NIU Today

Several NIU faculty members are among educators from the United States currently participating in a workshop for U.S. and Indonesian educators and administrators as part of the U.S.-Indonesia Partnership Program (USIPP). The workshop, which began Monday and ends today, is being held at Gadjah Mada University to develop new research partnerships, explore potential areas of...

Members of the NIU community have a long tradition of participation in a variety of international activities. We have every reason to be proud of the accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students in the global arena. However, to remain competitive as an institution with an international scope, we must build on synergies at NIU and with our international partners. We want...

“Global Communiversity” is the focus of this year’s International Education Week on campus, which begins Monday, Nov. 11, and runs through Friday, Nov. 15. Sponsored by the Division of International Programs, the goal of the week of special activities is to draw attention to NIU’s increasing global profile, said Deborah Pierce, associate vice president for International Affairs....

NIU has placed 57th on a newly created Washington Monthly list: “America’s Best-Bang-for-the-Buck Colleges.” The honor is “pretty exclusive,” the magazine editors write. “Out of the 1,572 colleges and universities in our broader rankings, only 349 made the cut as best-bang-for-the-buck schools.” Colleges ranked must meet four criteria: At least 20 percent of their students...

Results from NIU’s Fall 2012 Transfer Student Survey show that approximately 90 percent of NIU on-campus transfer students found the process of transferring to NIU to be “manageable,” “easy” or “very easy.” The majority of transfer students also reported that they were “well prepared” or “extremely well prepared” by their community college to transition to...

To meet the needs of a 21st century university education, Provost Raymond Alden has established a committee to begin the process of revising NIU’s General Education Program. Named the General Education Visioning Task Force, the group is comprised of faculty, staff and students who will provide the leadership necessary to critically re-evaluate current general education...

Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in their academic and humanitarian pursuits have been chosen to receive the 2013 Forward, Together Forward Scholarships. The recipients – Taylor Bogan, Caitlin Cavannaugh, Guadalupe Lopez, Sarah Pollack and Evan Wittke – each will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2013-14 academic year. “As educators, we are...

When it comes to ranking colleges, academic excellence is important, but is hardly the only measure that matters. So say the publishers of Washington Monthly’s College Guide and Rankings. They choose to rank colleges not solely upon how well they educate students, but rather upon how well they serve society. NIU ranked 143rd – with...

Executive Vice President and Provost Ray Alden has issued the 2012-2013 call for nominations for the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees Professorships. The professorships were established in 2007 by President John G. Peters and the Board of Trustees to recognize those tenured professors who: have achieved a consistent record of excellence in teaching, scholarship...

Derryl Block is the new dean of the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences, approved this morning by a vote of the university’s Board of Trustees. Since 2009, Block has been chair of the Professional Program in Nursing and director of BSN-LINC, an online RN-to-BSN program at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She joined...

Like most universities, Northern Illinois University is a hub for research and discovery. Unlike at many other schools, however, NIU undergraduates get in on the action. On Tuesday, April 24, more than 200 of those students will show off projects ranging from research aimed at curing cancer to creating greater understanding of cyber-bullying to work...

In Springfield … Friday, March 9, was the deadline to get substantive bills reported out of committees in the chamber of origin, so it was a very busy week. On March 6, House Bill 5745, sponsored by Rep. Brandon Phelps, passed out of the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee. This bill would allow for concealed-carry in...