Hollie Rodriguez knows the important role a mentor can play in a student’s educational experience. “I had a handful of informal mentors from all over campus,” said Rodriguez, who graduated from NIU in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in English. “Mentors in Career Services, from my major program, and even my work-study job made a...

Report includes economic impact of the nonprofit sector, impact of COVID-19 DeKalb County has a robust nonprofit sector employing seven percent of the total workforce. Yet, COVID-19 has had a noticeable financial impact with nearly 82 percent saying they have had to cancel fundraising events due to the pandemic. A new study explores nonprofit organizations...

Four-one-hundred-thousandths of a second. That’s the daily rate of progress sprinter Usain Bolt made between the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games in improving his already-record-setting time. Not much, P.J. Fleck told his online audience March 3 during his Spring 2021 Educator in Residence keynote address. But those minuscule and gradual gains paid off for Bolt in a huge way, the...

Undergraduate Research and Artistry Day (URAD) and the Community Engagement Showcase (CES) will be hosted online from April 19-23, 2021.  The four-day event is also undergoing a change in name and will be known as the Conference on Undergraduate Research & Engagement (CURE) moving forward. “This new title offers more clarity and simplifies logistics and...

NIU is proud to have a second cohort of faculty members completing the Association of College and University Educators’ (ACUE) certification on effective teaching practices. NIU launched a partnership with ACUE in summer 2020 to support innovative pedagogy, allowing NIU faculty a new opportunity to explore and implement research-based approaches to teaching designed to improve...

We know that getting a high-quality education is one of the best ways to improve one’s life by nearly every measure. Those with college degrees earn more money, have greater job security, volunteer more, donate more to charities and vote more regularly. However, policy makers, educators and families often struggle to make sense of the...

Assistant Professor Stanislav Baturin, Ph.D. has the rare opportunity to bridge the science of physics and engineering through a unique transdisciplinary faculty affiliation with NIU’s Department of Physics and Department of Electrical Engineering. Originally from Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, he obtained a Ph.D. in theoretical and mathematical physics, an M.S. and B.S. in quantum electrodynamics of atomic systems from St. Petersburg...

DREAM Action NIU and the Office for Undocumented Student Support will host the annual Undocumented Ally Training on Tuesday, March 23, from 9 a.m. to noon via Zoom. This training is for NIU faculty, staff and those who wish to become allies to undocumented students. This training focuses on how to assist, support and welcome cultural and...

Christen Young’s recipe is simple. Take a team of talented students and a creative menu, add the freshest ingredients along with thoughtful presentation, and offer it to campus diners at a fair price. “I have really enjoyed all of the meals so far,” said Young, who plans to graduate in May with a degree in...

Wind flows a lot like water, according to NIU Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Nicholas Pohlman. “The same fluid mechanics applies to hydro power that has been used since the 18th century, just with a lower density, intermittently available resource,” he says. In other words, harnessing the kinetic energy of wind to create electricity relies...

The final installment of NIU’s 125 Key Moments project has been released, bringing the university’s history up to the present day. Chapter 12 includes celebrations of faculty excellence, prestigious national awards, an appearance in a major football bowl game, plans for a new research center and two new presidents, among other important developments. It also...

For Jermaine Stegall, composing the music for the long-awaited sequel to the Eddie Murphy hit movie “Coming To America” came with a set of challenges, seen and unforeseen, but the final product reflects a film where music is as much of a character as any of the recognizable faces on the screen. Stegall is a...