The NIU Board of Trustees voted earlier this month to approve promotion and tenure for 39 NIU faculty members.
“Congratulations to our dedicated faculty receiving promotion and/or tenure this year,” Executive Vice President and Provost Laurie Elish-Piper said. “Faculty are essential in cultivating student success; driving the research and artistry mission of the university and supporting the engagement and outreach priorities of the university. We applaud these individuals on their excellent work, while looking forward to all they will do in the future here at NIU.”
NIU faculty members are leading scholars in their fields of study, providing a first-class educational experience to students while creating a welcoming and intellectually stimulating environment. Supporting the success of faculty is a priority outlined in NIU’s university goals, including modernizing promotion and tenure evaluation practices to make them more inclusive of evolving faculty work.
New for the 2025-26 cycle, NIU recently introduced the Interfolio Review, Promotion and Tenure system as part of ongoing commitment to enhancing support to faculty, department chairs and deans during the promotion and tenure process. This system streamlines workflows, while enhancing security, ensuring compliance with evolving guidelines and reducing administrative burden for staff and allowing faculty to focus on their teaching, research and service.
Achieving tenure and promotion as a faculty member is a significant accomplishment, recognized after an in-depth process of evaluation that considers the individual’s teaching, service and scholarship to NIU, the profession and more.
Please join us in congratulating the following faculty members:
Promotion from Associate Professor to Professor
Yunier Bello-Cruz, Mathematical Sciences
Bryan Dallas, Interdisciplinary Health Professions
Justin Dodd, Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Michael Eads, Physics
Heidi Frostestad, College of Law
Vittorio Gensini, Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
James Horn, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Venumadhav Korampally, Electrical Engineering
Nicole LaDue, Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Tao Li, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Yipeng Liu, Operations Management and Information Systems
Jamie Mayer, Allied Health and Communicative Disorders
Nathan Stansell, Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Zachary Wahl-Alexander, Kinesiology and Physical Education
Tenure and Promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
Milijana Buac, Allied Health and Communicative Disorders
Ximena Burgin, Educational Technology, Research and Assessment
Niechen Chen, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Gibson Cima, School of Theatre and Dance
Olivier Devergne, Biological Sciences
Ricela Feliciano-Semidei, Mathematical Sciences
Farzin Ferdowsi, Electrical Engineering
Nicholas Grahovec, Kinesiology and Physical Education
Dana Isawi, Counseling and Higher Education
Colin Kuehl, Political Science
Julie Langer, Public Administration
Timothy Michaelis, Management
Biagio Palese, Operations Management and Information Systems
Nan Qin, Finance
Reza Rajabi, Marketing
Mariana Ricklefs, Curriculum and Instruction
Rachel Rupnow, Mathematical Sciences
Amanda VanValkenburg, School of Art and Design
Tyler Wood, Kinesiology and Physical Education
Ting Xia, Mechanical Engineering
Peitao Zhu, Counseling and Higher Education
Promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
Gregory Elinson, College of Law
Peter Ormerod, College of Law
Hired at the Rank of Professor with Tenure
James Ahern, Anthropology
Mary Earick, Special and Early Education
