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president’s
message
To Long Journeys and Journeys Just Beginning
Commencement is a great time to reflect on the contributions our alumni
make to the fabric of this university. They are many and varied, like the
diverse array of NIU students who are moving out into the world seeking
the opportunities that await them at a time when the job market holds
more promise than it has for many years.
Among the thousands of students who received an NIU diploma on
May 14 was a Huskie who was more than sixty years older than most
of our graduates. As you will read in this issue, he has already traversed
much of his life’s journey, but felt it would not be complete without
coming back to the place where it all began to receive the diploma he
actually earned back in 1953.
NIU President Douglas D. Baker
When his class matriculated on that spring day in May so many years
ago, Gus Trantham was on foreign soil, fighting behind enemy lines in
the Korean War, in the midst of a military stint that would bring honor
to his name. In his place, his parents came to campus to receive Gus’
diploma. Sixty-three years later, after a fulfilling life as a successful
businessman, he eased the sting of a lifelong regret by crossing the stage
to accept his diploma. Some things never come too late.
The joy of Gus Trantham’s return to campus is reflected in the joy of our
graduates who are only beginning their journey.
And then there are those journeys that are continuing at NIU because of
your support.
The Angel Touch program was initiated last year by the NIU Foundation
to help students who had small but challenging levels of college debt.
The program provided a one-time chance to pay off that debt so they
could continue their education at NIU. The response of our alumni was
truly gratifying; they contributed more than $160,000 for this initiative.
Because of their support, eighty-three students who might have otherwise
left NIU were able to remain Huskies in the fall of 2015, and all of the
recipients who were eligible for graduation this year joined Gus Trantham
and their other classmates at commencement.
Our alumni’s embrace of Angel Touch is one reason this could turn out
to be a record-breaking year for fundraising for the Foundation, and an
appropriate punctuation mark for Dennis Barsema’s tenure as NIU
Foundation chair. My gratitude to Dennis, the board, our Foundation
President and CEO Catherine Squires, and her outstanding Foundation
staff for making FY2016 a high-water mark for our donors’ generosity at
a time when it’s needed the most.
Together forward,
Doug
Northern Illinois University Alumni Magazine Summer 2016
features
06
Making It Official
Alumnus and Korean War veteran returns to NIU
to pick up his diploma.
08
Alumni Association Awards
Alumni honored for outstanding achievement and
personal career success.
14
Recipe for Disaster
Sprawl creates tempting targets for tornadoes.
departments
Northern Letters
Inside NIU
Supporting Northern
Huskie Happenings
Huskie Sports
Northern Notes
Babies
Alumni Travel Program
In Memoriam
Last Look
On the cover:
2
3
16
19
20
22
24
26
28
29
Robert Roy “Gus” Trantham, ’53 (center), in
the audience at the 2016 College of Education
commencement ceremony with his service
dog, Henri, and his grandson, U.S. Navy Capt.
Michael Guare (left). Story on page 6.
northern now summer 2016
01
northern letters
Volume 15, Issue 4 Summer 2016
Editor
Joseph P. Matty, ’00, M.S.Ed. ’06
Associate Editor
Dana Herra, ’01
Art Director
Wendy Tritt, B.F.A. ’89, M.A. ’95
Business Manager
Lee Ann Henry
Contributors
Pat Anderson, M.S. ‘04
Lori Botterman, ‘85
Colleen Leonard
Tom Parisi
Matt Scheerer
Donna Turner
Photographers
Walker Ashley
Wade Duerkes, ‘99, M.A. ‘06
Milo Barsanti-Gonzalez, B.F.A. ‘15
Northern Illinois University
Board of Trustees
Robert T. Boey
John R. Butler, ’92, M.A. ’94
Wheeler G. Coleman, ’83
Robert T. Marshall Jr., ’61, M.S.Ed. ’67
Cherilyn G. Murer, J.D. ’78
Marc J. Strauss
Timothy A. Struthers, ’84, M.B.A. ’88
Douglas D. Baker, President
The opinions expressed in Northern Now
do not necessarily reflect the official policies
of Northern Illinois University.
Northern Illinois University is an Equal
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution.
Printed by authority of the State of Illinois.
8/15 200M 45990
Northern Now (USPS 466-480) is published
quarterly in fall, winter, spring, and summer
by Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois
60115-2828. Periodical postage paid at
DeKalb, Illinois, and additional mailing office.
Postmaster, send address changes to:
Advancement Services, Northern Now,
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois,
60115.
A ‘Streak’ of Memories
Close Ties
I arrived for my freshman year in 1973. My
dorm was Stevenson North, just newly constructed, and the lagoon next to it had not been
dug yet. The ’70s were interesting times, to say
the least, and my introduction to college life
involved streakers on multiple occasions.
Our close group of Northern graduates – with
the exception of Doug Davis, who is a graduate
of Beloit College – is shown here celebrating the
last of the fiftieth wedding anniversaries of our
group. All five couples have marked fifty years
of marriage.
Streakers were people who took off all their
clothes and ran around. At one point, three
young men dropped their pants and “mooned”
the world through the back window of a bus.
Freshman year settled down after that to more
typical activities, but I could tell college was
going to be a life-changing experience!
– Sarah Lackey, ’77
Memories of Huskie Stadium
Working to pay my way through Northern
Illinois University, I was disappointed at
having to pay $100 extra my senior year
(1963-1964) to help support building the
stadium. When construction was started in
the spring, I knocked on the door of the
general contractor’s field office and told
the superintendent I had $100 invested in
the stadium and needed a job to earn the
money back.
Having worked one summer at a strip mine,
I had learned a little about surveying and was
able to convince the superintendent I could
read blueprints and do layout work. Much to
my amazement, he offered me a job. When
work on the stadium was shut down in late
December due to weather, I went to work on
Grant Towers.
It was certainly a career-changing experience.
Eventually I was promoted to superintendent.
All the women – Fran Oglietti Berst, Rita
Bardauskas Briggs, Sue Schrock Carlin, Nancy
Anderson Davis, and Carol Miksovsky Kral –
are Delta Zetas. Mike Carlin and John Berst are
Phi Kappa Theta fraternity brothers. Nancy and
Mike Briggs worked together at Neptune Central
cafeteria and Carol and Sue met at Williston Hall
when they were sophomores.
Our children have known each other since birth.
We have gone through births, graduations,
weddings, and even divorces. With most of us in
retirement, seeing each other becomes more of
a challenge, but we do our best. Those Northern
ties are strong. After all of these years, we look
at each other and realize what a priceless gift our
friendship is. Thanks to our experience at Northern, we are blessed with friends forever.
– Nancy Anderson Davis, ’63
– Sylvester “Syl” Keller, ’64
NIU Switchboard: 815-753-1000
Northern Now is published by Northern Illinois
University, 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb,
Illinois, 60115, with additional financial support
from the NIU Foundation.
northernnow.com
815-753-6327
CORRECTION
The In Memoriam section of the Spring 2016 edition contained two errors. J. Randall Lehmann was incorrectly
identified as Justin Randall Lehmann. Nancy L. Reagan, ’61, was mistakenly listed as deceased. Her husband,
Don Reagan, ’59, is deceased. Northern Now regrets the errors.
Send your comments for Northern Letters to:
Northern Now, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115
[email protected]
inside niu
Mark Your Calendar!
NIU DAY 08.28.16
White Sox Set NIU Day at U.S. Cellular Field
The Chicago White Sox and NIU have partnered to host NIU Day at U.S. Cellular Field on Sunday, August 28, when the Sox
take on the Seattle Mariners. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:10 p.m.
NIU Day includes specially priced tickets and a giveaway item for NIU students, alumni, and fans. The NIU marching band will
perform the national anthem, and the first pitch is scheduled to be thrown by NIU alumnus Joe Minoso, M.F.A. ’04, of the hit
NBC drama Chicago Fire.
Fans can get their discounted tickets at whitesox.com/NIU. The first 1,500 fans to purchase tickets will receive a voucher for a
baseball cap bearing both the NIU and White Sox logos.
NIU alumni are also invited to gather for a party at the stadium before the game. Registration and more details about the party
will be available in July at myniu.com.
“The NIU Alumni Association and university have enjoyed a strong partnership with the Chicago White Sox for several years,”
says Joe Matty, executive director of the Alumni Association. “We thank the White Sox for their generous support of the
university and its mission.”
To learn more about upcoming events, visit myniu.com/events.
northern now summer 2016
03
inside niu
Homecoming Date Set for October 22
Northern Illinois University will hold its 110th homecoming, the oldest
homecoming tradition in the state and one of the oldest in the nation, on
Saturday, October 22, when the Huskies take on the University of Buffalo at
Huskie Stadium.
The Huskies will play six home games in 2016, including five in DeKalb and
the Huskie Chi-Town Showdown at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, the first
football game ever played at the stadium that is home to the Chicago White
Sox.
On September 24, the Huskies will play host to in-state foe Western Illinois
University for Band Day, Family Weekend and Scout Day, welcoming hundreds
of guests from each of those groups to Huskie Stadium. The October 15 game
versus Central Michigan University has been designated the Huskies’ annual
Breast Cancer Awareness game. In addition to homecoming on October 22,
NIU will welcome youth football teams to the Buffalo contest as part of Youth
Football Day.
The final game of the year at Huskie Stadium on Tuesday, November 1, brings a familiar match up to DeKalb as NIU will take on
Bowling Green State University in a rematch of the last three Mid-American Conference Championship games for Senior Night.
The home schedule concludes on Wednesday, November 9, with the Huskie Chi-Town Showdown versus the University of Toledo
at U.S. Cellular Field.
For more #MACtion news, visit niuhuskies.com.
There are a lot of reasons to be a proud Huskie!
Read more about these stories by visiting myniu.com and
clicking Huskie Points of Pride under the News tab.
1 Host of the 2017 NCAA Division I golf championships
2 A student who earned the top score in the world on the
Bloomberg Aptitude Test
3 Back-to-back Illinois Professors of the Year
4 An athletics program nationally recognized for diversity
and inclusion
5 A graduation rate of 90 percent for recipients of
NIU Foundation scholarships
04
northern now summer 2016
inside niu
Alumni Association Hosts Annual Golf Outing
The NIU Alumni Association’s sixth annual golf outing was
held May 23 at Cantigny golf course in Wheaton, Illinois.
The event brought together about 200 friends and alumni
for a fun day on the links.
Cantigny is ranked as one of the finest public golf courses
in the Midwest. Golfers enjoyed a morning Bloody
Mary bar, sponsored by Reyka Vodka, and games and
contests including the Million-Dollar Shot, sponsored by
Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc., and the putting
contest, sponsored by XFINITY.
All golfers also received three drink tickets, courtesy of
AD Solutions Group Inc., to use throughout the day.
In-kind sponsors included OLT Marketing, which provided
golf jackets, and the PGA Tour Superstore, which donated
golfer bags, koozies, and golf tees.
Other sponsors who provided gifts and made the event possible were Aaroco Custom Software, Acura, Athletico Physical
Therapy, Chicago Courtyard Naperville, Chicago Marriott Naperville, Delta Upsilon Alumni, First National Bank, Four Star
Wealth Advisors LLC, Guaranteed Rate, Heide Wealth Management Group – Wells Fargo Advisors LLC, HMH Service Inc.,
Joe Cotton Ford, Joseph J. Locke & Company Ltd., NIU Conference Centers, Pabst Brewing Company & Small Town Brewery,
Phi Sigma Kappa Alumni, Prairie Consulting Services, Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, Trophy Room & Sigma Pi Alumni,
and Waste Management.
