The Northwestern Parent Quarterly, Issue 1, Summer 2011

Page 1

NORTHWESTERNPARENT quarterly

THE

Issue 1 | Summer 2011

The Inaugural Issue


you’re more than welcome– we’re expecting you!


SUMMER 2011

CONTENTS NU PARENT QUARTERLY

14

HATS OFF TO 2011

Commencement for the Class of 2011

10 19

NU & DARTMOUTH Addressing binge drinking

FIELD TO GRADES Sporting academic success

IN THIS ISSUE 4 LETTER FROM DEAN OF STUDENTS

12 STUDENT PROFILE:

5 NEWS ACROSS CAMPUS

13 NU OFFICE PROFILE:

6 WHAT A CLASS: CLASS OF 2015 8 FAREWELL & HELLO:

VP OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

VALENTINA ZAHRAN

ORIENTATION & PARENT PROGRAMS

18 FAMILY WEEKEND 2011


Letter

from the Dean of Students

Dear Northwestern Families and Friends, Now that the academic year has come to a close, I wanted to take this time to share a few thoughts with you, our parents – one of our most important partners and support systems for the success of our students. In the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to address groups, attend final project presentations, go to concerts (including the Dillo Day closing act with over 8,000 students bobbing out on the lakefill), attend award ceremonies and cheer on our student-athletes on their way to achieving regional and national success. After all of that… it is safe to say that I remain impressed by all that our students, faculty and staff do to make Northwestern special. The role of Student Affairs in this whole process is to help your daughters and sons have the best possible experience they can at the University and work towards achieving those goals. Along the way we teach lessons about leadership, civic and community engagement, sustainability, how to embrace and learn from difference and give guidance on career development in the hopes of creating responsibly independent young adults who will have an impact on their community and the world around them. The past year has seen a number of highlights including: great lectures, great concerts, wild weather (a blizzard and lots of rain!), great sporting achievements including a 6th national championship for our women‘s lacrosse team, moving theatre performances, skating rinks, outstanding philanthropy and engagement in our surrounding communities, a Nobel prize and countless honors for our students and faculty. However, what has been most impressive, has been watching the growth and development of your children into some really fantastic people. As we look ahead to the summer and the coming academic year we, here on campus, will be busy renovating and updating residence halls including the creation of our second residential community at Alison Hall, with a live-in faculty member present. We will be completing projects at Willard Hall and Elder Hall. Students will be growing produce at our ‗WildRoots‘ garden at the Norris University Center, and that produce will be put to use in dining facilities here on campus. Summers are not dormant times for NU, as the campus is still abuzz with students and faculty doing research, conferences, summer programs, and of course, readying ourselves for the incoming families in the Class of 2015 and transfer students. To our returning families, we look forward to seeing you back on campus next September for move-in or for Family Weekend in November. For those of you who have a graduating senior, we say thank you – thank you for sharing your child with Northwestern, and for allowing them to develop and contribute towards making this an even better place. Northwestern is about its people – students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents, as much as it is about the absorption and creation of knowledge. Thank you for continuing to be part of this experience, and we wish you a wonderful summer. Go ‘ Cats! Sincerely, Burgwell J. Howard Dean of Students 4 NORTHWESTERN PARENT


NEWS ACROSS CAMPUS Former President Bienen Named to School Board

Medill expands name

Evanston mayor wins climate protection award

Junior Wins 2011 Tewaaraton Award as Nation’s Top Performer

Henry S. Bienen selected by Rahm Emanuel to help lead Chicago Public Schools Read more

Medill now the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications Read more

Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl wins 2011 Mayors’ Climate Protection Award Read more

Women’s lacrosse wins national championship

In Praise of Great Teachers

NU Nobelist returns to celebration

NU-Argonne Ties Get Tighter

NU recognizes six with McCormick teaching excellence awards Read more

Recent two-day symposium honors Dale T. Mortenson for his Nobel Prize in economics Read more

Northwestern and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory launch joint initiative Read more

James Foley Speaks at Medill

SESP Senior Wins Princeton in Africa Fellowship

Lakefront Bienen School of Music Building to break ground

New Scholars Join the School of Communication Faculty

Journalist James Foley speaks at Medill after being released from Libya Read more

Julie Kornfeld wins Princeton in Africa Fellowship for her work in Uganda Read more

Wildcats are back on top after defeating Maryland 8-7 Read more

With the design process in its final stages, the building is expected to break ground later this year Read more

Shannon Smith of the women’s lacrosse team is awarded the Tewaaraton Award, goes to a Wildcat for fifth time in six years Read more

