Christopher McCord

Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Administration, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Education

• Ph.D., University of Wisconsin — Dynamical Systems and Algebraic Topology
• B.S., Bowling Green State University — Mathematics and Physics

Academic Service

• Associate Dean for Academic Administration, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 2023-Present
• Senior Advisor, Division of Administration and Finance, 2019 – 2021
• Acting Executive Vice President and Provost, 2017 – 2019
• Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 2007 – 2017

Research

• Dynamical Systems
• Algebraic Topology

McCord applies algebraic topology to fundamental questions in dynamical systems and celestial mechanics along three interconnected strands: the Conley index, a powerful generalization of Morse theory; Nielsen fixed point theory; and the global topology of the N-body problem. His current focus is the integral manifolds of the N-body problem — surfaces of constant energy, angular momentum, and linear momentum whose topology regulates gravitational dynamics — using homology theory to identify bifurcation values and classify the manifolds between them. He has been supported by multiple NSF grants and published in the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, the Journal of the American Mathematical Society, Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems, and the Journal of Dynamics and Differential Equations.

Professional Associations and Honors

• Mentored NIU’s first Goldwater Scholar, Lydia Delk, 2026
• Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS)
  • President-elect, 2016 – 2017; President 2017 – 2018: Past-president 2018 – 2019