Representatives from NIU Athletics and Rich Harvest Farms were also on hand to sponsor a hole and share information about
the 2017 NCAA Division I golf championships, which will be held next May at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, the home
of NIU Huskies golf. For more information about the tournament, visit richharvestfarms.com and click on “Tournaments.”
Alumni Asked to Verify Their Data
In preparation for a new alumni directory, NIU alumni are being asked to
verify the data in their alumni record.
The data verification project is being managed by NIU Alumni Association
trusted partner Publishing Concepts (PCI). PCI is contacting alumni via
telephone, email, and U.S. mail. Alumni who receive emails and postcards
will be asked to call a toll-free number to review their record and verify the
data.
Alumni who do not wish to be listed in the directory should verify their
record, and then request that the information remain unpublished.
In addition to ensuring the accuracy of the new alumni directory, up-to-date
alumni data is crucial to establishing benchmarks for NIU’s career placement statistics, applying for grants, and determining rank
in national evaluations.
Alumni will also have the option to reserve their own advance copy of the directory.
Alumni can update their information at any time by logging in to myniu.com, but those who have recently updated their records
will still be contacted by PCI and asked to verify their information.
northern now summer 2016
05
Making It Official
Alumnus and Korean War veteran returns to NIU to pick up his diploma
By Lori Botterman, ’85
The life Robert Roy “Gus” Trantham, 85, launched in 1949 at Northern Illinois State Teachers College has taken
him around the world – from serving in the Korean War as a U.S. Navy lieutenant, to conducting business all over
the globe, to raising four children in suburban Glen Ellyn. His journey came full circle when he returned to NIU in
May to pick up the diploma he earned sixty-three years ago.
Trantham’s success story began with a decision he made in high school. An athlete and a sports lover, he wanted
to be a P.E. teacher and a football coach. He heard about Northern, so he hopped on a Northwestern train from his
Maywood, Illinois, hometown and headed out to DeKalb. He spent the day on what
was to him a massive campus.
“I covered the entire campus, met friendly members of the staff and students, and
immediately knew this was the place,” Trantham says.
He would be the first member of his family to go to college, but money would be
tight. He was accepted and headed to DeKalb in the fall with one bag and a box
from his mom.
“Her present was twenty-four cans of Franco-American spaghetti because my
mom didn’t want me to starve,” Trantham recalls.
When he arrived on campus, a World War II veteran took him under his wing.
Trantham moved in with him and several other veterans in the basement of a
prosperous widow’s home. He warmed the spaghetti cans in his bath water and
worked as a pin setter at the bowling alley on Fourth Street to make ends meet.
His work and school schedule meant he wouldn’t have time to participate in
intercollegiate sports programs. But that didn’t stop him from becoming a star
of the college’s intramural teams, where he dominated on the football field and
basketball courts. Trantham recalls playing football in what was once a grassy
expanse in front of Altgeld Hall.
“When we needed another player we would go to Altgeld Hall and get the college
president, (Leslie A.) Holmes, to play. He was a big guy and played well,” Trantham
remembers.
Because he liked kids, he took courses in nursing and child care, often the only guy in class.
Assigned a project for the kids, he decided to borrow six baby pigs from a local farm for the
children to play with, forgetting one important thing: a shovel. He passed the course anyway.
It was wartime, and after his first year at Northern, Trantham got involved in a summer training
program that would earn him a U.S. Navy officer commission after graduation. He was on track
to graduate in May 1953.
After a year of being apart, his high school sweetheart, Fran Tighe, transferred from
Northwestern University to Northern. She took a job at the women’s dorm, Williston Hall.
Trantham was a popular man at the dorm, teaching the women how to play tennis and bowl in the
hallways, much to Fran’s chagrin.
Fran and Gus were married in March 1952, and they became house parents at an off-campus
rooming home for ten women. Gus made a little money on the side cleaning the smokers’ room on the top floor of
Altgeld Hall.
But by the end of 1952 the conflict in Korea was raging. The Navy was pressing him to accelerate his officer’s
training. Always an athletic man, Trantham was headed for the special services. He got word from the Navy that
he’d be leaving Northern.
06
northern now summer 2016
“They pulled me and five other athletes out early to go to Korea for the Inchon
landing,” Trantham explains.
After consulting with his academic advisers, he was able to take extra courses
and fulfill his graduation requirements by the end of the first quarter of his
graduation year. In January 1953, he and Fran left for California, where Fran got
settled. Gus was off to Korea.
In May 1953, on the day his classmates were donning caps and gowns, Trantham
was part of a covert operation behind enemy lines in the Korean War. He recalls
telling the soldiers under his command aboard the U.S.S. Toucan-AM 387
Minesweeper that it was his graduation day. They toasted him in congratulations.
Back home, his folks were heartbroken they wouldn’t get to see their son
graduate. So Gus and Fran’s friends at Northern arranged for train tickets for
his parents to come out to DeKalb for commencement. They rode the same train
Gus took that first day he came to DeKalb in 1949. Gus and Fran’s Northern
friends greeted the Tranthams at the station and accompanied the elderly couple
to the ceremony, then held at the East Lagoon.
“I know his parents came out here and actually saw the graduation, but he
wasn’t in it. That was a very tearful time,” Fran says.
Gus adds, “I’m emotional about that. I said right at that time, ‘Someday I am
going to get my diploma.’”
More than sixty years later, having retired from the service and from running the
family’s global convention and seminar business, there was finally time for that
“someday.” Trantham, now a resident of North Charleston, South Carolina, sent
a letter to Jack Patronski, president of the NIU Alumni Association, in the fall of
2015.
He wrote: “… One of my life-long dreams was to wear the cap and gown and
receive the diploma on that sunny day in May in 1953. Unfortunately, I was on
that day on the ground in enemy territory in North Korea rescuing downed pilots
attacking the famous Yalu River Bridge in the border of North Korea and Russia
and China.”
The staff at NIU invited Trantham to the May 15, 2016, commencement
ceremony for the College of Education. Gus and Fran’s youngest daughter,
Valerie Trantham, helped organize an extended visit for the graduation.
The event turned into a family reunion, with children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, cousins, and friends all in attendance. Trantham toured the
campus and participated in several of today’s NIU traditions – photos with
Huskie mascot Mission and cap and gown photos at the university entrance
gates.
“All the kids and the great-grandchildren are so excited about it,” Fran says.
“He is enjoying it so much. It’s a happy time for everybody.”
But no one could have been more excited about his graduation than Gus.
“I will always be a Huskie! Huskie-born, Huskie-bred!” he says.
With his service dog, Henri, and his grandson, U.S. Navy Captain Michael
Guare, by his side, Trantham accepted his diploma from NIU President Doug
Baker at the College of Education commencement.
“Today it is our honor to officially present Lt. Robert Roy ‘Gus’ Trantham his
bachelor of science in education diploma. Thank you for your service to our
nation and congratulations,” Baker told the audience.
As he hoisted his diploma to a standing ovation, Trantham’s longtime dream
came true.
Trantham – who also was pleased to note that his Northern Illinois University
diploma is an update from the Northern Illinois State Teachers College diploma
his parents received in 1953 – was thrilled to make his graduation complete.
“This is just the best day!”
See a video of Gus Trantham’s visit to campus at northernnow.com/online-extras.
northern now summer 2016
07
Rajagopalan to Head College of Business
Balaji Rajagopalan,
previously head of the Black
School of Business at Penn
State Behrend, will become
dean of the Northern Illinois
University College of
Business on July 1.
NIU is “fortunate to have
attracted a proven leader
with significant experience
in strategic planning, curricular innovation, enrollment
management, and external relations,” says Executive
Vice President and Provost Lisa Freeman.
“Dr. Rajagopalan’s documented success at promoting
academic excellence, interdisciplinary program
development, and faculty diversity will benefit
the university,” Freeman says. “His collaborative
leadership style will engage faculty, students, staff,
and alumni in defining the future of the College of
Business.”
Rajagopalan, who also was named professor with
tenure in the Department of Operations Management
and Information Systems, earned his bachelor’s degree
in mechanical engineering from Andhra University,
India.
He received an M.S. in management information
systems and a Ph.D. in management information
systems with a minor in cognitive science from the
University of Memphis.
At Penn State, he oversaw an operational budget
of about $19 million and an endowment near $33
million, supporting five endowed chairs and student
scholarships, and AACSB accreditation.
Since 2013, he has developed, articulated, and
implemented a strategic plan; launched the Center
for Learning Innovations; strategically positioned
the M.B.A. as a hybrid delivery program; initiated a
professional development program for undergraduate
students; and added online programs in finance and
marketing.
“I am honored and excited to join NIU to build on the
stellar reputation of the College of Business. I look
forward to working with faculty, students, staff, the
advisory board, and the community on initiatives to
advance the college,” Rajagopalan says.
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northern now summer 2016
Each spring, the NIU Alumni Association honors alumni who have achieved
outstanding personal and career success. Read on to learn more about the
2016 award recipients.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The most prestigious award given by the NIU Alumni Association,
the Distinguished Alumni Award is given to an NIU alumnus who has
achieved outstanding success or recognition in his or her field.
John P. Larson, ’84
CEO, Bestop Inc.
When asked to choose a favorite memory of NIU,
John Larson says, “all four years.”
Larson is the CEO of Bestop Inc. and the lead
director for the board of KAR Auction Services, an
automotive auction and finance company.
He enjoys returning to NIU’s campus to speak to
students in the College of Business and says he
is proud of “the great job the College of Business does in developing
young professionals.”
Larson spent twenty years in key management positions at General
Motors, including overseeing the Buick, Pontiac, and GMC truck
divisions and acting as the general director of finance for U.S. sales,
service, and marketing operations. He received several Chairman’s
Honors Awards and was recognized for his involvement in the post-9/11
Keep America Rolling promotion and for leading the development of
GM’s revenue management activity. Larson and his team also received
a number of prestigious industry awards, including the Golden Lion at
Cannes, the industry’s highest global marketing award, and Advertising
Age’s Best Promotions of the Year award.
In 2008, Larson was named CEO of Escort Inc. Under his six years of
leadership, Escort received multiple national awards for innovation,
including Car and Driver’s 10 BEST Automotive Innovations, SEMA’s
Best New Mobile Electronics Product, and the Consumer Electronic
Show’s Mobile Electronics Innovation Award.
Larson is extremely proud to be an Honorary Lifetime Member of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars National Home for Children. He has been
recognized for his work with both the VFW National Home for Children
and the A Million Thanks Foundation to honor military personnel.
F.R. Geigle Service Award
The F.R. Geigle Service Award is presented to an individual who has
demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to NIU and is the
only one of the Alumni Association awards that can be awarded to
non-alumni.
Christopher M. Millington
Retired Principal and Founder, Top-Down Leadership
Consulting LLC
Chris Millington’s true passion has always been for
people and organizational development. He believes
technology organizations can only achieve full
success by empowering people and treating them
with respect and dignity.
