NIU Today

Our university community is one that celebrates diversity and fosters inclusion. We share, think and act locally to advance our greater society toward a safe and welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds, beliefs and experiences. Today at 5:30 p.m., we have the opportunity to put words into action at the third annual Unity March...

As the excitement and eventful days of a new academic year energize us, we continue our important work of Program Prioritization to align our mission with our resources to ensure a vibrant future for NIU. While many conversations are ongoing, and critical decisions are still forthcoming, I’m pleased with the progress as we move forward....

Student Career Success – our keystone goal at NIU – is one of my favorite topics for a good reason. Those three words reflect the transformative power of higher education to equip and elevate dreamers and doers into the places where they can make profound marks on the world. They reinforce our mission and remind...

When DeKalb Mayor John Rey and I first shook hands April 2, 2013, it became clear that he and I shared a common and urgent goal: to knock down the silos between NIU and the City of DeKalb. We want a great place to live and work. We want our teaching and research to boost...

With the arrival of warmer and momentarily quieter days on campus comes the opportunity to reflect on a year of outstanding research, scholarship and artistry at NIU. The accomplishments of our faculty members resonate across the country and around the world, highlighting NIU’s strengths as an engaged, research-intensive institution. Stories that illuminate just some of...

Commencement is an extraordinary time. The thinkers and doers of tomorrow are opening wide the doors to new and exciting chapters of life. They are eager and hungry for the opportunities and challenges that await, and, as members of the university community that nurtured them, we should feel empowered by their enthusiastic appetites for what...

I was joined by little white dogs in a pink-bedazzled stroller, superheroes of all sizes on skates and a big, blue creature of some sort. These were among the many wondrous sights that trailed me and my motorcycle from downtown DeKalb to our campus one warm and sunny Saturday afternoon last May. It was colorful....

In the classic and beloved television cartoon, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” Charlie Brown’s friend, Linus, speaks far beyond his years. “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people,” Linus tells his sister, Lucy. “Religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.” Life is not TV, however. Honest dialogue on topics that...

One of the phenomenal benefits and results of an NIU education – of what some call “the NIU experience” – is the well-rounded preparation we offer for life itself. Students here learn more than what they need to excel in their chosen professions. They gain an understanding of the mutual benefits of mentoring; of the...

One of the hallmarks of higher education is the incredible immersion it provides students from different backgrounds and walks of life into a sea of rich and diverse perspectives. Young and old scholars from small towns, suburban villages and urban cities from across our nation, and from countries far beyond our borders, all come here...

Politics basked in the spotlight Tuesday – Super Tuesday – as the seven candidates vying to occupy the Oval Office for the next four years gained some clarity of where their efforts stand. Amid the stump speeches and the victory speeches, however, one message communicated Tuesday voiced not only genuine optimism for tomorrow but also...

Following nearly nine months without a state budget, it’s understandable that the political standstill in Springfield continues to weigh heavily on the hearts and minds of our university community. We’ve seen that on the faces of our students, including Briana Smith, who joined me on the stage last week during our Unity Rally for a...