On Monday, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down its decision to uphold the funding mechanism put in place by the Illinois General Assembly to fund the state’s $31 billion capital plan. This is wonderful news for NIU because it means that the last obstacle has been cleared on state funding for the renovation of Cole Hall, the renovation and expansion of the Stevens Building, and the planning for the new computer sciences technology building.
In Washington, D.C….
Lori Clark
With three weeks remaining before the Aug. 2 deadline when the U.S. Treasury is projected to begin defaulting on our national borrowing, significant differences remain between President Obama and Congressional Republicans in the deficit reduction/debt ceiling budget negotiations.
The negotiations are becoming increasingly contentious. The Republicans, led by House Speaker John Boehner, have rejected President Obama’s call to reduce some tax breaks for the wealthy as part of any agreement. The President is pushing for a $4 trillion package over the next decade, and he has publicly announced that he will not support any short-term (30- to 90-day) solution.
The Republicans are adamant that they will not support any package that includes “tax increases” for the wealthy, and they are now pushing for a smaller, $2 trillion package that involves major cuts in domestic agencies.
The House Republicans also are now calling for a $250 billion reduction to Medicare over the next decade by asking wealthier seniors to pay more for health coverage, placing new restrictions on Medigap policies, and adding new co-payments and cost-sharing provisions for home health care.
These reductions would be on top of the $500 billion in Medicare savings previously enacted as part of the President’s overhaul of the healthcare system. The House has cancelled its recess scheduled for next week to stay in town to continue to work on these issues.
There has been work in the House on the FY2012 appropriations. Last week, the House passed the defense appropriations bill, and lawmakers are beginning debate on amendments to the energy and water development appropriation bill. They anticipate starting work on the financial service appropriation bill by the end of the week.
The Voices section of NIU Today features opinions and perspectives from across campus. Lori Clark is director of federal relations for NIU.
Date posted: July 12, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on Legislative update: Supreme Court ruling is good news for NIU renovation projects
Scientists at Northern Illinois University say they have discovered a simple method for producing high yields of graphene, a highly touted carbon nanostructure that some believe could replace silicon as the technological fabric of the future.
The focus of intense scientific research in recent years, graphene is a two-dimensional material, comprised of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is the strongest material ever measured and has other remarkable qualities, including high electron mobility, a property that elevates its potential for use in high-speed nanoscale devices of the future.
In a June communication to the Journal of Materials Chemistry, the NIU researchers report on a new method that converts carbon dioxide directly into few-layer graphene (less than 10 atoms in thickness) by burning pure magnesium metal in dry ice.
“It is scientifically proven that burning magnesium metal in carbon dioxide produces carbon, but the formation of this carbon with few-layer graphene as the major product has neither been identified nor proven as such until our current report,” said Narayan Hosmane, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry who leads the NIU research group.
“The synthetic process can be used to potentially produce few-layer graphene in large quantities,” he said. “Up until now, graphene has been synthesized by various methods utilizing hazardous chemicals and tedious techniques. This new method is simple, green and cost-effective.”
Hosmane said his research group initially set out to produce single-wall carbon nanotubes. “Instead, we isolated few-layer graphene,” he said. “It surprised us all.”
Amartya Chakrabarti holds up a sample of graphene produced via the dry-ice method.
“It’s a very simple technique that’s been done by scientists before,” added Amartya Chakrabarti, first author of the communication to the Journal of Materials Chemistry and an NIU post-doctoral research associate in chemistry and biochemistry. “But nobody actually closely examined the structure of the carbon that had been produced.”
Other members of the research group publishing in the Journal of Materials Chemistry include former NIU physics postdoctoral research associate Jun Lu, NIU undergraduate student Jennifer Skrabutenas, NIU chemistry and biochemistry professor Tao Xu, NIU physics professor Zhili Xiao and John A. Maguire, a chemistry professor at Southern Methodist University.
Date posted: June 20, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on Team of NIU scientists discovers simple, green method of producing highly touted graphene
Gerald Blazey, a Distinguished Research Professor of Physics at Northern Illinois University and special advisor for science to NIU President John Peters, will lend his expertise in the coming years to another president: Barack Obama.