Millington’s forty-year career included senior
information technology roles in the financial
services, computer services, manufacturing,
distribution, and telecommunications industries. He also served in
the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. After twelve years as global chief
technology officer at McDonald’s Corporation, Millington retired in
2010 and formed Top-Down Leadership Consulting LLC, focused on
executive coaching, leadership development, information technology
organizational transformation, motivational speaking, and developing
empowered cultures.
Though he retired from active employment in 2015, Millington
continues to be an active presence at the NIU College of Business.
He is in his eighth year of sitting on both the Department of Operations
Management and Information Systems (OM&IS) Executive Advisory
Council and on the Experiential Learning Center Advisory Board.
He is a former adjunct faculty coach in the college and was named the
OM&IS Honorary Alumnus in 2010.
Millington and his wife, Lorraine, have made a significant impact on
the College of Business. Because of the Millington Challenge Fund, the
college has been able to establish seventeen scholarships for OM&IS
students. The Millingtons have been especially supportive of the
advancement of women in technology. The couple created the Marian
Elizabeth Millington Scholarship for the Advancement of Women in
Information Technology in 2008, and in 2015 they created the
Dr. Denise Schoenbachler Leadership Award in MIS/SAP Integration.
The Schoenbachler award, named in honor of College of Business
Dean Denise Schoenbachler, will award twenty $1,000 scholarships,
with a preference given to female students. They have also funded
faculty fellowships that advanced research relating to women in senior
information technology roles.
Elish-Piper to Lead College of Education
Laurie Elish-Piper, who has
served as acting dean of the
Northern Illinois University
College of Education
since 2015, will take over
officially July 1.
“Dr. Elish-Piper’s vision for
the future of the college is
informed not only by her
extensive knowledge of
national, state, and local issues, but also by her varied
experiences as an NIU Huskie,” says Executive Vice
President and Provost Lisa Freeman.
“Over the course of her twenty-plus year career at
NIU, Laurie has served with excellence as a faculty
member and in numerous campus leadership roles,”
she adds. “Her collaborative leadership style and her
creativity were evident during the national search. I
am proud that NIU was able to recruit, develop, and
retain someone with Dr. Elish-Piper’s talent.”
Elish-Piper, a Distinguished Teaching Professor and
Presidential Engagement Professor in the Department
of Literacy and Elementary Education, received her
Ph.D. in curricular and instruction studies with an
emphasis in literacy education from the University of
Akron.
She is also the director of the Jerry L. Johns
Literacy Clinic and co-director of the Center for the
Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy and
teaches graduate courses in literacy assessment and
instruction, adult literacy, and literacy research.
During her time as acting dean, she has worked with
college leadership to reduce spending by 11 percent;
built a support team to lead the process for program
prioritization; and improved climate and morale
within the college by implementing strategies for
collaboration and recognition to engage faculty, staff,
and students.
“As a longtime faculty member at NIU, I have a deep
commitment to the college and to the university, so I
am honored and humbled to serve as the dean of the
College of Education,” Elish-Piper says.
northern now summer 2016
09
Dannenmaier to Lead College of Law
Lisa Freeman, executive
vice president and provost,
is excited to welcome Dr.
Eric Dannenmaier, professor
at the Indiana University
McKinney School of Law in
Indianapolis, to lead the NIU
College of Law.
Dannenmaier’s expertise in
environmental law comes
not only from academic
experience, but also from working in private practice
and in public service with the United States Agency
for International Development, Freeman says.
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
The Outstanding Young Alumni Award is given to an alumnus or alumna
who received an undergraduate degree from NIU within the last ten
years and has shown outstanding performance and potential in his or her
professional career.
Michael Cahill, ’12, M.A.S. ’13
Senior Associate, Ernst & Young LLP
Michael Cahill is a senior associate at Ernst & Young
US LLP. Cahill advises clients on the accounting for
transactions involving complex financial instruments,
including debt or equity financing, structured
products, and derivatives.
“His reputation as a collaborative, interdisciplinary
scholar has led to a number of prestigious
nonacademic leadership roles, including an
appointment by President Obama to the Joint
Public Advisory Committee of the North American
Commission for Environmental Cooperation,” she
says.
Prior to joining the firm’s Financial Accounting
Advisory Services practice, Cahill was selected
from a pool of elite candidates nationwide as one
of six recipients of a one-year assistantship at the Financial Accounting
Standards Board, a private nonprofit organization whose purpose is to
establish and improve generally accepted U.S. accounting principles.
There, he participated in all aspects of accounting standards-setting as
a technical staff member on the accounting for financial instruments
projects.
Dannenmaier earned a doctorate and master’s degree
in law from Columbia University. He also holds a
master’s degree in law from Oxford University, a
juris doctor from Boston University, and a bachelor’s
degree in biology and political science from Drury
University.
Before joining the Financial Accounting Standards Board, Cahill gained
experience executing valuations of business enterprises as both a staff
member and intern in Ernst & Young’s Transaction Advisory Services
practice.
At IU McKinney, where he teaches law classes
relating to property, natural resources, water law, and
the U.S. Constitution, he serves as director of J.D.
Graduate Programs and is the founding director of
the Program in Environmental, Energy & Natural
Resources Law.
He has researched and published widely on legal and
institutional frameworks for sustainable development,
water security, environmental democracy, and energy
policy. His work has taken him to more than three
dozen countries.
“The NIU College of Law’s commitment to diversity
and the public interest and the resources it devotes to
experiential learning, interdisciplinary inquiry, and
specialized legal studies are essential ingredients for
preparing the next generation of lawyers and leaders,”
Dannenmaier says.
His professional experience includes private practice
as an environmental attorney and a litigator in the
Boston office of Chicago-based law firm McDermott,
Will & Emery and in the Washington, D.C., office of
St. Louis-based law firm Bryan Cave.
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Cahill graduated summa cum laude from the College of Business. He is a
certified public accountant and a member of the Illinois CPA Society.
Outstanding College Alumni Award: Business
Cindy Crocker, ’80
Retired Senior Vice President for Investor Relations and
Corporate Communications, Equity Group Investments
Cindy Crocker believes that everyone who has a
dream should have the opportunity to pursue it. She
also believes that education is a powerful agent for
personal, professional, and social change. Those
principles have guided her as she changes the lives of
NIU College of Business students as a philanthropist
and mentor.
Crocker’s desire to help others pursue their dreams is
fueled by her gratitude for having had the opportunity to pursue her own.
The accomplished business leader modestly credits much of her success
to “luck and being at the right place at the right time.” She also cites hard
work and the solid education she received at NIU.
After graduation, Crocker joined First Capital Financial Corp. as
a marketing associate. She later moved to investor relations. In the
early 1990s, she joined First Capital’s sister company, Equity Group
Investments, to become a member of the public relations team. Crocker
led initial public offerings for some of the nation’s leading real estate
companies and eventually retired as senior vice president for investor
relations and corporate communications for Equity Group.
At NIU, the Crocker Endowed Scholarship in Business supports the
next generation of business leaders through a generous endowment.
In addition, she has been a caring and inspiring mentor to young women
majoring in business. Her annual Crocker Program for Emerging
Business Leaders gives students the opportunity to network with
entrepreneurs and business leaders. She is an active member of the
NIU Foundation Board of Directors and serves in leadership roles on
organizations in her community.
Outstanding College Alumni Award: Education
Cary S. Groth, ’78, M.S.Ed. ’99
Director of Athletics, Emeritus, University of Nevada
Cary Groth was a leader in intercollegiate athletics
for thirty-two years, including ten years as director
of athletics at Northern Illinois University and nine
years as director of athletics at the University of
Nevada. Groth led her universities’ programs to
competitive and academic success and grew program
revenue in almost every category.
Groth’s programs were nationally recognized for their
commitment to gender equity and diversity, and she served on the U.S.
Department of Education’s Commission on Opportunity in Athletics. The
University of Nevada’s graduation success rate for student-athletes rose
in each of Groth’s nine years at the helm, and Wolf Pack teams turned
in eight consecutive years of penalty-free academic performance in the
NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate report.
During her tenure at the University of Nevada, she raised more than
$70 million for new facilities and upgrades, and the university’s football
program was ranked tenth in national polls. She was instrumental in
working with donors to complete more than $40 million in facility
construction and renovations, and the University of Nevada became
82-percent self-funded under her leadership.
Groth has been recognized as the National Association of Collegiate
Women Athletic Administrators Division Administrator of the Year and
the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Administrator of the Year
and has been an active member of the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics.
Honors and awards include Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year
– Tennis; the All-American Football Foundation Lifetime Achievement
Award; the State of Illinois Making a Difference Award; the Girl Scouts
of Nevada Women in Leadership Award; and induction in the NIU
Athletics Hall of Fame.
Kassel Named New Dean of Visual &
Performing Arts
Paul Kassel, previously
professor of theatre arts
at the State University of
New York at New Paltz,
will become dean of the
NIU College of Visual and
Performing Arts July 1.
NIU Executive Vice
President and Provost Lisa
Freeman says the university is “fortunate to have
attracted a dean with his creativity and commitment to
community engagement.”
“Professor Kassel is a talented actor, an accomplished
teacher and scholar, and a proven administrator with
significant experience supervising undergraduate and
graduate degree programs, as well as public visual and
performing arts events and community arts programs,”
Freeman says.
A member of the SUNY New Paltz faculty since
2004, Kassel served as interim dean of the School
of Fine and Performing Arts from 2013 to 2015. He
served as associate dean from 2011 to 2013 and was
associate chair of the Department of Theatre Arts
from 2010 to 2011.
He has directed and performed in productions,
coached student actors, and supervised directing
projects and recruitment of students. He is an artistic
associate of the Half Moon Theatre Company,
where he has directed and performed, raised funds,
and developed company guidelines and policy. He
contributed to the development of interdisciplinary
art/design and computer science/engineering
programs in collaboration with the SUNY New Paltz
School of Engineering and Science.
“What I see at NIU is the possibility of helping an
already strong college thrive – one that offers a model
for the nation about how to educate a new creative
class that will innovate and disrupt, but also sustain
and honor tradition,” Kassel says.
Kassel plans to establish new interdisciplinary
opportunities and strengthen current ones,
building on his work with the Alan Alda Center for
Communicating Science. He will also create a student
advisory board.
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Outstanding College Alumni Award: Engineering
& Engineering Technology
Rick Moser, ’81
Founder and Creative Director, Moser Design
Rick Moser is a senior-level graphic design
and writing professional with more than
twenty years of experience in creating
branded online and print marketing
communications.
Moser enjoys using his skills and
experience to grow his clients’ brand
awareness and sales and to serve as a
trusted adviser. His expertise includes creating branding,
marketing communications, websites, and integrated
promotional campaigns. Clients include small businesses,
nonprofits, Fortune 500 companies, and national retailers. He
is a member of AIGA, the professional association for design.
Moser finds great meaning by giving back to the greater good
through designing logos for nonprofit organizations on a pro
bono basis. His pro bono clients have included a women’s
domestic abuse shelter, an organization that protects and
maintains the quality of the Fox River and its tributaries, an
organization that refurbishes computers for use by low-income
families and nonprofits, and a Made in America initiative that
promotes keeping jobs in this country. He has also served as
an adjunct instructor in the visual communication program and
as a guest critic for senior design projects at the NIU School
of Art and Design. His passion for children’s literacy has led
him to volunteer as a reader of children’s books in more than
twenty schools in the Chicago and Kansas City metro areas.