The SoC hires seven tenuretrack faculty for the largest SoC freshman class ever Read more

View PlanIt Purple for upcoming events at NU NORTHWESTERN PARENT 5


WHAT A CLASS

Record one-year jump in yield for Class of 2015 follows record number of applications By Pat Vaughan Tremmel, for NU NewsCenter

The enrollment deposits for the Class of 2015 have been received, and Northwestern University will have much to celebrate when its newest students make their triumphant March Through the Arch soon after arriving on campus next fall. As part of the tradition, the freshmen, led by the Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band and cheered on by current Northwestern students, will march through the historic arch to a rally in Deering Meadow, where the whole class will be photographed and welcomed to an indisputably ―hot‖ university. Take the improvement in yield (percentage of admitted students who actually enroll), which was 38.7 percent this year, up from 33.4 percent last year, and 30.9 percent two years ago. ―The striking jump in yield is all the more impressive when you consider that the vast majority of our students were also admitted to several other elite private schools and, thus, had wonderful choices,‖ said Mike Mills, associate provost for university enrollment. ―Increasingly, students are choosing Northwestern for its uniqueness among the nation‘s top schools.‖ The jump in the yield followed a 25 percent increase in early decision applications of students who took themselves off the market to commit to only Northwestern if accepted. And the total number of applications -- 30,975 -- was 12 percent higher than last year and nearly double the number received in fall 2005 (16,228). Accordingly, only 18 percent of applicants were admitted this year, versus 23.10 percent last year. And 99 of the 2,149 students enrolled in the Class of 2015 are Chicago-area residents who are the first to benefit from the Good Neighbor, Great University program. Designed to make Northwestern more affordable to talented, but

6 NORTHWESTERN PARENT

economically challenged students from Evanston and Chicago, the program was initiated by Northwestern President Morton Schapiro. President Schapiro, a leading researcher in the economics of higher education, previously was the president of Williams College, one of the country‘s best liberal arts colleges. Doing as much as possible to bring homegrown talent into the Northwestern family has been a top priority during the two years he has been leading Northwestern. That process has helped to achieve another top priority – the enrollment of classes as diverse as they are capable. The Class of 2015 represents 50 states and 32 countries; 7.2 percent (6.9 percent last year) of the students are African American; 9 percent (8.2 percent last year) are Hispanic; 7 percent are international students; 7 percent are multilingual; and 19 percent come from families who are first-generation Americans. Ninety-one percent of the admitted students were in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, and 14 percent are Pell Grant recipients. The strategic process now underway to articulate Northwestern‘s comparative advantages and serve as a blueprint for a forthcoming capital campaign amplifies one of the University‘s biggest draws -- its intense focus on undergraduate education. Northwestern has carved out a niche as an elite research university that is ―obsessed‖ with providing a broad, rich undergraduate education. Mills argues that part of Northwestern‘s uniqueness stems from the existence of six undergraduate schools, rather than one or two, which is the norm at most of Northwestern‘s peer schools. Northwestern, he said, has ―a culture of crossschool collaboration between faculty and students that you just don‘t see at a lot of other places.‖ Students may pursue focused study with leading scholars, scientists and artists and immerse themselves in projects in the laboratory, the library or the studio, on campus or around the world. And students, themselves, increasingly are winning big awards, including Rhodes and Churchill scholarships, as they take advantage of the University‘s diverse offerings, from a leading journalism school, to innovative engineering and writing programs to unparalleled undergraduate research opportunities in every one of Northwestern‘s schools. The Northwestern ―model‖ draws ―quickwitted, sharp, creative‖ people and meshes well with what is needed to succeed in a shifting econ


omy, Mills said. He pointed to ―The World is Flat,‖ the book in which Thomas Friedman outlines skill sets that college graduates will need to succeed in the new Information Economy, citing the ability to collaborate, orchestrate, synthesize, explain, leverage and adapt. ―This is precisely the kind of education Northwestern provides,‖ Mills said, noting that Friedman spoke at President Schapiro‘s inauguration. As proof, Mills said, one need only look at some of our more famous graduates, including Andrew Mason (Groupon Founder); Will Butler (founder of Grammy Award-winning Arcade Fire); Stephen Colbert (wildly popular satirist); Mary Zimmerman (theatre director extraordinaire, Northwestern professor); Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Julia Louis-Dreyfus (of Seinfeld fame); Heather Headley (Tony Award-winning, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter); Seth Meyers (head writer for ―Saturday Night Live‖); Michael Wilbon (ESPN commentator); and Kelly O‘Donnell (NBC News political reporter). Perhaps the big banner that hangs from the arch that the new students will march through in the fall is the best reminder of what the Class of 2015 is getting into at Northwestern. The banner proudly waves congratulations to recent Nobel Prize winner Dale Mortensen, the Ida C. Cook Professor of Economics in Northwestern‘s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

