NIU Today

Tim Ryan, assistant professor of English, is the recipient of the 2013 University Honors Great Professor Award. Ryan is a specialist in twentieth century American literature and culture, modernism, African-American literature and Southern studies. This university-wide award, which was established in 2001, recognizes a faculty or staff member who has, over time, contributed significantly to...

Members of the University Honors Program had the opportunity to meet with and ask questions of Jaron Lanier, the father of virtual reality and the keynote speaker for NIU’s 2013 Celebrating Excellence event. Lanier, named one of Time Magazine’s great minds, has spent his life devoted to researching and developing new methods of computing and...

Northern Illinois senior Jenelle McCalla (Whitby, Ontario, Canada/Father Leo J. Austin Secondary School) was awarded the inaugural Outstanding Student-Athlete Award from NIU’s University Honors Program in a program Sunday night. The award is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average among all other student-athletes in the University Honors Program. “It means...

What is an “educated” person? For those who teach, such as the NIU Department of History’s E. Taylor Atkins, it’s an important question without consensus. “Is it someone whose mind is a storehouse of data that can be recalled instantly? Or is an educated person a critical, free thinker and problem solver?” asks Atkins, who...

Christopher Jones wants his political science students to interrupt him with thoughtful questions and comments. He wants them to steer classroom discussion. He wants them to feel comfortable. He also wants to give them some gain without the pain. “My students have been especially receptive to the use of published case studies based on controversial...

The NIU Study Abroad Office, in partnership with the NIU University Honors Program, will launch “Discovering Montreal, Canada,” a short-term Study Abroad program and a Vision 2020 initiative. Undergraduates from any major who currently hold freshman or sophomore status at NIU and are members of the University Honors Program are welcome to participate. Knowledge of...

The NIU Study Abroad Office, in partnership with the NIU University Honors Program, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of Political Science, is launching “Peace, Justice, and the International Courts: The Hague and Amsterdam, Netherlands (Holland),” a short-term Study Abroad program and a Vision 2020 initiative. NIU students, both undergraduate and...

Intercollegiate Athletics and the University Honors Program will celebrate “University Honors Night” during the NIU men’s basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 30. A ceremony is planned at halftime of the 7 p.m. game at the Convocation Center, and other activities will take place during the evening. Because NIU Huskie athletes are committed to excellence both off...

What does it mean to graduate with honors? Sure, you get a special sash to wear at commencement and an impressive line on your resume

Michael C. Maibach, a former high-ranking Intel Corp. executive who more recently served as president of the European-American Business Council, has been named as the inaugural recipient of the University Honors Outstanding Alumni Award. Maibach will visit campus Tuesday, Nov. 13, for an invitation-only awards ceremony luncheon that will include the kickoff of a new...

Jason Goode has joined the University Honors Program administrative team as assistant to Associate Vice Provost Chistopher Jones. A high-level management support professional, Goode will develop, recommend and implement appropriate goals, policies, procedures, assessment and long-term planning related to national scholarships, fellowships, academic awards and recognitions. He is also the University Honors Program’s liaison to...

NIU’s College of Engineering & Engineering Technology (CEET) and the University Honors Program teamed up to implement a new, customized honors program for engineering students. CEET faculty member Nick Pohlman set the idea in motion by securing a University Honors Summer Improvement Grant. “I originally applied for the grant because I was an honors student as...