NIU Today

Course Transformation Project, in conjunction with Outreach, Engagement and Information Technologies Division, is inviting faculty members, departmental chairs and deans to upcoming talk by Diane M. Doberneck from Michigan State University (MSU) titled “Engaged Scholarship in Promotion and Tenure.” The talk will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 5, in the Sky...

Staci Hoste has been named director and general manager of Northern Public Radio, the five-station network owned and operated by NIU. Hoste served as interim director after the February 2012 death of her predecessor, the late Tim Emmons. When it became clear that Emmons would not survive his cancer, he worked closely with Hoste to craft...

Northern Illinois University and Waubonsee Community College have agreed to develop a process that will allow NIU students who transferred from Waubonsee without associate degrees to earn the two-year degree using credit from NIU courses. “We are launching a pilot project this fall that will help qualified NIU students earn an additional credential by transferring...

Diana Robinson has been named director of the NIU Center for Governmental Studies (CGS), a highly respected public policy, technical assistance and public service unit in the university. Robinson brings many years of experience in public policy analysis, economic development and workforce development to the position, including a decade of increasingly responsible positions at CGS....

Don’t roll up the red carpet; awards season isn’t over yet. In its Spring 2012 issue, Illinois Meetings + Events magazine has named NIU-Hoffman Estates the best conference venue in Illinois. The Best of 2011 winners were chosen by the magazine’s readers in a Reader’s Choice Awards poll. In 2011, NIU-Hoffman Estates hosted 334 meetings...

Lori Berkes-Nelson has been named executive director of the NIU-based Illinois Council on Economic Education, doing business as Econ Illinois. She replaces outgoing director Joanne Dempsey, who is retiring after leading the not-for-profit group for 17 years. “I’ll work to build on the successes Joanne has brought to the organization,” Berkes-Nelson said. “She should be...

An estimated 2,400 doctors are descending on cities around the world to talk about nothing short of the cure for cancer, and NIU Conference Services will be there to make sure their meetings run smoothly. Since 2008, NIU Conference Services has been the sole conference services management provider to the Kidney Cancer Association (KCA), a...

The NIU Professional HR Management Certification Programs have been recognized as one of the nation’s “Top 20” SHRM programs for the past five years. Recognition is based on enrollments and pass rates of course participants that successfully complete the rigorous professional examinations required for awarding the prestigious Professional Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional Human...

The Digital Convergence Lab and a team of NIU students, faculty and staff are preparing to unveil their newly developed video game, Picodroid. The game, developed for NIU STEM Outreach, was designed to teach basic concepts in chemistry and physics to middle and high school students. A by-invitation-only demonstration will be held today on campus....

As the last of STEMfest’s 4,000 participants trickled out of the Convocation Center Oct. 22, they were still buzzing with the day’s excitement. “The lasers are cool! The static electricity is cool!” one young girl chattered to her parents. She looked out over the festival floor’s hundreds of hands-on exhibits and threw out her arms...

The Great Recession of 2008 lingers on, with daily reminders that our economy is a fragile entity which we ignore at our own peril. Yet the study of economics and the basic principles of financial literacy remain on the periphery of public education at all levels. For 60 years, NIU-housed organization Econ Illinois has worked...

Anne Kaplan, vice president for Outreach, Engagement and Information Technologies, has called for nominations for the 2012 Presidential Engagement Professorships. “Three exemplary professors – Cliff Mirman, Susan Russell and Kenneth Thu – received the first annual Presidential Engagement Professorships from President Peters in 2011. We are expecting another strong pool of applicants for the 2012...