Alyssa Harris Alyssa Harris, Ph.D. in Health Sciences candidate at Northern Illinois University, was the lead author of “Facility-Based Uptake of Colorectal Cancer Screening in 45- to 49-Year-Olds After US Guideline Changes.” The study, which included NIU Professor M. Courtney Hughes as senior author, was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association...
Six doctoral students from NIU’s Department of Computer Science recently joined researchers from across the Midwest to explore emerging ideas in artificial intelligence and gain new perspectives on their work. The students took part in Midwest Speech and Language Days 2026 (MSLD 2026), a regional conference focused on speech, language and conversational AI technologies. Held...
Rockford RISE has graduated 18 new teachers. Launched in 2024, the “Rockford Inspiring School and Community Excellence” initiative to turn Rockford Public Schoolsparaprofessionals into licensed teachers is the result of a grant from Grow Your Own Illinois, a long-time nonprofit organization that supports the development of teacher pathways in communities across Illinois. NIU applied for...
Thanks to a partnership with WNIJ 89.5, eighth-grade language arts students at Rockford’s Kennedy Middle School turned classroom lessons into hands-on media experience. Guided by experienced WNIJ reporters, the students practiced interviewing, active listening and audio production. They put their language arts skills into action with real-world audiences and, in the process, developed empathy, self-awareness,...
Emma Hastings When Emma Hastings arrived in Richmond, Virginia, for the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR), she expected to present her findings alongside hundreds of undergraduate scholars from across the country. What she didn’t expect was students from other universities showing up specifically to hear her speak. “That kind of energy and support is...
Navigating college as a first-generation student comes with unique challenges, but it can also lead to powerful growth, resilience and purpose. For Ian Rabanal, his journey at NIU’s College of Business was not defined by having all the answers but by his willingness to figure things out along the way. He learned to navigate academics, involvement...
The SPS Awards Committee recently honored the recipients of this year’s certificates, SPS Awards and SPS Dependent Scholarship. 2026 Certificate Recipients: Jessica Madrigal, Human Patient Simulation Coordinator, School of Nursing, presented at Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation 2026 in Las Vegas, NV, in January 2026. Her session, titled Integrating Tanner’s Model with Neuro-Based...
Skye McCord remembers becoming fascinated by archaeology by watching as many documentaries and PBS Nova episodes on the subject as possible as a kid growing up in Crystal Lake, Illinois. They joke that it felt natural because they have “nerdy” parents who encouraged them to follow their interests wherever those interests led. When McCord couldn’t...
Representative Lauren Underwood (IL-14), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, secured $850,000 in Community Project Funding to support updates to childcare spaces and career training at Northern Illinois University. Rep. Underwood met with campus leaders on May 6 to discuss the Education for Parents Project, tour the Child Development and Family Center and classrooms...
Representatives from NIU, Nicor Gas and Trane Technologies gather to celebrate $311,000 in energy rebates and incentives, recognizing NIU’s campus-wide sustainability efforts and ongoing partnership to drive efficiency, cost savings and emissions reduction. (Photo: NIU Foundation) Northern Illinois University’s push toward a more sustainable future reached a visible milestone this month, when Nicor Gas presented...
In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 40% of high school students had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 20% seriously considered attempting suicide and 9% attempted suicide. Yet, the American School Counselor Association reported that the K-12 student-to-school counselor ratio across the nation was far below recommendations. Students are facing a mental...
When Rena Cotsones came to NIU in 1999 to establish the university’s first Office of Community Relations, little did she know she would go on to earn her master’s and doctoral degrees and help build NIU’s Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development (OERD) into a force for good in the region and beyond. Over...