Rick lives with his wife, Gia, in Kansas City and is the proud
father of three grown children, Matt, Emily, and Nicholas, and
two stepdaughters, Aeriel and Abbey.
Outstanding College Alumni Award: Health
& Human Sciences
Jacqueline B. Marcus, ’72, M.S. ’79
President and Owner, Jacqueline B. Marcus
& Associates Food Nutrition Consultants
Jacqueline B. Marcus, M.S., R.D.N.,
L.D.N., C.N.S., F.A.D.A., F.A.N.D., is an
award-winning, internationally recognized
registered dietitian and nutritionist who
mixes food, fitness, nutrition, and wellness
into recipes for success.
Marcus is a publisher, editor, author,
spokesperson, program and product
developer, and marketing strategist whose clients include such
names as Kellogg’s, Lean Cuisine, Lettuce Entertain You, and
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McDonald’s. She helps companies analyze products and develop
nutrition labeling, meet regulatory standards, develop products
and recipes, and market their products. She has published, written
for, or edited numerous cookbooks and magazine articles about
food, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles.
Marcus was an associate professor and department chair of human
and culinary nutrition in the Kendall College School of Culinary
Arts and an assistant professor of human and culinary nutrition
at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. She lectured
at eight more colleges and universities and developed wellness
programs for such high-profile clients as the U.S. Navy’s Great
Lakes Naval Base, the United States Olympic Committee, and
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center North Shore – the
first community hospital-based wellness program in the nation.
Marcus is an active member or board member emeritus of
the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; Food & Culinary
Professionals; Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition;
Dietitians in Business and Communications, and Nutrition
Entrepreneurs. Her many honors and awards include recognition
from Kappa Omicron Phi, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,
and the Chicago Dietetic Association.
Her book, Culinary Nutrition: The Science and Practice of
Healthy Cooking, earned two international awards: the Gourmand
World Cookbook Awards 2014: USA, Best Author or Chef for
Professionals, and the 17th World Congress of Food Science and
Technology (IUFoST) Global Food Industry Awards: Special
Mention, Communicating Science-Related Knowledge to
Consumers Aimed at Improving Their Lifestyle, 2014.
Outstanding College Alumni Award: Law
Rich Lenkov, J.D. ’95
Attorney, Bryce Downey & Lenkov LLC
Rich Lenkov practices insurance defense
and entertainment law. He was elected to the
2016 Illinois Super Lawyers list, an honor
given to no more than 5 percent of lawyers
in the state. He was also named Leading
Lawyer from 2012 to 2016 and was honored
by SEAK as one of the 50 Most Influential
People in Workers’ Compensation. In 2014, he
received the top score in Target Corporation’s
nationwide panel of general liability attorneys.
Lenkov is a frequent lecturer and a member of a number of
national organizations including the Claims and Litigation
Management Alliance, the Illinois Association of Defense Trial
Counsel, and the Workers’ Compensation Defense Institute.
Lenkov is the go-to legal analyst for WGN Radio and co-hosts the
nation’s premier legal program, Legal Face-Off, on WGN Plus. On
the show, Lenkov and his co-host, noted plaintiff’s attorney Jason
Whiteside, debate politics, current events, entertainment, and
sports from a legal perspective.
He is actively involved in the community, including serving on
the board of visitors for the NIU College of Law, which honored
him as the 2013 Alumnus of the Year.
wealth management practice of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the
Executives’ Club of Chicago.
Lenkov is co-founder of Chila Productions, the associate
producer of The Perfect Storm: Story of the 1994 Montreal
Expos, and the producer of ’85: The Untold Story of the
Greatest Team in Pro Football History, a documentary about the
1985 Chicago Bears. His current projects include Renegades,
a live show in Las Vegas featuring prominent athletes such as
Mike Tyson and Pete Rose. And he is involved with successful
Broadway productions, including Rock of Ages and The Rascals:
Once Upon a Dream, conceived and written by legendary E
Street band member Steve Van Zandt.
Dragonette has won multiple awards from the International
Association of Business Communicators, CIPRA, the Publicity
Club of Chicago, and Easter Seals.
Lenkov lives on the north side of Chicago with his wife Patti
and two children, Emma and Cooper.
Outstanding College Alumni Award: Liberal Arts
& Sciences
Rita Dragonette, ’72
President and Founder, Dragonette Career
Strategies
At a time when Americans doubt the
value of a degree in the humanities, Rita
Dragonette is a prime example of how an
individual with an English degree can build
a multimillion-dollar international firm.
In 2003, she established Dragonette Career
Strategies, where she advises C-suite
executives and entrepreneurs on leadership,
management development, and organizational change. She also
just finished a novel about her experiences at NIU during the
turbulent days of the draft lottery and Kent State University.
Dragonette began her career at the global public relations
agency Daniel J. Edelman Inc., now Edelman Worldwide. She
rapidly rose through the firm’s ranks, leading the agency’s first
million-dollar client and becoming its youngest senior vice
president. In the early 1980s she co-founded Dragonette Inc.,
which quickly became one of the top fifteen independents
nationally. She sold the firm to Grey Global Group, now part of
WPP, in 1999.
In addition to her robust professional life, Dragonette has stayed
connected to her alma mater. She has given lectures, mentored
students, and endowed a scholarship in honor of her sister.
She serves on the executive advisory board in the College of
Business and has been involved with the Department of English.
In the spirit of NIU’s goal of student career success, Dragonette
is establishing a scholarship for students who couple a liberal
arts major with a business minor.
Outstanding College Alumni Award: Visual
& Performing Arts
Kurt Sutter, M.F.A. ’97
Screenwriter, Director, Producer, and Actor
Raised in the suburbs of central New
Jersey, Kurt Sutter spent most of his
childhood indoors, avoiding people,
and three feet from a television screen.
That’s where he learned the essentials
of storytelling and observed that extreme
violence – if performed by animated,
slightly absurd characters – could be
fun and informative.
After earning a B.A. in mass media and film from Rutgers
University, Sutter spent several years as an actor in New
York City, performing in off-Broadway theaters, meatpacking
warehouses, indiscriminate lofts, and NYPD holding cells.
His theater training led to teaching and directing, and in the
mid-1990s he joined the faculty of the Gately/Poole Acting
Conservatory on Theatre Row, teaching the Sanford Meisner
technique and directing productions at the Nat Horne Theatre.
In 1997, Sutter was awarded an M.F.A. fellowship to attend
Northern Illinois University. In Chicago, his exposure to the
dramatic masters – Strindberg, O’Neill, Genet – inspired him,
and he began writing unproducible plays and cultivating ideas
for the screen. After graduating, Sutter moved to Los Angeles,
where he began writing. In 2001, he landed a gig on FX’s The
Shield. Starting as a staff writer on the first episode, he stayed
on until the end of the series, finishing up the last two seasons
as an executive producer.
In 2008, Sutter created the critically acclaimed drama series
Sons of Anarchy. Its seven-year run is the most successful
episodic series in the history of the network.
In 2015, Sutter made his feature debut with Southpaw, starring
Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams and directed by Antoine
Fuqua. Also in 2015, Sutter created the FX medieval drama
The Bastard Executioner, starring Katey Sagal, Lee Jones, and
Stephen Moyer.
Sutter and his wife, Katey Sagal, live in Los Angeles with their
three children, Sarah, Jackson, and Esme.
Dragonette is vice chair of the board of LifeSpace
Communities, serves on the business advisory board of the
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Recipe for Disaster: Sprawl Creates Tempting Targets for Tornadoes
By Tom Parisi
While much tornado research in recent years has focused on whether storm intensities and frequencies are increasing as
a result of climate change, a new study by Northern Illinois University scientists points to suburban and exurban sprawl
as the most prominent cause for alarm.
“Let’s not miss the elephant in the room,” says lead author Walker Ashley, a professor of meteorology in the NIU
Department of Geography. “The acceleration of development and sprawl results in an expanding bullseye effect that will
undoubtedly generate more frequent and higher impacts from tornadoes.
“Storm frequency and climate change are important topics, but how we develop as a society – how and where we
build and live and spread out – is just as important in the construction of disasters,” he adds. “Because of sprawl, we’re
increasing our odds of people being impacted, not just by tornadoes, but by any hazard. The big events we see on TV –
such as the Joplin, Missouri, and Moore, Oklahoma, tornadoes – we’re going to see more of this.”
The study by Ashley and Stephen Strader, an NIU Ph.D. candidate in geography, will be published in an upcoming
edition of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The scientists say sprawl has created an “expanded
bullseye,” or larger tornado target, increasing the potential for disasters of a magnitude on the scale of the 2011 Joplin,
Missouri catastrophe, which claimed more than 150 lives and injured more than 1,100 others.
Contrary to what might be expected, it’s not the Central Plains’ “tornado alley” that is most vulnerable to tornado
disasters but rather the mid-South and Midwest, the scientists say. The mid-South includes parts of Arkansas, Tennessee,
Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
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Tornado footprints were calculated by multiplying a tornado’s estimated width by the length of its path of destruction.
The study found that the mid-South region has the largest aggregate tornado footprint of all regions examined.
“While the Central Plains has a slightly greater frequency of EF1-plus tornadoes, the footprint of the tornadoes that
do occur in the mid-South are nearly 28 percent larger,” Ashley says.
He adds that the evidence suggests that the mid-South’s tornadoes and storms are likely to have “relatively high
forward speeds” that pose a greater threat to homes and businesses.
Growing the Bullseye
Between 1950 and 2010, the number of U.S. housing units increased by 98 million, or 377 percent. Most of the
growth has been experienced in the exurban and suburban areas surrounding cities.
Of the tornado regions examined in the study, the mid-South has experienced the highest percentage growth in
housing units – nearly 800 percent. The Central Plains region has had the second highest percentage increase at
472 percent.
The mid-South’s unique combination of high tornado frequency and large amounts of development is a recipe for
potential disaster, Ashley says. These two components are also evident in the region’s high mortality rate from
tornadoes.
Tornadoes in the Midwest have smaller footprints than their counterparts in the mid-South and Central Plains.
Yet the researchers say the region ranks second in overall exposure to disaster because it has more total housing units
and sprawl than the Central and High Plains.
To demonstrate the influence of sprawl on hazard dynamics, the scientists used three deadly tornadoes as case studies
and modeled hypothetical damage trends for each tornado over time.
The EF5 tornado that ripped through Newcastle-Moore, Oklahoma, in 2013, damaging about 4,000 homes, would
have impacted a tiny fraction of that in 1950 – perhaps fewer than four dozen residences, the researchers say.
The massive EF4 tornado that tore through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 2011, damaging thousands of homes, would have
affected roughly half as many residential properties in 1970.
More than twice as many homes are now located in the path of the EF5 tornado that roared through Plainfield,
Illinois, than were there when the storm hit in 1990.
“These comparisons underscore how growing populations and expanding development have led to greater tornado
exposure and disaster potential,” Strader says.
“The mental image of a tornado dancing across a rural landscape is being replaced incrementally by the horrific
views of real-life tornadoes devastating communities as the hazard increasingly interacts with amplifying population
and development.”
