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What a week! �ڰ������� handed out five major awards, accomplished the Goodwin Gift Challenge goal, earned a major federal grant and saw one of its professors draw national recognition from NBC News for his work with future education leaders. Read all about those stories and more in this week’s edition of Noteworthy at �ڰ�������.

Around the Commons

NEIU Weekend rewind

An estimated 1,000 people participated in NEIU Weekend, which started with Fall Fest and ended with a triumphant Golden Gala. Here are a few of the highlights:

• �ڰ������� honored Alice McGee (B.A. ’84 Speech), who helped found Oprah’s Book Club, with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest honor the University bestows upon alumni. As is tradition for winners of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, McGee will deliver remarks to the graduates during Commencement in December. at the Golden Gala Alumni Awards.
• With the help of a $10,000 pledge from Professor Emerita Jacqueline Krump, of the Goodwin Gift Challenge during the Golden Gala Alumni Awards. Those philanthropic donations will be matched by Daniel L. Goodwin for a total contribution of $1 million to the NEIU Foundation.
• Also during the Golden Gala Alumni Awards, Music Instructor Sasha Gerritson and her husband, Eugene Jarvis, announced they will make a gift of $150,000 for Music scholarships. (Stay tuned for more on Gerritson’s generosity to �ڰ������� in future weeks.)

McNair Scholars Program grant

The United States Department of Education has awarded �ڰ������� a five-year, $1,161,325 Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program grant. Beginning Oct. 1, the grant will continue support of �ڰ�������’s McNair Scholars Program, which prepares first-generation students, low-income students and students from underrepresented groups for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. The goal is to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.

From the Philippines

�ڰ������� hosted two superintendents from the Manila public school system and the chair of De La Salle University’s Department of English and Applied Linguistics on Sept. 18. The visitors from the Philippines visited Chicago under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Among other goals, they came to explore a range of perspectives on public, private and mixed educational models through discussions with American curriculum specialists, educators, students, school administrators and school boards. Drs. Monisit, Plata and Tortola met with Interim Provost Wamucii Njogu and exchanged ideas with Associate Dean of the Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education Alberto Lopez and Literacy, Leadership and Development Department Chair Howard Bultinck, during which they expressed great interest in �ڰ������� teacher and principal preparation models.

Yes, we voted

—9.6 percent higher than the 50.4 percent voting rate for all institutions—in 2016, according to the results of a recent study released by the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement. More than 1,000 colleges and universities signed up to receive their voting rates for the 2012, 2014 and 2016 federal elections. The 2016 figure reflects a 12.5 percent increase over �ڰ�������’s 2012 voting rate of 47.5 percent.

And there’s more!

• Signup is open for the Undergraduate Open House on Oct. 18 and the on Oct. 4.
• Associate Professor of Mathematics Nancy Wrinkle presented a talk titled “” during the on Sept. 17 in Buffalo, N.Y.
• Associate Professor of Literacy, Leadership and Development in a Sept. 19 panel discussion at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum titled “Who fights for our schools? Organizing for Racial Equity on the West Side.”
• The Office of International Programs has announced its list of for �ڰ������� students.

In the media

‘The Higher Ed Guru’

Joining an astronaut, a supermodel and a celebrity chef, Associate Professor Francisco Gaytán was named to the as The Higher Ed Guru. Gaytán, who recently was appointed Provost’s Fellow for Student Success and Retention, was featured by for his work with the ENLACE Leadership Institute. “Working with first-generation college students is the way to be the change you want to see,” Gaytán told NBC News. “It’s all about ‘Once you get the resources for making it, now share it with other people.’ That’s what motivates me, the information sharing that has a really direct and immediate impact.”

Violence and trauma

As part of its Every Other Hour series of stories on Chicago gun violence, approached Assistant Professor of Educational Inquiry and Curriculum Studies Kimya Barden for her expertise on trauma. “There's this assumption that because in certain areas in Chicago with this concentrated crime rate—that folks just get used to it, folks killing each other,” Barden told WBEZ. “They're used to hearing about it. And that's just not the case.”

‘Lessons learned by moonlight’

Double alumnus John Vukmirovich (B.A. ’82 English; M.A. ’85 English) penned a tribute to the beginning of fall semester for the , relating his personal story about his experiences at �ڰ�������. “Education is what you make of it, no matter where you go to get it,” Vukmirovich wrote. “You might attend the most ivy-covered of universities, yet emerge no more well educated than your counterpart from a public institution. Or less.”

Sugar and slavery

As the debate over Cook County’s sugary drink tax continues, Sociology Instructor Josef Ben Levi was quoted in about the connection between sugar and slavery, and connections to modern health. “The very foundation of France and its control of what became Haiti had to do with sugar,” he told The Chicago Reporter. “When Europeans got hold of sugar, they just freaked out.”

Also in the media ...

• dance preview identified Ensemble Español’s Oct. 6 performance at the Auditorium Theatre among its fall performances to watch.

To do

Jewel Box Series

Rhythm Future Quartet to open the new season of �ڰ�������’s Jewel Box Series. The acoustic jazz ensemble has a straightforward agenda: to keep the spirit of Gypsy jazz alive and expanding in today’s musical universe. The virtuosic foursome, named for a Django Reinhardt tune, offers up a newly minted sound influenced by the classic Hot Club of France, yet wholly contemporary.

ChicagoCHEC Community Forum

Candace Henley, 36, will fulfill a promise to spread the word about the dangers of colon cancer today as she delivers the keynote speech at a led by the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (ChicagoCHEC), a National Cancer Institute-funded initiative to reduce cancer inequities in Chicago's low-income neighborhoods. The forum will provide a detailed look at the ongoing work of the ChicagoCHEC partnership, led by researchers, educators and clinicians from �ڰ�������, the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The 82 Express

As part of its minor in Creative Writing, the Department of English continues its reading series called The 82 into its second year. This year’s first event (or sub-event called The 82 Express) is an intimate reading with one writer, Jac Jemc, at 4 p.m. Sept. 25 in FA 107. Jemc will read from his novel “The Grip of It,” about a young couple haunted by their new home.

Mark your calendar!

• Biennial Juried Art Alumni Exhibition, through Sept. 29, Fine Arts Center Gallery
• “To Each His Own” screening, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27, Auditorium
• Thursday Night Live: Bunny, 10 p.m. Sept. 28, Student Lounge

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ChicagoCHEC

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Do you have a story tip? Let the public relations office know!
Mike Hines, Director of Public Relations, m-hines@neiu.edu, (773) 442-4240