Blazey has accepted a two-year post as a senior policy advisor for the physical sciences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He now reports directly to Carl Wieman, who was confirmed in September by the U.S. Senate to serve as the OSTP Associate Director for Science.
“This wonderful opportunity for Dr. Blazey speaks volumes, both to his talents as a scientist and to the quality of our faculty here at Northern Illinois University,” NIU President John Peters said. “NIU has relied on Dr. Blazey’s insights and expertise for many years, and now we have the chance to share his talents with our nation.”
The OSTP provides scientific and technical advice to President Obama and others within the Executive Office of the President and ensures that the scientific and technical work of the Executive Branch is well-coordinated as it relates to both domestic and international affairs.
The physical sciences group at OSTP plays an important role in coordinating interagency relationships between NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy and works closely on policy issues relating to particle physics, nuclear physics and materials science, among other topics.
As Assistant Director for Physical Sciences, Blazey will be responsible for working on physical science policy issues throughout the federal government. His duties will include formulating policy for the justification, planning, management and coordination of activities.
“This appointment recognizes not only Dr. Blazey’s experience and expertise, but also the high quality of the high energy physics research being performed at NIU in collaboration with Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory,” said Lisa Freeman, NIU’s vice president for research and graduate studies.
Blazey, who is taking a two-year leave of absence from the university, will not participate in any matters that have a direct impact on NIU.
“We are certain that Dr. Blazey will excel in his new role where he will be expected to work directly with the White House, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and NASA,” Freeman said.
Blazey took up residence last week in his office in the New Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex. He said he learned of the OSTP position last year, won an interview in November and was offered the post by Wieman, a scientist who shared in the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics.
“I’m excited to play a small role in the big picture of our country’s science program,” Blazey said. “High energy physics is at a crossroads, so I’m hoping my expertise in this area in particular will be of assistance. It also will be exciting to learn more about all of the other science programs nationwide.”
He was encouraged to accept the post by Peters, Freeman and Christopher McCord, dean of NIU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “I’m heavily involved in research projects at NIU, but they made it easy by providing support for additional scientific personnel in my absence,” Blazey said.
“Not only is this an incredible opportunity for Dr. Blazey, but he truly is uniquely qualified,” McCord added. “He has a wealth of experience and knowledge working with scientific agencies, managing large projects and leading international scientific collaborations. Also, importantly, he’s a first-rate scientist.”
Blazey has had a stellar career at NIU. He joined the faculty in 1996 after earning a reputation as a top scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Batavia. At NIU, he helped establish and has served as co-director of the Northern Illinois Center for Accelerator and Detector Development (NICADD).
In 2000, he was awarded NIU’s Presidential Research Professorship, the university’s highest honor for outstanding research. He later was named NIU presidential science advisor, a position charged with assisting university leadership in the development of scientific initiatives, coordinating the university’s work with federal laboratories and expanding research into the medical applications of accelerator physics.
Outside the university, Blazey has served two terms as co-spokesperson for Fermilab’s international DZero collaboration, among the world’s premier experiments in particle physics. In 2007, he began a three-year Intergovernmental Personnel Assignment with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, where he served as program manager of the International Linear Collider Program in the Office of High Energy Physics.
Date posted: June 14, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU’s Gerald Blazey accepts two-year post at White House Office of Science and Tech Policy
Hey, Kendall Thu enjoys a juicy grilled steak as much as any meat lover. He just wishes people would give some thought to where their steaks come from.
The NIU anthropology professor is a key contributor to a book on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that recently received the prestigious 2011 Nautilus Gold Award.
Nautilus Awards are given annually to “books of exceptional merit that make a literary and heartfelt contribution to spiritual growth, conscious living, high-level wellness, green values, responsible leadership and positive social change.”
“CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories” was honored in the category of Conscious Media/Journalism/Investigative Reporting.
The book discusses the culture of the nation’s multibillion-dollar meat industry and the sometimes detrimental implications for workers, the environment and the economy. Thu wrote a chapter titled “CAFOs Are in Everyone’s Backyard: Industrial Agricultural, Democracy and the Future.”
Book cover of "CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories"
“I’m grateful to be a part of this project,” Thu said. “The book educates the public about the meat processing industry and the problems with animal factories, but it is not a wholesale criticism of the nation’s meat industry or a call for people to become vegetarians.
