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News Release

Contact: Mark McGowan, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-9472

September 16, 2003

Pritchard named associate dean
of NIU College of Health and Human Sciences

DeKalb — Late in the afternoon of Sept. 4, Mary Pritchard turned in her keys to the three buildings where the Northern Illinois University School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences has office and laboratories.

Pritchard, who chaired the school for 11 years and joined its faculty in 1984, is now associate dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences.

And with the change in office and job, she spent the first couple weeks of the semester moving the contents of her office and gradually making the break from her longtime home.

“I knew that job well,” she said of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences, “and I thought moving on was a healthy thing. We always talk about lifelong learning – we want our students to be lifelong learners – and I saw this as an opportunity for lifelong learning.”

Pritchard, like other chairs in her college, got a taste of the associate dean’s work last year when the workload was spread among them. The chance to improve things for all students, through looking at and tinkering with institutional policies, sparked an interest.

Shirley Richmond, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, said Pritchard was selected as the top candidate from a national search conducted by the college.

“Dr. Pritchard is an excellent choice for she is not only academically strong but has strong administrative skills. Mary has experience in working with diverse academic units and has encouraged multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary collaboration. She has been active in leadership roles locally, in the state and nationally. These skills are a ‘good fit’ for the college,” Richmond said.

“I am pleased to have Dr. Pritchard join the dean’s team as associate dean,” she added. “I consider her a strong asset in helping me lead the college forward during these challenging times.”

The job entails issues of curriculum, grants, oversight of academic advising, committee service and class scheduling, both on campus and off. Pritchard also becomes an ambassador of sorts and a jack of all trades, charged with general college support, promotion and outreach.

“This college has some spectacular programs and a really competent and dedicated faculty. I look forward to working with them, and we’re doing some exciting work,” Pritchard said. “We have a great opportunity for service in this region, with health care needs and gerontology issues. We have a convergence of needs and people who can take care of those needs.”

She is most excited about finding and fostering “exciting” multidisciplinary opportunities for students in the college.

Many faculty members already have discovered ways to enrich a student’s education through bridging the college’s five schools and departments, she said, revitalizing the professors in the process. Now, as associate dean, Pritchard plans to meet all her colleagues and find more prospects for teamwork.

“We’re still a relatively new college. We’re still dispersed around campus, but we’re mostly in one building now,” she said. “It gives us an opportunity for collaborative work, something I value very highly.”

A second priority is developing and nurturing leadership in students.

“Students who come to this college are not looking to make big money,” she said. “Our students are looking to give back something to society.”

Laura Smart, a professor in FCNS who has become acting chair, said Pritchard “certainly deserves” her promotion. Enrollment in FCNS grew by 27 percent under Pritchard, who also was instrumental in the retention and growth of the family and consumer sciences teacher certification program.

Pritchard had a knack for understanding what administrators wanted of the school and “got out ahead of the curve,” Smart said, leading the university on assessment plans.

“Mary has run our department in a very effective and efficient way. She’s got everything organized for me, and I’m hoping that I can continue to run such a tight ship,” Smart said. “I know she’ll continue to do that as our associate dean. She will bring that talent wherever she goes.”

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