30,975 27,615

14,000

2001

16,228

2005

18,385

2006

21,941

2007

25,013 25,369

2008

2009

2010

2011

Number of applications

*Data is approximate and obtained from various news releases from the NU NewsCenter

91%

Percentage of students in the Class of 2015 who rank in the top 10% of their graduating class

18%

The Class of 2015 represents all 50 states & 32 countries

Percentage of applicants admitted for the Class of 2015, versus 23.10% during the previous year

Purple Prep A new communication tool for a new class to achieve a better Northwestern Preceding Wildcat Welcome 2010- Northwestern‘s weeklong new student orientation program– the Office of Orientation and Parent Programs heard a one message loud and clear from parents and new students. The message communicated an overwhelming feeling parents and new students felt about communications from Northwestern during the summer months prior to Wildcat Welcome; communication was overwhelming and was delivered from various departments on campus. The most challenging question to

answer: What is important? This feedback created a project which produced Purple Prep for the Class of 2015 and new transfer students. All summer to-dos, a master checklist of items to complete and pertinent information regarding living and academics was streamlined for this publication. A physical copy of the book was mailed to new students in early May while an online edition can be found on the Orientation and Parent Programs website. NORTHWESTERN PARENT 7


“you say goodbye…”

VP OF STUDENT AFFAIRS BILL BANIS RETIRES AFTER 10 YEARS Banis recounts accomplishments of past 10 years

After 10 years of meritorious service as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Northwestern University, Dr. Bill Banis will be retiring in July 2011. For those many parents who have had the opportunity to interact with Dr. Banis, you are familiar with his sincerity, kindness and genuine care for the students of Northwestern. Though Banis has served as the Vice President of Student Affairs since 2000, he began his tenure at Northwestern in 1994 working with University Career Services. He has since blazed through his position as Vice President tirelessly working to better the experience and day-to-day life of each student. The Division of Student Affairs includes those offices responsible for the overall student experience and well-being outside of the classroom. Offices such as the Center for Student Involvement, University Residential Life, Religious Life, Orientation and Parent Programs, Health Services, Services for Students with Disabilities and Multicultural Student Affairs fall under the Division. During his tenure, Banis was crucial in the creation of new programs and units to meet the needs of the changing student body. He oversaw the creation of the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, Asian/Asian American Student Affairs, Hispanic, Latino Student Affairs, Multicultural Student Affairs, the Life Skills Center as part of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Orientation and Parent Programs, and the LGBT Resource Center. He expanded capacity in Services for Students with Disabilities, CAPS, career 8 NORTHWESTERN PARENT

services, the University Chaplain‘s office, university housing, and assessment efforts. Banis has also made vast enhancements with pre-orientation programs, Wildcat Welcome, community service, multicultural education, staff development and health education. Significant advances have also been made in the adoption and use of information Technology across the Division of Student Affairs, including a new electronic portfolio for students. Through the end of this summer, Student Affairs will have invested approximately $140 million in housing and food service facilities construction and improvement under Banis. For those parents with an extended relationship with Northwestern, you may remember the construction of Slivka Hall, capital and/ or cosmetic improvements to all six resident dining halls, the creation of cafes and convenience stores across campus, the design of the Elder Residential Community, and extensive renovations to many other housing facilities. His focus on campus safety is evidenced by the significant expansion of the SafeRide program, enhanced lighting on campus, and the addition of Community Service Officers in major residence halls. Banis also convened a Threat Assessment Team to monitor potential problem situations in campus facilities. Banis‘s tenure at Northwestern has proven fruitful and has caused the university to grow tremendously in regards to student services. Northwestern is deeply grateful for the commitment of Dr. Banis during the past 17 years; please join the community in wishing him a terrific retirement.