“I grill meat,” he added. “I love to grill beef and chicken.”
The problem is that the majority of the meat processing industry is controlled by a handful of companies, Thu said. Those companies reap profits while passing along countless costs to society.
“My message in the book is to inform consumers that they have choices when purchasing meat,” Thu said. “They can buy directly from farming co-ops and local farms that are widely available in Illinois and handle meat on a small-scale basis. These sources leave smaller footprints on our society and put more money in farmers’ pockets.”
Editors of the book asked Thu to contribute because he has written numerous academic articles about the meat processing industry.
Thu, who recently was named an NIU Presidential Engagement Professor in recognition of his research and the work he does in the community, teaches courses in the anthropology of food, environmental anthropology and medical anthropology.
by Gerard Dziuba
Date posted: June 13, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU anthropologist Kendall Thu pens chapter for award-winning book on feeding operations
A new study led by an NIU sociologist shows that while family members often provide critical support, they also can sometimes be the source of stigmatizing attitudes that impede the recovery of mentally ill relatives.
“Negative attitudes of family members have the potential to affect the ways that mentally ill persons view themselves, adversely influencing the likelihood of recovery from the illness,” said lead researcher Fred Markowitz, a professor in the NIU Department of Sociology.
Markowitz and his colleagues, Beth Angell from Rutgers and Jan Greenberg from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published their findings in the June issue of Social Psychology Quarterly, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Sociological Association.
Over an 18-month period, the researchers studied 129 mothers of adult children with schizophrenia.
“In short, what mom thinks matters,” Markowitz said. “It’s a chain of effects that unfolds.
“We found that when those with mental illness exhibited greater levels of initial symptoms, lower self-confidence and quality of life, their mothers tended to view them in more stigmatized terms — for example, seeing them as ‘incompetent,’ ‘unpredictable’ and ‘unreliable,’ ” Markowitz said. “When mothers held these views, their sons and daughters with mental illness were more likely to come to see themselves in similar terms — what social psychologists call ‘the reflected appraisals process.’ Importantly, when the individuals with mental illness took on these stigmatizing views of themselves, their symptoms became somewhat greater and levels of self-confidence and quality of life lower.”
A long line of research has shown that the stigma associated with mental illness can be a major impediment to recovery, affecting self-esteem and even job prospects. But research has not historically examined the links between stigma, reflected appraisals, identity formation and recovery, Markowitz said.
“Our study is part of research that is starting to more fully examine how stigma affects the self-concept and identity of those with mental illness,” he said.
Markowitz and his colleagues believe it is important to acknowledge that many of the sentiments conveyed toward ill relatives grow out of positive intentions and reflect attempts to cope with the difficulties of having a relative with serious mental illness. Yet, stigmatizing attitudes are of concern because of their potential adverse effects.
“This study highlights the notion that recovery from mental illness is not simply a matter of controlling symptoms as indicated by a strictly ‘psychiatric’ perspective,” Markowitz said. “It is, to a certain extent, a social-psychological process.
“The ways in which people, including family members and service providers, think about persons with mental illness affect the beliefs and actions of the individuals with mental illness, in turn shaping the trajectory of recovery.”
Date posted: June 7, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU study shows attitudes of family members can impede recovery from mental illness
Central Management Services (CMS) has announced that a final decision regarding the managed care contracts for FY 2012 has been made, and the annual Benefit Choice period will conclude on Friday, June 17, 2011. This will be last day to make all benefit elections, including flexible spending. CMS plan options are summarized for your information below.
As a result of the managed care decision, effective July 1, 2011, the following medical carriers will be available:
Effective July 1, 2011, the following medical carriers will NOT be available:
Humana Benefit Plans of Illinois
Humana Winnebago
Health Alliance Illinois
Health Alliance HMO
PersonalCare HMO
Employees enrolled in any of the health plans listed above as not being available MUST select a new carrier by the close of business on Friday, June 17, 2011. Employees who fail to elect a new carrier will be defaulted into the Quality Care Health Plan effective July 1, 2011, and charged the premium associated with that plan.
