In it's short run, this blog has given us a great chance to discover some of the interesting things our alumni are doing. This entry is especially exciting because of this alumnus' historical importance.
Napoleon Jones-Henderson, who pursued graduate studies at NIU in 1974, will be one of several artists featured on TV Land this month. The series of short pieces focus on AfriCOBRA, a group of African-American artists who worked to capture through their art the essence of African-American life during the 1960's.
Jones-Henderson is one of the longest-tenured members of the group and his art has taken him from Chicago to Paris to Baltimore as a student and teacher. He works in mixed-media and is a very active member of the East Cost fine art community.
"My work in its essence is spiritual; meaning-full," said Jones-Henderson in a press release about the series. "We must be about the business of expressing what is beautiful; ourselves."
To view some of his work
click here.
With hybrid cars traveling the roads, wind farms popping up just a few miles from campus and major corporations researching alternative fuels, there's no doubt that climate change and environmental concerns will continue to shape our world. NIU will now play a role in all of these new industries.
This fall, the university will debut a new minor in environmental studies and plans are underway to expand the program as a major in the fall of 2011.
"Students are very in tune with environmental issues, and there’s a tremendous interest in this growing field, which has fast become part of the new economy," said Melissa Lenczewski, a professor of geology and geosciences who is serving as interim director of environmental studies, in an NIU press release. "I'm constantly getting e-mails from students asking, ‘When can I major in this?'"
Nicole Spagnolo, who graduated NIU with a marketing degree in 2001, was featured on WGN Morning News earlier this week.
Spagnolo recently opened Collective Dance Studio in Riverpoint Plaza and was on the show to talk about what her new business offers. One of the interesting things about the studio is that they offer 2 in 1 classes so children can take a class while their mom dances in the studio next door.
We wish Nicole and all our Huskie business owners the best of luck!
Today's post is a quick video about one of the NIU Art Museum's new exhibits "Root Hog or Die."
The black and white woodprints are the work of two New York artists, under the guise of Cannonball Press, who have a southern, hillbilly sensibility to their art. One of the neatest things about the video and the exhibit is that students worked closely with the artists. They helped create pieces for the exhibit using the same techniques as the artists at Cannonball Press and had their work on display alongside the main exhibition.
It's an interesting video and a really cool exhibit.
Joseph Matty, executive director of the NIU Alumni Association, was featured recently on Comcast Newsmakers, a series that highlights local leaders and the programs they lead.
In the interview, Matty talks about the success of the True North campaign, which has raised more than $150 million for scholarships, infrastructure and programming. in the previous decade, NIU raised $35 million.
"It's a huge increase. We attribute that to our alumni base," he said. "They're getting more involved, more active."
Matty also talked about the growth of our association and how important our dedicated alumni are to Northern Illinois University.
There was a very interesting story in the Chicago Tribune recently about alumna Dorene Wiese, an American Indian, who is working to keep the Ojibwe language alive.
Wiese, who has a doctorate in education from NIU, has dedicated the last 30 years to studying her ancestors' language and the ways oral traditions and histories are passed down among generations. Besides the importance of a language's importance to its native speakers, Wiese told the Tribune that it's also an important part of understanding the culture and essence of that culture.
"But language is the thread that keeps culture together," Wiese told the Tribune. "Language is woven into our brains and psyches and memories. Today when we say the word "medicine" in English, we think Walgreens. But in Ojibwe, the word is "midewin" (pronounced ma-DAY-win), meaning 'from the earth.' It's the healing that takes place directly from mother earth.
"That seems like a minor detail, a definition of a word, but when you look at how it means that medicine isn't just something from a pill or a bottle but from a cornucopia of plants from the Creator, it makes a difference in the way you see it, feel it and remember it."
Wiese is now heading up the American Indian Association of Illinois and is working with Eastern Illinois University to write the language down so it can be preserved forever.
It's great to see our alumni working hard to make a difference in not only their professions but the world as well. It's an interesting article that you can read in full
here.
From the marine iguanas on Punta Espinosa to the markets in Otavalo to the giant Galapagos tortoises, the group of 36 NIU alumni and friends who traveled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands over our Holiday Break experienced an adventure of a lifetime.
The Alumni Association travel program began in Quito, Ecuador where we traveled through the Andes Mountains by train to the Top of the World museums at the Equator and visited the vibrant markets of Otavalo. Then a flight to the island of Baltra started us on our cruise around the Galapagos Islands. Each day we visited two different islands – each one like a different world. On those islands, sea lions, penguins, iguanas, blue footed boobies, lava fields, delicate Darwin finches and giant tortoises provided exciting and amazing sightseeing for us.
The best for me was the snorkeling off the side of a Zodiac along the rocky coastline of Santa Cruz Island. We saw sea lions with their pups, turtles, colorful fish, rays and even sharks! This trip was a bit more adventurous than our past couple Holiday break tours, but it certainly proved to be the trip of a lifetime for many and one we will never forget.
Check out our current travel program offerings here
The score of the International Bowl wasn't what Huskie fans were hoping for, but all the alumni who headed up to Toronto still had a lot of fun.
Many of the more than 1,500 Huskie fans who made the trip north of the border were in Toronto for New Years Eve. A short walk outside of the Sheraton Centre, the official NIU hotel, was the city's celebration that featured a band and fireworks.
On New Year's Day fans and alumni watched the NIU Huskie Marching Band take on South Florida University's band at the International Bowl's Battle of the Bands. Fans were invited onto the field to watch the performance and cheer on their school. Victor E. Huskie was busy taking photos with fans and the band had our Huskie faithful singing the fight song.
The next morning more than 250 Huskie fans and alumni came to our pregame reception, a big turnout and the crowd was buzzing in anticipation of the game. The pep band played and a tasty brunch buffet got everyone ready for the game. The location, Windows in the Rogers Centre, let the fans watch warmups and cheer on the Huskies even before kick-off.
At the game, the NIU side of the stadium was packed with thousands of Huskie fans during the game. Despite the score, our crowd stayed into the game until the end.
Here are some scenes from the International Bowl trip.
It was a great experience and next time we'll hopefully see an NIU win. Thank you to all of our alumni who made the trip to Toronto and attended our events!
Sorry for the delay in posts, many of the Alumni Association employees were at a conference so it's been a bit crazy here.
Despite some bad weather last week our Annual Holiday Reception turned out very well. The location, the University Club of Chicago, was amazing. There were more than a few comments that it looked like something out of Harry Potter. The food was amazing and everyone had a great time just chatting and mingling with their fellow alumni.
If you've never attended plan on making it next year!
It's old news for any alumni still in the Chicago area or Midwest, but campus received a thick blanket of snow last night. The National Weather Service said we received just over 4 inches of snow during a 24 hour period.
The one plus to all that snow is that campus now looks like the proverbial winter wonderland. It's no fun to walk in (especially if you're headed to a final like most of the students) but it does look nice. And best of all it gives us a chance to post some great winter photos of campus.
The photos came from Media Services. You can view the entire photo gallery of winter shots and more here. They have all sorts of great photos of campus and you can even order prints.