Patrick McMillion Christmas has come early for Patrick McMillion. The instructor in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education is celebrating the October debut of a Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist (CCAT) credential now being offered by the Association for Experiential Education. McMillion served as a catalyst for, and co-leader of, the committee charged with the development of those agreed-upon standards and...

More than ever before, healthcare and manufacturing workers are putting in long work shifts causing fatigue, and physical and mental strain. Technology exists in the form of a wearable device that can help ease their physical strain when the worker is fatigued and can engage with the worker’s body to enhance their strength, when lifting...

Mary Holland, a 2007 BFA graduate of the NIU School of Theatre and Dance is the co-writer and co-star of Hulu’s acclaimed new holiday movie, Happiest Season. Holland co-wrote the romantic comedy with Clea DuVall, whom she starred with on HBO’s Veep, and the film also stars Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Dan Levy, Mary Steenburgen, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, and Victor...

Humans react and respond to non-verbal cues, such as when a person looks up others around will look up, too. Understanding these kinds of non-verbal cues could be the key to making robots more useful to humans. Researchers at NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology are working to make swarms of robots more effective in helping...

David Benson Families in the 15,000-student Thompson School District of Loveland, Colorado, were offered an intriguing and innovative option this fall as the COVID-19 pandemic barreled into another semester. Called Thompson Connect Online (TCO), it’s a completely virtual “school” created solely to enroll the 1,800 kindergartners through high school seniors who chose to learn exclusively from their home computers....

In June of this year, the MAC announced the creation of an independent esports conference – the Esports Collegiate Conference (ESC) – to facilitate and foster high-quality competition among college esports teams. With a history of competitive club esports, NIU was a natural fit as one of the founding members of the conference, which now...

Jayla Hill wants to “burn down higher ed as it stands, and rebuild it” after she graduates from Northern Illinois University in May 2021. “I’m not quite sure how to do that yet, but it really is my ultimate goal,” said Hill, a second-year, 4.0 student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs M.S.Ed. program....

There is strength in numbers, and the Northern Illinois University community has never felt it more profoundly. From Nov. 18-20, NIU alumni, students, faculty and staff, and friends of the University came together to celebrate the positive contributions Huskies are making each day. “Thousands Strong,” which borrowed its name from a famous line of “Hail...

NIU claims first MAC cross country crown in program history A year after narrowly missing out on winning the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championship, the Northern Illinois University cross country team came out on the winning end of a tight finish at the conference championship, edging Toledo by three points to win the 2020 MAC...

Katy Newton is on a mission to help others lead a healthy life, and she is not letting COVID-19 get in the way. The NIU public health major is one of several student interns working – albeit virtually – to make a difference in the community. “I am working to promote good nutrition in the...

Few freshmen take on an academic research study, on top of a full class load, at the start of their university journey. Even fewer collaborate with a highly respected faculty member in one of the most well-known academic programs in the state and beyond. Then only in rare instances does the experience vault the research...

Earning accolades, NIU continues to be a leader in the area of equitable access for students from diverse backgrounds. University leaders, including NIU President Lisa Freeman, recently joined representatives from 28 community colleges and universities throughout Illinois at a 2020 Virtual Fall Summit hosted by the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative. Themed “Engaging Faculty Champions...