March 31, 2025

All faculty and staff are encouraged to complete The Great Colleges to Work for Survey. The invitation to complete the survey was sent to your NIU email account from surveys@modernthink.net on Monday, March 17. The survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete and your responses are anonymous and confidential. The deadline to complete the survey is midnight on Monday, March 31, 2025. 

Counseling and Consultation Services and Employee Well-being proudly presents NIU’s annual Wellness Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 16 in the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom. Faculty, staff and students are all invited to attend and engage in the variety of free opportunities offered at the fair. Campus and community partners will provide attendees with interactive activities, services and information focused on “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind and Healthy Spirit.” Additional interactive wellness opportunities include free workshops featuring healthy eating, fitness tips, mental health support training and more.

A release for staff will be granted and more information will be announced in the following weeks. The NIU Wellness Fair is offered in partnership with and sponsorship by the Presidential Commission on Well-being. Interested in hosting a table at the fair? Contact us at Employeewellbeing@niu.edu for more information.

WOW 2025 is set for Wednesday, Aug. 20 through Sunday, Aug. 24 and we’re excited to introduce theme-based schedule tracks to help new Huskies navigate their first week at NIU! These tracks will allow students to prioritize academic readiness, well-being, social connections or Huskie Pride while experiencing a well-rounded extended orientation.

WOW is a campus-wide effort, and we invite faculty, staff and other campus partners to get involved by submitting event proposals, volunteering or accepting the invitation to participate in a planning group. The WOW Event Proposal form is now open! To learn more or get involved, visit the WOW webpage or contact Orientation and First Year Programs. Let’s make WOW 2025 an unforgettable welcome for our newest Huskies!

Proposals are now being accepted for our 118th Homecoming Grant Competition.

Do you have an idea for a homecoming event that you would like to see on campus, or want to enhance an existing homecoming event? The Homecoming Executive Committee invites all students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to submit formal proposals for review! Our 118th Homecoming celebration will take place the week of Sept. 28 through Oct. 5, 2025. The deadline to submit a grant proposal is Friday, April 4, 2025.

The Hotel at Holmes is excited to introduce a new, streamlined reservation system for NIU divisions and departments. Powered by Microsoft Forms, this system allows you to easily request reservations, receive a copy of your response in your inbox and specify any special accommodations your guests may need.

Please review our new departmental reservation system. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the hotel at hotel@niu.edu or call 815-753-1444.

Sponsored Programs Administration will wrap up our six-week intensive with a session covering the fundamentals of research administration across the grant lifecycle. The final session will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 2, 2025, and will cover SPA post award, part two. For more information and registration, please visit our Sponsored Programs Newsblog. We look forward to working with you.

Join Sponsored Programs Administration Monday, April 14, 2025, for our fifth session of virtual open houses to focus on various aspects of grants management. This session will cover research security/biosketches/science CV. 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.

The Office of the President invites nominations for individuals to serve on the Presidential Commissions. These commissions advise the President and foster innovation, inclusion, and problem-solving in support of NIU’s mission. Faculty, staff, and students with relevant interests or expertise are encouraged to apply to help advance an accessible and welcoming Huskie community.

To nominate someone or self-nominate, please complete the online application which seeks general information and a brief statement of interest by Friday, May 16, 2025. The Commission review panel will evaluate all nominations, and the nominees will receive an email notification of their acceptance by June 30, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact Tamara Boston at tboston1@niu.edu

NIU Presidential Commission Application

Explore the Presidential Advisory Groups website for more details and insights into the commissions.  

Please consider nominating a student or colleague for our 2025 PCSW Awards. The deadline for nominations is April 7, 2025.

The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) offers four awards in recognition of individuals who provide outstanding service, leadership and mentorship to NIU women students, staff and/or faculty. View the PCSW award descriptions and nomination forms for more information.

Please take time to recognize those who have made an impact on your life or the NIU campus.

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 March is closing for all financial reporting activity at noon Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Journals not posted at that time will go into April business. Submit March journals before end of business Tuesday, April 8. Final March reports are scheduled to be available Thursday April 10, 2025. In addition, April reports are scheduled to be available Friday, April 11, 2025. These and other important dates can be found on the Controller's Office website.