“...i say hello (hello, hello)”

PATRICIA TELLES-IRVIN NAMED VP OF STUDENT AFFAIRS Northwestern announces appointment of nationally recognized student affairs

Following is a message from Northwestern University Provost Dan Linzer to the Northwestern community President Schapiro and I are very pleased to announce that Patricia Telles-Irvin, currently Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Florida, has accepted our invitation to become Vice President for Student Affairs at Northwestern, effective this summer. She will succeed William Banis, who is retiring. Telles-Irvin is a national leader in student affairs and is the president-elect of NASPA, the national association of student affairs administrators in higher education. She has served as Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Florida since 2004. During her tenure there, she has increased student engagement while enhancing the sense of student community and academic class identity. She also is leading the university‘s efforts to address the problem of binge drinking. Telles-Irvin‘s professional interests include issues of acculturation and diversity, as well as women's concerns and student development. Prior to her tenure at the University of Florida, she served in multiple roles at Florida International University, including Director of the Student Counseling and Psychological Services Center and Assistant and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs. She concluded her service there as Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Human Resources, and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. She received her bachelor's degree in Education at Duke University and a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Boston University. She is a licensed psychologist in the state of Florida. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Bill Banis for his outstanding contributions to Northwestern and leadership of the Division of Student Aff-

airs. First in his role as director of Career Services and then as Vice President for Student Affairs, Bill has been a valuable, important member of the Univer sity‘s leadership. We will have several opportunities to thank Bill more formally for his service in the coming months.

We are confident [she will] provide important leadership in our continuing efforts to enhance the student experience at the University.” —DAN LINZER

We also would like to thank the members of the search committee for their excellent work in this process. We appreciate the time and thoughtful input that the members of the committee provided. We are very excited to have Patricia TellesIrvin join Northwestern. We are confident that her enthusiasm and experience will enable her to provide important leadership in our continuing efforts to enhance the student experience at the University. Please join us in welcoming her to Northwestern. Sincerely, Dan Linzer, Provost

NORTHWESTERN PARENT 9


COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES JOIN TO ADDRESS BINGE DRINKING Northwestern joins coalition of 14 universities to reduce harm and decrease binge drinking Released May 2, 2011, NU NewsCenter

Northwestern University has joined colleges and universities from across the country to address high -risk drinking on American campuses. This unprecedented group initiative — the Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking —will use comprehensive evaluation and measurement techniques to identify and implement the most effective ways to confront this persistent problem and lessen the harm it causes. ―Close to 40 percent of college students in the United States engage in binge drinking, and that number has remained virtually unchanged for decades,‖ said Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim, a leader in the effort. ―By collaborating on this issue, comparing our experiences, and learning from each other‘s best practices, we believe we are much more likely to make meaningful and lasting progress than if each school attempts to tackle this critical issue on its own.‖ Fourteen institutions have joined the Collaborative to date. They are: Boston University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Frostburg State University, Northwestern University, Ohio University, Princeton University, Purdue University, Sewanee: The University of the South, Stanford University, Stony Brook University, University of Wyoming and Wesleyan University. The Collaborative will be accepting additional schools through May 20.

UPDATE TO THE ARTICLE

With the passing of the May 20th deadline comes the updated number of institutions participating in the Collaborative. A total of 33 universities and colleges around the country have joined the project to improve student health through the application of population health solutions. More information will be released regarding the progress of the Collaborative after University representatives meet at Dartmouth College during the week of June 27, 2011.

10 NORTHWESTERN PARENT

SCORECARD: INSTITUTIONS PART OF 1. Acadia University 2. Boston University 3. Brown University 4. Bucknell University 5. Colgate University 6. Cornell University 7. Dartmouth College 8. DePauw University 9. Duke University 10. Frostburg State University 11. Lehigh University 12. Lincoln College Partnership 13. Northwestern University 14. Ohio University 15. Princeton University 16. Purdue University 17. Sewanee: The University of the South

―Binge drinking is a serious public health challenge, leading to injury and, in some cases, death, for hundreds of thousands of college students each year,‖ said U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. ―HHS agencies have tackled this issue over the years, strengthening the evidence base and identifying interventions that work to reduce binge drinking. The Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking is a promising initiative that will implement evidence-based practices at college campuses around the nation. We look forward to partnering with college leadership on this effort.‖ The Learning Collaborative methodology was developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Cambridge, Mass., and is aimed at spreading and adapting knowledge to different settings in order to address a given problem or health concern. This model already has been used successfully hundreds of times in medicine and public health. Using this system, participants are able to implement changes quickly and determine which methods are most effective in their institutions. These experiences then inform the process and progress of the group as a whole. A centerpiece of the methodology is its focus on measurement. Various measures will be developed to track the progress of the effort, in consultation with experts from across the country. Data will be shared and compared among participant institutions with the goal of both lowering the rate of binge drinking and reducing the incidence of the harm associated with this behavior.


