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Friday, October 30, 2020

Northeastern Illinois University has been awarded a grant from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund to aid recruitment and retention efforts. Some of these efforts were mentioned in President Gloria J. Gibson’s State of the University address, which took place virtually on Oct. 27. Read about all this and more in Noteworthy at Northeastern.

Around the Commons

GEER Grant 

The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) has awarded Northeastern a $456,286 grant to help target equity in its recruitment and retention efforts. This federal CARES Act funding is one of nine Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund competitive grants totaling $3 million that IBHE has awarded to public and private/non-profit institutions of higher education. Northeastern’s grant will support the establishment of a One-Stop Student Services Success Center and the implementation of best practices for mitigating barriers to initial and ongoing enrollment.

State of the University Address

President Gloria J. Gibson delivered her third State of the University Address on Oct. 27. The transcript, video recording and slides are available on the State of the University webpage. The presentation was introduced by Faculty Senate Chair Christopher Merchant, who also moderated the question and answer segment of the address.  

Virtual Commencement

Northeastern will honor the August and December 2020 graduates with a series of three virtual Commencement ceremonies, providing a fun, innovative and safe platform to celebrate the achievements of our graduates. The ceremonies will launch concurrently at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13. Graduates should pay close attention to their NEIU email accounts during the coming weeks for more information regarding the ceremony and what they need to submit in order to participate.

Voting information

Three Northeastern locations will be used as polling places for the national election. Early is taking place at El Centro, which will host early voting in its lobby through Election Day, Nov. 3. The times are 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day. Early voting on the Main Campus has already concluded. The Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies will host voting in its lower level from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. Mail-in ballots for Chicago voters can also be returned to secure drop boxes at all early voting locations.

Undocumented Cookbook

Undocumented Student Resources, in collaboration with Undocumented, Resilient and Organized (URO), invites Northeastern immigrants of any generation and allies to share cultural recipes and memories of what makes the dish special on a personal level. Selected recipes will be added to a digital “Undocumented Cookbook by NEIU Immigrants.” The Undocumented Cookbook is a borrowed idea from the national immigrant advocacy organization United We Dream. Just like this organization, the idea is to celebrate immigrants through one of the things that brings people close together: food. Northeastern students, faculty and staff are all encouraged to submit recipes and memories by Oct. 30. Questions can be directed to Luvia Moreno, lu-moreno@neiu.edu.  

And there’s more!

  • No classes will be held Election Day, Nov. 3, in observance of the state holiday. With the exception of Northeastern buildings that are open for voting, the University will be closed.
  • Three of the deadlines to apply for Spring 2021 enrollment have been extended to Dec. 1. The new deadline applies to undergraduate, undergraduate student-at-large and graduate student-at-large. Graduate and International deadlines are not changing.. 
  • Northeastern’s library is seeking student submissions for “Sheltering in Place: NEIU Archives COVID-19 Documentation Project.” All current Northeastern students as well as alumni who were students during the Spring and Summer 2020 terms are encouraged to submit pieces to the archive. 
  • The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (IRA) has published the latest issue of Data Point. The topic for this issue complements the rollout of Northeastern’s Climate Study by exploring a factor that can increase minority students’ success at NEIU—student-professor racial/ethnic affinity.
  • Stage Center Theatre (SCT) is now accepting submissions or potential projects for a month-long Digital Theatre Festival for Social Justice to take place Oct. 15-Nov. 17. SCT welcomes submissions from all members of the NEIU community throughout the dates of the festival.
  • Northeastern’s student media organizations are currently recruiting students. Any students interested in participating can fill out the NEIU Student Media Interest Form or contact Student Media Coordinator Dennis Sagel at drsagel@neiu.edu for more information.

To Do

Uplift Me NEIU

Undocumented Student Resources, in partnership with URO, has worked with undocumented students and allies to create a Uplift ME NEIU, a collaborative Spotify playlist to help the Northeastern community get through these stressful times. The playlist has a wide range of genres, but is full of feel-good tracks. Students and allies can continue to add songs to the playlist. Tracks can be in any language, any genre and do not have to be about immigration. They should, however, be uplifting and help spread the message that “you are not alone, you matter, and you belong.” Questions can be directed to Luvia Moreno, lu-moreno@neiu.edu.  

Scavenger Hunts

  • LGBTQ+ History Month Scavenger Hunt, through Oct. 31. Celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with a virtual scavenger hunt! The University community is invited to participate for a chance to win a variety of prizes. To play, download the Scavify app to your mobile device and search for “LGBTQ+ History Month.” New tasks will be added daily.
  • Campus Recreation Scavenger Hunt. Throughout the fall semester, individuals who complete the scavenger hunt by sending pictures of the 10 things on the list to adventure@neiu.edu can win a prize! Questions can be sent to adventure@neiu.edu. 

Coming next week!

In the media

  • Professor Emeritus of Economics Ed Stuart was featured on the Oct. 27 episode of "Chicago Tonight." Stuart discussed the impact the pandemic has had on the stock market and the possible impact of next week’s election on the economy. 

Student Support Spotlight

Study Spaces

For the Fall 2020 semester, the Student Union and Ronald Williams Library offer students study spaces by reservation only. These spaces provide access to Wi-Fi, computers and copiers/scanner/printers. A color copier/scanner/printer is available in the Ronald Williams Library only. Students may reserve a two-hour block for use of either the Student Union or Ronald Williams Library. Please note that there are limited spaces available in each building. The Ronald Williams Library continues to offer Grab & Go services for physical library items.

Student Counseling Services

Students are welcome to contact NEIU’s Student Counseling Services to set up an appointment to talk either by phone or their online platform for teletherapy. To access NEIU’s Student Counseling Services, call (773) 442-4650 or send an email to counsect@neiu.edu. The hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, students may also reach a counselor for more urgent consultation by calling the main number and pressing “2” during the outgoing message.

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