NIU has become the place of work for dozens of new professors, administrators and other supportive professionals. Here is a glimpse at just a few.
Ana Colomb, assistant professor of literacy education
Background: Colomb received her doctorate in curriculum and instruction specializing in reading, writing and literacy, and her master’s in instructional leadership both from the University of Illinois at Chicago after receiving an undergraduate degree in psychology from St. Louis University. For the past few years, Colomb has been a visiting assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in the elementary education program as well as teaching part-time for the Illinois Resource Center and Roosevelt University. She now joins literacy education as an assistant professor focusing in the area of bilingual education. Her research has focused on native language literacy and second language learning.
What I Teach: Undergraduate and graduate bilingual and English as a Second Language courses for teachers and pre-service teachers.
Why NIU? “I wanted the opportunity to continue working with Latino students and multicultural issues.”
Goals: “I want to continue research with Latinas, especially, and also the opportunity to see different students.”
What others say: “Ana will assist the department greatly in our attempts to work in and around the city of Chicago, partly with English language learners,” says Norm Stahl, chair of the Department of Literacy Education. “She has tremendous experience in the Hispanic community, having worked with family literacy programs and second-language programs.”
Marc Falkoff, assistant professor of law
Background: Falkoff comes to NIU after three years as an attorney with Covington & Burling in New York. The firm, which is considered the top pro bono law firm in the nation, once named Falkoff the Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year during his time there. He earned his juris doctorate from Columbia and also holds a Ph.D. in literature from Brandeis. While this is his first full-time faculty appointment, he taught for several years as an adjunct member of the faculty at the Brooklyn Law School. He is currently working on behalf of 17 Yemeni men who are being held without charges by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay.
What I teach: “This semester I will be teaching criminal law and lawyering skills. The skills class addresses the nuts and bolts of lawyering in the real world: how to interview clients and witnesses, how to conduct a deposition, how to draft motions and argue in court – the day-to-day work of lawyers. Next semester I will also teach criminal procedure.”
Why NIU? “NIU has a very high commitment to public interest law, and that is extremely important to me.”
Goals: “I want to give my students a solid grounding in legal theory, but also instill in them an appreciation for the amount of social good they can do in the world as a lawyer. Personally, I want to not only do excellent scholarly work, but also maintain my real-world focus. It is very important for me to do both, and that is actually something that is encouraged here.”
What others are saying: “Marc brings an outstanding blend of academic excellence and practice experience,” says Malcolm Morris, associate dean of the NIU College of Law. “The excitement and enthusiasm that he brings to the classroom will benefit our students immensely. He is not just a fine addition to the law school, but to the university as a whole.”
Brent Gage, assistant vice provost for enrollment services
Background: Prior to joining NIU this summer, Gage was the associate dean of admissions at the University of Nebraska for six years. He previously served as director of new student programs and registration at Eastern Illinois University.
What I do: “I coordinate the efforts of the offices of records and registration, admissions and financial aid to manage the flow of enrollment at NIU. We work on issues such as the way we provide services to students, how we market ourselves to potential students and how we present our course offerings.”
Why NIU: “This is an exciting time to be at Northern. The structure of enrollment services here is very well thought out and allows us to do some great things. Also, I’m looking forward to being part of the implementation of the new student information system (NIUConnect).”
Goals: “One of my main goals is to be able to provide high levels of self service for students. We want to give them the ability to use online resources 24-hours a day to access any of their information – financial aid records, course registration, degree audits, or even the status of their admission application. We want to be very efficient and student centered in the way that we do things.”
What others are saying: “Brent’s background in admissions will be very valuable to us as we develop enrollment strategies,” says Vice Provost Earl “Gip” Seaver. “He is also very well prepared to help lead enrollment services through the implementation of the new student information system (NIUConnect). Brent has some big shoes to fill, but we are confident he will provide the same sort of strong leadership as his predecessor, Don Larson.”
Gina Nicolosi, assistant professor of finance
Background: Nicolosi recently completed her Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati, where she developed her research expertise in behavioral finance, studying why real-world financial behavior so often deviates from what models predict. She and her husband, Bradley, recently moved to Sycamore with their 17-month-old daughter, Kelsea.