convene for the first of a series of face-to-face meetings every six months THE GROUP INITIATIVE beginning in June. In be18. Southern Methodist tween those meetings, University teams will share outcomes 19. Stanford University and implementation meth20. Stony Brook University ods to assess which pro21. University of Maryland grams work, where they Baltimore County work, and why, focusing 22. University of Maryland principally on the eviEastern Shore dence-based interventions 23. University of Minnesota developed in recent years 24. University of New that have been shown to Hampshire be effective. There will be 25. University of Rhode three Collaborative learnIsland ing sessions, in June 2011, 26. University of Vermont January 2012, and July 27. University of Wyoming 2012, after which the 28. Vanderbilt University group expects to publish 29. Washington University in its findings. St. Louis ―An issue as com30. Wellesley College plex as binge drinking is 31. Wesleyan University ideal to take on through 32. Yale University this collaborative process,‖ said Lloyd Provost, an IHI senior fellow and an expert advisor to the Collaborative. ―The key to a successful collaborative is to effectively combine the subject matter experts‘ knowledge with the local contextual knowledge of teams on college campuses.‖ Close to 2,000 college students in the United States die each year from alcohol-related injuries, including motor vehicle accidents, and an estimated 600,000 students are injured while under the influence, according to research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In addition, research has consistently shown that binge drinking often leads to sexual abuse and unsafe sex as well as academic problems. ―High-risk drinking by college students is not an issue unique to any one college or university, and the harms associated with alcohol misuse could be viewed as a shared concern,‖ said Dr. Jason Kilmer, a research assistant professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences and assistant director of health and wellness at the University of Washington, who is also an expert advisor to the Collaborative. ―This Learning Collaborative represents a tremendous opportunity to share the responsibility for identifying possible strate

gies to reduce these alcohol-related harms.‖ Cornell University President David J. Skorton said, ―Every college or university president knows the terrible dread of having a student die of an alcoholrelated cause. And every president‘s first thought when a tragedy occurs is that there must be something the college or university could do to prevent these deaths. We all have methods of prevention that work some of the time. By pooling our ideas we have a better chance of finding solutions that improve our success rates. I am glad Cornell will be part of this effort.‖ The Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking is the inaugural effort of the National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP), a joint undertaking between Dartmouth College and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI). NCHIP aims to bring population health improvement methods to bear on problems affecting student health and plans to organize future collaboratives on other health issues.

SCHAPIRO HOSTS UNIVERSITY-WIDE CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT In a world beset by so much uncertainty, President Morton Schapiro shared an enthusiastic and optimistic glimpse of the state of the University through a University-wide forum. On May 25, 2011, President Schapiro led off the casual conversation with the progress that has been made drafting a strategic plan that will be the basis for a capital campaign and serve as a blueprint for enhancing Northwestern’s comparative advantages. The strategic process, he stressed throughout the conversation, amplified Northwestern’s extraordinary advantages. “The more I learn as I complete almost now two years as president of Northwestern, I'm prouder to have that role,” he said. “I think absolutely the sky is the limit.” A recording of the event can be found on the Northwestern website, by clicking here. NORTHWESTERN PARENT 11


STUDENT PROFILE

VALENTINA ZAHRAN CLASS OF 2012 A Columbus, OH native with a thirst for research and a good talk with Mom. Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences rising Senior Valentina Zahran could not feel more pride for the place she has called home for the past three years. ―I chose Northwestern because it has everything I could ever want and need in a university,‖ says Zahran; ―It provides a comprehensive education, fantastic location, diverse student body and a wealth of opportunities to help me succeed, no matter what I choose to do.‖ Zahran admits that ―self-sufficiency‖ is one of the most impactful items on her ―I‘ve Learned‖ list during her first year. As she laughs over her answer, she reflects on her relationship with her mother prior to college. She mentions her mother always cooking, cleaning and laundering for her– it wasn‘t until freshman year when she realized how much she relied on her. ―Freshman year taught me how to be independent but understand it is OK to turn to family for support,‖ says Zahran. She is quick to state she is now a seasoned cook with skills that are reckonable. Though she is keeping busy during the summer

QUICK NOTES ON VALENTINA ZAHRAN: SCHOOL: Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences MAJOR: Molecular Genetics and Biology/Chemistry HOMETOWN: Columbus, Ohio FAVORITE SPOT ON CAMPUS: “A specific rock that borders the Lake Michigan shore with the most beautiful view of Chicago. It’s where I got to relax!” WHEN THE FAMILY IS VISITING NU: Andy’s Custard in Evanston and Second City in Chicago are must’s! 12 NORTHWESTERN PARENT

