March 3, 2025

The Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships will be hosting a series of launch forums designed to partner with faculty to broaden funding sources. There forums will be held will be held Monday, March 17 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and Wednesday, March 19 from 10:30 to noon at the 71 North studio in Founders Memorial Library. Additionally, a virtual forum will be held Tuesday, March 18 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Teams. Please register here.

NIU students have a new opportunity to gain knowledge, skills and professional connections to position themselves for early career success during Career Readiness Week. Numerous events are scheduled for the week of April 7-11 to bolster students’ career preparations; more than 60 employers are scheduled to be involved.

Two events give an overview of NIU’s new Huskie Career Launchpad program, in which students earn digital badges for their accomplishments on the road to being career-ready. Visit the NIU events calendar to register and learn more about all scheduled Career Readiness Week events.

Please consider nominating a student, colleague, or community partner for our 2025 PCPD Awards. The deadline for nominations is March 28 and the Awards Reception take place on Thursday, April 17 from 2 to 3 p.m. in Altgeld Hall, room 203.

Information on the awards:

Presidential Commission on Persons with Disabilities (PCPD) offers four awards in recognition of individuals who provide outstanding service, leadership and advocacy to persons with disabilities. View the PCPD award descriptions and nomination form for more information.

Take time to recognize those who have made a difference!

The Supportive Professional Staff Council is accepting nominations for the SPS Awards, SPS Certificates, and the SPS Personnel Advisor. We are also asking that you respond to the SPS Workplace Climate Survey.  Learn more about these opportunities and criteria for nominations by visiting the links below: 

As part of the Sponsored Programs Administration’s grant modernization efforts, starting Monday, March 3, SPA will ask principal investigators to use our new electronic rebudget form when requesting budget changes on active awards. The form may be completed by the principal investigator or a delegate with the PIs signature and will route automatically to their grants and contracts associate to evaluate the request. For more information, please visit our SPA Newsblog.

Sponsored Programs Administration is pleased to provide a virtual, six-week intensive covering the fundamentals of research administration across the grant lifecycle. This program kicks off with “Intro to Research Administration and Grants,” followed by five virtual sessions. The first session will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 5, 2025. The remaining sessions will follow every Wednesday through April 9, 2025. For more information and to register for all sessions, please visit our Sponsored Programs Newsblog. We look forward to working with you.

Join Sponsored Programs Administration Monday, March 17, 2025, for our third session of virtual open houses to focus on various aspects of grants management. This session will cover tuition waivers, tuition remission and cost share. Each session includes a Q&A segment. Upcoming sessions include topics such as nonfinancial award actions, time and effort, compliance and more. If interested, please register and join. For more information and to register for all sessions, please visit our Sponsored Programs Newsblog.

Human Resource Services is pleased to announce a series of new professional development opportunities for supervisors and leaders across campus. Coordinated by Employee Well-being, HRS will offer a monthly “Tips and Tools” sessions for supervisors and interested staff and a “Leadership Development” series for all existing and emerging leaders across campus.

During the “Tips and Tools” sessions, our discussions provide an opportunity to refresh and refine expertise in functional processes at NIU. We will begin noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 19 over Teams with “Onboarding and Establishing a Strong Workplace Culture.” We will present a new topic each third Wednesday of the month over Teams from noon to 1 p.m. Register for this session

The “Leadership Development” series begins noon to 1 p.m. Friday, March 21 over Teams. The first discussion offers an opportunity to discuss change management as we mutually share consideration and ideas that focus on adaptation and growth. We will continue this series the third Friday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. over Teams with a new topic. Register for this session

The Faculty Senate is accepting self-nominations from among tenured faculty for the position of NIU representative to the Faculty Advisory Council to the IBHE. The person elected will serve a four-year, renewable term beginning fall 2025 (2025-26, 2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29).

The Faculty Advisory Council to the IBHE meets in person and monthly on Fridays. Meetings convene at 9 a.m. and adjourn at approximately 3 p.m. Meetings are held at various institutions of higher education throughout the state, and the NIU representative is required to attend these monthly, in-person meetings on a regular, consistent basis (travel reimbursement, in accordance with state reimbursement policies, is provided).

Further, the NIU representative is expected to report back to the Faculty Senate and to the University Council regarding issues related to the Faculty Advisory Council and to NIU. Faculty Senate and University Council each meet in person and monthly at 3 p.m. Wednesdays. If not otherwise a member, the NIU representative will serve as an ex officio nonvoting member of the Faculty Senate and the University Council.

The NIU representative receives annual compensation equal to one month of the median salary of all tenured faculty.

Interested faculty members should send a letter of self-nomination describing their interest and qualifications to Ben Creed, president of Faculty Senate, by Monday, March 17. Questions should be directed to Ben Creed. 

Faculty Senate is accepting self-nominations for the position of faculty personnel advisor. The person elected will serve a three-year, renewable term beginning fall 2025 (2025-26, 2026-27, 2027-28).

The faculty personnel advisor’s role includes the following activities:

For additional information, including a summary of anticipated workload, see current FPA Carrie Kortegast’s 2023-24 Summary of Service.  

The advisor must be a full-time faculty member and have experience with the personnel process at various levels and be familiar with the administrative structure and operations of the university. 

The advisor shall receive an annual stipend equal to one month of the median salary of all tenured professors.

For a more detailed description of the faculty personnel advisor role, see Faculty Senate Bylaws, Article 13.

Interested faculty members should send a letter of self-nomination describing their interest and qualifications to Ben Creed, president of Faculty Senate, by Monday, March 17. Questions should be directed to Ben Creed.

Campers live the life of an artist at NIU in DeKalb this summer exploring creativity, experiencing residence hall life, meeting mentors, making lifelong friends and more.

Summer arts camps at NIU fill quickly — register early to guarantee your spot.

NIU staff, faculty, students and returning campers receive a camp fee discount, and early-bird registrants save an additional $50.

Eligible families are encouraged to apply for need-based scholarship assistance through May 1.

Call our Summer in the Arts camp office at 815-753-1450 and visit our website for more information. 

You are invited to participate in a significant research project by Stephanie D. Uhr, Ph.D.: Examination and Validation of the Breastmilk Feeding Awareness Level Measurement Tool. Your contribution will be invaluable in quantifying previous exposure/experience of breastmilk feeding. You do not need any breastmilk feeding experience to participate.

This study began in fall 2024 with focus groups to develop the measurement tool. This second phase will collect responses on the newly created Breastmilk Feeding Awareness Level measurement tool (16 questions). An additional 17 questions will measure breastfeeding attitude. This survey is designed to be brief, taking only five to 10 minutes of your time.

Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. You can withdraw at any point by simply stopping the online survey without any negative consequences.

If you have any questions about this study, don't hesitate to contact Professor Uhr at suhr@niu.edu or 815-753-6556.

Take the survey.

Applaud a Colleague is a show of appreciation for those coworkers who go above and beyond. These are just a few of the employees throughout the university that go the extra mile:

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 February is closing for all financial reporting activity at noon Monday, March 10, 2025. Journals not posted at that time will go into March business. Submit February journals before end of business Friday, March 7.  Final February reports are scheduled to be available Tuesday, March 11, 2025. In addition, March reports are scheduled to be available Wednesday, March 12, 2025. These and other important dates can be found on the Controller's Office website.