December 28, 2024
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NIU Northern Star to honor alumni during Hall of Fame awards ceremony

5 journalists will be added to the student newspaper’s Hall of Fame, followed by 1970s-era reunion

By Shaw Local News Network
Former DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith (left) and Mike Korcek (right) appear during the 2018 Northern Star Hall of Fame banquet at NIU's Barsema Alumni & Visitors Center. (Photo courtesy of The Northern Star)

Former DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith (left) and Mike Korcek (right) appear during the 2018 Northern Star Hall of Fame banquet at NIU's Barsema Alumni & Visitors Center. (Photo courtesy of The Northern Star) (The Northern Star)

DeKALB — Northern Illinois University’s student newspaper, The Northern Star, will be inducting five of its alumni into the newspaper’s Hall of Fame during an awards banquet later this month.

The 12th Northern Star Alumni Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame Banquet also will honor other alumni with awards, and an endowment is being started in another’s honor, according to a news release.

“It’s an extraordinary legacy event that recognizes outstanding Northern Star alums old and new. Our distinguished list of Hall of Famers dates back to 1899 and the beginnings of the university,” said Mike Korcek, president of the Star Alumni Association and a graduate of the Class of 1970. “Take a look at the Hall of Fame roster. It’s quite a list, and the 2022 induction class maintains the strong Star tradition.”

The Northern Star’s crop of 2022 Hall of Fame inductees, which brings the roster to 87 members, includes:

• Diane Dungey, a 1981 graduate and a former senior deputy managing editor at the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights

• Kathy Gosnell Seiler, a 1967 graduate and former copy editor at the Daily Herald and Los Angeles Time

• Marcus Leshock, a 2005 graduate and an anchor and reporter for WGN-TV and radio

• Jeremy Norman, a 2004 graduate and co-founder and director of product development at ValetMag.com

• Bob Scarpelli, a 1974 graduate and a former chairman and chief creative officer at DDB Worldwide

Tim Tilton, a 1995 graduate, will be receiving the newspaper’s Making A+Difference Award, while Marissa (McArthur) LeMaster, Class of 2011, and Derek Noel, Class of 2016, will be presented Rising Star Awards, according to the release.

Former editor-in-chief Kelly Bauer, a 2015 graduate who is the breaking news editor at Block Club Chicago, will be the keynote speaker.

Also, the Star 1970s-era reunion committee is establishing the Phil Kadner/Northern Star Endowment for Student Journalists. Kadner, Class of 1974, is a retired columnist for the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He was the 2013 Illinois Journalist of the Year.

The dinner is scheduled for Sept. 16 at NIU’s Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, with a 1970s-era reunion the following day.

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