To select a new carrier, employees must complete the Benefits Choice enrollment form, which can be found on page 31 of the FY2012 Benefits Choice Options book.
Completed forms must be turned in to NIU Human Resource Services main office or the satellite office in Swen Parson 110 by close of business on Friday, June 17, 2011 to be processed. Forms submitted on Friday, June 17, 2011 will need to be placed in the HRS drop box at the main HR location. Forms will not be accepted after this date and the aforementioned plan default will take place.
A FY2012 Health Care Benefit Choice Q & A for members with more detailed information about the changes and required actions also can be found online.
Due to the volume of questions about benefit changes, Human Resource will be hosting informational sessions at Human Resource Services from 10:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday, June 1; from 3 to 4 p.m. Friday, June 3; and from 10:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday, June 8. Additional sessions may be scheduled. Should you have any questions, please contact Human Resource Services Insurance Office at (815) 753-6000.
Human Resource Services provides this information as guidance to employees. All procedures, terms and conditions of the State benefit program are as provided by CMS and the State of Illinois. While we make every effort to assure the accuracy and completeness of this information, we recommend that employees directly access the information provided by CMS and the designated care providers who establish and maintain the official policies and procedures. Where possible, we have provided links to relevant websites for your convenience in accessing additional information and clarification.
Date posted: May 26, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on Final decision made on managed care contracts
The book is a collection of essays by a host of award-winning female novelists, academics and actresses who come together to celebrate the phenomenon that is “Doctor Who,” discuss their inventive involvement with the show’s fandom and examine why they adore the British science fiction series.
“Doctor Who” holds the distinction of being the world’s longest running science fiction television show. It debuted in 1963 and ran until 1989. The series came out of hiatus in 2005 and is currently in its sixth season since the re-launch. It tells of the ongoing adventures of The Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space, righting wrongs and saving civilizations.
Since its release two years ago, “Chicks Dig Time Lords” has been selling well via Amazon and at conventions. It was nominated for the Hugo Award in the Best Related Work category.
“The response for the book has been, to put it mildly, overwhelming,” says Thomas, who serves as NIU Libraries’ curator of Rare Books and Special Collections.
“For a small press book, it has sold rather briskly, and we have heard from readers of both genders who were thrilled to see their own experiences of fandom reflected on the page. Even better, we’ve heard through the grapevine that some of the folks involved with making ‘Doctor Who’ liked the book, which for us is the ultimate compliment.”
Thomas has done signings at bookstores in Madison and Milwaukee where the copies have sold out, and she is now appearing as a guest at conventions as a result of the book.
“The Hugo nomination was basically the ultimate positive response, and we are both humbled and thrilled that it happened,” Thomas says. “This is only the second time a book about a television series has ever been nominated for a Hugo, and the first time that any book related to ‘Doctor Who’ has been nominated.”
Thomas enjoys the series because The Doctor often solves problems using intellect rather than defaulting to violence. “The book documents women’s involvement with the series and its fandom for decades through personal stories.” she says. “I’m part of the project because I’m part of ‘Doctor Who’ fandom.”
The Hugo Awards are sponsored by the World Science Fiction Society. Members from all over the world suggest nominees, and then will vote by July 31 for winners in 16 categories.
The winners will be announced Aug. 20 during the 69th World Science Fiction Convention in Reno, Nev.
Take a small army of dedicated middle school teachers. Add to that a highly specialized master’s degree program that expands their expertise — not only in mathematics, but also in adolescent identity formation and in teaching methods that stress real-life connections for pre-teens.
The results are spectacular, according to Northern Illinois University researchers.
Now 20 Rockford teachers will be among the program’s first graduates. They will receive their master’s degrees during the NIU Graduate School commencement, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 13, at the Convocation Center.
The effect of the master’s degree program is exponential, considering that the 20 teachers taught mathematics to more than 1,000 students over two years.
“The program has been a huge success,” says Mathematical Sciences professor Mary Shafer, who along with colleague Helen Khoury served as co-director of the $1 million “Excellence in the Middle” program.
“An analysis of ISAT scores for students of the teachers in our program shows significant growth in student knowledge,” Shafer says. “Generally speaking, they outscored the rest of the middle school students in the district.”