months conducting research on the Evanston campus, she is also looking forward to her final Fall as an undergraduate Wildcat. Zahran states, ―I‘m looking forward to Family Weekend 2011 the most for the upcoming fall. As the Parent and Family Experience Chair for Wildcat Welcome‘s Board of Directors, Family Weekend is my pride and joy. I cannot wait for my own family to come and see my school while enjoying the weekend the Office of Orientation and Parent Programs and I have worked so hard to plan.‖ Zahran uses her time to the fullest while at Northwestern as she participates in a wide array of activities from new student programs to chemistry research to playing in a national tournament for her club volleyball team to training for her first marathon (the Chicago Marathon in October). However, the Wildcat Welcome Board of Directors is keeping her busy, which is what she prefers. The Board allows her the opportunity to plan for her favorite population: parents. Finally, when asked what advice she had for parents, Zahran paused for a moment before saying, ―Let your student know that you are proud of them, love them, and will be there for them, no matter what. As college students, sometimes we tend to be too independent, and insist on handling everything ourselves [which is extremely important], but knowing that you have a support system in your family makes life a lot easier and happier. So, make sure your student knows that and remind them from time to time!‖


NU OFFICE PROFILE

OFFICE OF ORIENTATION AND PARENT PROGRAMS

Pictures: 2011 Wildcat Welcome Board of Directors (left), Peer Advisers during 2010 Wildcat Welcome (right)

Welcoming new students, working with parents and building student leaders The Office of Orientation and Parent Programs has a mission to assist new students and parents during their transition to Northwestern University while also working with current student leaders and parents of current students. This is the same office that organizes and executes Wildcat Welcome, Northwestern‘s weeklong orientation program for all incoming students, Family Weekend, Winter Welcome for students entering the university during the winter quarter and more. The office lists three primary goals: 1. To build a comprehensive orientation program that serves as the initial introduction to the university‘s unique academic, cultural, and social community. 2. To collaborate with academic schools and other university departments to intentionally connect educational events, programs and activities that address a student‘s transition to Northwestern. 3. To integrate students‘ families, where appropriate, into the transitional period.

CONTACT INFORMATION Website: northwestern.edu/orientation northwestern.edu/orientation/parents Phone: (847) 491-8430 Email: family@northwestern.edu orientation@northwestern.edu Location: Scott Hall, Evanston Campus

Orientation and Parent Programs consists of two professional staff members, a director and assistant director, as well as a graduate student intern. These staff members work throughout the year to better the experience for new students and family members through their programming and publications (including Purple Prep mentioned on page seven and this very publication). Alongside the professional staff are 12 students who serve on the Wildcat Welcome Board of Directors, helping to plan Wildcat Welcome throughout the year, and 205 Peer Advisers (PAs). PAs work directly with new students during Wildcat Welcome and throughout the entire first year. New students learn who their PA is two months prior to Wildcat Welcome. The office aims to act as your go-to resource while you are a member of the NU community. Do not hesitate to contact Orientation and Parent Programs with questions you have during the summer months and throughout the year.

HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME INVOLVED Students first become involved with the office during their Wildcat Welcome experience. The next opportunity is through the Peer Adviser position. Applications for this position are released in January with 205 students chosen each year. Students must serve as a Peer Adviser for at least one year to then serve as one of the 12 members on the Wildcat Welcome Board of Directors. More information can be found on the student staff webpage. NORTHWESTERN PARENT 13


HATS OFF TO THE CLASS OF 2011


“...Northwestern is a school to be proud of. In academics, athletics, science, and public service, it represents humanity at its best…” —Stephen Colbert


By Elise De Los Santos, printed for The Daily Northwestern Northwestern's class of 2011, University faculty and family and friends gathered at Ryan Field for the 153rd Commencement ceremony on June 17. During the ceremony, University President Morton Schapiro conferred doctoral, graduate and undergraduate degrees to students from the Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences, School of Communication, School of Continuing Studies, Bienen School of Music, Medill School of Journalism, School of Education and Social Policy, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Graduate School. The Kellogg School of Management, School of Law and Feinberg School of Medicine held separate ceremonies. 16 NORTHWESTERN PARENT

Schapiro also conferred an honorary doctoral degree in arts to commencement speaker Stephen Colbert, the political satirist best known for his show "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. From the moment he walked into Ryan Field, Colbert elicited the biggest and loudest response from graduates and other attendees. During the processional, Colbert pretended to start to race Schapiro down the aisle, and when University Provost Dan Linzer "mispronounced" the name of his show, vocalizing the 窶葉' in "Report," Colbert intensified the crowd's reaction by throwing down his hat and pretending to storm off the stage. When he took the stage to address the Class of


