NIU Today

NIU’s Supportive Professional Staff (SPS) Council will host its annual holiday social from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12.

Like other events sponsored by the SPS Council, the holiday social is open to everyone. This year’s venue is the Music Building Lobby, just outside of Boutell Hall. The SPS Council members are providing a potluck-style variety of finger foods for participants. Interested in contributing your special dish to the festivities? Email Randi Napientek at randi@niu.edu so that enough space is available for all the prepared dishes.

Several activities will be offered for those who want to get crafty and celebrate the end of the semester. These activities will be “trendy” coloring pages, making your own gift tags and judging of the SPS Potluck Competition.

For more information, call 815-753­-4255 or email mburlingame@niu.edu.

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of NIU alumni, donors, friends, parents, faculty and staff, #GivingTuesdayNIU was an unprecedented success!

Our community rallied around NIU, the colleges, and athletics – and with the final results in – we are proud to report we raised $114,863 from 272 donors. We were able to surpass our dollar and donor goals by 91% and 36% respectively.

The President’s Cabinet kicked things off on #GivingTuesdayNIU with a gift of $7,100 to the university’s unrestricted top priorities fund. Also getting involved were the deans of the seven colleges. Each dean challenged new donors to give on #GivingTuesday and matched their donations up to $1,000.

New this year as part of the #GivingTuesdayNIU campaign, was a competition among the colleges to see which college could get the most donations. The competition was fierce and it came down to the wire to see who would win the $8,000 challenge gift. In the end, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences beat out the College of Business by three donations. Congratulations to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our third annual #GivingTuesdayNIU campaign. Our students also thank you!

Final exams begin Monday, Dec. 5, but NIU students can find unique ways on campus to beat the stress.

Want to pet a friendly dog? Super-friendly Newfoundland dogs Gladys and Shurlee will visit Founders Memorial Library from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 6, and from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Remember how many hours you spent coloring as a kid? Coloring has been shown to relieve stress and calm anxiety for people of all ages.

Students are welcome to take a break from studying to color in the library’s first-floor lobby near the display cases from 7:30 a.m. to midnight, Monday, Dec. 5, to Friday, Dec.9. Coloring supplies will be provided.

For more information on the dogs or the coloring, call 815-753-5290 or email kladell@niu.edu.

Starting on Monday, Dec. 5, 2016, spring and spring/summer parking permits will be available for purchase at Parking Services, by mail or online. There is a $10 discount when permits are purchased online.

There are several convenient ways to obtain your new permit. Online purchases can be made by visiting the Parking Services website. Note that permits purchased online will be mailed and are not available for pick up at Campus Parking. Alternatively, parking permits may be purchased in person from Parking Services at a service window. Parking Services is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. There is an additional $10 fee will be applied to all permits purchased in person, excluding reserved permits. And finally, permits may be purchased via mail by printing and completing the vehicle registration form. Mail the form and your check (payable to NIU) for the amount of the permit to Northern Illinois University, Parking Services, 121 Normal Road, DeKalb, IL 60115. Faculty and staff may also select the payroll deduction preference. The parking permit will be mailed to you within three business days of receiving your order, so be sure to get your form in early to make sure you receive your marketing permit by Jan. 3, 2017!

NIU Parking Services offers spring/summer permits for students, faculty and staff with a variety of price points. Cash is accepted in the office only, checks in the full amount (made out to NIU) are accepted at the office or by mail and all major cards are accepted in the office or online. Faculty and staff have the option to pay with by tax-free payroll deduction (office, mail or online) and students have the option to pay using their Huskie Bucks (office only) or by Bursar account (office or online only).

Spring motorcycle permits may be purchased at the discounted rate by those with a valid vehicle permit (excluding green permits).

A free parking option is also available to any interested student, faculty, staff or visitor. Those who take advantage of this option, after registering their vehicle with Parking Services, will receive a green permit which allows them to park remotely in Lot C3 near the Convocation Center on the west side of campus. A map of all campus parking is available online. 

For more information, contact Parking Services at 815-753-1045 or parking@niu.edu.

Registration is now open for children and adults to participate in music and art programs at the NIU Community School of the Arts (CSA). The CSA offers year-round art and music programming, with more than 50 teachers serving over 400 participating students.

Financial aid is available for students ages 18 or younger who demonstrate financial need. Need-based scholarship applications for spring activities must be submitted by January 5.

