Sept. 15, 2011—North Central College is participating in a McCormick Foundation-funded study to help the state determine new requirements for principal preparation programs at Illinois colleges and universities.

North Central’s inclusion as a recipient of grant funds from the McCormick Foundation is the latest example of how North Central College’s undergraduate and graduate degrees in education are among the most rigorous in the State of Illinois, says Kristine Servais, associate professor of education and coordinator of master of education programs at North Central.

Jonathon Kirk, assistant professor of music, was co-commissioned with Belgian artist and composer Thomas Smetryns to develop a site-specific digital soundscape for the Klankatlas project sponsored in part by the Belgian Flemish government and Musica Impulscentrum voor Muziek. For the larger project, sound artists were asked to focus specifically on the region of Belgian Limburg.

Vocal talents of local junior high and high school students, as well as North Central College’s choral ensembles, will be showcased Oct. 13 during the annual Choral Invitational Festival at North Central College.

Student groups performing during this year’s festival are Naperville’s Lincoln Junior High School Eighth Grade Chorus—under the direction of Ross Berkley—and the Rockford Christian Concert Choir. This is the first time a junior high ensemble has been invited to participate in the festival.

July 21, 2011—For the first time, North Central alumnae served as co-directors of the Junior/Senior Scholars summer camp, a college readiness program that partners with high-need elementary and secondary schools in Aurora and Chicago. Program Coordinator Jan Fitzsimmons recruited Cherrelle Blevins ’09 and Jill Bushman ’10 to serve as co-directors, along with four North Central alumni as coaches and 17 students as interns for the 2011 five-week summer program.