2011, Colbert, who graduated from NU's School of Communication in 1986, used his personal experiences to relay his message to students. "After I graduated from here, I moved down to Chicago and did improv. Now, there are very few rules to improvisation, but one of the things I was taught early on is that you are not the most important person in the scene. Everybody else is," he said. "And life is an improvisation. You have no idea what's going to happen next, and you are mostly just making things up as you go along." In addition to entertaining his audience with anecdotes about his years at NU, Colbert also peppered his speech with references to recent University events, mentioning everything from the snow day to the ‗brothel law' and sex toy demonstration controversies. He called the cancellation of classes on Feb. 2 "weak," saying that -27 degree weather did not stop classes when he was an undergraduate in 1985, and joked the Human Sexuality after-class demonstration could have been "a stealth abstinence program." But Colbert combined humor and serious advice as he brought his speech to a close. "Try to love and serve others, and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return," he said. "In closing, I'd like to apologize for being predictable. The New York Times has analyzed the hundreds of commencement speeches given so far in 2011 and found that ‗love' and ‗service' were two of the mostused words. I can only hope that because of my speech today, the word ‗brothel' comes in a close third." Colbert received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees at the end of his speech. "I thought he did a really good job poking fun at all the things about Northwestern this year," SESP graduating senior Meredith Bundul said. "I also really

liked the things he said at the end about loving and serving people. I thought he had a good mixture of humor but also was giving really heartfelt and helpful advice." For Angie Keaton, mother of Bienen graduating senior Chelsea Keaton, it was the mixture of solemnity and humor that made NU's commencement unique. "It was very beautifully done," Angie Keaton said. "We're honored to be part of the ceremony. It's a special day, with so much lightheartedness to a serious event." Honorary doctoral degrees were conferred to three other individuals for their contributions to their fields, including Barbara Liskov in science for her work in data abstraction and computer programming, Jessye Norman in arts for her accomplishments as a vocal artist and William Schabas in laws for his work on international criminal law. Schapiro also recognized four high school teachers who were nominated by graduates for the Distinguished Secondary School Teacher Awards, 20 retiring NU professors with more than five centuries of service combined and William Banis, vice president of student affairs, who is retiring after 17 years at NU.

COMMENCEMENT PHOTOS & MEDIA Highlights from Colbert’s address Northwestern NewsCenter The Daily Northwestern Division of Student Affairs Class of 2011 celebrates Senior Week NORTHWESTERN PARENT 17


2011 FAMILY WEEKEND

Family Weekend [2009] was the first of many lasts as our daughter embarks on her senior year at Northwestern. As we pulled out of the driveway to take that familiar seven-hour trip to the big city, we were filled with excitement and a little sadness—to be spending our last Family Weekend with our daughter, her friends, and the lifelong friends we have made at Northwestern. The word “friends” includes not just the people but the familiar experiences and events we have made into tradition in the past four years. Oh, yes—this includes familiar faces, such as the hotel clerk who knows us by name now, and the waiter at Clarke’s, where we eat the best breakfast in town. It includes dinner with the parents of our daughter’s best friend and her family as well. I can’t forget the “sons and daughters” we’ve adopted along the way through our daughter’s friendships, who have become like family not just to her, but to us, too. The experiences have become tradition and make us feel at home: Hopping on the El and enjoying conversation on the way to our favorite shopping spots on Michigan Avenue, and ending the day with the sunset view from the top of the John Hancock Center; cheering on the Wildcats from our end-zone seats, sipping hot chocolate, and humming the tune to the Fight Song (because I still don’t know the words); taking a walk along the lake and viewing the beauty of the campus in the full color of fall, then walking past the Rock on the way back to see how crazy it has been painted; crossing through the Arch just to say you did; buying a new sweatshirt at the campus bookstore— or maybe two or three this time because it’s our last year here; and seeing your child have the time of her life and living it through her eyes. These are just a few of the things we will miss when our daughter takes her final walk in her cap and gown next spring. As we dropped her off before the long trip home, we said out loud—and know it for sure—what we had hoped four years ago, when we left her with tears in our eyes for the first time: “Northwestern is a great place! Thanks for the memories!” Rene A., mother of Jessica A. (Medill ’10) (letter first appeared on dailynorthwestern.com) Receive the Weekend code to purchase football tickets prior to the general public (act before August 1)

Reserve free tickets to NU Revue, new student variety show for Weekend 2011 Deadline to register is October 11, 2011

November 11-13, 2011

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WEEKEND SCHEDULE AND REGISTER


NU Earns Record Number of Academic All-Big Ten Awards Wildcats pick up 42 honrs in five winter sports; now have 132 for the 2010-11 year Originally reported by NU Athletics

