2-14 REPORT RELEASED

A report was released Aug. 4 detailing the fire response after the Feb. 14, 2008 shooting.

Released by the United States Fire Administration, the 48 Page report titled “Northern Illinois University Shooting” includes details of how emergency responders like the DeKalb Fire Department, NIU Department of Public Safety and Kishwaukee Hospital responded to the shooting. The report also includes lessons learned.

“We as firefighters in this nation continue to witness the positive outcomes of emergency preparation, preplanning, practicing plans and executing the plans when an emergency occurs,” said Glenn A. Gaines, acting U.S. fire administrator, in an Aug. 4 press release. “The DeKalb Fire Department demonstrates the fire service commitment to emergency preparedness for all emergencies through the study of lessons learned, and the application and practice of Incident Command and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).”

To view the report, visit http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr_167.pdf.


STRAUSS NAMED BOT CHAIR

Trustee Marc Strauss is the new NIU Board of Trustees chair for Fiscal Year 2010.

Strauss served as vice chair in FY09 and is taking over for Cherilyn Murer, who has served as BOT Chair since 2005.

Strauss thanked the BOT for electing him and briefly discussed the board’s plans to work through the current state budget crisis at the June 25 meeting.

“These are economic times unlike any other we’ve seen on this board, or frankly, in our lifetimes,” Strauss said at the meeting. “The pressures on higher education and specifically on NIU will be unprecedented.”

Strauss also discussed the necessity of working with Illinois government to work through the financial crisis.

“Recognizing the challenge this creates is the first step in dealing with the consequences,” Strauss said. “In the coming months [the BOT] will be working diligently within our shared governance system to look in greater depth at our budget resource allocation.”


NEW HEAD OF HEALTH SERVICES NAMED

Christine Grady, RN, MS, was selected as the new Health Services Director after a “competitive search,” said Brian Hemphill, vice president for Student Affairs and enrollment management.

The position opened July 1, after Russell Dolce relocated, Hemphill said. Hemphill said Grady was one of two qualified candidates who were interviewed for the position.

“Ms. Grady met the qualifications for the position. She has broad experience in health care administration and 27 years experience as a health care provider,” Hemphill said. He also said the university followed all search guidelines for both the position and NIU.


MEMORIAL SCULPTURE CHOSEN

The February 14 Memorial Committee has chosen a sculpture to compliment the five granite stones in the planned Memorial Peace Garden.

The stainless steel sculpture called “Remember” will feature five triangles that support each other as they rise up, Jeff Daurer, director of capital budgeting and planning for the NIU Division of Finance and Facilities, said. The sculpture is planned to be installed on Feb. 14, 2010, he said.

“The sculpture was envisioned to be an abstract expression of remembrance and healing,” Daurer said.

The Memorial Peace Garden is completely funded by hundreds of private donations, Peters said. The garden is “a permanent memorial to victims of the Feb. 14, 2008 shootings on campus,” according to an NIU press release from Feb. 14, 2009.


UP OFFICER RESIGNS

Controversial NIU police officer Dexter Yarbrough resigned July 14.

Yarbrough, a former Chicago police officer hired by NIU on June 29 who was most recently Colorado State University Police Chief, came under fire when he allegedly told students that beating suspects and paying off informants is routine for Chicago police. Yarbrough resigned from his post at CSU after an internal investigation.

Media outlets in Colorado also discovered that Yarbrough was the subject of a sexual harassment complaint by a subordinate in December 2008 and was placed on administrative leave.

A graduate student taped remarks allegedly made by Yarbrough in 2008 lectures in which Yarbrough told students that paying informants with drugs was acceptable, as long as the informants never revealed where they got the drugs, and that excessive and violent force against a suspect is a “reality of law enforcement,” according to the Rocky Mountain Collegian, Colorado State’s student newspaper.

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