NIU researchers attribute other significant gains to the master’s program as well. For example, during the Rockford teachers’ first year in the program, their students’ test scores on an NIU-developed assessment of mathematics knowledge jumped by 11 percent. During the teachers’ second year in the program, their students’ test scores soared by 27 percent.
Bala Hosmane of NIU’s Division of Statistics, along with Shafer and Khoury, presented the research findings this spring at the U.S. Department of Education’s Mathematics and Science Partnership Conference held in Baltimore and at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in New Orleans.
Teachers also are singing the program’s praises.
Jennifer Meinke, a fifth-grade teacher at Washington Academy in Rockford, says her students have “benefitted tremendously.” Through the program, she says, she became more adept at using higher-level mathematics “to enrich the content for the students who are ready, while still supporting the students who are struggling.”
Jim Sheridan, mathematics education leader at the Rockford Environmental Science Academy, says accommodating students with wide-ranging abilities is among the biggest challenges facing teachers.
“In every class, we have students of varying mathematical backgrounds and abilities. The Excellence in the Middle program has provided me with insight as to how to reach all of my students,” Sheridan says.
He also notes that teachers who completed the program are now taking leadership roles within their respective school settings.
“Drs. Khoury and Shafer have fostered a community of teacher leaders,” Sheridan says.
The teachers also welcome the specialized training for teaching math in the middle years. Initial certification programs in Illinois certify teachers for either kindergarten through ninth grade, or for the sixth through 12th grades. Yet, as any teacher knows, curricula and student needs vary widely at different grade levels.
The middle school years are particularly challenging for teachers and students alike. During adolescence, students are changing physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. And these changes occur at different rates from one student to the next.
Rockford teachers in the Excellence in the Middle program completed coursework in such areas as advanced mathematics, teaching models and educational psychology for middle school students. Meanwhile, NIU professors visited the teachers in their classrooms, established support groups and helped nurture a learning community.
To foster real-world connections in their classrooms, the teachers also took additional courses in outside subject areas that rely heavily on mathematics, such as engineering and physics.
“I learned a lot more about why I teach mathematics,” says Carolyn Meingast, an eighth-grade mathematics teacher at Washington Academy.
The Rockford teachers also completed research-based projects within their classrooms and were encouraged to attend national conferences on mathematics education.
“I was given the opportunity to attend two mathematics conventions where I attended numerous sessions about cutting-edge mathematics research and presentation styles,” says Amanda Shuga, a fourth-grade teacher at Ellis Arts Academy. She presented her own research at a national convention last fall.
“We expect that the Excellence in the Middle program will have a big impact on Rockford schools,” NIU’s Khoury says. “The impact is first on the teachers. They now have more content knowledge of mathematics. They understand better how middle school students learn mathematics. And they are better equipped to implement age-specific lessons.
“Ultimately, we hope to inspire students and help them find mathematics more meaningful,” she adds. “We want them to understand how it’s connected to so many areas of everyday life.”
A classroom of NIU students who share a passion for the environment had an opportunity Wednesday to open a dialogue about climate, clean energy and green jobs with one of Washington, D.C.’s movers and shakers: U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin
The students interacted via videoconference with the Democratic senator as he discussed a wide range of environmental issues with them. They also had the opportunity to ask him questions about a variety of topics ranging from climate change and renewable energy to green jobs and the role of government regulation in protecting the environment.
NIU student Sharon Osterby, a junior from Cary who transferred to NIU seeking to major in environmental science, said she was excited to speak to a federal lawmaker who shares her concerns.
Osterby asked Durbin how federal lawmakers, despite having limited funds, would combat invasive species such as the emerald ash borer. The insect has infested and killed millions of ash trees in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and New York.
Durbin told the students that, even though federal funds are tight, he and his colleagues will do all they can to help municipalities detect the Asian-born insect before it devastates more trees.
The senator applauded Osterby and her classmates for their interest in the environment, a critical issue in everyone’s life.
Research universities and federal laboratories play a vital role in the effort to find renewable energy sources and tackle problems such as global warming, Durbin added.
NIU frequently collaborates with Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, both located in the nearby western suburbs.
“It was Argonne National Laboratory that developed the battery for the Chevy Volt,” Durbin said. “This is one example of why this country should support the work the laboratories and universities perform.”