Disaster Mitigation
During the better part of the twentieth century, annual tornado death tolls and mortality rates were in decline despite
U.S. population growth. But beginning around 1985, the decline stalled, with mortality rates holding steady or
increasing in some regions.
“The stall is unnerving considering the rapid advancement of meteorology, investment in National Weather Service
modernization, and development of new communication systems during this period,” Ashley says. “Mortality rates
may be holding steady because of the growing vulnerability explained by the expanding bullseye effect.”
The researchers note that their study has limitations. While it examined changes over time in the number of homes
and people potentially exposed to tornadoes, other factors can also can play significant roles in contributing to
disasters.
“Tornado disaster severity is often dictated by such things as the quality of housing, daytime versus nighttime tornado
events, and even cultural complacency,” Strader says. “We think all of these factors would be exacerbated by the
expanding bullseye effect.
“We are hopeful our findings will initiate a dialogue among scientists, policy makers, emergency managers,
city and regional planners, and the public,” Strader adds. “The ultimate goal is to get stakeholders to implement
disaster-mitigating land-use practices while building more sustainable and resilient communities.”
More Online: NIU geographers have developed an interactive map – with links to
stunning videos and photos – of the 30-mile path of the April 9, 2015, tornado that
devastated the community of Fairdale, about 20 miles northwest of DeKalb.
Visit northernnow.com/online-extras to view the map.
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Empowering Women in the Business World
By Colleen Leonard
Statistics show that women are not treated equally in the business world. The
NIU College of Business is working to change that by launching the women’s
leadership initiative in the fall to provide women with the tools that they need
to excel as business leaders.
“I want NIU to be the place where young women go to study business and
leadership in northern Illinois,” says College of Business Dean Denise
Schoenbachler, who is transitioning to lead the initiative and teach marketing
classes at the college. “I want them to have the mentoring, support, and skills
to feel confident and ready to be successful. I want this generation to be the
generation to change the world so women can truly have opportunity.”
Besides providing leadership development for women, the initiative is
designed to encourage curriculum innovation, raise scholarship funds,
facilitate mentoring and networking opportunities, and engage alumni to help
the next generation. It is also expected to increase enrollment and retention
in the college.
“Although we may want to believe that we’ve made great progress in
developing women leaders and providing equal opportunity, the data says
otherwise,” Schoenbachler says.
The Wall Street Journal published an article last September about a recent
study on gender inequality from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company.
According to the study, roughly equal numbers of men and women say
they want to be promoted (78 percent and 75 percent, respectively).
But 25 percent of women feel that their gender has hindered their progress.
The article also states that women make up just 17 percent of the population
of the executive suite.
“Women are not making it to the C-suite or to boards as they should be
if there is truly opportunity,” Schoenbachler says. “In NIU’s College of
Business, we still attract a lot of first-generation women students who may
not have role models or mentors for success in business. I want to help NIU
female business students be prepared to overcome the obstacles that their
male counterparts will not face. Business schools have a responsibility to
address the issue of gender inequality in leadership.”
The White House released a statement last fall saying that business schools
play a critical role in meeting the needs of the twenty-first century workforce,
including helping women in business. According to the White House, women
make up nearly half of the workforce and both parents work in more than six
out of ten households with children.
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Cindy Crocker, ‘80 (center), with
students in her Crocker Program
for Emerging Business Leaders.
The Council of Economic Advisers reports that while men and
women in M.B.A. programs have similar earnings at graduation,
after five years men are earning about 30 percent more and that
gap stretches to 60 percent after ten or more years.
NIU Foundation board member Cindy Crocker, B.S. ’80, and
her husband, Doug, have made a commitment of nearly $1.6
million to support NIU’s new women’s leadership efforts. A gift
of $1 million will go toward the Crocker Endowed Scholarship
in Business, which began five years ago to offer $5,000
scholarships to four students per year in the College of Business.
The remaining $570,000 will create the Douglas and Cynthia
Crocker Endowed Professorship in Business.
Crocker and Janet Pucino, B.M. ’76, also an NIU Foundation
board member, have been on the forefront of giving students
opportunities to develop their leadership skills, and their annual
programs will be part of the women’s leadership initiative.
Both philanthropists host programs that provide networking
with business professionals and teach women how to present
themselves and become leaders. For example, their programs
have helped students become aware of their mannerisms,
practice the art of conversation, and determine their “personal
brand,” what they want to be known for on the job.
The number of emails that they get after a leadership forum
demonstrates that female students are becoming aware of what
they’re up against and want to know how to increase their
chances of working their way up the corporate ladder.
Crocker says she established the Crocker Program for
Emerging Business Leaders five years ago to create a learning
environment about issues not covered in the classroom.
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continued from page 17
“I never really had a support system, I
felt, at the university level before I
graduated,” says Crocker, who
retired as senior vice president
of investor relations and
corporate communications
for Equity Group
Investments. “We’re
trying to create that so
young women are more
prepared.”
Janet Pucino
Through her program in
March, Crocker arranged
a presentation with fashion
designer Sara Campbell, whose
clothing has been sold by Talbots,
Cold Water Creek, Laura Ashley,
Nordstrom’s, Neiman Marcus, and
other specialty stores.
Pucino’s leadership forum, a three-year pilot program, was
another catalyst for the women’s leadership initiative. Like
Crocker, Pucino has brought in motivational speakers to share
personal stories. The program, entering its third year, is designed
to benefit female and male students.
While Pucino was off to a great start in her career, with an
M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, she shares with students
the hard lessons that she learned on the job and the behaviors
and organizational cultures that hold women back. By sharing
these challenges, she says, her goal is to help women change the
way they think about themselves, teach students what it takes
to be a leader, and raise awareness about cultural practices in
business.
One of her goals is to teach women the best way to
communicate. Pucino emphasizes that women need to share
their aspirations with a company and articulate their ideas.
If the environment does not support their aspirations or goes
against core values, she says, then women have to do what’s
best for them and make a change in their career.
In March, Pucino brought Michael Allosso, a master
communications expert who coaches business leaders and
sales teams around the world, to NIU. Students who attended
Allosso’s presentation say the event made them rethink their
behavior and how they communicate.
“I learned that body
language is crucial in
communication and
your body language
shows much more
than you believe,”
says Jesse Michael
Laseman, a
junior majoring in
accounting. “After
the event, I observed
what my body language
was saying about me and
have been working to adapt
it.”
Denise Schoenbachler
Megan O’Brien, a junior
studying accounting, says she learned how to make others feel
valuable and is applying the lesson to everyday life, such as
frequently addressing people by name and using praise more
often.
For Schoenbachler, working with students is what it’s all about.
“The importance is to let women know early on that there are
challenges, that they are going to be viewed in a much more
rigid fashion and held to higher standards than their male
counterparts,” says Pucino, global CIO at Vanguard Logistics
Services, in Long Beach, California.
She has written a book, titled Not in the Club, about her
experiences as an information technology executive to help
women deal with their own challenges on the job.
“My best days are those when I can be with our NIU students
in some capacity,” she says.
By heading the initiative, Schoenbachler is following her
passion for women’s leadership issues. The passion stems from
her experiences as a dean in a male-dominated field, working
with female students, and hearing the enthusiasm from
business leaders when she talks about the initiative, she says.
To learn how to get involved with the women’s leadership initiative,
email Denise Schoenbachler at [email protected].
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huskie happenings
See Huskie Football in Chicago This Fall
The NIU Huskies will play the first football game in the history of U.S. Cellular Field,
home of the Chicago White Sox, on November 9 in the first-ever Chi-Town Showdown.
NIU will take on rival Toledo in the game, which is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2
and ESPNU.
NIU has played in Chicago three times in its history, hosting games at Soldier Field in
2007, 2011, and 2012. The three games account for the largest NIU home attendance
marks in school history.
For tickets and more info, visit niuhuskies.com/chi-town-showdown.html.
Regional Events for NIU Alumni
The NIU Alumni Association has nearly a dozen regional affinity groups, located in areas
outside Illinois with high concentrations of NIU alumni.
Visit myniu.com/get-involved to find a list of regional groups and how to join.
Alumni in the Southeast can reconnect with fellow Huskies on September 10, when the
Alumni Association hosts a reception in Tampa, Florida, before the NIU football team takes
on the University of South Florida Bulls.
To register for these or other events, visit myniu.com/events.
NIU Alumni Association Calendar of Events
June 1-2 and 6-7
NIU Athletics Huskies Summer Circuit
Chicago, Schaumburg, Rockford, and Aurora, Illinois
July 18
Chicago Boat Cruise
Chicago, Illinois
August 12-13
Naperville Wine Festival
Naperville, Illinois
August 28
NIU Day at U.S. Cellular Field
White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners
Chicago, Illinois
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huskie sports
Norway, and was part of the team’s undefeated season that fall. With that
season complete, Carr made plans to “retire” from playing soccer and begin
her career as a coach, accepting a graduate assistant position at Hastings
College in Nebraska.
Those plans abruptly changed in March 2015.
That was when an MRI, taken after a third seizure, revealed what was
originally thought to be a benign, golf ball-sized tumor in her brain. Surgery
was scheduled, but when a pre-op scan revealed a glioblastoma, a highly
invasive malignant tumor, doctors delayed the surgery until July while they
decided on a course of action.
CANCER
CAN T
STOP
CARR
I
By Matt Scheerer
Assistant Director of Athletics Communications
Throughout her life, former NIU women’s soccer
player Amy Carr, ’14, has relied upon three things
to achieve success – a strong work ethic, dedication
to fitness, and the desire to help others. Today, in
her hometown of Hemel Hempstead, England, she
is using those attributes to train for a 10K and a half
marathon less than a year after an ongoing battle with
brain cancer threatened her ability to walk and talk.
As a kinesiology major at NIU, Carr became the
first goalkeeper in program history to earn All MidAmerican Conference honors in 2012. Her diligence
in the classroom led to Academic All-MAC accolades
that same season.
Carr’s soccer talents have taken her around the globe.
As a member of England’s U17 national team, known
as the Lionesses, she played in the 2008 FIFA U17
Women’s World Cup in New Zealand; she also spent
one summer during her college career in South
Africa, where she coached soccer and cricket and
taught children English.
After graduating from NIU in May 2014, Carr signed
a professional contract with IL Sandviken in Bergen,
20
northern now summer 2016
“I knew there was something wrong, but I didn’t necessarily know it was that
bad,” Carr says. “I still don’t think it’s fully hit me yet. But I don’t think it’s
ever going to because I’ve gone through and dealt with it.”
Carr underwent surgery on July 12, 2015. Two doctors performed the
procedure – one specialized in awake brain surgery, or intraoperative brain
mapping, and the other in iMRI, a means of mapping the brain during
surgery to reduce the risk of damaging critical functions.
“It was a ten-hour surgery and I was semi-awake,” Carr recalls. “They put
electrodes on my brain and they were able to ask me questions during the
surgery to help figure out what was brain and what was tumor. They told
me I was going to be paralyzed, and it could last six months or it could be
forever.”
She awoke from surgery confused, not even able to communicate with
a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. She was paralyzed on her right side and
remained in bed, unable to move, for four days. On the fifth day, she stood
for the first time, beating the sixth-month paralysis diagnosis from the
surgeon.
