Associate Provost/ Vice Provost

As Northern grew over the years there was a corresponding need to modernize the administrative structure of the institution.  Until 1941, all those in the organizational structure of the college, academic and non-academic units, were directly responsible to the president.  In September of 1941, with the approval of the Teachers College Board, President Adams installed Romeo M. Zulauf as Northern’s first Dean of the Faculty with direct responsibility for the activities of department heads.  Since then that office has undergone several changes in function and title, and in 1963 it became the office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. In the fall of 1965 the position of Associate Provost was established as a result of the growth of the university and its academic programs.  On May 16, 1966 Dr. Francis R. Geigle, Executive Vice President and Provost, announced the approval by the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities of the appointment of Dr. James R. Connor of Charlottesville, Virginia to assume the new post.  In announcing the appointment, Geigle stated that Connor would assist him in handling many of the details and responsibilities of the Provost’s Office which is concerned primarily with the university’s instructional services. Connor came to Northern from a position as Director of Institutional Analysis and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Virginia.  He held the post thru June 1969.  While the Selection Committee for Associate Provost sought applicants to fill the vacated position, the duties of Associate Provost were handled by acting personnel. On September 1, 1970  Wendell V. Harris, a Professor of English at the University of Colorado at Boulder, assumed the duties of Northern’s Associate Provost.  As Associate Provost his responsibilities included Curriculum and Program Development, Registration, Admissions, as well as serving on the University Council and as Chairman of the Council on Instruction.  In August 1975 Harris began a sabbatical leave of absence for the 1975-76 academic year.  Dr. Jack W. Skeels, a professor of Economics at Northern was named as Acting Associate Provost effective August 16, 1975.  Skeels responsibilities included the area of undergraduate curriculum and program development, as well as working with the Council on Instruction, the Admissions Committee, and the Honors Program.  Harris resumed his duties as Associate Provost in August 1976 and continued in the position until September 1, 1978 when he became the Acting Vice President and Provost while a nationwide search was conducted for the Provost position.  He resigned after one year to become Head of the Department of English at Pennsylvania State University. On August 30, 1978 Wilma D. Stricklin, Chair of the NIU Department of Management, was appointed Acting Associate Provost.  Stricklin’s primary duties involved curriculum and planning.  She held the position until Lida K. Barrett assumed the Associate Provost position in late July 1980. Barrett’s appointment to the second highest academic administrative post on campus was approved by the Board of Regents on May 22, 1980.  Barrett had been Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  In addition to assisting in various academic policy-making and coordinating functions, Barrett’s duties included overall responsibility for the University’s Honors Program, the Office of Community College Relations, and the Office of Special Projects.  She also served as Chair of the NIU Council on Instruction, which bears responsibility and sets policy for undergraduate education and curriculum.  Barrett left NIU August of 1987 to become Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Mississippi State University. Lou Jean Moyer, a Professor of Physical Education at NIU since 1962, was named to a one-year temporary appointment as Acting Associate Provost which began on August 10, 1987.  One of her goals upon assuming the position was to maintain the retention rate of minorities on campus.  In addition to working with Provost Kendall Baker,  Moyer was responsible for all undergraduate programs and academic support services which included: Undergraduate Curriculum, the Honors Program, NIU’s Special Projects Office, Admissions, Registration and Records, Student Orientation and Assistance, Community College Relations, and Testing.  In May 1988 Moyer was named to the post permanently and remained in the position until April 1992. In June 1992 Acting Provost J. Carroll Moody, announced the selection of Rosalie Hewitt, Associate Professor of the NIU English Department, as Acting Associate Provost.  Because of a structural change, the Associate Provost’s Office also supervises such offices as Educational Services and Programs, and the Center for Black Studies.  At the April 13, 1995 Board of  Regents meeting, Hewitt’s appointment to the position of Associate Provost was made permanent and she served in that position until 1998.  She was followed by Ron Simmons who held the position until his unexpected death on July 3, 2000.  Robert Wheeler served as Interim Associate Provost until June 30, 2003. In 2001 there were two main aspects to the Associate Provost’s duties.  First was overseeing the operational and academic support units which included the Office of Admissions, Registration and Records, Educational Services and Programs, Testing Services, University Honors Program, Assessment Services, Community College Relations, Orientation and Student Assistance, Center for Black Studies, University Resources for Latinos, and University Resources for Women.  The other portion of the Associate Provost’s duties included the chairmanship of the Undergraduate Coordinating Council, responsibility for overseeing university-wide curricular committees, and sitting on the Committee on Initial Teacher Certification. As of 2002 the Associate Provost title was changed to Vice Provost, and the duties once again modified. The Centers for Black Studies, Resources for Latinos, and University Resources for Women now report to the Associate Vice Provost for Academic Support Services.  The Vice Provost duties now include overseeing Undergraduate Admissions, Advising Information and Referral Services, Orientation Office, Registration and Records, Retention Programs, Community College Relations, Cooperative Education/Internship Program, Scholarship Office, Student Financial Aid, Testing Services, University Honors Program, and University Office for Teacher Certification. Earl “Gip” Seaver, with 28 years as a member of NIU’s Department of Communication, and Chair of Communicative Disorders since 1990, began his tenure as Vice Provost on July 1, 2003.  When Seaver was named Deputy Provost beginning July 1, 2011, Anne Birberick, Chair of NIU’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, became Vice Provost.

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