NIU Today

WNIJ received several top broadcasting awards from the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA) during the association’s fall convention on Oct. 8, 2022, including Second Place in the Best Station category. The station is part of Northern Public Radio – the broadcasting arm of Northern Illinois University – and is housed in the Division of Outreach,...

For the first time, any NIU student gamer can apply for a scholarship in fall 2022, thanks to the generosity of Dr. Levi Harrison. Known as “the esports doctor,” Dr. Harrison is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the treatment of hand, arm and shoulder injuries. He’s also an avid video game player, mental health...

Northern Public Radio – the broadcast arm of NIU – is increasing coverage of agriculture, water and environmental issues with a new Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. The coverage will look at climate change and environmental issues through a local lens and will be aired on WNIJ 89.5, online at wnij.org and through...

When Chad Glover helped Northern Illinois University create the 40TUDE student consulting teams, he believed that they could achieve the twin goals of giving students real-world experience while providing a service to the community. Now, as community coordinator of Opportunity DeKalb, he is seeing that vision come to fruition. Opportunity DeKalb is a nonprofit community...

A logistical problem for the NIU Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) turned into a valuable partnership with the University Libraries that will preserve CGS documents and make them more readily accessible to readers around the world. The NIU Libraries’ Huskie Commons – a digital repository to collect, preserve, and provide access to the scholarly and...

It would be inaccurate to call a fast-growing group like NIU Esports one of the best-kept secrets on campus. But for those not in the know, finding the group’s home base on the lower level of Neptune North was no easy feat. That problem was solved March 2 with the official opening of the team’s...

A partnership between the P-20 Center, in the NIU Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development, and the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences improves math and science education by bringing food into the classroom. When NIU Professor of Health and Human Sciences Melani Duffrin began FoodMASTER as part of her Ph.D. research in...

When NIU STEM Café coordinator Judith Dymond met filmmaker Michael Lahey, a seed of an idea took root, one that’s culminating in this month’s STEM Café on the art and science of candy making. Lahey, who earned his Master of Arts in English from NIU, is the maker of the documentary Shelf Life: The Story...

We often think of art and science as very different processes. But for NIU art education faculty member Kelly Gross and artist, STEAM teacher and NIU alumnus Jolien Genus, art and science share the same processes of investigation, research and relationship-building. At the next STEM Café, these two artists and educators will present “Artistic Process...

This past month, The Education Trust, a national nonprofit that works to close opportunity gaps in preschool through college, released a report about the quality of school funding data provided by all 50 states. Illinois was the only state to earn a perfect score for providing clear, comprehensive, and easily accessible data about K-12 school...

Outreach and engagement come naturally to Rena Cotsones, M.P.A. ’04, Ph.D. ’13. Growing up in Kankakee, Illinois, Cotsones’ dad was a Greek immigrant and owned a restaurant, which served as a local gathering spot for lots of different kinds of people. “My dad loved nothing more than connecting people for employment, supporting fellow small business...

STEM Fest is back in person on Oct. 23, with interactive learning fun for all ages. NIU STEM Fest started more than a decade ago as a festival to celebrate innovations in science, technology, engineering and math. The free annual event has now become a family tradition that welcomes visitors of all ages to hear...