What I teach: I teach financial markets and institutions.
Why NIU: The university has all of the resources I need to support my research, but at the same time it has a sort of family feel to it. Here, I feel like I can have a family life, as well as teach and do research.
Goals: I would like to be here long term, so I plan on focusing on publishing and earning tenure. Beyond that, I would also like to create some new classes that align more closely with research, such as a class examining how biases affect managerial decision making.
What others are saying: “Dr. Nicolosi came very highly recommended by her dissertation chair, and her research in behavioral finance filled a need for the department,” says Finance Department Chair Richard Dowen. “We are very excited to have her.”
Mira Reisberg, assistant professor of art education
Background: Reisberg came to NIU via a circuitous route from Australia to San Francisco, to Pullman, Washington and now DeKalb. She is as a fine artist who also illustrated children’s books and became an art educator in K-12 classrooms as well as in community arts organizations. After 15 years of teaching, she moved to Pullman, Wash., where she taught art education at the college level and completed a Ph.D. in education, focusing on art education and cultural studies.
What I Teach: “I will be teaching art education infused with cultural studies ideas such as visual culture studies, place-based art education, and intercultural art education.”
Why NIU? “Because of the NIU faculty! The NIU art education department features some of the major figures in art education. I had read, cited and admired their work
for years, so I was somewhat in awe of coming here, and delighted to find that they are all warm and supportive people as well as being brilliant. In addition, NIU’s art education department is the second largest in the United States, and produces some of the best art educators. I wanted to be a part of an environment that promoted and supported intellectual rigor and excellence in research and teaching.”
Goals: “After getting on my feet and figuring my way around DeKalb I hope to involve my students with local community life through art. In addition I plan on also collaborating with my students and colleagues to continue my research agenda of connecting multicultural children’s picture books with place-based art education, visual culture studies, and culturally responsive teaching. I intend to do this through publishing articles and making films about people in the field whose work inspires me. It is also important for me to continue my art-making practice, so you can see, like all of us in academia, I have a lot on my plate.”
What others say: “The art education program is delighted to welcome Mira Reisberg to campus,” said Deb Smith-Shank, a professor in the School of Art and head of art education. “She brings a wealth of talent in childrens book illustration, visual culture and community-based research to NIU.”
Kurt Thurmaier, professor of public administration
Background: Thurmaier is a nationally renowned expert on budgetary decision-making. During the 1980s, he worked in the Wisconsin State Budget Office, where he advised the governor on economic development issues, including tourism, community development and housing development. He earned his Ph.D. from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in 1991. He spent a dozen years as a professor at the University of Kansas before moving on to Iowa State University, where he successfully built the only accredited Master of Public Administration program in Iowa. In addition to public budgeting, his research specialties include e-government, inter-local agreements, intergovernmental relations and comparative public administration.
What I teach: Two courses in public budgeting. One is a required for students in the NIU Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, which is ranked fourth nationally for city management by U.S. News & World Report. The other is an advanced-level budgeting course where half of the students are working on their Ph.D.s.
Why NIU? “I was really pleased to be asked to join a top-ranked faculty in public administration. It’s nice to be in a first-class MPA program. Also, my own research interests have moved into inter-local and intergovernmental agreements, and Chicagoland is like a backyard laboratory. Having the chance to work in this region is really exciting, and the alumni support has been extremely encouraging.”
Goals: “I want to help the faculty here become the No. 1 ranked program in local government management. I also hope to really explore inter-local agreements in Chicagoland and write a book on that topic. I’m looking forward to building the Ph.D. program in political science as well.”
What others say: “Kurt is one of our big guns,” says Presidential Teaching Professor Gerald Gabris, director of the NIU Division of Public Administration. “Kurt is a nationally known expert in public budgeting, has done cutting-edge research related to the Internet and e-government and has written several books. We’re fortunate to have him, as well as two other new outstanding faculty members who will contribute greatly to our MPA faculty and reputation, Kimberly Nelson and Yu-Che Chen.”
