Nov. 11, 2024

During First-gen Week, campuses and communities come together to highlight the significance of this journey offering events, workshops and support networks that empower first-gen students. It’s a chance to share stories, build connections and acknowledge the immense strength it takes to break barriers and create new pathways for future generations.

This week also serves as a reminder that first-gen students bring invaluable perspectives and contribute to the diversity and richness of our educational environments. It’s about celebrating their accomplishments, providing mentorship and resources, and fostering an inclusive atmosphere where all students can thrive.

Mark your calendars—Huskies United 2025 is this April 2-3, 2025.

The day will kick off at 4:25 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2 and continuing through April 3, for an exhilarating 1,895 minutes of giving that will sweep across our campuses and beyond. Together, we’re about to create a wave of lasting impact.

To join the excitement and create a dedicated giving page for your department, complete the 2025 Participation Form by January 10, 2025.

The Office of Employee Well-being is working on planning activities and events for spring 2025 and in the future. To help our office with our planning, we would like to gauge staff and faculty interest in some programming ideas we have and seek input from you on what you might like us to consider incorporating into our campus offerings. Please take a few minutes to complete this anonymous survey to express your interest and availability for several employee events and resources. This survey is open until Nov. 30, 2024. Thank you in advance for continuing to support our campus programming and allowing us to assist you in meeting your mental health needs.

Take the survey.

On behalf of NIU, the Division of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion invites you to attend our Fall 2024 graduation celebrations.  Please save the dates for the following:

This is to inform NIU tenured and tenure-track faculty that the University Council (UC) faculty election process for terms to begin fall 2025 will begin soon. Faculty are encouraged to become involved in this election process. Below is a list of the faculty members whose UC terms will expire at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
Kevin Martin

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Carol Walther

College of Law
 Marc Falkoff

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the UC election process, please contact Pat Erickson, UC administrative assistant, at pje@niu.edu.

The TRISE initiative is excited to announce the awarding of five SEED grants to foster innovative educational research in the STEM fields. These grants support collaborative projects that bring together faculty and researchers across various colleges to address critical areas in STEM education and support diverse student needs.

Detailed information on each of the awarded projects can be found on our website (T-RISE SEED Grants), including descriptions and objectives.

Each of these projects is anticipated to reach completion by June 30, 2025. We look forward to seeing the contributions these research efforts will bring to STEM education and the support they will provide to diverse learning communities across disciplines.

With the holidays approaching, consider giving our 2024 Pride with Purpose shirt as a gift to the Huskies in your life. When you purchase the shirt, you support our general student scholarship fund and show your #HuskiePride. Shirts are available for  purchase at Huskie Books and Gear in the Holmes Student Center or online by visiting niualumnistore.com.

As we approach the end of the semester, we look forward to celebrating our graduates during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 14 and Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 at the Convocation Center.

Please consider volunteering your time at one or more events to help make these events successful for our graduates, families and guests. Volunteers are critical to creating a fun, organized and celebratory event for NIU graduates.

If you are able to help, and are not already participating through your academic college or the Graduate School, please visit the commencement volunteer website and fill out the volunteer form by no later than Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.

Please feel free to share this opportunity with students or student groups you are familiar with who would be interested in volunteering. Volunteers will be contacted to confirm roles following the deadline.

 Prior to Professor Grandin’s talk, NIU STEAM will host a free resources and activity fair from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to celebrate and support the many kinds of neurodiversity in our community. The fair will highlight the many resources available to support NIU students and community members who are neurodivergent, and their families. Activities will be available for all  ages — from preschool through college — including hands-on art projects, sensory bins and books related to neurodiversity from the NIU Libraries and DeKalb Public Library.

The events are free and open to the public, but space is limited, and registration is requested. Learn more and register at go.niu.edu/neurodiversity-fair.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a free virtual event, the 2024 Fall NSF Virtual Grants Conference. This event is for anyone new to NSF looking to learn key insights into a wide range of current issues at NSF, and for those who are experienced and would like to catch up on the latest agency policies and information.

See our Sponsored Programs Administration Newsblog for additional information.

Please submit all approved payment requests to be processed prior to university winter break by Dec. 2, 2024, to allow sufficient processing time.  Submittal to Accounts Payable Services by this date does not guarantee receipt of payment by year end.  Some factors that may delay payment processing include missing supporting documentation; invalid approvals; insufficient funds on purchase orders; noncompliance with state and university regulations; payments requiring new vendor setup; and volume of requests.  If you have any questions, please send an email to  AccountsPayableSrvs@niu.edu or call 753-1514.  Thank you.

This casual lunchtime series is your chance to learn from NIU faculty about their experiences in community engaged research, teaching and collaboration.

At noon Nov. 21, don’t miss “Journey to Teach Scientific Argumentation: Lessons for Creating Mutually Beneficial Partnerships” with Professor Pi-Sui Hsu, Ph.D., NIU professor of educational technology, research and assessment, and 2024 Distinguished Engagement and Partnerships Professor.

For well over a decade, Professor Hsu has been partnering with middle school teachers and after-school educators in the U.S. and Taiwan. Her goal has been to test and improve methods for teaching scientific argumentation to middle school students, with a focus on educational technology. In this talk, Hsu will share the story of her collaborative research journey. She’ll share insights into how faculty can use fieldwork to build authentic, mutually beneficial partnerships. And she’ll answer faculty questions about their own potential collaborations.

Please join us in the HSC Illinois Room on the second floor of the Holmes Student Center. Hear Professor Hsu’s stories, ask your questions, make connections and leave with tools and inspiration to pursue your community engagement goals.

Learn more and register.

Tip: Submit your event, lecture, training session or deadline to the NIU calendar to help inform Huskies about everything that is happening on campus. 

The month of October is closing for all financial reporting activity at noon Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. Journals not posted at that time will go into November business. Submit October journals before end of business Friday, Nov. 8. Final October reports are scheduled to be availableTuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. In addition, November reports are scheduled to be available Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. These and other important dates can be found on the Controller's Office website.