The NIU students are enrolled in ENVS 303, a coursethat focuses on how human communities and institutions respond to and serve as agents of environmental change. And many of the students also are pursuing NIU’s newly revamped environmental studies minor.
Last fall, NIU launched a new interdisciplinary environmental studies program that provides students with broad-based knowledge of key 21st century environmental issues. The university plans to initiate a major in the subject area in the fall of 2012, pending approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
The ENVS 303 course is taught by a team of NIU professors, including course coordinator Kendall Thu (anthropology), Jason Hanna (philosophy), Mark Mehrer (anthropology), Eric Mogren (history) and Diana Swanson (Women’s Studies/English).
“This video conference today is important because these students are part of the generation that will have to deal with the environmental issues we leave them,” Thu said. “It’s important that they know the resources, the procedure and lawmakers who they will rely on for help.”
Wednesday’s dialogue with Durbin was sponsored by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College in New York, through its Campus2Congress (C2C) project. During the Earth Week celebration from May 1 to May 7, the Bard Center is sponsoring similar video dialogues at other campuses nationwide. Durbin accepted NIU’s invitation to participate.
NIU’s new Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy was established in 2010 to oversee the academic programs in environmental studies. Students learn to apply foundational and theoretical knowledge from engineering, the humanities and the natural and social sciences to current environmental issues and policies.
The environmental studies minor and major will open a wide range of career options with corporations, consulting firms, conservation agencies, environmental research laboratories, government and community planning organizations and overseas non-governmental organizations.
Date posted: May 5, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on Sen. Dick Durbin shares his insights, opinions on environmental issues with NIU students
Forty-five years ago this year, NIU’s Department of History conferred its first doctoral degree.
Professor Anne Hanley, director of graduate studies, has led an effort by the department to mark the special occasion.
The department has invited its Ph.D. alumni to campus for events to commemorate the anniversary, including attending the Graduate School commencement ceremony at which the newest Ph.D. will be hooded and gathering for a reunion lunch for alumni, faculty and current Ph.D. students.
The history department also has established an impressive 45th anniversary website dedicated to its history of turning out scholars, most of whom went on to teach at universities nationwide. The site includes photos, a listing of all 121 Ph.D. recipients and alumni recollections of their NIU days.
NIU Today caught up with Hanley to ask her more about the commemoration.
NIU Today: Where did the idea for this commemoration come from?
Hanley: “Several threads came together last summer to create this idea. First, we periodically receive e-mails from alums telling us of promotions, moves and retirements, which we collect for our files. These usually make reference to a fond memory of a favorite professor. Second, I received an e-mail from one of our earliest Ph.D.s, Warren Billings, sending us the obituary of his Ph.D. adviser and one of the first professors in our Ph.D. program, Emory Evans. The obituary recounted the early history of the Ph.D. program. The third thread came last summer when updating and consolidating information on our Ph.D. graduates. I noticed that the first Ph.D. in history was conferred in 1966 and realized that 2011 marked the 45th anniversary of that event. All of these together formed the idea of commemorating this milestone. Early in the fall term I approached the department chair, Beatrix Hoffman, and Brad Bond, dean of the Graduate School, with the idea and received their full support.”
Among the 1966-67 Department of History faculty were (left to right) Jim Connors, Roland Ely, Reese Jenkins, Jerry Barrier and Stephen Foster.
NIU Today: Why the 45th anniversary?
Hanley: “The simplest answer is that once the idea formed in my mind I did not want to wait five years. Most of our early Ph.D.s are at or beyond retirement age. I wanted to reach out to them to gather their recollections and celebrate their careers right away. I also wanted to hold the commemoration reunion while they were still willing and able to travel. We are bringing two of our earliest alumni to campus to meet our faculty and Ph.D. students. Joseph McFadden, our second Ph.D., will attend the graduate commencement ceremony and a reunion lunch in May. Warren Billings, our third Ph.D., will come to campus in the fall term.”
NIU Today: Who was the first Ph.D.?
Hanley: “The first Ph.D. conferred by history—who was also the first Ph.D. conferred by the university [the first doctorate was in education]—was Charles William Olson. We searched for him via the Internet, contacted former faculty members and wrote to peers in his cohort at NIU, but did not find him. I am hopeful that he will hear about the commemoration and get in touch.”
