NIU Today

Andria Williams stepped behind the podium, smiled and raised a victorious fist in the air. “We did it, y’all!” The new graduate of the NIU College of Education’s LEAP (Licensed Educator Accelerated Pathway) program with the Rockford Public Schools served as the keynote speaker for the Dec. 11 completion ceremony at the NIU Rockford center....

NIU graduate students no longer must figuratively “shoot for the stars.” Thanks to a new partnership with NASA, they’ll be working with the people who help rockets get there. Beginning last spring and continuing through the spring 2026 semester, our College of Business has been collaborating with the Office of Technology Integration and Partnerships of...

A month ago, when he was inducted into NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology’s inaugural Hall of Fame class, Joe Sener needed to walk only a few steps to be at the ceremony. That’s because he had already arranged to travel from his home in Galena to be a guest speaker earlier in the...

Northern Illinois University is serving as the host institution for the 2025 ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL 2025), which will take place online from December 15 to 19, 2025. JCDL is a premier international conference on digital libraries and digital knowledge infrastructure, jointly sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, ACM SIGIR, and ACM...

One research presentation title captured the spirit of this fall’s Treinta y Tres Conference at Northern Illinois University: “Compartiendo nuestros papelitos guardados.” Or, “sharing our saved notes.” “I like to look at this as every note that we put in our pocket is a memory or experience we have,” said Yaniz Rodríguez, a graduate student...

Nearly 700 undergraduate students and more than 400 graduate students participated in commencement ceremonies December 13 and December 14 at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, to the delight of their families, friends and supporters. The commencement ceremonies featured videos with stories of graduating Huskies, plus the sounds of the talented NIU Steelband. Prior to the...

Last month, the NIU Department of Accountancy hosted 18 Elgin Community College (ECC) students, as well as eight NIU accountancy students, at its Plante Moran Accounting Case Competition. The competition was hosted in Barsema Hall’s De La Vega Innovation Lab, allowing students a comfortable and collaborative home base. During the event, the students were asked...

University partners in $125 million U.S. Department of Energy collaboration NIU’s drive to advance quantum-related research just took a major leap forward. The university has joined a select group of institutions advancing the frontiers of quantum information science through its new partnership in the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center, led by Fermi National...

A new study by NIU researchers shows that Americans’ real-world access to hospitals differs sharply from what traditional models have long suggested. The research, led by Yaxiong (Eric) Shao, a research associate of NIU’s Center for Government Studies, and Distinguished Research Professor Wei Luo, has been published in the high-impact journal Computers, Environment and Urban...

As part of International Education Week in November, NIU presented awards to four individuals and one department, recognizing outstanding contributions to international education. Congratulations to the following: Center for Burma Studies, Outstanding Department Contribution to International Education Chih-Chen Lee, Outstanding International Educator Chynar Amanova, Outstanding Staff Contribution to International Education Aline Niyogusenga, Outstanding Student Contribution...

In today’s complex business environment, understanding the legal landscape isn’t just a bonus, but a necessity. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, manager, compliance officer, or recent graduate, legal literacy can give you the edge to protect your interests, avoid costly mistakes, and lead with confidence. That’s where our Law of Business Practices Certificate comes in. Developed...

NIU professor Bethany Cockburn’s recent paper in Academy of Management Journal deconstructs the vocation of professional Santas. Santa Claus might appear to be the quintessential seasonal worker, starting after Black Friday and ending on Christmas Eve. Yet the Academy of Management Journal finds that for many, it is more than a job — it is...