As someone who has studied what distinguishes successful leaders from the rest, Todd Gilson is attracted to administration for interesting reasons.
“I think it’s very fun to sketch things out on a whiteboard,” says Gilson, the college’s new associate dean of Research, Resources and Innovation.
“The challenge can become how you get people who maybe weren’t at the original table to sketch it out on the whiteboard with you to buy into the idea,” he adds. “I like the logistics and the back-end processes, and for whatever reason, that’s how I’m wired. I love working on things like that, and in this job, you get to do that.”
Gilson, who most recently served as chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, is returning permanently to the role he filled on an acting basis for most of 2019.
He is excited to rejoin Dean Laurie Elish-Piper’s leadership team.
“People here want to serve our students: We want to get things done, we want to create new initiatives and we always need to make sure that we take care of the people in the college as best we can with the circumstances that we deal with because we are only as good as the people who do the work,” Gilson says.
“Being able to support those people is paramount to me,” he adds, “and I recognize that, with the different positions I’ve held, how much more we need other people to help us – to carry the water, if you will.”
Elish-Piper is happy to welcome back Gilson, whom she calls “a great partner in making the college as effective, supportive and successful as it can be.”
“Since he served as acting associate dean, Todd had the opportunity to be department chair and to develop a keen understanding of departmental operations and how they connect to the college level, which just helps him be that much more prepared to really lead our efforts in research resources and innovation,” Elish-Piper says.
“His ability to analyze and understand processes is a really important talent that will allow him to guide our process improvements and allow us to potentially be more effective and streamlined in some of our operations,” she adds. “His attention to detail and ability to create models are also important skills that he brings.”
Gilson joined NIU in 2008 as an assistant professor, arriving in DeKalb immediately after earning his doctorate in kinesiology from Michigan State University. He also holds a master’s degree in human performance from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Ohio Northern University.
At NIU, he also served as director of the University Honors Program from 2016 to 2019.
In that role, he managed the creation of agreements that benefit Honors students by providing direct and guaranteed admission into some NIU graduate programs – including many in the College of Education.
During his time as department chair, Gilson has overseen soaring enrollment in the new B.S. in Sport Management program as well as the launch of the Ph.D. in Kinesiology and Physical Education and several minors.
He guided the production of virtual and video tours of Anderson Hall along with numerous updates to the building that included repainting the walls, installing fresh carpet, upgrading the technology and adding new tablet chairs or power-enabled desks in classrooms 245 and 246.
Gilson is bringing that attention to facilities with him.
“The space enhancements that Susan Mizgalski has been leading around KNPE make a big difference, and as chair, it was really fun to be able to say, ‘OK we have our own building. How are we going to personalize this for our students?’ ” he says. “Now, it’s, ‘How can we continue to make Graham, Gabel and Anderson feel like a space that’s warm, inviting and welcoming and a place that students want to go when they have two to three hours between classes?’ ”
Meanwhile, Gilson also is bringing his spirit of collaboration and building on his previous knowledge of multiple roles over 14 years on campus.
“I’m learning more and more that if you’ve held a job, and you now work with people who hold that same type of job, you can remember what it was like. You can remember not only the certain types of things you dealt with but the way those experiences made you feel – and how you had to rely on others,” he says.
“As KNPE chair, I knew who I could go to solve a problem – but also when I was stuck and I didn’t know where, or how, to solve this problem. Sometimes it was with other chairs. Sometimes it was the dean’s office. Sometimes it was with people across campus,” he adds.
“So now, having that lens, and being able to see that – is there an individual stuck? – I can remember being stuck just like they are. It’s about being able to sit there and offering advice but also just understanding what they’re dealing with that I dealt with in some regard as well.”
Consequently, he says, his door is open – and he’s confident that the faculty of KNPE would confirm that his mind is open as well: Anyone with suggestions or problems is welcome.
“When serving as department chair of KNPE I tried hard to not carry myself as someone with the title of chair, questioning decisions and issuing edicts.” Gilson says. “I genuinely want people to bring forth ideas that are better than mine – and that’s not hard. I believe the way you can get better is by surrounding yourself with people who are better than you and who you push you.”
Fortunately, he says, the College of Education is full of such colleagues.
“When I look at the people I interact with in the college, I think, ‘Wow, they’re really doing a lot. I’d better up my game,’ ” Gilson says. “And so when the alarm goes off, it makes me not dread Monday or Tuesday or whatever day it is. It’s that I’d better hurry up and get to work because I know that somebody else is – and we’ve got to get things solved.”