NIU Today: How has the response been?
Hanley: “Wonderful. We have received written recollections and photos from many of our alumni, which we posted to the commemoration web page. Judy Hendrickson, the graduate program secretary who designed the commemoration page, scanned news stories and photos from department scrapbooks to post. The web page also has a list of all of our past Ph.D.s and biographies of many of our current Ph.D. students for our alumni to read. I have received emails from many alumni, students and faculty alike, saying they have enjoyed looking back and thinking about their time at NIU. We are going to gather all of this commemorative material into a digital album on CD that we will send to our alumni at the close of the year.”
NIU Today: What have you learned from planning this celebration?
Hanley: “There are two statistics that really stand out for me. The first is that 70 percent of our alumni hold or held faculty and administrative positions at institutions of higher education. That figure includes alumni for whom we have no career data, so it may be higher. The second is that our alumni have held positions at more than one hundred institutions of higher education in 25 states and the District of Colombia, and in seven countries abroad.”
NIU Today: What about the alumni that did not end up in a college or university?
Hanley: “Many of our alumni have had distinguished careers in think tanks, government agencies and historical archives and museums. These include the Asia Foundation, the Smithsonian, National Security Archive, National Education Association, several state archives and museums, with the Thomas Jefferson Papers project at Princeton University and with the papers of the Rockefeller Estate, and Myanmar Historical Commission. Others pursued careers in public administration, business, and secondary education.”
Date posted: May 5, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on History Department marks 45 years of Ph.D.s
It’s safe to say NIU students Adam Turchioe of Wheaton and Phillip Jagielo of Westmont are on cloud nine.
The pair of meteorology students landed internships with arguably the most respected weatherman in the business: Tom Skilling of WGN-TV, WGN Radio 720 and Chicago Tribune fame.
NIU interns Phillip Jagielo (left) and Adam Turchioe with WGN-TV’s Tom Skilling.
Turchioe, a junior, and Jagielo, a senior, have worked behind the scenes with Skilling twice a week for the past four months, helping WGN’s chief meteorologist as he tracked hailstorms, windstorms, driving rain and one of the worst blizzards in Chicago history.
“I was starstruck at first,” Turchioe says. “I’ve been watching him since I was 10 years old. But Tom is an extremely nice man, and you quickly get down to work.”
The NIU interns do fact checking, map making and climate research for Skilling, who shares with them his more than three decades of forecasting experience.
“He is a fount of knowledge, and just watching his process of creating a forecast is amazing,” Jagielo says. “He also is absolutely passionate about his work. He gets there at 10 in the morning and leaves at 1 a.m. That’s why he’s so good and so respected.”
Jagielo has looked up to Skilling for as long as he can remember. He even recalls writing to the weatherman for a fourth-grade project. Skilling wrote back, too.
Both NIU interns agree that Skilling’s personality is as warm in person as it is on camera.
“Tom always has a bright attitude and a positive outlook, and he’s extremely funny,” Turchioe says. “He also sings a lot. He’s not exactly the best singer, but he comes up with original songs. He jokes that his Christmas album will be coming out in stores this summer.”
NIU students have been interning with Skilling for the past dozen years or so, says NIU meteorology professor David Changnon, who first established NIU’s link with WGN-TV.
“We’re lucky to have Tom Skilling in our back yard,” says Changnon, who notes that NIU is the only university in northern Illinois that offers an undergraduate degree program in meteorology. NIU also has the oldest undergraduate program of its kind in Illinois and one of the largest undergraduate-only meteorology programs in North America.
At any one time, about 100 students are enrolled. About half do internships throughout the region, and a handful each year have the opportunity to work alongside Skilling.
“Tom has more irons in the fire than Quaker has oats,” Changnon says. “He is at the level of accomplishment where he doesn’t need to do these extra things, but he does.
“To be a broadcast meteorologist, you have to communicate with a vast number of people,” Changnon adds. “Tom is one of the best in the business at communicating in a lot of different and compelling ways about weather and climate.”
The students say they learn from Skilling’s vast experience.
