NIU event Sept. 25

A letter from Dr. Lois Self, former NINA executive secretary:

Dear NINA friends,

As a former executive secretary and real fan of NINA, I am writing to ask for your help in publicizing the yearlong celebration of the NIU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Golden Anniversary. Of course, classes in humanities, social sciences, and sciences have been part of education at NIU throughout the school’s entire 115-year history. However, reorganization of the Division of Instruction of the old Teachers College in 1959 formally created the college and launched the rapid growth toward the comprehensive university Northern has become.

We will kick-off this anniversary year on Sept. 25 with a gala reception and dinner on campus honoring 50 Golden Anniversary Alumni Award winners, 10 from each of the college’s five decades. These alumni were nominated and selected from among the college’s more than 70,000 graduates. Their stories are indeed diverse and compelling. We are very pleased that over 90 percent of these distinguished honorees will be returning to campus from around the country, and some even from abroad, for this event. We have already received numerous letters of congratulations for the honorees and the college from prominent political figures. Your paper will be receiving a press release about this next week and information about anniversary events and celebrations through-out the year will be available on the Web at http://www.niu.edu/clas50/ and, of course, through the university’s Office of Public Affairs at publicaffairs@niu.edu.

Dr. Donald R. Grubb founded the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association at Northern Illinois University on Dec. 1, 1962. According to archival materials recently provided by his widow, Ruby Grubb, Dr. Grubb began working to form such an organization when he arrived on campus in 1959 to develop and serve as the first chair of the Department of Journalism. The NIU Journalism program boasts many outstanding alumni and continues to collaborate with NINA to support journalism education, professional development and recognition activities. Given our shared history and service region, it would seem particularly fitting for your paper to take note of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 50th anniversary. We would very much appreciate a story, or an editorial congratulating the college on this milestone and listing our honorees, features on the alumni honorees, and/or news stories about the college. I believe such items would be of interest to the many NIU alumni and friends among your readers.

Best wishes,

Lois

Lois Self
Co-Chair,
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 50th Anniversary Planning Committee

NIU Press Release about 50th Anniversary Web site