Week of Welcome is packed with energy, connection and NIU pride—and you can be part of the experience! Week of Welcome kicks off on Wednesday, Aug. 19. Volunteers help set the tone for new students by supporting fun, engaging events like the Color Run, Jewel Jamboree, Pajama Party, and more. Whether you're hyping up the crowd, helping with setup or welcoming students, your presence makes a difference. It's a great way to meet colleagues and kick off the year. Sign up to support WOW events today! 

The Presidential Commission on Well‑being invites faculty and staff to apply for a Well‑being Mini Grant to support initiatives that advance a culture of well‑being at NIU. Learn more and submit your ideas.

The Technology Support Desk, previously located in Founders, has moved to the Holmes Student Center basement (HC-B23) and is now part of the Technology Support Center. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..

DoIT Technology Support Center

To find the new location, go to the Starbucks cafe in Holmes Student Center and take the staircase by the restrooms down to the basement level. Those needing accessibility should use the elevator next to the Amazon drop-boxes on the Ground Floor, then follow the hallway to the TSC.

For more information, call (815) 753-8100.

Human Resource Services will launch the ePerformance Portal in late July, a single online home for the annual performance evaluation process that provides a simpler, more consistent way to collect evaluations, send automated reminders, and keep each year's record in one place. The evaluation approach itself is not changing; supervisors will continue to use familiar templates, and the portal handles the collection so the whole university stays on the same cycle. Live online training will be offered in mid-July, with a dedicated supervisor session on effective performance management to follow, and all sessions will be recorded and posted to the HRS Training website. Watch for separate email communications in the coming weeks with detailed guidance, training dates and registration, and next steps.

The Office of Research Development (ORD) is pleased to share a funding opportunity from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.

Northern Illinois University may nominate up to two candidates for the 2027 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program: one tenured faculty member and one nontenured faculty member. Faculty members who wish to be considered for institutional nomination must submit an internal proposal through the NIU InfoReady portal.

The internal deadline to apply is 4:30 p.m., Sept. 14, 2026.

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program supports research that examines the causes of political polarization and identifies ways to strengthen social cohesion. Beginning with the 2027 cohort, Andrew Carnegie Foundation expands focus of Its fellowship program to examine polarization in the U.S. and worldwide. Each fellow receives up to $200,000 for a two-year research project. Proposed research should explore topics such as the relationship between populism and polarization, how democracies have resisted or reversed polarization, and the conditions under which polarization declines or escalates into systemic violence. The program highlights factors including civic culture, access to information, economic opportunity, trust in public institutions, the rule of law and other conditions that contribute to social cohesion.

Fellows are selected based on the originality and potential impact of their proposals, as well as their ability to communicate findings to a broad audience. The program continues the mission of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation to reduce political polarization through support for education, democracy and peace.

Full internal submission guidelines and requirements are available in the Carnegie Fellows Application.

Faculty interested in pursuing this opportunity are encouraged to contact their research development specialist (RDS). For further assistance, please contact ORD at ORD@niu.edu. 

Parking permits for the next academic year (2026-2027) will be available online beginning July 20, 2026. Parking permits are virtual, so you will not receive a physical permit. Your license plate will act as your parking permit.

The Customer Parking Portal provides convenient access to your parking account information. You can view your account, purchase a parking permit, make a ticket payment and update vehicle information.

A free parking option is also available. Those who register for this option will have a virtual green permit, which allows for remote parking in Lot K only, located on the west side of campus, just off Lincoln Highway.

For those needing temporary parking, there are short-term parking options available. Short-term permits can be purchased online, and options include daily, weekly and monthly permits. Short-term parking is also available via the AMP Park mobile app.

You can visit our website for additional information. If you have any questions, please contact Parking Services at 815-753-1045 or parking@niu.edu.

Campus Sustainability is offering a new program, the Sustainability Leadership Academy, to train staff and faculty leaders across campus in bringing sustainability to offices and departments. Participants will learn alongside cohort mates during this academic-year long program, while creating a project to implement into their office or department. Learn more about the academy and apply to participate.

Applications are open now through June 30, 2026. Supervisor endorsements will need to be submitted by July 7, 2026. 

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:

We are preparing to wrap up another fiscal year here at NIU and it is important that we finalize the university’s Fiscal Year 2026 financial statements in a timely manner. Please ensure that all FY 2026 transactions for your department are properly classified and submitted to the Accounting Office by the deadlines listed below:

It is very important to note that transactions required to be processed in FY 2026 must be received by the requested due dates (do not hold FY 2026 documents even if the deadline has passed).

Please review all transactions and balances in applicable cost centers, paying particular attention to appropriate cutoff for transactions occurring during the months of June and July. Note that all goods and services received prior to June 30, 2026, must be recorded as an expenditure or accrued as a liability in the current fiscal year. Goods and services received after June 30, 2026, must be recorded as an expenditure in FY 2027. University sales and services performed prior to June 30, 2026, must be recorded as revenue in the current fiscal year. University sales or services to be performed after June 30, 2026, must be recorded as revenue in F Y 2027. If you have any questions concerning how transactions should be recorded, please contact an Accounting Office representative.

This is also a good time to review any accruals in your cost centers to ensure they are up to date. All accrued balances should have support justifying why the amounts are accrued (receivable, payable, deferred, etc.) as of June 30, 2026. The Controller’s Office is responsible for all tuition accruals, and no adjustments should be made to tuition accounts. Please reach out if you have any questions.

We appreciate your full cooperation as we work to ensure a successful close-out of FY 2026.  Should you have any questions about the year-end process, please email the Controller’s Office at ControllerOffice@niu.edu for assistance.