John Newquist, an occupational safety and health instructor with NIU Continuing and Professional Education (CPE), wants people to know that amputations happen all too regularly due to workplace injuries, but they don’t have to. “The machine guarding standards from OSHA have been out for about fifty years, but we’re still seeing probably 5,000 amputations a...

While technical skills can be learned on the job, certain individual traits and interpersonal skills are essential for career growth. Teamwork, communication, accountability, critical thinking and problem-solving are a few of the 10 essential employability competencies identified by the state of Illinois in the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act. But how can these competencies be...

NIU alumna Pettee Guerrero is passionate about helping workers stay safe and healthy on the job. “We rely on workers to provide so much to our communities, to make possible the industries that fuel our economy in northern Illinois,” she says. “The workers are someone’s mother, father, child, husband or wife. They are all important...

Econ Illinois, a not-for-profit unit within the Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development at NIU and an affiliate of the Council for Economic Education, is excited to announce that Howard A. Tullman is the keynote guest speaker at the 11th annual American Dream Dinner on Thursday, May 17, in Chicago. Tullman is the former...

Clinical Assistant Professor Colleen Boraca  understands the importance of engaged learning. That’s why her colleagues from the College of Law nominated her to be recognized as an engaged learning exemplar for her outstanding commitment to engaged learning, teaching and scholarship. Boraca says engaged learning is important because it fosters student investment. “This investment inspires them to...

NIU’s STEM Read is taking advantage of a new partnership with WNIJ, northern Illinois’s public radio station, to share staff and faculty expertise through a new platform: the STEM Read podcast. The podcast, which debuted on Friday, Oct. 13, allows NIU faculty and staff to reach a wider audience of K-12 educators and librarians, as...

The NIU team that creates http://illinoisreportcard.com/ is celebrating national recognition for the online, interactive Illinois report card as one of the best in the nation. Education Commission of the States announced Thursday that the Illinois Report Card was the “only one in the nation to make the top picks for both parents and researchers, who...

Community members of all ages are invited to celebrate the Earth at the annual Green Lens Environmental Film Festival. The festival runs from Monday, Feb. 24, through Thursday, Feb. 27, at NIU and downtown DeKalb and offers film screenings, filmmaker presentations, kids’ crafts, panel discussions, an environmental art fair and other events to help people...

Channel your inner Ebert this winter by helping screen and select films for the Green Lens Environmental Film Festival. Green Lens is seeking volunteers to judge entries for best narrative short, documentary short and student film. To participate in the judging process, send an application inquiry and a short biography to [email protected] Community members, students...

Turn your trash into holiday treasures this season at one of the Green Lens Environmental Film Festival’s three upcycling craft parties. All are welcome to attend these fun, educational workshops at Tapa La Luna, 226 E. Lincoln Hwy., to participate in make-and-take craft activities. Organizers say the workshops will show people how to save money...

Northern Illinois University is among the inaugural 16 institutions nationwide designated as an “Innovation and Economic Prosperity University” by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). The designation, announced last week, acknowledges universities working with public and private sector partners in their states and regions to support economic development through innovation and entrepreneurship, technology...

Are you ready to embrace the challenges of leadership and change? For the ninth consecutive year, NIU’s Civic Leadership Academy (CLA) is offering timely, in-depth workshops for civic leaders like you who aren’t afraid to tackle the challenges of a changing government environment. More than 400 government professionals, staff members, elected officials, educators, state administrators...