and parking placards for persons with disabilities.
A complete list of acceptable forms of identification is online.
The deadline is approaching for 2010-11 Student Fulbright Program applications.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships on a competitive basis for graduating college seniors, graduate students and artists to study abroad for one academic year.
NIU students seeking more information should contact Deborah Pierce, Fulbright Program adviser and associate provost of International Programs, at (815) 753-1989 or dpierce@niu.edu. General information on the program also is available online at www.us.fulbrightonline.org.
Applications must be submitted both electronically and in hard copy to Pierce (Williston Hall 406) by Friday, Sept. 25. For the national deadline, applications must be received at the Institute of International Education (IIE) electronically by Oct. 19, and in hard copy by Oct. 21. The IIE administers and coordinates the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.
For more than 60 years, the federal government-sponsored Fulbright U.S. Student Program has provided future American leaders with an unparalleled opportunity to study, conduct research and teach in other countries. Fulbright student grants aim to increase mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange while serving as a catalyst for long-term leadership development.
About 1,500 grants are awarded annually. The program currently operates in more than 150 countries worldwide. Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships are now available to more than 40 countries. Fulbright full grants generally provide funding for round-trip travel, maintenance for one academic year, health and accident coverage and full or partial tuition.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application and hold a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent by the beginning of the grant.
In the creative and performing arts, four years of professional training and/or experience meets this basic eligibility requirement. Professional applicants lacking a degree but with extensive professional study and/or experience in the field in which they wish to pursue a project may also be considered.
The NIU Foundation is calling for proposals for its annual Venture Grants, to be awarded in late fall of 2009.
Venture Grants back NIU faculty and staff in their commitment to excellence in teaching, learning and affecting positive change in the larger community.
The grant program will focus support toward the university’s strategic planning initiatives. Grantees will be selected based on their potential to advance two of the plan’s major imperatives.
Based on the strength of applications, as determined by the NIU Foundation Grants Committee, more than one proposal can receive funding. The combined budget for FY2010 is $35,000. This is for one-time, short-term (one year maximum) funding.
To be considered for FY2010 grant awards, proposals must be received in the Foundation Office, Altgeld 135, no later than Wednesday, Oct. 14. Applications and forms are available online.
All faculty and staff from units within the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, the Division of Administration and University Outreach and Intercollegiate Athletics are eligible to apply. Awards will be announced in mid-December.
For more information, contact Diane Johnson at (815) 753-9469 or via e-mail at dianejohnson@niu.edu.
All letters of nomination for the 2010 Presidential Teaching Professorships should be submitted to Vice Provost Earl “Gip” Seaver, Office of the Provost, Altgeld Hall 220, no later than Monday, Sept. 28.
Following receipt of a letter of nomination, the selection committee will invite each nominated faculty member to prepare materials in accordance with the published procedure. Only full professors with tenure and at least six years of service at NIU are eligible for the award. The Presidential Teaching Professorships were established in 1990 to recognize those outstanding teachers who have demonstrated over time that they:
The procedure calls for a rigorous and thorough portfolio review including contacting former students. The 2010 recipients will be announced next spring.
Paul Zientarski, chair of the Department of Physical Education at Naperville Central High School, will speak Wednesday, Sept. 30, on “Understanding the Science Behind the Impact of Exercise on Literacy and Learning.”
Zeintarski’s lecture is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Faraday West, Room 200.
The speech is sponsored by NIU’s Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy (CISLL). For more information, e-mail cwickens@niu.edu.
Provost Ray Alden has called for nominations for the 2009-10 NIU Board of Trustees Professorships. Nominations are due Friday, Sept. 25.
The professorships were established in 2007 by President John Peters and the Board of Trustees to recognize those tenured professors who:
In considering the qualifications of nominees, special emphasis will be placed upon those who are renowned scholars or artists and have engaged students in their research and/or other professional activities.
Up to three professorships can be awarded each academic year; the 2009-2010 awards will be made at the Faculty Awards Recognition Ceremony in April 2010. The recipients will receive a stipend of $10,000 per year that will be renewed annually during the five-year period term of appointment as Board of Trustee Professors.
The responsibilities of the professorship include delivering the Board of Trustees Professorship Lecture; participating in workshops for the professional development of junior faculty and in activities that advance the university’s reputation and mission; maintaining an active program of teaching, scholarship or artistry, and service; and submitting a report detailing activities and accomplishments during the award period.
Additional information about the nomination process and the professorships is available online. Application portfolios should be submitted electronically to the Office of the Provost, Kathleen Carey (kjahns@niu.edu).
The University Women’s Club of NIU will hold its annual fall open house from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at the home of President and Mrs. Peters, 901 Woodlawn Ave. in DeKalb.
The University Women’s Club invites every woman associated with the university, whether she is a current or retired faculty or staff member, or the wife of a current, retired or deceased faculty or staff member, to join this long-standing organization of NIU women.
Meet people with a common interest in NIU, participate in distinct interest groups, enjoy social events and support the club’s philanthropic endeavor of providing scholarships to deserving NIU women students.