Nine days after surgery, Carr was walking, conquering stairs, and doing laps
in the hospital halls. She was released from the hospital four days later, on
July 25.
Carr’s mom, Daryl, an exercise instructor, took time off from work to help
Amy in her rehab. A day after her release, Carr jumped on a stationary bike
in her living room and began her road back to active recovery.
Fourteen months after finding out she had a tumor, ten months removed from
surgery, and just six weeks after concluding chemotherapy and radiation
treatments, Carr is back on the golf course, on the tennis court, and on the
soccer pitch with her Sunday league team. She’ll be testing her endurance
with a pair of races – the Adrenaline Rush obstacle course 10K in May and
the Great North Run, a half marathon, in September. She is running to raise
funds for the Molly Lane Fox unit at the National Hospital for Neurology
and Neurosurgery and the Macmillan Cancer Centre.
“I’m doing the races to give myself a target. In my mind, if I get through
both of them, it means I’ve done it. Eighteen months later, with the help
of the staff on the ward and at Macmillan, I’m stronger mentally and back
physically,” Carr says.
huskie sports
“I think the main message is to appreciate the ability
you’ve got, even if you’re not a college athlete. I’ve
changed my career goal to wanting to help cancer
patients through exercise, so that while they’re going
through treatment, I can personally train cancer patients
throughout treatment if they’d like to be more active.”
Soccer has taken Carr across the globe and back, to
heights that most only dream of reaching. When her
chosen path was altered, she attacked the adversity
placed in front of her using the same attributes and
attitude that made her an all-conference student-athlete.
She is brave. She is strong. She’s a Lioness, a Huskie,
and a hero, inspiring others to live no matter the
obstacle.
HUSKIES WITH A CAUSE
Amy Carr is far from the only Huskie studentathlete - past or present - dedicated to making a
difference. The desire to “get off the sidelines” and
act is a recurring theme.
George Bork, ’64, M.S. ’77, the only NIU player
to be inducted into the College Football Hall of
Fame and arguably the best player in school
history, is a prime example. In April, Bork, 74, the
record-setting quarterback of the 1963 undefeated
Huskie football team, and his wife, Merlin,
completed their tenth Avon 39 Walk to
End Breast Cancer. The duo made the two-day,
thirty-nine-mile trek around Washington, D.C.
Merlin’s battle with breast cancer six years ago
provided the impetus for the couple of forty-three
years. In June they will walk thirty-nine more miles
in two days in Chicago, bringing the total amount
they have raised to support breast cancer patients
and research to about $50,000.
Christina Monson drew from her personal
experiences and an encounter with a little girl
affected by leukemia when she began the
Leukemia Lemon Challenge. Monson, a junior
who came to NIU as a Minnesota state champion
runner, was forced to abandon her track-and-field
career shortly after arriving in DeKalb when she
was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Upon meeting
two-year-old leukemia patient Greer Bond, her
thoughts turned from her own troubles to helping
the child and her family. Monson initiated the
challenge, which calls for people to eat a lemon
and post their reaction on social media. She hopes
it will “go viral” much like the ALS Ice Bucket
Challenge did in the summer of 2014.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
While contending for MAC Championships in multiple
sports this spring, NIU Athletics put up some impressive
academic numbers. For the tenth consecutive year, every
NIU team surpassed the academic progress standards
set by the NCAA for Academic Progress (APR). The
Huskie men’s tennis, women’s tennis, and gymnastics
teams achieved perfect multi-year APRs for the 2011-12
to 2014-15 classes, meaning every student-athlete over
that time returned and graduated. NIU also added fiftyeight student-athletes to the ranks of alumni this spring
with twelve football and ten baseball players among the
graduates in twenty-four majors from five colleges.
THE VICTORS
NIU’s Annual Athletics Awards celebration, The Victors,
honored the accomplishments of its student-athletes,
teams, and coaches on and off the field over the past
year, including men’s basketball’s twenty-win season and
volleyball’s MAC Championship garnering Team of the
Year accolades. All-American cornerback Shawun Lurry
(football) was named Male Athlete of the Year while MAC
Player of the Year and Academic All-American Nelle Youel
(tennis) won the women’s honor. The Victors Cup, given to
the top all-around teams based on athletic and academic
achievement, community service, and more, went to
softball and wrestling.
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
All 2016 NIU Football season tickets include a ticket to
the Huskie Chi-Town Showdown as NIU will take on
Toledo in the first football game ever played at U.S.
Cellular Field on November 9. Season ticket membership
includes tickets in the best locations to Homecoming, the
Huskie Chi-Town Showdown, and other special events,
and in many cases are the least expensive option. NIU will
play five games at Huskie Stadium beginning Saturday,
September 17, when Mountain West Champion San
Diego State comes to DeKalb. Homecoming is set for
Saturday, October 22 versus Buffalo. See the complete
schedule, ticket information, and more at
NIUHuskies.com or call 815-753-PACK.
northern now summer 2016
21
northern notes
Class Notes for Summer 2016
The following Class Notes were
received between February 1 and
April 30, 2016.
’63
Ross Phifer, M.S.’69, is the author of
Reinsurance Fundamentals: Treaty
& Facultative, a textbook that was
recognized as the primary text for the
industry until recently. He is also the
author of Almost Alone, a novel about
slavery in Africa and the tale of one
man who escaped.
’68
Jeffrey L. Greenacre, M.S., was
recognized as a 2016 Professional
of the Year by Strathmore’s Who’s
Who Worldwide Edition for his
achievements in the field of real estate.
’70
David Alex, M.S.Ed., will see his
award-winning play, Eroica, staged at
Chicago’s Redtwist Theatre July 9. Set
in a small U.S. town in 1966, the play
demonstrates that life is full of choices:
love, honor, patriotism, lies.
’72
Stephen J. Goehl has qualified for
the exclusive Court of the Table in
the Million Dollar Round Table,
the premier association of financial
professionals. He is a sixteen-year
member with fourteen Court of the
Table honors. Goehl was also awarded
the “A List Award” by Allianz Life for
outstanding sales performance in 2015.
Richard Katschke has been named
chief historian and senior vice
president of communications for the
Medical College of Wisconsin.
’75
Joseph DeSplinter has accepted a
position on the RE/MAX Holdings
Inc. board of directors.
Terry Kaney, former editor at Avenue
Edit in Chicago, was inducted into
the AICE Hall of Fame. During his
twenty-year career at Avenue Edit, he
earned seven Cannes Lions and five
Clio Awards.
Deborah Livingston, Ed.D., has been
promoted to senior associate in Legal
Shield, offering legal protection and
I.D. restoration.
’77
Judy Bond Friedrichs completed her
Department of Nursing practice in
nursing leadership at Rush University
Medical Center in December 2015.
She is a Chicago education quality
coordinator and bereavement support
program coordinator celebrating thirtynine years at Rush.
22
’79
Gregory Day, M.M., was invited by
Distinguished Concerts International
New York to perform The Messiah at
Carnegie Hall with musicians from
around the world.
’87
Sheila Quirk-Bailey, M.A., was
selected to serve as president of Illinois
Central College. She is the college’s
fifth president and the first woman to
hold the title.
Peter Kraker has published his first
novel, Once There Was A Cowboy, a
story of faith, forgiveness, and the
relentless love of God.
’88
Steven Barlow was promoted to vice
president, senior field examiner of MB
Business Capital.
’80
Mark Ridolfi, a thirty-year news
veteran, has joined the North Scott
Press.
Brian Dowd has been named a board
member at PartnerRe Ltd.
’82
Mark Booth has joined Probiodrug
AG as chief business officer and as a
member of the management board.
Cheryl Hart Johnson, M.B.A. ’84,
was appointed to the board of directors
of the Rhode Island Community Food
Bank.
William F. Tate was elected to the
National Academy of Education for
outstanding scholarship related to
education. The Edward Mallinckrodt
Distinguished University Professor
in arts and sciences at Washington
University in St. Louis is also serving
as vice provost for graduate education
and dean of the graduate school.
’83
Tim Collins has been appointed chief
technology officer at RF IDeas Inc.,
a manufacturer of identification and
access control readers.
’85
Todd Larson has been named senior
executive vice president and CFO of
Reinsurance Group of America Inc.
Robert Wicinski, M.S.Ed.’88, has
been inducted into the Illinois High
School Football Coaches Hall of Fame
after thirty years of coaching. He is
in the NIU Hall of Fame for the 1983
football team.
’86
David M. Anderson was promoted to
promo scheduling coordinator at Pop,
formerly TV Guide Network.
Tim Carlson, M.S.Ed. ’88, M.S.Ed.
’03, was awarded the Kishwaukee
Region Illinois High School
Principal of the Year Award by the
Illinois Principals Association for
his leadership, commitment, and
contributions.
Matthew Shaw, J.D., is the founding
partner of new law firm Shaw Family
Law P.C.
northern now summer 2016
Dale Falk was named assistant
superintendent of finance and
operations for Northbrook/Glenview
School District 30.
’89
John V. Ballun, M.B.A., has been
promoted to CEO at Val-Matic Valve
& Manufacturing Corp. He was
previously the company’s executive
vice president and COO.
Kevin Folta, M.S. ’92, chair of the
Horticultural Sciences Department at
the University of Florida’s Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences,
received the prestigious 2016 Borlaug
CAST Communication Award from the
Council for Agricultural Science and
Technology.
John Gorzak has been named vice
president of commercial banking for
Old Second National Bank.
Eva Horvath McFadden joined
Kayhan International as an account
executive to grow the firm’s presence
in the higher education market.
’90
Judith Blaser Balcitis has joined
HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital as chief
nursing officer. Previously, she was
vice president and chief nursing officer
at Advocate Sherman Hospital.
Robin Latman has been named
director of special education for
Flossmoor School District 161.
Steve Skerl, M.B.A., has joined
nonprofit health plan CareSource as
vice president of treasury.
Susan E. Jack Skow is the
administrator of Skow Law Firm in
Daytona Beach, Florida, with her
husband, attorney James Skow, a
seven-year NFL veteran.
Brett D. White was named to the FT
400 U.S. Financial Advisors 2016 list
by the Financial Times. The annual
list recognizes outstanding financial
advisers.
’91
Timothy A. Coakley has developed
a new life-saving bandage. His
WoundClot Hemostatic Gauze is
able to absorb large quantities of
blood and then dissolve into the body
without breaking the clots that prevent
hemorrhage. It also adheres to a wound
without pressure, leaving a medic’s
hands free to address a patient’s other
needs.
Nick Ranieri was promoted to senior
vice president of engineering at
Infogix, a leader in helping companies
provide data analysis.
Timothy L. Skinner, M.A.’94, has
relocated from Florida to California,
working at Frontier Ventures and
William Cary International University
in Pasadena.
’93
Augustino Fontanetta is the new
athletic director for New Trier
Township High School District 203.
’94
Terry Jimenez has been appointed
executive vice president and CFO of
Tribune Publishing Co. Previously,
he was a partner in IBM’s Global
Business Services.
’95
Seema Pajula has been named vice
chairman and U.S. leader of consumer
and industrial products for Deloitte &
Touche LLP. She is the first woman to
lead Deloitte’s consumer and industrial
products group.
Jaime Quezada joined the staff at
William S. Middleton Memorial
Veterans Hospital as an emergency
physician.
