Luminary Magazine Wins National Honors Honors Staff The Luminary received second place in the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) 2021 newsletter contest in the electronic category. The NCHC is the premier Honors education organization in the United States with nearly 900 member institutions and impacting over 330,000 honors students. This recognition is a huge honor for the newsletter, the NIU University Honors Program, the stellar honors students who help write and edit, and the talented and dedicated NIU marketing and creative services staff who bring professional polish to the finished product.
The Luminary started as a magazine featuring art by Honors students, then shifted to a blog, and, finally, to a features e-magazine for the next two years (with a small number of printed copies). The goal was to spotlight Honors students in various fields of study, do short profiles of Honors faculty, highlight Honors programs and recognize donors. In spring 2017, this changed to a printed features magazine which continued for three issues. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the trend toward online publications, The Luminary regrouped in the last three years to include the best of its history: An online magazine that offers both spotlights and features.
The purpose of the newsletter is to connect current students with alumni and friends of the program. The publication features students, staff, faculty, programs and highlights the most innovative and exciting events and endeavors of the year. The newsletter was recognized in the “Faculty/Administrator/Student” category, which speaks to the fact that it is a collaborative effort among all UHP stakeholders. Students work together with Honors staff to put out a comprehensive account of the program. The Honors Program also created leadership positions, such as editor-in-chief, that count for program credit to provide the kind of enriched experiences for which Honors education is known. Previous student editor Maggie Miller shares her enthusiasm for the role she was able to play in publishing The Luminary. “I loved my time as a coordinator, writer and editor-in-chief. It was a passion project of mine, and I was so jazzed to hear about the magazine winning an award. It’s a really special piece of Northern Illinois University history, and I’m just so proud of every step of its journey.”
Past issues of the Luminary magazine.
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