It is with heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of Donald E. Kieso, Ph.D., CPA, on Feb. 25, 2026, and we remember the profound and lasting impact he had on NIU students, particularly students in the College of Business. An NIU accountancy professor who retired from NIU in 1992 after more than 30 years...
The NIU community has come through in a big way over the past five years during the annual Huskies United Day of Giving, raising $15.2 million for significant programs and to aid students. This year, the Huskies United Day of Giving begins at noon on Wednesday, April 1, and ends at noon on Thursday, April 2. For...
Additional $1 million challenge grant will fortify the program for years to come NIU has received a $1.5 million grant from Mellon Foundation to support a new, multi-year internship program for humanities majors, significantly expanding paid experiential learning opportunities for students across the university. The grant will support the program over five years, from December...
Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University (EdSystems) has been awarded a $1.5 million grant by the Pathways Impact Fund, a national initiative of StriveTogether. EdSystems, which develops policies and practices that enhance college and career readiness in Illinois, plans to use the grant to increase the number of students earning Illinois’ College and Career...
How might right- and left-handedness — or pawedness — manifest in the movements of mice? Senior psychology major Kylie Little doesn’t graduate until May, but she’s already asking the questions of an academic scholar on the way to her dream of becoming a neuroscientist. Little’s latest capstone research project in December won an honorable mention...
Gareth Elkins, ’21, is currently a registered nurse working at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and this fall, he will enter a doctoral program at the clinic’s medical school. Elkins said his experience at NIU helped him prepare for his career and future goals. “My two main reasons for coming to NIU were because...
Are you a strategic thinker with a knack for solving problems? Are you hoping to gain skills in these game-changing areas before graduation? You won’t want to miss our three-day HAVI Hackathon, which will be held March 26-28, with final presentations April 8. All NIU undergraduate and graduate students from all majors are invited to...
Michele Herlein, ’89, M.A. ’90, has deep roots at NIU, and she brings the lessons and values from those years to her roles in the business world. Herlein is the chief people officer for Bridgestone West, where she “partners with leaders and teammates across the organization to strengthen culture, accelerate leadership development, and advance priorities...
Buki Fabusiwa, a second-year Ph.D. in Health Sciences student at Northern Illinois University, has been selected as a national awardee of the AIM-AHEAD All of Us Training Program. The highly competitive initiative is supported by the AIM-AHEAD Coordinating Center and is designed to expand national capacity in data science and precision health research through the...
The Huskie Academic Success Center (HASC) serves as NIU’s central hub for academic support to enhance student persistence, retention and achievement through collaborative programming, innovative services and equity-focused initiatives. Recent updates have increased the impact of this valuable resource for students. Beginning in fall 2025, Jennifer Salmon served as interim director of HASC and her...
NIU’s Center for Early Learning Funding Equity (CELFE) recently shared new findings from the Shortchanged Project, their 50-state analysis of public investment in early care and education. The newest report, published in December 2025, is titled Early Learning Shortchanged: Creating a Record of Public Investments in Early Care and Education. It uncovers $6.7 billion in...
For years, Katelyn Kaechele’s future after high school felt overwhelming. Then she spent a week living on a college campus. “I didn’t see her going away to college and living in a dorm right after high school,” her mom Jamie said. “The Huskies BELONG program helped us picture what could be possible.” Katelyn was among...
