NIU Today

NIU’s Gender & Sexuality Resource Center is planning several events in October to celebrate LGBTQIA History Month. For more information about any event, call (815) 753-4772 or email gsrc@niu.edu. Whose Story? The Impact of Privilege in Queer History Wednesday, Oct. 7 Join the GSRC and special guests to discuss what is known about the modern...

It’s been a little over a month since Vernese Edghill-Walden joined Northern Illinois University as the first chief diversity officer and senior associate vice president for academic diversity. As the former provost and chief academic officer of the City Colleges of Chicago, Edghill-Walden has a wealth of higher education experience and is a recognized leader...

“Celebrating our Diverse Community” will be the theme for the second annual Unity Walk, which begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. Members of the NIU and DeKalb communities will walk together and celebrate their shared opportunity to live, grow and learn next to one another. DeKalb Mayor John Rey, Pastor Janet Hunt, NIU Provost...

In response to several national incidents and growing concerns about the treatment of individuals from marginalized communities, the Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (formerly the Unity in Diversity Committee) will launch a campaign this year called “Use Your Voice.” A series of events will provide platforms for students to share their stories and...

Latin culture is imbued with passion and expressed through art, dance, music and literary contributions, and NIU is going to celebrate all of it with ongoing fun and inspiring events throughout the next month. NIU’s Latino Heritage Month provides a firsthand look at Latin culture and its influence on the United States and American society....

In her new book, NIU professor Amanda Littauer tells the history of young women who stood at the center of major cultural change and helped transform a society bound by conservative sexual morality into one more open to individualism, plurality and pleasure in modern sexual life. Littauer will deliver a talk on the book –...

Northern Illinois University announced the selection of Vernese Edghill-Walden, current City Colleges of Chicago provost and chief academic officer, as the senior associate vice president for academic diversity and chief diversity officer. Edghill-Walden is the first to hold this position, which reports to both the president and the executive vice president and provost and is...

On Sunday, May 3, the Latino Resource Center hosted the third annual Latino Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2015. Thirty-six Latino-descendant students were recognized. Together with family, friends, and Northern Illinois University advisers and faculty, about 100 people celebrated the students’ achieving the goal of a college degree. Introducing the event were Katrina Caldwell,...

NIU’s Health Services recently engaged in additional training to ensure that staff are best-in-class and sensitive to the needs of NIU’s diverse population. Health Services staff received training on sensitivity for LGBTQ student needs at their spring staff development meeting. “NIU Health Services strives to provide quality care to LGBTQ students on campus through staff...

Open forums begin Thursday, April 30, for the four contenders for the job of senior associate vice president for Academic Diversity and chief diversity officer at NIU. The successful candidate will become responsible for leading and coordinating efforts to help members of NIU’s diverse community feel connected to NIU and the surrounding DeKalb community and...

NIU’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities (PCSM) has selected students Sandra Gonzalez and Sara Briseño and Karen Baker, associate vice president of Administration and Human Resources, as the recipients of this year’s Deacon Davis Diversity Award. Named in honor of Deacon Davis, founder and former director of the CHANCE (Counseling Help & Assistance...

NIU’s Center for Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources along with the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, and the Student Association invite students, faculty, and staff to attend the AADR Spring 2015 Conference, “The NIU Experience: A Journey of Discovery into Affirmative Action, Diversity & Equal Opportunity.” The conference will be held from...