Northwestern student-athletes have earned 42 Academic All-Big Ten honors in five winter sports, the Big Ten Conference announced today (March 30). Together with the school-record 90 accolades won in the fall quarter, 132 Wildcats have been named Academic All-Big Ten during the 2010-11 academic year. This is an 11-award increase over NU's total at this time a year ago. Northwestern-sponsored sports honored by the Big Ten during the winter season are: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and wrestling. NU's women's fencing squad will earn its awards during the spring at-large period. Of note this quarter is the Wildcat women's swimming team, which had their second-straight year with more than 20 award winners after picking up a program-record 22 a year ago. In addition to their academic success, several winter Wildcats earned significant athletic honors. Men's swimmer Sean Mathews earned honorable mention All-America status this year while his teammate Charlie Rimkus and wrestlers Levi Mele and Andrew Nadhir all qualified for their respective NCAA Championships, as well. "We are proud of the way our student-athletes excel in the classroom at the same time they are succeeding on the field of play," Director of Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips said. "The way in which we continue to earn a record number of Academic All-Big Ten awards each year is a credit both to the dedication of our student-athletes and to the tremendous efforts of our excellent academic advisors." To earn Academic All-Big Ten recognition, an athlete must be in his/her second year at the institution, letter in his/her sport and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. For the third year, the conference office also will award the Distinguished Scholar Award at the end of the academic year. Student-athletes eligible for the Distinguished Scholar Award must be letter winners in at least their second year in residence at their institution. Qualifying student-athletes must have earned a GPA of 3.7 or higher for the current academic year, excluding summer school. The 3.7 GPA benchmark was designed to include the top 10 percent of all eligible student-athletes. The Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award was established by conference Faculty Representatives as an addition to the conference's Academic AllBig Ten program, which is based on cumulative GPA.

NU’s 2010-11 winter season Academic All-Big Ten Award winners Men's Basketball (8) Mike Capocci, Sr. • Lombard, Ill. Drew Crawford, So. • Naperville, Ill. Davide Curletti, Jr. • Farmington Hills, Mich. Nick Fruendt, Jr. • Batavia, Ill. Reggie Hearn, So. • Fort Wayne, Ind. Luka Mirkovic, Jr. • Belgrade, Serbia Austin Nichols, So. • Lansing, Mich. Jeff Ryan, Sr. • Glenview, Ill. Women's Basketball (3) Kendall Hackney, So. • Cincinnati, Ohio Beth Marshall, Gr. • Fishers, Ind. Brittany Orban, Jr. • North Canton, Ohio Men's Swimming (5) John Frutiger, Jr. • Alma, Mich. Sean Mathews, Sr. • St. Louis, Mo. Peter Park, Sr. • Princeton, N.J. Charlie Rimkus, So. • Tustin, Calif. Jake Vogel, Sr. • Canton, Ill. Women's Swimming (21) Kiersten Cooley, Sr. • Hershey, Pa. Carlin Dacey, Jr. • West Roxbury, Mass. Liza Engstrom, Sr. • Reno, Nev. Katie Eschenburg, Sr. • Hartland, Wis. Meaghan Fenn, So. • New Rochelle, N.Y. Jacquie Godbe, Jr. • Rapid City, S.D. Ellen Grigg, Sr. • Charlotte, N.C. Marybeth Hall, So. • Brighton, Mich. Shelby Johnson, Jr. • Wayzata, Minn. Meredith King, So. • Louisville, Ky. Alex Kraus, Sr. • Birmingham, Ala. Felicitas Lenz, So. • Altadena, Calif. Beth Loe, Jr. • Upper Arlington, Ohio Katie McCullough, So. • Grand Rapids, Mich. Sheila O'Neill, Jr. • Dunwoody, Ga. Kathleen Patterson, Jr. • Naperville, Ill. Erin Reilly, Sr. • Frankfort, Ill. Taylor Reynolds, So. • St. Louis, Mo. Kate Stephensen, Sr. • Davis, Calif. Caroline Walls, Sr. • Tucson, Ariz. Jenny Wilson, Jr. • Bethesda, Md. Wrestling (5) Paul Jackson, So. • Detroit, Mich. Robert Joyce, Gr. • Arlington Heights, Ill. Ben Kuhar, Sr. • Concord, Ohio Levi Mele, So. • Vernal, Utah Andrew Nadhir, Gr. • Bloomfield Hills, Mich. NORTHWESTERN PARENT 19


from the office of

ORIENTATION

&PARENT PROGRAMS

6/28/2011 J.M.


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