Northeastern Illinois University honored celebrated poet, essayist, activist, novelist and scholar Ana Castillo with the Distinguished Alumnus Award during the annual Golden Gala and Alumni Awards. This year’s ceremony, emceed by 2011 Distinguished Alumnus Award winner and retired WGN anchor Robert Jordan, took place Oct. 17.

Northeastern Illinois University is hosting three Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois (DFI) fellows during the 2020-21 academic year. This State of Illinois program is designed to increase the number of minority, full-time, tenure-track faculty and staff who work in the state’s public and private colleges and universities.

The Golden Gala and Alumni Awards Ceremony is virtual this year. Find out how to join the Alumni Association in honoring five alumni for their contributions to their communities and place bids in an online auction!

Northeastern Illinois University is one of nine institutions from around the United States to be honored by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) for its leadership and commitment to continuous improvement. The Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement awardees were selected from the educator preparation providers that were granted accreditation by CAEP at the initial level from the previous year, that provided evidence, and that demonstrated data trends with no stipulations or areas for improvement.

This week, Northeastern lost one of its great champions, Dr. Angelina Pedroso. Read about Dr. Pedroso’s life and contributions to Northeastern and more in this week’s edition of Noteworthy at Northeastern.

Angelina Pedroso, for whom Northeastern Illinois University named its multicultural center after her 44-year career as a respected Spanish language and Hispanic literature educator, died on Oct. 7 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 90 years old.