There are two group music classes for young children. Prelude is for toddlers ages 1–3 with singing, dancing and games, which will be held on Saturdays from 10 – 10:30 a.m. The Development class is for children ages 3–5 and builds upon the activities of the Prelude class. Development is offered on Saturdays from 10:35 – 11:05 a.m. 

Early registration is recommended for these popular classes that begin on Jan. 14, 2017, and meet for 12 weeks. 

Art Express is an arts and crafts class for students aged 4-12. Classes are organized by age and limited in size. This class is offered over six Saturdays, from 1-3 p.m., beginning on Feb. 4.

For older children and adults, CSA offers Group Guitar for Kids, which introduces children ages 8–12 to guitar. This class is on Wednesdays from 6–6:55 p.m. starting on Feb. 1.

For students ages 13-adult, Guitar Basics meets Thursdays from 6–6:55 p.m. and Intermediate Guitar meets Thursdays from 7–7:55 p.m., for 12 weeks, beginning on Feb. 2.

Square One Piano:  Group Basics Class is from 6:15–7:00 p.m. for beginning students and Piano Forte: Building Piano Skills is from 7:15–8:00 p.m. for intermediate players. Both classes are for ages 13-adult. These classes are on Mondays, starting Jan. 30.

In Qi Gong (or Chi-Kung), a precursor of Tai Chi, students learn 24 postures to renew energy and release tension. This class is for ages 12–adult, meeting on six Mondays from 5–6 p.m., starting Jan. 23.

Music performing ensembles are also available next year with the CSA Symphonette, for string players ages 8 – 16 on Tuesdays from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. starting on Jan. 31.

CSA Sinfonia, a full youth orchestra for musicians age 14 – 20, meets on Wednesdays beginning Jan. 18. Please call to ask about openings in this audition-only ensemble.

The CSA Chamber Music Intensive is for ages 12–20.  Call 815-753-1450 for more information or to arrange an audition for your ensemble.

The NIUkulele Ensemble is for beginning and intermediate ukulele players age 9–adult. Everyone must have an instrument. This ensemble is on Mondays from 7:30 – 8:25 p.m., beginning Jan. 23.

CSA Steelband is for ages 12–adult. It is recommended that students be able to read music. This ensemble meets on Mondays from 6:30 – 7:25 p.m., beginning on Jan. 23. 

And finally, the CSA Guitar Ensemble for beginning and intermediate guitar players ages 14-adult, will meet on Thursdays, from 8-8:55 p.m., beginning Feb. 9.

Traditional private music lessons are taught on a weekly basis on all instruments. Music lessons for young children using the Suzuki approach are taught on violin, cello, piano and guitar. Lessons begin the week of Jan. 16.

The NIU Community School of the Arts is sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts. More information, including scholarship application forms and activities registration forms, can be found online, by calling 815-753-1450 or by visiting the Community School office in Music Building Room 132.

The Communiversity Gardens have been in operation for three growing seasons, and many people have benefitted from the garden. In that time, the gardens have been an enormous asset to the DeKalb community since much of the produce is donated to local food pantries such as the Huskie Food Pantry.

Students and community members are also provided with ways to take classes, volunteer and get fresh-grown produce. The opportunity to take classes in the gardens and do volunteer work affords students with an invaluable asset for finding employment and careers after getting a degree.

In order to maintain the positive impact that the Gardens make in the community, the Communiversity Gardens needs help to raise funds in order to ensure that smooth operations continue.

To raise money for the Gardens, two fundraisers are currently taking place.

The Gardens have partnered with Perfectly Posh for an online fundraiser to take place between Dec. 1 and 7. To learn more, either join the group on Facebook or on the Perfectly Posh website. All proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Communiversity Gardens.

At the same time, the Communiversity Gardens are using the crowdsource site CrowdRise to reach a $2000 fundraising goal.

The money raised from both fundraisers will support the operations of the Gardens in the 2017 growing season, which promises to be the most fruitful yet.

If you have questions, please feel free to email the co-managers of the Communiversity Gardens  — Melissa Burlingame and Michaela Holtz — at niucg@niu.edu.

Mark Frank

Professors Walker Ashley in geography and Mark Frank in geology have been named the inaugural winners of the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award.

Established this year, the award recognizes outstanding scholarly achievements and contributions to graduate education at NIU. Each award recipient will receive $2,000 and be recognized during the Graduate School commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the NIU Convocation Center.

