Laurie Elish-Piper regards NIU as an agent for change.
Consider, she says, how many Huskies are the first in their families to attend college, or who come from underrepresented or lower income backgrounds, and who go on to achieve amazing things after graduation.
“I love the student population we serve,” Elish-Piper says. “I truly feel that we make a difference with what we do to support social mobility and what we do to provide transformational learning experiences that are accessible and affordable for students who might otherwise not have access to higher education.”
Yet the dean of the College of Education also sees similar potential for faculty and staff.
“NIU is a place of possibilities and a place of opportunity,” she says.
“As a professional, I have appreciated throughout my career here that, when I had a good idea or I had something that I thought would be important to do, I was given encouragement to do those things and to contribute in ways that I felt were meaningful and that were personally and professionally rewarding to me,” she adds. “I have been able to grow in my career because NIU afforded me that opportunity.”
Her next step comes July 1, 2023.
President Lisa Freeman has named Elish-Piper as the university’s interim executive vice president and provost, pending Thursday, Dec. 8, approval from the NIU Board of Trustees.
Elish-Piper will succeed Provost Beth Ingram, who earlier this month shared with her team and NIU leadership that she will step down June 30 to begin an administrative leave before returning in 2024 as faculty in the Department of Economics.
Before then, Ingram and Elish-Piper will partner throughout the spring semester to develop and implement a comprehensive transition plan while Provost Ingram also oversees an internal search for an interim dean of the College of Education.
“We deeply appreciate the expertise, attention and care Provost Ingram has for our students, faculty and staff, and recognize the leadership she has shown throughout the past three years, especially during the challenges we faced from COVID-19,” President Freeman says. “She has made a notable difference in how we support our students’ success while they are at NIU and beyond.”
The university will launch a national search in the coming year to identify internal and external candidates, who could include Elish-Piper, to hire a permanent successor by fall 2024.
Dean Elish-Piper’s “exemplary leadership, scholarship and passion for education and student success has been evident since she came to NIU,” President Freeman says. “Colleagues value her ability to advance strategic initiatives, galvanize teams and build consensus, which is true not only within the college and NIU administration but across Illinois. I have great confidence in Laurie and look forward to working with her in this new capacity.”
Officially leading the College of Education since 2016, after one year as acting dean, Elish-Piper is ready to amplify her commitment to NIU’s mission, vision and values – and to roll up her sleeves.
“I welcome this opportunity and challenge to serve NIU in a new capacity,” she says, “helping the university to accomplish its goals and advance important initiatives already underway.”
Those include centralized advising for first-year students, strategies to foster student retention and success, and work that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion.
Key to those efforts is cultivating and nurturing a sense of belonging for students, something she has emphasized throughout the College of Education and has made visible throughout the hallways of Graham, Gabel and Anderson Halls.
Doing so comes naturally to Elish-Piper, the daughter of a teacher who followed her father’s footsteps into the classroom.
She came to NIU in 1995 to begin a career that has earned her honors as a Distinguished Engagement Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
“I am, first and foremost, a lifelong educator,” she says. “I am incredibly committed to the quality of teaching that we provide at this university, because that is core to our mission of providing rich, relevant and robust degree programs and courses for students so that they are able to pursue their personal and professional goals.”
Before becoming dean, Elish-Piper served as director of NIU’s Jerry L. Johns Literacy Clinic, co-director of the NIU Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy, and acting chair of the department of Literacy Education.
Her research focuses on literacy leadership, literacy coaching, teacher professional development, literacy assessment, family engagement and struggling readers. In 2021, she received the A.B. Herr Award for outstanding contributions to the field of reading.
Professional roles off campus have included serving as president of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, chair of the Illinois Association of Deans of Public Colleges of Education and as a member of the board of directors of the International Literacy Association and the governing board of ACE (Alignment Collaborative for Education).
Elish-Piper also partners with the state on programs such as the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity and the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, for which NIU serves as Region 2 hub coordinator.
At the same time, she has become a powerful voice in Springfield through meeting with lawmakers to testify and advocate for or against legislation or proposed policy changes that impact educator preparation
The College of Education’s own PLEDGE (Partnering to Lead and Empower District-Grown Educators) program addresses the teacher shortage by meeting future teachers and school leaders where they are.
Meanwhile, in the six years since she was named dean, her team has signed two dozen 2+2 agreements that give students at community colleges seamless transfer pathways to NIU College of Education bachelor’s degrees.
Despite her leadership résumé, Elish-Piper continues to see herself as a faculty member.
She is still directing dissertations and serving on dissertation committees. She is still visiting classes and providing guest presentations. She is still engaged in her academic discipline, conducting and publishing research.
Consequently, she sees herself as part of the team.
“I’m proud of the work that our college has done, and that we’ve done it all collaboratively. I’m proud of our team members who have contributed in so many meaningful ways, resulting in both the efficacy and the impact of what we’ve able to accomplish,” Elish-Piper says.
“I promise to bring that same philosophy and that same spirit as I engage in work with colleagues across campus and in the university community,” she adds. “Serving NIU for the last nearly 30 years has been a tremendous honor, and I am excited to serve the university in this new role.”