Erin Slater, M.S.Ed., Ed.S. ’10, is
the new superintendent at the Fort
Madison Community School District.
’96
Tracy Bogie has joined Coldwell
Banker Caine as a broker associate.
She was previously vice president of
career development.
Amy Horner Carnie, M.A. ’01, was
named principal of Hill Elementary
School.
Vicki Clarke, M.A., Ph.D. ’01, has
been promoted to vice president of
philanthropy and development at
Heifer International.
Rajnish Nath, M.S., has been
promoted to CEO at Sogeti USA.
Previously, he was the company’s
regional vice president of the
Heartland region.
northern notes
’97
Julianne Jasken, M.A., has been
appointed provost and dean of
McDaniel College, overseeing
the academic program including
curriculum, staffing, instruction,
student support services, and academic
resources. She has spearheaded the
development of both the Center for
Experience and Opportunity and
The Encompass Distinction.
Taneesha Colbert Thomas, M.S.Ed.
’08, digital learning coordinator at
William J. Bogan Computer Technical
High School, was honored by Chicago
Public Schools with a One to Watch
award.
Robert Weis, M.A., Ph.D.’01, an
associate professor of psychology
at Denison University, has been
honored with the prestigious Charles
A. Brickman Teaching Excellence
Award. He has authored a textbook,
Introduction to Abnormal Child and
Adolescent Psychology.
Gregory A. Wolf, M.S.Ed., has joined
the Quad-City Botanical Center as the
education director.
’98
Aldona Norkus Gorman, J.D.,
has joined Baker & McKenzie’s
North American compensation and
employment law practice.
Javed A. Kapadia won a 2016 Face
Award, presented to six recipients
in southwest Florida by Gulfshore
Business and D’Latinos magazines.
He was also the recipient of Small
Business of the Year for the promotion
of diversity.
Brett Kelley will lead a new
mechanical, electrical, and plumbing
practice in Chicago as a senior
vice president at WSP, Parsons
Brinckerhoff, a global engineering and
professional services organization.
For the past two-and-a-half years,
Nick Lo Bue has been employed as
a partner and head of capabilities for
Timshel, a social impact technology
company. His previous employment
includes an appointment as the firstever White House creative director
under the Obama administration.
’99
Fred Boehler, M.B.A., was named
president and CEO of Americold, a
global leader in temperature-controlled
supply chain solutions.
T.J. Lux was selected by his peers
in the Indiana Basketball Coaches
Association as a Bob King Coach of
the Year.
Timothy P. Naill, J.D., an attorney
with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.,
graduated with honors from The John
Marshall Law School in January with
a master of laws degree in intellectual
property law.
Christine Moran Sparks, vice
president, claims and audit for
Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund,
Inc., has been awarded the National
Title Professional designation by the
American Land Title Association. She
is the current president of the Illinois
Land Title Association.
’00
Jeff Hultman, M.B.A., was named
president and CEO of Illinois Bank &
Trust. Previously, he served as market
president of the bank.
’01
Matthew Bollinger has been
promoted to president of BankORION.
Previously, he was the company’s
executive vice president.
Nate Hardesty was appointed regional
vice president of sales at Hyatt. He
is responsible for driving business to
hotels in fifty-two countries and for
sales production across the eastern
region of the U.S.
Sarah Otto Lindstrom was appointed
regional president of Santander Bank
of Boston’s southern and western New
England region.
’02
Greg Diedrich has been appointed
an associate by the Chicago office of
global design firm Gensler. He has
spent the past four years working
primarily in the Workplace Studio on
projects such as Banfield Pet Hospital
Headquarters, Deloitte Greenhouse,
and JLL Headquarters.
Erik S. Laakkonen, has been named
a partner with the firm of Kramer
DeBoer & Kean and will work in
the Los Angeles County office in
Woodland Hills, California.
Matt Dunker was inducted into the
Marengo High School Hall of Fame.
He was one of Marengo’s best threesport athletes – football, basketball,
and track and field – and played tight
end for the NIU Huskies. He now
coaches and teaches at Crystal Lake
South High School.
’04
Joseph Fahrenbach has joined J.C.
Anderson Inc. as a project manager.
David Harroun has joined Koepfer
America as sales manager.
Max Ryser, M.A., has completed his
doctorate in health sciences from A.T.
Still University.
’05
Deanna Cabinian Milojkovic, B.S.
B.A. ’07, M.S. ’07, was named senior
marketing manager at Crain’s Chicago
Business. During the two years she
spent as senior audience development
manager, the magazine increased its
digital audience by 66 percent.
Lynsey A. Crowell Welch, J.D., was
named a partner at the law office of
Heyl Royster.
’06
Frank J. Mirandola, M.S.Ed. ’06,
M.S.Ed. ’10, was named assistant
principal of Prospect High School.
’08
William R. “Buddy” Avila, M.A. ’14,
is the new curator of The Museums at
Lisle Station Park.
Tina Cuppini was honored with a
Golden Apple Award. She is a special
education teacher for kindergarten and
first-grade students.
Lornett B. Vestal is the new
southeastern military and veteran
coordinator for the Sierra Club’s
Military Outdoors program.
’09
Melissa Johnson was promoted to
assistant branch officer in the retail
division of Alpine Bank.
’03
Peter Agrimson was promoted
to co-portfolio manager for the
Nuveen Multi-Market Income Fund
and co-manager of Nuveen Asset
Management’s Short Term Bond
product.
’10
T.J. Hicks, M.A., is the new
development director of the Wheaton
Park District, overseeing the district’s
nonprofit foundations.
Ryan J. Dowd, J.D., M.P.A.,
was named executive director of
Hesed House, the second-largest
comprehensive homeless shelter and
resource center in Illinois. He began
volunteering for the shelter at the age
of thirteen and continued to volunteer
through college and law school.
Ann E. Rondeau, Ed.D., was selected
to serve as president of the College
of DuPage. She was previously a
consultant and partner with IBM
Watson Group and is a past president
of the National Defense University.
’11
Jennifer Erickson, M.S.Ed., was
nominated by her NEA state affiliate
for the 2016 NEA Foundation Awards
for Teaching Excellence. She also
received the 2016 California Casualty
Award for Teaching Excellence.
Aaron M. Jones was awarded a 2016
Phenomenal Man Award.
CREXi commercial real estate
exchange launched its online
commercial real estate platform in
February. The online marketplace
simplifies transactions for brokers with
a suite of tools to manage the entire
process. Michael DeGiorgio, ’11, is
the founder and CEO of the company.
Other alumni who hold high-ranking
positions include co-founder Erek
Benz, ’08, finance officer Lawson
Dees, ’10, M.A.S. ’11, customer
experience officer Matt Cors, ’09, and
sales manager Steve Narish, ’10.
Joshua D. Schumacher, M.S.Ed.,
has been named principal of Hoffman
Estates High School.
’12
Jonathon Brust has joined ALMAG
Aluminum as Midwest territory sales
manager.
Kristin A. Hoffman has joined law
firm Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran
Hodge & Masur P.C. as an associate
attorney.
D.J. Pirkle has been hired as defensive
line coach at Northern Michigan
University.
Jessica L. Troike Quick has joined
the KSDK NewsChannel 5 First Alert
Weather Team.
’13
Delonte J. LeFlore was awarded a
2016 Phenomenal Man Award.
’14
Jim Bisceglie, M.P.A., has been
promoted to the rank of lieutenant with
the Elgin Police Department.
Jeremy M. Carlson has joined
Multimedia Marketing Group Inc. of
Rockford as a graphic design intern.
continued on page 28
Christopher W. Janota is the director
of investments at Abacus Financial.
northern now summer 2016
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northern now summer 2016
16
18
19
1 Christopher Troka, ’03, and Tonya Troka, ’02, M.A. ’04, welcomed a
daughter, Charlotte Helene, on May 12, 2015.
2 Sara Adland McGrail, ’08, and Jamie McGrail welcomed a daughter,
Charlotte Grace, on May 28, 2015.
News to Share
Name
Former Surname
3 Anthony Antonacci, ’09, and Samantha Antonacci, ’09, welcomed a
daughter, Simona, on June 8, 2015.
4 Jason Rahn, ’10, M.A.S. ’11, and Katherine Rahn welcomed a son,
Johnathan, on July 4, 2015.
5 Natalie Gacek Troiani, ’02, and Brad Troiani welcomed a daughter,
Lucille Marie, on July 14, 2015.
Class Year
Email
Address
6 Matthew Stone, ’05, and Angie Stone welcomed a baby boy, Easton Robert,
on August 3, 2015.
City/State/Zip
7 Brian Mayer, ’14, and Yasmin Fernandez welcomed a son, Luka Thomas,
on August 24, 2015.
News
8 Vanessa Mendoza, ’08, and Ricardo Buitron welcomed a son, Liam, on
August 25, 2015.
9 Pettee Guerrero, ’13, and Bumby Encarnacion Osorio welcomed a baby girl,
Petsi Elena, on September 16, 2015.
10 Rick Knox, ’05, and Kimberly Driscoll Knox, ’08, welcomed a baby girl,
Liana Noelle, on September 16, 2015.
11 Timothy Josefowski, ’08, and Samantha Preece Josefowski, ’06,
welcomed a daughter, Riley Lynn, on October 8, 2015.
12 Cyndi Sulak Mihalik, ’05, M.S.Ed. ’15, and Brian Mihalik welcomed a
daughter, Penelope Aurora, on October 15, 2015.
Mail to: NIU Alumni Association
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115
or email: [email protected]
Moving? Let us know!
13 Kari Lemmer Pohar, ’03, and Nick Pohar, ’05, welcomed a daughter,
Kaiya Monroe, on December 15, 2015.
14 Paul Curtis, ’08, and Gina Grazian Curtis, ’08, welcomed a daughter,
Michaela, on December 25, 2015.
15 Matt Green, ’13, and Monica Fischer Green, ’13, welcomed a son,
Maximus Xavier, on March 1, 2016.
Last Name
First
Former Surname
Address
16 Jessica Casey Morrison, ’03, and Michael Morrison, ’03, welcomed a
daughter, Alexandra Violet, on December 30, 2015.
17 Stephanie Tschampa Gutzmer, Au.D. ’14, and Todd Gutzmer welcomed
a son, Theodore, on January 1, 2016.
18 Richmond Lim, ’06, and Maureen Lim, ’06, welcomed their first child,
Rhys, on February 20, 2016.
19 Ciara Gant, ’15, and Gregory Bogan, ’14, welcomed a daughter, Trinity,
on March 29, 2016.
NOT PICTURED
Ivonne Andrade Ovalle, ’06, M.B.A. ’10, and Guillem Gali-Solanas, ’06, M.S.
’08, welcomed their second son, Noah, on March 18, 2015.
Nick Jadron, ’04, and Kelly Thomas Jadron, ’06, welcomed Mason on April 6,
2015.
City/State/Zip
Email address
Employer
Address
City/State/Zip
Robert Kocur, ’07, and Kimberly Miller Kocur, ’07, welcomed their first child,
Brayden Michael, on April 25, 2015.
Bridget Buehler Yochem, ’09, M.S.Ed. ’11, and Ben Yochem welcomed twin
boys, Everett and Griffin, on June 23, 2015.