“Provost Lisa Freeman and I established this annual award to recognize the outstanding mentoring that our faculty provides to graduate students,” says Bradley Bond, Graduate School dean. “It’s fitting that Walker Ashley and Mark Frank are the first recipients. They’re outstanding scholars and master teachers, whose mentoring directly results in our students’ academic and career success.”

Ashley is an atmospheric scientist and physical geographer who specializes in meteorology, severe storms and applied climatology. He teaches courses in meteorology, climatology and disaster science. His research, which often attracts media attention, focuses on such areas as quantifying how human exposure contributes to weather-related disasters.

Walker Ashley

Ashley has published nearly 40 peer-reviewed articles, often co-authored with graduate or undergraduate students. Colleagues say his presence at NIU draws students from across the country.

“Most of Walker’s graduate students have been co-authors on presented and published papers,” says professor Andrew Krmenec, former department chair. “But equally as important is that many have presented work on their own and were recognized with various best paper, poster or presentation awards. Two of his students received the NIU Graduate School’s Outstanding Thesis Award.”

Stephen Strader, who as a Ph.D. student co-authored numerous research publications with Ashley, had a job waiting after graduation as a professor of geography at Villanova.

“Dr. Ashley’s motivation, tough love and mentorship have set me up for long-term success,” Strader says. “He has always encouraged me to work hard, focus and push myself beyond my comfort zone.”

Geology students and faculty similarly heap praise upon the work of Mark Frank.

Frank teaches courses in earth materials, geochemistry and petrology. He serves as graduate director and academic advisor for all geology graduate students while also teaching a foundations of graduate research class that helps students prepare for their careers. This past year, students in the course won more than $50,000 in external funding for their own research.

Highly respected as an experimental mineralogist and petrologist, Frank and his students seek to understand processes within the Earth by conducting experiments on minerals and fluids at pressures up to 30 million pounds per square inch and temperatures up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“He is a devoted, caring mentor whose hard work earns the undying respect and loyalty of his students,” says Mark Fischer, department chair.

Joshua Ehlich chose NIU to study under Frank, who later secured a National Science Foundation grant that funds Ehlich’s research.

Ehlich says Frank provides timely feedback, sets clear expectations, approaches each day with humor and supports students in and out of the classroom—including when Ehlich welcomed his first child into the world last spring.

“Dr. Frank was always there to offer advice when needed,” Ehlich says, “and support when I was feeling overwhelmed.”

Earth’s ice is melting, and it isn’t likely to stop anytime soon. At the next STEM Café, “Our Icy Planet: The Future of the Cryosphere in a Warming World,” NIU ice expert Ross Powell will draw on over four decades of field research to explore the dramatic changes already being triggered worldwide as our ice dwindles.

The free event will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant, 214 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb.

“We rely on ice to survive,” says Powell. “It provides drinking water for humans and livestock. It helps sustain agriculture. As more ice melts, billions of people will be affected. In order to understand this, you first have to understand just how pervasive ice is in the world. There’s ice in the tropics, at the poles, in our deserts. There’s ice on mountaintops and deep undersea. It’s everywhere and we absolutely depend on it.”

Powell has built his knowledge of the “cryosphere”––the world of ice––over decades of field research around the world. Early in his career, he was the first person to use a robotic submarine to investigate glaciers that touch the ocean in Alaska, Chile and Antarctica. His presentation will feature striking photographs from these research trips.

“People have heard about melting glaciers affecting human and animal habitats around the North Pole or causing rising sea levels around the world,” he says. “But those are certainly not all of the possible effects. A loss of ice in the world could end up altering the way water circulates through our oceans and atmosphere. It will likely change civilization as we know it.”

“Powell has traveled the frozen world studying just how vital ice is to life on Earth,” says Judith Dymond, who coordinates the STEM Café series. “We’re lucky to have such an established expert here at NIU to help us understand where our world is going.”

Food and drink will be available for purchase from Eduardo’s.

Monthly STEM Cafés are one of many programs offered through NIU STEAM Works, part of the university’s Center for P-20 Engagement. Each café provides an opportunity to learn about the science, technology, engineering and mathematics that are a part of our everyday lives.

All STEM Cafés are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Judy Dymond at jdymond@niu.edu or 779-777-7713.

