NIU Today

Last summer’s maiden voyage of the Fulbright Gateway Orientation at NIU sailed to success. Seventy foreign Fulbright student grantees spent three days in DeKalb acquiring skills necessary for successful academic and professional lives in the United States while they also learned more about their roles and responsibilities as Fulbrighters. “It was really good last year....

Nine undergraduate engineering students from Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia, along with eight NIU students, recently completed a short-track program at NIU on simulation modeling and analysis. The three-week intensive program, which ran from June 26 to July 15, was offered by NIU’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in collaboration with the Universidad de...

NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and the Center for Non-Governmental Organization Leadership and Development (NGOLD) bid farewell Wednesday, Nov. 4, to 21 young Southeast Asian leaders participating in the Leading and Organizing for Change in Southeast Asia (LOCSEA) institute. Beginning Sept. 30, the trip concluded with a five-day study tour of the South...

Northern Illinois University is proud to welcome a special group of 70 international Fulbright Foreign Students to campus this week for its first-ever Fulbright Gateway Orientation program. This activity is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State as part of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program supported by the people of...

For Sherine Elsawa, an assistant professor of biology at NIU, hosting international students for short-term home stays has been all about giving her son the experience of having brothers – if only for weeks at a time. “We decided to host because Kareem is an only child, and we thought it might be a good experience...

Cultural anthropologist and NIU Presidential Engagement Professor Susan Russell is no stranger to building bridges between people – in particular, those of the United States and of her area of specialty, the Philippines. Since 2004, Russell has directed U.S. Department of State-funded programs to bring Muslim and Christian youth and adult leaders from war-torn Mindanao...

Kenroy Usher remembers the time he and his mother encountered an unusually forthcoming stranger on the streets in Belize. Usher was only 10 then – and a good boy – but the unfamiliar woman apparently felt compelled to issue a dire warning. Within a few years, she said, the boy will join a gang. By...

Eight visitors from Belize will share global perspectives on Belizean athletes and coaches during a panel discussion from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the Capitol Room of the Holmes Student Center. The delegates will share their personal stories related to sport. Many are current and former elite competitors, including an international...

Northern Illinois University President Doug Baker announced Monday evening the establishment of the Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP) Fellowship, a program that will provide tuition waivers to students who have participated or will be participating in the U.S. Department of State program administered by NIU since 2009. The fellowship will be offered to SEAYLP...

NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and the International Training Office (ITO) are actively seeking host families for two U.S. Department of State youth leadership programs this spring. Among those who have signed up so far are NIU President Doug Baker and First Lady Dana Stover. CSEAS is looking for families to host for...

More than 125 alumni from NIU’s Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program, which has included lessons in diplomacy and civic action, recently gathered in Jakarta for a U.S. State Department-sponsored summit. Their activities including the creation of a video that artistically expressed their opinions on human rights, one of the topics of discussion. “We wanted to...

John R. Nay, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Suriname, will visit NIU at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, to talk to students about international internships, fellowships and careers. Nay will speak in Neptune Central Meeting Room 109 about U.S. Department of State-sponsored opportunities for students that can lead to promising international careers. Programs offer...