“He uses his experience to build on his forecasts,” says Jagielo, who will graduate this month and hopes to work in operational forecasting or research. “You could just stand over his shoulder and learn something, but he talks you through what he’s doing and what he’s thinking.”
This semester has turned out to be quite the crash course in forecasting, as Chicago’s winter-to-spring weather went from one extreme to the next.
“To be there during the blizzard was a blast,” Turchioe says. “You could just feel the electricity in the air in the studio. The phone was ringing off the hook. Everyone was stopping by. The place was buzzing.”
It’s this real-world experience that proves invaluable.
“I want to go into a career in broadcasting,” Turchioe adds. “And I got to work with one of the best weather forecasters on one of the best programs in the country.”
by Tom Parisi
Date posted: May 5, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on Learning from the best
The Division of Public Administration at Northern Illinois University has long played a major role in advancing statewide and national good-government movements. Now it’s becoming a player on the global stage, with the latest development getting a boost from alumnus Obuya Bagaka.
In 2009, Bagaka earned his Ph.D. in political science at NIU, specializing in public administration and public policy. NIU’s Division of Public Administration produces one-third of Illinois city managers and is ranked as one of the very best programs in the country for city management and public finance.
Bagaka, however, is putting the expertise he gained at NIU to use in his homeland of Kenya, where he is working for the Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA).
The agency just last month inked a memorandum of understanding with the University of Nairobi to offer a master’s level program in public administration—the first of its kind in east central Africa.
“We are the pioneers in the region to create this,” said Bagaka, who will serve as coordinator of the program.
“I’m very proud to have undertaken my studies at NIU,” he said on a recent visit to campus. “When I first came here I didn’t realize how beneficial it would be to my home country. Now I can replicate some of the things I learned at NIU.”
NIU professor Kurt Thurmaier, director of the Division of Public Administration, is proud of his former student.
“Obuya’s principle task since graduating from NIU and returning to Kenya was to start a master of public administration program there,” Thurmaier said. “His work demonstrates the global reach of NIU, as well as the success of our international students.”
Thurmaier said Bagaka also is helping NIU explore a strategic relationship with the Kenya Institute of Administration and the University of Nairobi, with initial discussions involving faculty exchanges. Thurmaier will visit Kenya this summer to encourage more Kenyan doctoral students to attend NIU and to discuss the potential of having NIU faculty help teach and develop the Kenyan program.
One of the division’s strategic goals is to become a globally active program.
“We have already developed strategic partnerships with two universities in China and one in Taiwan, along with the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) in Thailand,” Thurmaier said. “We are working with NIDA to professionalize Thai local government management, and we are working on student exchange programs with the Chinese universities.”
The University of Nairobi master’s in public administration program will be based at KIA, which has a long tradition of training civil servants in public administration. Its first intake of 30 students in September will be fully sponsored by the government and is expected to include students from Southern Sudan, which is to become an independent country on July 1, 2011.
“The main goal of the new program is to improve the capacity of public service,” Bagaka explained, adding that the concept of public service is not ingrained in Africans as it is in the United States.
“Our training efforts will instill the concept of advancing the public interest, instead of self-interest,” he said.
After its citizens voted in favor of a new constitution in 2010, the Republic of Kenya now is transitioning toward a decentralized political system, placing new powers in the hands of county governments, which will have their own administrative staffs.
The new public administration program will train students who will work in public sector jobs and with non-governmental organizations.
“In some ways, the timing of this program is ideal because it will produce graduates who can manage newly empowered local governments as they develop their administrative structures,” Bagaka said.
“At NIU, many students work on the master’s degree in public administration while also working jobs. Our program mimics that,” he added. “We also are borrowing heavily from NIU regarding the notion of city management taking care of local affairs. We do have the equivalent of city managers in Kenya, but they don’t currently have professionalized training.”
Bagaka and Thurmaier also together run a month-long NIU Study Abroad program to Tanzania. About 10 students from NIU are participating in this year’s program, which will begin on June 23. Students will help finish building a dormitory for girls at a secondary school there while learning about non-governmental organizations in developing countries and about the government and politics of Tanzania and the East African Union.
Date posted: April 27, 2011 | Author: Thomas Parisi | Comments Off on NIU’s renowned public administration program stepping up its profile on world stage