The Office of Student Academic Success’ Financial Cents program is holding its annual coat drive. All winter apparel will be accepted including coats, gloves, hats, scarves and more. If you are interested in donating, please drop off items in one of the boxes located in the Academic Advising Center Building, the Campus Life Building, Founders Memorial Library or the Holmes Student Center.

The drive commenced Dec. 1, 2016, and will run through April 1, 2017.

Items are available for any member of the NIU community and their families! Please feel free to grab a coat out of any of the donation centers or come browse our bigger selection in the Office of Student Academic Success located in the Academic Advising Center Building.

The NIU Community School of the Arts (CSA) is pleased to announce the schedule for fall recitals and concerts. Solo and ensemble performances are featured in December on the Recital Hall and Concert Hall stages in the Music Building. All CSA concerts and recitals are free and open to the public.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, showcase recitals will begin at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Recital Hall. Students who take private lessons on a variety of instruments will perform with an accompanist. Recitals will continue as piano students of Georgia Price perform at 3 p.m. and guitar students of Eric Schroeder play at 5 p.m. The CSA Steelband, directed by Yuko Asada, and the NIUkulele Ensemble, directed by Eric Schroeder, will perform at 7 p.m. in the Recital Hall. 

The harp and piano students of Jaina Krueger will perform on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 12:00 p.m. and the Suzuki cello students of Tom Cappaert will perform at 2 p.m. in the Recital Hall. 

Suzuki piano students of Marilyn Montzka will perform at 5 p.m. in the Recital Hall on Monday, Dec. 5. 

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the CSA Symphonette performs at 6 p.m. in Boutell Concert Hall. This string ensemble features youth musicians ages 8 – 16 and is directed by Linc Smelser. 

The CSA Guitar Ensemble directed by Quentin Dover performs in the NIU Music Building Room 241 at 8 p.m., on Thursday, Dec 8.

Then, on Saturday, Dec. 10, the cello students of Linc Smelser perform at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Suzuki violin students of Ann Montzka-Smelser and Laurie Rodriguez at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall. 

And finally, on Wednesday, Dec. 14, the CSA Sinfonia performs at 7:30 p.m. in Boutell Concert Hall. Linc Smelser directs the youth symphony, performing a challenging repertoire and featuring the most talented high school musicians in Northern Illinois. 

For more information on the CSA recital and concert series, Contact Josh Anderson at 815-753-1450 or janderson17@niu.edu.

Are you an involved student leader? Do you believe you should be recognized for all you do as a leader at NIU? If so, consider applying for a Kevin D. Knight Leadership Award! Student Involvement & Leadership Development, Orientation & Family Connections, Career Services, and the University Women’s Club are offering students the opportunity to be recognized for their leadership and involvement at NIU. Institutional Tuition Waivers and Leadership Awards for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students are just a few of the awards available. Award winners will be formally recognized at the Kevin D. Knight Leadership Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 30, 2017.

Please visit Student Involvement & Leadership Development’s Leadership Awards  to learn more about the application process for each award and to access the link to each award’s online application. Applications will be available on Huskie Link starting Monday, Nov. 28. Students must submit all applications by Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, at 11:45 p.m.

Kevin D. Knight was a Northern Illinois University alumnus who embodied what it means to be a student leader. He was an exemplary leader, serving NIU as a catalyst for positive change and as a role model for up-and-coming student leaders to follow. Kevin used his time at NIU well, dedicating himself to the betterment of campus life for all students. He worked hard in various leadership positions while receiving numerous awards and recognition for his work. It is in the hearts of the students who knew him that his memory and his efforts carry on. For this purpose, the Kevin D. Knight Leadership Awards honor one of NIU’s great student leaders.

Please contact Leadership & Student Organizational Services in Student Involvement & Leadership Development at leadership@niu.edu or 815-753-6707 with any questions.

The Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships‘ Principle Investigator Academy will conduct the next session of their professional development series on Friday, Dec. 9, from 2 – 4 p.m., in Altgeld Hall 315.

In this session, a panel of faculty members who have served as grant reviewers will discuss how various agencies recruit and prepare for review panels and how the agency review process works. Attendees will view a short video of a mock review of a grant proposal. The discussion will focus on the mock review, advice for preparing the proposal and how to work with reviewer comments to revise and resubmit a grant proposal. 

Email asosp@niu.edu by Wednesday, Dec. 7, to reserve your spot, as seating is limited.