Skye McCord, who earned their BS in anthropology and art history was profiled in a video that ran during commencement...
xArt and Design News Archives
From NIU to the Ivy League, Skye McCord to study archaeology at Cornell University
Skye McCord remembers becoming fascinated by archaeology by watching as many documentaries and PBS Nova episodes on...
Art and Design students research how high school art teachers are using AI
When Kelly Gross, assistant professor of visual arts education at NIU received a grant from the NIU Student Engagement...
NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies hosting free viewing of the documentary “Loot: A Story of Crime and Redemption”
The NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies is hosting a free viewing of the documentary Loot: A Story of Crime and Redemption, Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown DeKalb. A daring look at the underbelly of the global art market, LOOT...
Kelly Gross named Illinois Higher Education Art Educator of the Year
Kelly Gross, Ph.D., assistant professor of art and design education in the NIU School of Art and Design has been named the 2025-2026 Higher Education Art Educator of the Year by the Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA). Gross was honored at their annual...
NIU faculty, alumni and students highlight annual National Art Education Association conference
A strong contingent of faculty, alumni and students will represent the NIU School of Art and Design's art and design education program at this year's National Art Education Association conference in Chicago March 5-7. Three members of the faculty are being awarded...
Douglas Boughton to receive NAEA’s Viktor Lowenfeld Award
Douglas Boughton, professor of art and design education in the NIU School of Art and Design has won just about every major award in his field, and that now includes the Viktor Lowenfeld Award from the National Art Education Association. Boughton’s career as an art...
Nora (Balayti) Reuter, ’06, combines her interests in a new children’s book on someone’s first trip to Wrigley Field
When Nora (Balayti) Reuter was working shifts as a bartender at Murphy’s Bleachers, the popular sports bar located just steps from the bleacher entrance of beautiful and historic Wrigley Field, little did she know that she was also doing prep work for a future book...
National Art Education Association honors NIU’s Kerry Freedman with Eisner Award
Dr. Kerry Freedman, professor of art and design education in the NIU School of Art and Design is the 2026 recipient of the National Art Education Association’s Eisner Lifetime Achievement Award. Freedman has previously been honored by the NAEA with the National Higher...
Huskie Spotlight – Lane Staffeldt, Art and Design Education
Lane Staffeldt, is a senior art and design education major who graduated from Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois and transferred to NIU from College of DuPage. Staffeldt is working as a research assistant to Kelly Gross, assistant professor of art and...
Stanley Schultz, ’04: Designing the Digital Backbone
Behind every click, stream and swipe lies a vast network of data centers — the backbone of our daily lives. “From 911 calls to banking, food production to aviation, medical to gas industries, the digital and physical systems that support modern living all pass through...
Full Speed Ahead: NIU fueled career growth for Adrienne Miller
Adrienne Miller, M.F.A. ’15, came to NIU with a clear goal: to elevate her career. Now serving as exhibition and publications manager at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, Miller has built a career where creativity meets precision. “I was a studio manager...