The Trump transition team has created uncertainty in the federal funding landscape through a series of executive orders, agency orders, and direct interventions at the agency level. RIPS is committed to helping all faculty, staff and students impacted by these changes navigate the evolving landscape and has created a website to keep our community apprised. 

Uncertainty can cause distraction. I want to assure you that RIPS aims to help focus efforts to ensure the amazing research and creative activities continue, as your work is what makes NIU so strong. To accelerate expansion beyond traditional funding mechanisms, RIPS has partnered with Academic Affairs, Advancement and the Foundation, and Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development to launch a new team-based support for your work: Huskie Frontier Team. 

A series of launch forums designed to partner will faculty to broaden funding sources will be held Monday, March 17 from 2-3:30 p.m. and Wednesday, March 19 from 10:30 to noon at the 71 North studio in Founders Memorial Library. Additionally, a virtual forum will be held Tuesday, March 18 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Teams. Please register here.

If you are unable to make this meeting, please reach out to the Office of Research Development to schedule an individual time to meet at ord@niu.edu. 

The goal of this work is to meet faculty and PIs where they are, understand their strengths, and help to connect them to collaborators, funding sources, and the community to build a more sustainable funding program.  

Also, don’t miss our forum with Amy Farranto, Senior Acquisitions Editor at NIU Press from 11 a.m. to noon on February 26 (tomorrow) on Teams (more information below).

Go Huskies!

Richard

Lab Safety Awareness Week was Feb. 10-14. The Office of Research Compliance, Integrity and Safety (ORCIS) is promoting safety initiatives by continuing to engage researchers with NIU’s Lab Safety Software - CEMS.  We have produced a QR code and flyer to post in our research labs to promote the benefits of CEMS, such as maintaining an accurate chemical inventory. Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are readily accessible in CEMS for your laboratory. Another benefit of CEMS is that is it a repository for training videos such as annual lab safety presentations, compressed gas cylinder training, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) bloodborne pathogen training and many more. Training certifications are generated upon completion, allowing for ease of compliance tracking.

Another major initiative to promote laboratory and (campus safety) is to encourage our NIU community to report accidents or near misses. This allows ORCIS to identify where additional lab safety training may be needed, to recommend corrective actions and to reduce future incidents. ORCIS and EHS developed an accident reporting flyer with QR code to facilitate the process. Both flyers are available in print and digital signage formats for posting. Please reach out to the Laboratory Safety Specialist, Linda Srygler, at lyates@niu.edu with any questions or for various flyer formats. As always, ORCIS is happy to provide additional safety trainings to the departments.

Images of flyers available developed by ORCIS AND EHS. Contact Linda Srygler with any questions or for various flyer formats.

NIU Faculty and Graduate Student Q&A on Academic Book Publishing

Join us for an insightful professional development event designed for scholars navigating the academic book publishing process. Whether you’re publishing your first monograph or have questions about academic book publishing, this session is for you!

Event Details:
📅 Date: February 26, 2025  ⏰ Time: 11:00-12:00pm
📍 Location  Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 266 271 123 728
Passcode: i4KR6sc2

What to expect:

About the speaker:
Amy Farranto has been an acquisitions editor with NIU Press since 2008. She currently acquires books for the NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies; the NIU Series in Orthodox Christian Studies; and the NIU Southeast Asian Series. Her expertise also extends to publishing works on the Midwest and political philosophy.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and expert advice on the academic publishing journey. We look forward to seeing you there! For more information, contact jyork4@niu.edu

Save the date! March 27-28

We're excited to announce that the American Heart Association is coming to NIU! Join us for an exclusive event where you'll learn about innovative funding opportunities designed to empower your research and initiatives.

Stay tuned for more details on how this event can open new doors for your work. In the meantime, check out heart.org to learn more about the organization behind these transformative opportunities.

Don't miss out—mark your calendars now!

Future home of the NICCS Building, December 2024.

The Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability (NICCS) has begun hosting a weekly “NICCS on Tuesdays” event at the 71 North Partnership Studio. NICCS on Tuesdays aims to facilitate partnerships on sustainability-related research and creation through providing a forum for faculty and members of the community to collaborate and discuss ideas in an informal setting. NICCS on Tuesdays begins with a morning writing session (9-11 a.m.) and NICCS Updates meeting (11:15-11:45 a.m.), followed by an afternoon session of NICCS news and topic-based workshops, and discussions (1:30-4 p.m.). In January, attendees conducted a thorough review of the NICCS building plans based on input from 2023 and 2024, and discussed NICCS objectives for 2025.

Also in January, the NICCS building inched closer to reality, with final conversations occurring between the Illinois Capital Development Board and the planning document consultant. We expect that the document to solicit bids for building design and construction will be released by the CDB later this month.

Monday Money Matters and More

SPA has kicked off the Monday Money Matters and More series. The next event is Monday, March 3, 2025 from 10 to 11 a.m. The series continues Mondays, biweekly through Monday, May 12, 2025. Each upcoming event and discussion topic is listed below, with a registration link.

Gift or Sponsored Project Checklist

Funding, particularly when received from a non-profit entity (such as a foundation, private organization, or corporation), can sometimes be difficult to classify and to know which university office should handle the funds. Put simply, funds that are considered gifts must be managed by the NIU Foundation while those considered sponsored projects are managed by SPA.

New procedures and a checklist are available on the SPA website to help you in classifying your funding and to make sure you are working with the right office.  

The Center for Burma Studies is hiring a Rhoten A. Smith Graduate Assistant (GA)* for the academic year 2025-26. It is a 20-hour Graduate Assistantship with full tuition waiver starting August 16, 2025 and ending May 15, 2026. The GA will participate in various programs run by the Center including, but not limited to, the installation of a large-scale exhibition with the Burma Art Collection, the organization of the international conference on Burma Studies at NIU, research grants, curation, event planning, community engagement, and strategic planning.

Please send a resume and cover letter along with the Application for Graduate Assistantship Form by March 16, 2025 to the Center for Burma Studies BurmaStudies@niu.edu.

For more information contact Aurore Candier, Director for the Center for Burma Studies, acandier@niu.edu.

*Please note that the Rhoten A. Smith program is only available to US citizens.

 

“Life-changing research, innovation and engagement are happening across Northern Illinois University’s campus—and now, for a second year in a row, you can see it for yourself at Huskie Trek Talks: Ideas in Motion on March 1, 2025.”