A message from Bill Pitney, acting dean of the NIU College of Education. Dear Faculty and Staff, Like it often does, December is delivering days that are frigidly cold next to days that seem to herald the arrival of spring. Snow is
Read moreRachael Mahmood tells new graduates to know their ‘why’ stories for teaching
For December graduates of the college’s educator licensure programs about to embark on their classroom careers, the question was direct. What type of teachers will they become? It was something Rachael Mahmood, the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year and a 2016
Read moreCOE colleagues talk belonging priority, ways to address ‘belonging uncertainty’
Creating a culture of belonging starts with self-examination. “When we’re thinking about belonging for students,” says Bess Wilson, chair of the Department of Special and Early Education, “I think that we have a natural tendency to lean toward, and empathize with, students
Read moreIn unearthing NIU student life history, HESA students grasp current meaning
As a member and leader of Prism, Peregrin Capriglione is fully familiar with the campus organization’s work to provide educational and social activities for LGBTQ students and their allies. Now, thanks to their HESA 500: Foundations of Higher Education course, Capriglione is
Read moreFour-time alumna Monica Schroeder ready, eager to become North Shore 112’s first Latina superintendent July 1, 2026
Monica Schroeder grew up attending a private school in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago and then parochial and public schools in north-suburban Skokie. She was a first-generation American with bilingual parents who immigrated to this country as teens; her father, Raul
Read moreNIU awards Stacy Kelly for excellence in mentoring master’s, doctoral students
Not one moment of Stacy Kelly’s career has transpired outside the realm of visual disabilities. “I always knew, from an early age, that I wanted to be a teacher. I really like everything about school and learning,” says Kelly, professor in the
Read moreCall to action: Yenitza Guzman inspired by Counselor Educator of the Year honor
Yenitza Guzman wants to make the greatest impact possible in her calling to help others. “As someone who has worked with underprivileged and diverse populations, I know that there is a lot of trauma out there. I know that there is a
Read moreNIU assessment team explores potential of AI in accreditation with ETRA student
Months after the Higher Learning Commission reaccredited NIU, a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment is helping the university understand how artificial intelligence can enable those continuous processes. The work of Stella Jung, who is pursuing her
Read moreAspiring Superintendents Forum offers tips for gaining, thriving in leader roles
How do superintendents establish good working relationships with the school boards they serve? How do they prioritize their to-do lists? How do they continue their professional development while on the job – or tend to their personal well-being? Such questions and more
Read moreEd.D. student in Higher Education wins regional honor as mid-career specialist
NASPA, a national organization for Student Affairs administrators in higher education, thinks highly of Nehemiah Chung. Chung is the recipient of the 2024 NASPA Region IV-E Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award, which recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to their work, further programs
Read moreEd.D. alum JA Allen returns to campus to share cartoon-based learning model
An alumnus of the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment has returned to NIU to share his knowledge – and, he hopes, to spark more students to follow his unique path. J.A. Allen, who earned his Ed.D. in Instructional Technology in
Read moreCongratulations!
Congratulations to these members of the NIU College of Education family! Five graduate students in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education’s M.S.Ed. in Counseling program were awarded the Jerry J. Murphy Master Scholarship, funded by the Aurora, Illinois-based INC Mental Health
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