NIU Today

Members of the NIU campus community gathered April 19 to witness more than 200 undergraduate research, artistry and community engagement presentations by student leaders and scholars from a variety of disciplines. With more than 900 people in attendance, the seventh annual Undergraduate Research and Artistry Day and the third annual Community Engagement Showcase became not...

NIU freshman Jenée Carlson has been honored among the 2016 class of Newman Civic Fellows. Carlson, who is a business major and NIU Research Rookie, is making an immediate and powerful impact on campus thank to her passion to improve the food security in her hometown and university community. “I chose to major in business...

For some, the recent holiday season invokes memories of food overflowing on dining room tables. But for many on college campuses across the country, an abundance of food is far from the reality. Several national media outlets – the Atlantic, the New York Times and Rolling Stone, among others – recently carried stories about hidden...

Preparing students well for success in their education and in their careers is a significant challenge in difficult times. NIU’s Dennis Barsema will join leaders and policy makers from universities, community colleges and industry for “From Classroom to Career: Collaborating for Student Success,” a half-day symposium with students and parents. Together, these 18 leaders will...

When Rachel McBride transferred to NIU as an underclassman in 2011 to study nutrition, she unwittingly opened the door to a world of new and unexpected learning opportunities. As an undergraduate in the College of Health and Human Sciences, she studied abroad in Tanzania where she assessed student nutrition needs. This past December, as a...

Three Northern Illinois University alumni plan to bring The DogHouse to campus to provide convenient meals while giving students an opportunity to work and learn on the job. Co-founders Jordan Delegal, Keith Otis and Elliot Echols of Hungry Huskies Inc. are working with the university to roll out the first food truck business on campus....

A cell phone application proposed by a team of NIU students might someday make working and living in war-torn countries a little bit safer. The four-student team, operating under the name Vitalert, won the NIU College of Business’ second Social Innovation Competition. The class challenges teams of students to create a business plan for a...

During the fall of 2012, University Honors students Melissa Welsh, Erica Cogswell and Isabelle Bourgeois traveled to Mexico as a part of their Management 411 class. Their instructor, Dennis Barsema, helped students develop an understanding of the basics of microfinance through various interactive activities, engaging case studies and colorful discussions. These discussions helped prepare the...

Northern Illinois University’s Team Light Up Africa has been named a finalist for the Tomberg Prize in Environmental Sustainability in the Dell Social Innovation Challenge. DSIC connects university students to the people, tools and opportunities they need to change the world. The challenge is part competition and part community. Students compete for cash prizes to...

Team Light Up Africa is a step closer to its goal of providing cheap, affordable electricity to the developing world. Their portable generator/energy storage device, the Zoom Box, was selected as one of 200 semifinalist in the Dell Social Innovation Challenge. The competition drew more than 1,700 submissions. NIU’s four students are hoping to launch...

The University Honors Program and the University Honors Committee welcome nominations for the University Honors Great Professor Award, a campus-wide award recognizing excellence in honors education. The deadline for completed nomination packages is March 19, 2012. The award will be presented Sunday, April 22, by President John Peters at Honors Day. The Great Professor Award...

Armed with a business plan that could provide inexpensive electrical power to families across the developing world, Team Light Up Africa took top honors in the first ever Social Venture Business Plan Competition at Northern Illinois University. Their ambitious plan to build and sell small generator/battery storage units – which can be powered by the...