Sept. 2, 2025

We're excited to welcome Huskies home for our 118th Homecoming celebration happening the week of Sept. 28 - Oct. 5, 2025..

We hope you are making plans to join us during the week of Sept. 28 through Oct. 5. If you would like to volunteer to help with these special events, you should communicate with your supervisor about release time or flexible hours. With supervisor approval, and assurance that appropriate coverage is maintained for the unit/department, all employees are encouraged to volunteer and participate in Homecoming week activities. We hope you'll help us welcome Huskies back to DeKalb for our 118th Homecoming. 

Local fans, students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to join the Huskies for a down home celebration in downtown DeKalb.  

The Huskie Homecoming Block Party has something for everyone—kidzone, classic car show, March of the Huskies, pep rally, food trucks, discounts at local businesses and much more!

The Office of the President seeks to identify a member of the Supportive Professional Staff or Operating Staff interested in serving a year-long professional development fellowship. The Office of the President Staff Fellow will be assigned special projects needed to carry out the functions of the Office of the President and will be afforded professional development opportunities. The fellow will be appointed for the 2026 calendar year and will report to the university’s chief strategy officer. Learn more about the President Staff Fellow Program, including how to apply. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Applications are now being accepted for NIU Impact, the NIU Foundation's crowdfunding platform where students, faculty, staff members and researchers can raise money to turn their great ideas into reality. Since its inception in 2021, NIU Impact has helped raise over $450,000 from more than 3,300 total gifts.

Fall crowdfunding campaigns run Oct. 9 through Nov. 6. Please apply by midnight, Sept. 18. To submit your crowdfunding application or register for one of our informational webinars, visit the NIU Foundation crowdfunding page.

Questions? Contact Cody Carter, ccarter1@niu.edu.

We’re thrilled to announce that STEM Fest is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025.

This annual community festival takes place on central campus and welcomes thousands of visitors of all ages to try hands-on activities, watch exhibits and experiments, and find their spark in the sensational world of STEM.

Last year we welcomed 5,000 visitors, including 13 buses full of K-12 students and their families, to STEM Fest. We’re looking forward to making this STEM Fest better than ever.

It’s easy to get involved:

Learn more about STEM Fest on our website.

If you have questions, please contact Russ Devereaux at 815-753-6372 or niusteam@niu.edu.

The Office of Research Development is excited to announce the launch of the Faculty Grant Writing Group this fall, meeting at the 71N Partnership Studio Garage from 10 a.m. to noon every Thursday starting Sept. 18.

The Faculty Grant Writing Group is open to all NIU faculty and will provide participants with quiet, dedicated time and space to work on writing for external funding pursuits. ORD research development specialists will be available during sessions to support your grant writing as needed. An adjacent room is available for ORD consultation and faculty collaboration.

Sessions are drop-in friendly. Coffee and tea will be provided. Add the meetings to your calendar by visiting the event page. With any questions, please contact ord@niu.edu.

The Division of Information Technology is offering multiple professional development opportunities this fall. We have monthly, topic-specific workshops and continue to offer custom workshops for your department.

Monthly workshops will be offered in multiple formats. Each month, we will offer virtual workshops.  We are including two new workshops this fall: Time Management and Adobe.

We continue to offer custom workshops for departments. You can review our custom workshop request form and select from a list of topics we have available to meet your department’s needs.  The workshop format will be to your department’s needs. Please allow two to four weeks for custom workshops requests.

View our full workshop calendar.

Please direct any questions to Cindy Kozumplik, business analyst in the Division of Information Technology.

We are excited to resume our Leadership Training Series for faculty and staff. Coordinated by Human Resource Services and Employee Well-being, and led by Holly Nicholson, the 2025 presidential staff fellow, each month this academic year we will host panel discussions with subject matter experts as we explore a variety of critical leadership considerations. Our first session, “Leading with Humility and Respect,” features George Middlemist, vice president and chief financial officer, as well as Amanda Durik, associate dean for undergraduate affairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Our guests will share their perspectives and experiences with the art and practice of humility and respect. Please join us from 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3 on Teams.  To register, go to campus training or call 753-9191.

Sept. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Martin Luther King Commons

Over 75 local businesses and organizations from throughout the DeKalb area will join us for the party in the MLK Commons to welcome NIU students, faculty, and staff to the community. Come learn about area businesses, discover local resources and find out about all the fun activities to do in the community..There will be music, giveaways, a few samples, information about the community, and most importantly – a BIG FRIENDLY DEKALB WELCOME to our Huskies..

The event is free and open to the entire NIU campus.  Don’t miss the chance to meet the community and find out about our great communiversity.

The Office of Research Development (ORD) is pleased to present the NIU internal competition for the Illinois Arts Council Creative Projects Grant. The Illinois Arts Council will only accept one institutional proposal submitted from NIU for this grant opportunity.

The Creative Projects Grant (CPG) supports a single arts project by an artist or organization. Projects must include a public release or presentation, unless the proposal is for professional development by an individual artist. While multiple activities may be part of one project, separate projects cannot be combined into a single proposal.

Eligible disciplines include arts, crafts, design, dance, digital media, film/video, literature, music, performance, photography, theater, visual arts, ethnic/folk/traditional arts and community-based arts.

Full program details, including goals, expectations, eligible projects and out-of-scope activities, are available on the Illinois Arts Council Creative Projects Grant website. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review this information before preparing an internal proposal.

The deadline to submit internal proposals is Sept. 10, 2025. Complete information on the internal competition and the Illinois Arts Council Creative Projects Grant is available on the Office of Research Development Limited Submission Funding Opportunities webpage. Faculty who plan to submit a proposal to the Illinois Arts Council Creative Projects Grant competition must submit an internal proposal via NIU’s InfoReady internal competition portal.

Please contact ord@niu.edu with questions and use "IAC/ CPG internal competition" as the subject line.

Northern Illinois University will host its annual flu clinic from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in the Holmes Student Center Ballroom.

Please note: COVID-19 and High-Dose flu vaccines will not be available at this clinic.

Appointments are required. Visit the Flu Vaccine Clinic Information and Instructions page to schedule your appointment and download the required Client Consent Form. Go to: Flu Vaccine Clinic Information and Instructions.

To reschedule or cancel, use the “Reschedule” button in your confirmation email.

For questions about vaccine eligibility or insurance coverage, contact the DeKalb County Health Department at 815-758-6673.

For assistance with booking or event details, contact NIU Employee Well-being at 815-753-9191 or email ksmith12@niu.edu.

Please join us via Zoom at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19 as Karen E. Samonds, the 2025 David W. Raymond Award recipient, will present “Enhancing Student Learning with Virtual Anatomy Resources.”

Samonds is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at NIU. Her research integrates comparative anatomy, systematics and biogeography with field paleontology to address topics in vertebrate evolution.

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 August is closing for all financial reporting activity at noon Tuesday, Sept. 9. Journals not posted at that time will go into September business. Submit August journals before end of business Monday, Sept. 8. Final August reports are scheduled to be available Wednesday Sept. 10. In addition, September reports are scheduled to be available Thursday, Sept. 11. These dates, and other important dates related to the Controller’s Office can be found on the Controller’s Office Calendars and Important Dates webpage.