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...
When Nora (Balayti) Reuter was working shifts as a bartender at Murphy’s Bleachers, the popular sports bar located just steps from the bleacher entrance of beautiful and historic Wrigley Field, little did she know that she was also doing prep work for a future book project. Reuter, a 2006 graduate of NIU with a bachelor...
Dr. Kerry Freedman, professor of art and design education in the NIU School of Art and Design is the 2026 recipient of the National Art Education Association’s Eisner Lifetime Achievement Award. Freedman has previously been honored by the NAEA with the National Higher Education Art Educator Award (2006), the Manuel Barkan Memorial Award (2012) and...
“Northern Illinois University, in partnership with Braven, helped prepare me for real-world success.” Kailah Stewart graduated from NIU in May 2024 with a communication studies degree and an emphasis on media studies. Stewart currently works as a public relations assistant for Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Stewart says, taking the UNIV 301: Braven Leadership and Career...
TJ Schoonover and Kimberly Hart The 20th cohort of NIU’s School Counselor Institute (SCI) will finish this spring. Launched in 2005, the program enables licensed clinical mental health counselors to earn their Illinois Professional Educator Licenses and School Counseling endorsements without pursuing a second master’s degree. Students complete their coursework in one calendar year of...
All are invited to attend a special presentation, “How Quantum is Changing Jobs, Industries, and Opportunities” on Thursday, February 12 from 2-3 pm in Altgeld Hall Auditorium featuring Quantum expert attorneys Robert Karr and Martin Montes, who are Partners at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Quantum Technology Industry Group Co-Chairs, and authors of the Quantum Law...
A history major with plans to teach is spending his final year at Northern Illinois University on an educational project to elevate Latinos’ statewide contributions into public memory. Eddie Guerrero, who is earning his secondary educator licensure, was inspired to start the work during a summer internship with the Illinois State Historical Society, funded by...
NIU provides all current students, faculty and staff with free access to the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite, an invaluable resource offering industry-standard tools for design, marketing and digital media. Launched in fall 2025, a new student-led initiative is helping NIU students fully leverage this asset while building creative confidence and career-ready skills. The NIU...
Meaningful engagement with its region is a defining characteristic of NIU, and the university has once again won national recognition of the excellence of this part of its mission. Northern Illinois University has been reclassified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a Community-Engaged Institution. This classification, bestowed on only 277 universities...
The NIU College of Business will host an AI conference – “Educating the AI-Ready Graduate: An Industry Perspective” – at Barsema Hall Friday, Feb. 13. This event is open to all NIU faculty, staff and students who would like to hear from industry leaders about preparing students to succeed in today’s workplace. The event will...
Many teachers talk of playing school in their childhood basements as kids. Dana Freedlund did that, too. A chalkboard. A magnetic board. Desks. Worksheets that she handed out to her friends. She had it all. That’s not what drove her to a career in the classroom, however, or how she knew from a young age...