Donna Turner, associate athletics director for communications
Background:Turner comes to DeKalb after serving the past six years as the assistant athletics director for media relations at Tulane University, in New Orleans, where she played a vital role in helping Tulane Athletics cope with the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to that, she spent a year as director of media relations for the Women’s Tennis Association Tour, five years as assistant athletics director for sports information at the University of Houston and six years at Florida State University, where she helped handle media relations for a Heisman Trophy winner and a national championship football team.
What I do: “Our office serves as the public relations arm of the Northern Illinois athletics department,” Turner says. “We are the liaison between the local, regional and national media and our coaches, student-athletes and programs with the goal to promote and garner positive publicity for Northern Illinois University and its athletics program.”
Why NIU? “NIU is an institution on the rise. We are in a terrific location, we play in an outstanding conference, we have terrific radio and television contracts in place and the university had demonstrated a real commitment to athletics. It all combines to make NIU a place you want to be.”
Goals: “We would like to improve some of our publications and maximize our use of technology and the Web. We also want to enhance our relationships with the Chicago media, building upon the solid base put in place by my predecessor, Mike Korcek. That’s a huge advantage.”
What others are saying: “Donna brings an impressive resume to DeKalb,” says Jim Phillips, NIU associate vice president for intercollegiate athletics. “Her credentials are outstanding, and the experience that she has attained made her a great fit for NIU. Donna will prove to be a wonderful asset to our student-athletes, coaches and staff.”
Kelly Wesener, executive director, Housing and Dining
Background: Wesener just can’t seem to get enough of the Midwest or college students. She has spent her entire professional career helping build better collegiate experiences for students at schools ranging from Southeast Missouri State University, where she recently served as director of residential life, to Hope College in Michigan, where she was assistant dean for housing and residential life. Along the way were stops at UW-Lacrosse, Western Illinois and Indiana University, where she worked as a residence life coordinator while earning her Ed.D. in higher education administration.
What I do: “I oversee all aspects of the residential life, housing and dining programs for an operation which houses approximately 6,000 students in 19 residence halls and one apartment complex. That includes everything from room assignments to facilities to enhancing the students’ education outside the classroom.”
Why NIU: “I enjoy working with a diverse student population, especially first generation college students, so NIU was a good fit. I also wanted to be part of a strong student affairs division, like the one at NIU. Additionally, I liked that the residence hall program here, while strong and established, offered opportunities for growth.”
Goals: “In terms of physical structures, we need to look at enhancing our facilities. Our buildings are clean, but dated. I’d also like to develop some new residence hall traditions, whether it be annual dances or intra-hall competitions. Finally, we have a great staff here, and I want to continue that tradition by giving them an amazing professional experience, because ultimately that improves the campus experience for students.”
What others are saying: “Kelly comes with a great deal of expertise in residence life and addressing needs of students living on campus,” says Eileen Sullivan, interim assistant vice president for student life. “She is a great advocate for students, sees herself as someone who is here to help them succeed.”
Tao Xu, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Background: Xu grew up in the Sichuan Province, in the southwest region of China, near Tibet. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama in 2003, spent a year as a post-doctoral researcher at Texas A&M University and then joined the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, where he remains a guest faculty member. Xu’s research is in the area of nanoscience, a field that aims to develop materials, electronics and machines at the smallest of scales. He focuses particularly on the development of nanomaterials for energy applications.
What I teach: A four-section general chemistry lecture.
Why NIU? “NIU is very close to Argonne, and I think we have a good opportunity to further establish the relationship between our educational institution and the national lab. The link will help us expand the nanoscience program at NIU.”
Goals: “I want to increase the nanoscience presence in our department, do world-class research and hopefully help put NIU on the frontline of nanoscience research. I also want to educate students about national long-term energy strategies.”
What others say: “We have three excellent new faculty members – Tao Xu, Dmitry Kadnikov and Jim Horn – who promise to be excellent teachers and researchers,” says Jon Carnahan, chair of chemistry and biochemistry. “Tao is chemistry’s first hire to the new nanotech initiative at NIU and will work closely with Argonne to develop our research program.”
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