Christopher Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Provost for University Honors
Christopher M. Jones is the associate vice provost for university honors. He is responsible for directing NIU's University Honors Program and chairs the University Scholarship Committee. Prior to his appointment on July 1, 2011, Dr. Jones held three administrative roles in NIU's Department of Political Science: director of undergraduate studies, assistant chair, and department chair.
During his five-year tenure as chair, the Political Science Department completed a major faculty recruitment process, instituted a number of changes to its graduate program, and launched several successful initiatives at the undergraduate level, including a congressional internship program in Washington, D.C., a leadership development seminar for high achieving students, a Pre-Law Society, and an award-winning Model United Nations club. The department also gained a permanent presence in NIU's highly regarded Oxford University study abroad program, instituted a rigorous and multidimensional honors program, and worked creatively to market its undergraduate major to prospective students.
As a faculty member, Jones manifested a strong commitment to the University Honors Program. He regularly taught Honors courses on an overload basis, directed honors capstones, coordinated the visits of guest speakers, delivered special presentations, and served as a member of the University Honors Committee. In 2008 Jones received the University Honors Program's Great Professor Award. He is also a recipient of NIU's Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and NIU's Outstanding International Educator Award. He has been recognized for teaching excellence by Syracuse University, Whittier College, student organizations, the American Political Science Association, and the National Political Science Honor Society.
Jones is professor of political science. His specialties are U.S. foreign policy and national security policy with an emphasis on the domestic determinants of such policies. His journal articles and refereed book chapters have examined a range of subjects, including bureaucratic politics, arms control, diplomacy, export control policy, leadership accountability, weapons procurement, intelligence, NATO enlargement, and organizational change within the foreign policy bureaucracy. He is co-editor of The Handbook of American Foreign Policy (2011), coauthor of American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process (2008), and co-editor of The Future of American Foreign Policy (1999). He is completing a book manuscript on the politics of U.S. foreign policymaking. He is a two-term, past president of the Foreign Policy Analysis Section of the International Studies Association.
Dr. Jones is a High Honors and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Binghamton University (State University of New York), where he also earned his M.A. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from The Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Jes Cisneros, Ed.D.
Assistant Director
A native of northern California, Dr. Jes Cisneros has more than a decade of experience working as the Assistant Director of the University Honors Program. While Dr. Cisneros is responsible for all aspects of advising within Honors and is glad to work with all students, his advising role within the office focuses on working closely with junior/senior level students as they enter the second half of the program and prepare for the senior Honors Capstone Projects.
Dr. Cisneros served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early process of his higher education. He earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz, an M.A. in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and finally, a M.S.Ed. and Ed.D. in Educational Technology, Research, and Assessment from Northern Illinois University. "Educational technology" aside, Dr. Cisneros very much considers himself a historian who happens to focus on education, schools, and the process of schooling in America. As such, he has presented at and been involved with the American Educational Research Association, and History of Education Society. His work has been published in both educational technology as well as history of education journals.
Dr. Cisneros regularly teaches an Honors section of EPFE 201 (Education as an agent for change) and EPFE 321 (History of American Education) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education. He is also the faculty advisor to the Honors Student Association. In 2010, he was the recipient of NIU's Supportive Professional Staff Presidential Award for Excellence.
Nancy Castle, Ph.D.
Faculty Advisor to the Honors House/Alumni Relations & Development Liaison
Professor Castle has been a faculty member at NIU for over 20 years first in the Rehabilitation Counseling program of the School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders and currently in teaching in the Community Leadership and Civic Engagement major operated out of the NIU Center on Nongovernmental Organization Leadership and Development (NGOLD). She teaches an Honors Seminar called Class Meets Community which puts students and community agencies together on projects of importance to the community. Her research and teaching interests are in the area of civic engagement and service-learning. She also serves as the coordinator of NIU's service-learning efforts working with faculty across campus who wish to incorporate service-learning into their course curricula. As such, she is a part of the Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning (OSEEL).
Dr. Castle served as the Interim Director of the Honors Program for the 2008 - 2009 academic year and since that time has been a faculty advisor to the Honors House living-learning community. She serves as the ad hoc chair of the Alumni Relations and Development Committee of the Honors Advisory Council and works as a liaison with the NIU Alumni Association.
David Changnon, Ph.D.
Faculty Advisor to the Honors House
David Changnon is an atmospheric scientist specializing in climatological studies and has been a faculty member in the Department of Geography at Northern Illinois University (NIU) for 20 years. His major expertise rests in developing climatological information and models for use by weather-sensitive decision makers in agriculture, utilities, insurance, and transportation. He has served on various committees of two scientific societies and participated in the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and on a National Research Council (NRC) Panel titled “Estimating and Communicating Uncertainty in Weather and Seasonal Climate Forecasts.” He has participated in NIU’s Strategic Planning Initiative, serving as the chairperson for the Curricular Innovations Task Force, and the President’s Vision 2020 effort. He has been awarded NIU’s Presidential Teaching Professorship (2008) and Board of Trustees Professorship (2010). He has served as a faculty mentor on more than 25 University Honors in-course projects and has directed more than 10 University Honors capstones. As acting associate vice provost during the 2010-2011 academic year, he participated on the Honors Committee, a role which he will continue in as faculty advisor to the Honors House. Dr. Changnon earned his doctorate at Colorado State University.
Joanne Ganshirt
Office Manager
Joanne Ganshirt has worked at the University Honors Program, and Northern Illinois University, for 23 years. As a result, she is an excellent resource person for information about the Honors Program, campus resources, and NIU as a whole. In 2000, Ganshirt was recognized as one of four Outstanding Service Award winners for her dedication and significant contributions to the university community. Joanne oversees the day-to-day functioning of the office, processes student applications, and manages the department budget. She is also the recording secretary for the University Honors Committee and the Committee for the Improvement of Undergraduate Education and is the assistant to the Associate Vice Provost for University Honors.
Anne Quinlan
Program Adviser
Anne Quinlan, Honors Program Adviser, joined the University Honors Program in the fall of 1999. She grew up in DeKalb and attended DeKalb schools; McMurry Elementary, the University Lab School and DeKalb High School. After high school graduation she attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for two and a half years and graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. degree in Business Education. She was a Business Education teacher at Shabbona High School and an advisor to the school newspaper. Anne evaluates credentials and interprets and analyzes students' records. She informs the students of the requirements needed to complete their Honors Program of Lower Division Honors, Upper Division Honors and University Honors. Anne enjoys talking to students and her door is always open to review a student's file for clarification.
Jessica Perez
Office Support Associate
Jessica Perez joined the University Honors Program in November 2011, as the Office Support Associate. She graduated from Northern Illinois University in May 2011 with a B.S. in Business Administration. As the Office Support Associate, she oversees the functioning of the front office and assists both current and prospective Honors students by explaining the various procedures followed by the University Honors Program. Perez also provides office support to the Assistant Director and Program Coordinator.