Amberle Simon Heath, ’07, and Jeff Heath, ’07, welcomed their third child,
Christopher Alexander, on July 3, 2015.
Ashley Wager Schriver, ’05, and Jeff Schriver welcomed a baby girl, Aurora
Catherine, on July 9, 2015.
Matthew Castellani, ’05, and Christina Welch Castellani, ’04, M.A. ‘08,
welcomed their second son, Marshall Andrew, on July 22, 2015.
Work Phone
Home Phone
Major
Class Year
To ensure that we make the correct changes, please include the
mailing label that was printed on the back cover.
Mail to: Advancement Services, Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, Illinois 60115, or email [email protected]
northern now summer 2016
25
travel notes
Alumni Association Travel Programs
Join alumni and friends on an exciting travel adventure to one of these fascinating destinations. We’ll guide you along the way,
provide pretrip assistance, send an informational packet, and offer an enjoyable, worry-free travel experience.
Sicily
Sun-Kissed
September 9 – 17, 2016
Cost: $ 3,495
Experience the rich and diverse history of an island known for
striking architecture, old city centers, gastronomic delights,
ancient Greek ruins, bustling markets, and mountain ranges
bursting into sapphire skies on this Sicily adventure. Only in
Sicily can you commune with the culture of Hellenic antiquity,
the grandeur of the Middle Ages, and the marvels of the
Renaissance, all forged by a dozen civilizations. Journey to
the past as you visit wondrous Greek ruins with Mount Etna
rising in the distance and olive groves and eucalyptus trees
dotting the landscape.
French Riviera
October 13 – 22, 2016
Cost: $3,675
The stunning French Riviera awaits your arrival, complete with the elegant coastal resorts,
superb dining, fascinating museums, fabulous shopping, and secrets only a Mediterranean
paradise can hold. This one-destination stay includes touring in Cannes, Monte Carlo,
Grasse, the medieval village of St. Paul de Vence, Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and Gardens
in St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Eze, and St. Tropez. All this while enjoying the seaside paradise of
Nice with its historic buildings, specialty shops, and intriguing ocean beauty.
26
northern now summer 2016
travel notes
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Dece
2017
5
Cost: $3,99
Adventures in Costa Rica
March 9 – 18, 2017
Cost: TBD
Unsurpassed natural beauty awaits on this
exploration of Costa Rica’s natural wonders. We’ll
go on a floating safari in Palo Verde National Park,
tour the Arenal Hanging Bridges in La Fortuna,
delight in the unique beauty of the famous
hand-painted wooden furniture in Sarchi’s craft
center, and venture through some of the largest
coffee and sugar cane plantations of Costa Rica.
This tropical and secure paradise features lush
rainforests, beautiful beaches, cloud forests,
abundant wildlife, dynamic volcanoes, vanishing
ecosystems, and warm and hospitable people.
Russian River
Cruise
Coming in 2017
Details to be announced.
Explore nature’s museum. The touring itinerary
includes San Jose, Poas Volcano National Park,
La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Los Angeles Cloud
Forest Reserve, Arenal Volcano National Park,
Guaitil, and Tamarindo.
To make your reservation and check on Alumni Travel Program updates, visit the Travel section at myniu.com.
Contact the NIU Alumni Association at 815-753-1512 for more travel information. All prices are per person based on double
occupancy; a limited number of single supplements are available. Touring itineraries are subject to change. International
traveling may involve considerable walking, often on uneven cobblestone streets or hilly terrain. Many sites have limited coach
access and involve steps and inclines. Travelers should be in reasonably good health. Please consult your physician for pretrip
medical advice.
northern now summer 2016
27
northern notes
continued from page 25
’15
Suzan Joyce, M.B.A., was named COO
for Global Parts Network, a subsidiary
of VIPAR Heavy Duty.
Trent Kobs is a collateral analyst at
First Business Capital Corp.
Joseph E. Tallman and Griffin S.
Thorne will represent NIU in the
prestigious Society of Illustrators
student scholarship competition. Only
the top 13 percent of more than 8,000
submissions advance in the competition,
and only twenty-five students are
awarded scholarships.
’16
Randiss Hopkins was awarded a 2016
Phenomenal Man Award.
IN MEMORIAM
Marvel R. Leming Larson, ’41, on
April 15, 2016, in Sandwich, IL
James B. Bishop, M.A.’68, on
February 27, 2016, in DeKalb, IL
Maxine V. Benson Kempf, M.S.Ed.
’68, on February 10, 2016, in Crystal
Lake, IL
James A. Riedy, M.S.Ed. ’68, on
February 27, 2016, in Naperville, IL
Thomas J. Carey, M.S.Ed. ’69, on
August 18, 2014, in Scottsdale, AZ
Diana J. Martin Franchi, ’69, on
March 28, 2016, in Elmhurst, IL
Kristopher Kuhn, ’84, on March 24,
2016, in Marquette Heights, IL
Linda MacDonald, M.S. ’85, on
February 20, 2016, in Lynnwood, WA
Mark A. Nordby, ’90, on April 4,
2016, in El Paso, TX
Jerome “Jeff” Lape Jr., ’70, on April
18, 2016, in Mishawaka, IN
John C. Miller, ’71, on April 4, 2016,
in Newport News, VA
Beatrice M. Nelson Olsen, ’48, on
March 23, 2016, in Kalamazoo, MI
David Pitsch, ’71, M.B.A. ’73, on
April 8, 2016, in Oak Brook, IL
Arlene J. Wass Jaeger, ’49, on March 6,
2016, in Chicago, IL
A. Lenn Block, M.S.Ed. ’72, on
February 28, 2016, in Naples, FL
Walter H. Christian, M.S.Ed. ’54, on
February 17, 2016, in Rochester, MN
Dora Heine Hoffman, ’67, M.S.Ed.
’72, on April 13, 2016, in Des Plaines,
IL
Klara H. Anderson, ’94, on January
27, 2016, in London, England
Martha Daniels, M.S. ’94, on
February 5, 2016, in Rockford, IL
Aletha Pinnow, ’06, on February 20,
2016, in Duluth, MN
IN MEMORIAM – Staff, Faculty &
Friends
Dorathea K. Beard, retired professor/
chair of Art History, on March 15,
2016, in DeKalb, IL
Worthie E. Briles, retired professor of
Biological Sciences, on February 18,
2016, in DeKalb, IL
Lawrence E. Gardner, M.S.Ed. ’73,
on March 24, 2016, in Yorkville, IL
Chris L. Carger, professor of
Education, on March 22, 2016, in
Riverside, IL
James M. Key, ’73, on March 21,
2016, in Georgetown, TX
Vivian V. Dunlap, on March 4, 2016,
in Kissimmee, FL
Pamela J. Fairbairn Takashima,
’74, on March 28, 2016, in Rochester
Hills, MI
Walker Fesmire, on March 14, 2016,
in Flushing, MI
Harry L. Hoey, ’59, on March 24, 2016,
in The Villages, FL
Bradley E. Coxhead, ’75, M.B.A.
’82, M.S. ’00, on March 27, 2016, in
Rockford, IL
Don E. Reagan, ’59, on August 25,
2015, in Wheaton, IL
John J. Dixon, ’75, M.M. ’79, on
March 5, 2016, in Rockford, IL
Lawrence E. Tanner, ’59, on February
22, 2016, in West Chester, OH
Linda L. Whitford, ’75, on April 11,
2016, in Tampa, FL
Willard L. Kempe, ’60, on February
14, 2016, in Spokane, WA
Gregory G. Joseph, ’77, on March 17,
2016, in Grand Rapids, MI
Geraldine F. Stanford, ’61, M.A. ’67,
on November 8, 2015, in Wheaton, IL
Margaret Ross Kraft, M.S. ’77, on
March 28, 2016, in Naperville, IL
William C. Jamison, ’66, on March 9,
2016, in Plymouth, IN
Alan R. Sell, ’77, on March 18, 2016,
in Lisle, IL
Jane Cray, M.A. ’78, on March 15,
2016, in Northbrook, IL
28
Evelyn R. Panttila, retired supervisor,
HSC, on March 2, 2016, in DeKalb, IL
Sarah Jo Hermanson, ’70, M.A. ’71,
M.F.A. ’73, on February 5, 2016, in
Elmhurst, IL
Arthur Russ Baumann, ’48, on April
13, 2016, in Crystal Lake, IL
Dorothy L. Baler Chambers, M.S. ’67,
on April 8, 2016, in Rockford, IL
Doradene Diefenthaler Manuel,
M.S.Ed. ’83, on February 29, 2016, in
Venice, FL
Harold A. Russie, ’87, M.S.Ed. ’93,
on January 24, 2016, in DeKalb, IL
David A. LeResche, ’71, on March 2,
2016, in Batavia, IL
Fred Knez, ’58, on March 5, 2016, in
West Mineral, KS
Eva M. Leonard, retired staff, on
March 17, 2016, in DeKalb, IL
Margaret Looze Finholm, ’70, on
March 13, 2016, in Gig Harbor, WA
Mariann Hannan Riippi, ’43, on
March 5, 2016, in DeKalb, IL
Richard P. Gammie, ’58, on February
10, 2016, in Albuquerque, NM
Michael Kirk, ’82, on April 20, 2016,
in Montgomery, IL
Sharon L. Seim Dowen, M.A.S. ’87,
former employee, on May 6, 2016, in
DeKalb, IL
Steven Jay Stein, ’70, on February 25,
2016, in Rockville, MD
William P. Shaw, ’55, M.S.Ed. ’57, on
April 10, 2016, in Elgin, IL
JoAnne Kozelichki, Food Service, on
April 6, 2016, in Rockford, IL
DeWayne L. Wagner, ’69, M.B.A. ’72,
on March 2, 2016, in Libertyville, IL
Marian Morrison Doyle, ’43, on
February 27, 2016, in Rockford, IL
Thomas E. Hipple, ’54, on April 9,
2016, in Moscow, ID
Edwin R. Burgess III, ’79, on
February 11, 2013, in Sycamore, IL
northern now summer 2016
James A. Gherity, retired professor
of Economics, on April 9, 2016, in
Kingston, IL
Earl O. Goodman, retired chair of
Home Economics, on March 14, 2016,
in Wilmington, NC
Shirley Ann Harmet, retired
president’s office administrative
assistant, on February 12, 2016, in
Cropsey, IL
Phyllis Colleen Jensen, retired
staff of the History and Chemistry
departments, on March 30, 2016, in
DeKalb, IL
Elaine A. Kittleson, former secretary
of the History department, on February
23, 2016, in DeKalb, IL
Paul Gilbert Plumley Jr., on April 7,
2016, in Rochelle, IL
Edward J. Rosado Sr., on March 25,
2016, in Glen Carbon, IL
Kevin L. Seligman, retired professor,
on February 19, 2015, in London,
England
Jack Skeels, retired professor of
Economics, on April 20, 2016, in
Lawrence, KS
Robert L. Sprague, assistant
professor, Department of Psychology,
on March 23, 2016, in Springfield, IL
Charles E. Strub, retired assistant
manager, NIU bookstore, on February
29, 2016, in DeKalb, IL
last look
Summer is a time to celebrate new alumni.
This happy Huskie was part of the class of 1986.
Share your graduation memories with us at [email protected].
We want to hear from you!
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DeKalb, Illinois 60115
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Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois 60115-2828