Over a century ago in 1896 a small class of future teachers began their professional education at a new normal school on the banks of the Kishwaukee River. This normal school would one day grow to be a major university serving one of the great regions of the nation if not the world. These fledging educators had a shared goal of bringing literacy to the young people from across the prairies of northern Illinois. The training of teachers of literacy was the first and most fundamental mission of what is today Northern Illinois University. Now as we take our initial steps into the 21st century, the first and most fundamental mission of pedagogy remains the teaching of children and adolescents to be critical and fluent readers as well as competent and effective writers. Without such a literate populace great universities and civilizations cannot exist.
The Department of Literacy Education is proud that it can trace its roots back to the first class of students to arrive at Northern Illinois State Normal School. Today our mission reflects the needs of a dynamic region of the country with its diversity of population and hence, literacy needs.
The faculty in the Department of Literacy Education achieves a high standard of excellence through its teaching, research, and service. Over the decade the department has been in existence, we have had three NIU Presidential Teaching Professors and two NIU Presidential Research Professors as faculty members. In addition, over the years members of the Literacy Education faculty have served as President of the International Reading Association, President of the National Reading Conference, President of the College Reading Association, Chair of the American Reading Forum, President of the Illinois Reading Council, President of the Illinois Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/Bilingual Education, President of the International Dyslexia Association, and Executive Director of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Faculty members have served on the Boards of Directors of numerous state and national organizations. Faculty members have received prestigious national awards such as the Arbuthnot Award (IRA), the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award (IRA), the Elva Knight Research Award (IRA), the Maryann Manning Outstanding Volunteer Service Award (IRA), the A.B. Herr Award (CRA), the American Council of Developmental Education Associations Fellows Award, the Christa McAuliffe Distinguished Educator Award (Kappa Delta Pi), etc. Faculty also publish in nationally recognized journals and yearbooks including Reading Research Quarterly, the Journal of Literacy Research, Research in the Teaching of English, The Reading Teacher, the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Language Arts, and the Journal of Developmental Education among others. In the past years the faculty have been awarded over five million dollars in grants and contract, most recently a Title III grant for Project Success. We invite you to take the time to learn more about our professionally active faculty by visiting our biography section.
One of the things in which we take great pride is the fact that once you are a Huskie, you are always part of the Huskie nation. Graduates from the NIU education program have gone on to provide important leadership as literacy researchers, authors, and leaders of our professional associations. We are ever so proud of NIU graduates including Susan Davis-Lenski (Portland State University), Gerald Duffy (University of North Carolina, Greensboro), Carol Fuhler (Iowa State University), Barbara Guzzetti (Arizona State University), Marjorie Hancock (Kansas State University), Steven Layne (Judson University), Wilma Miller (Illinois State University emeritus), Nancy Padak (Kent State University), Richard Robinson (University of Missouri, Colombia), and Alfred Tatum (University of Illinois, Chicago). Graduates have also been awarded dissertation of the year awards or designated distinguished finalists by the College Reading Association, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teacher’s of English, and the Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Huskie pride is also found in reading specialists, literacy coaches, and teachers of English language learners throughout the Chicagoland area. NIU is known nationwide for producing the finest quality of reading and ESL/bilingual education specialists. Upon graduation all of our graduates meet either IRA standards or TESOL standards.
Again we are pleased that you have shown an interest in the Department of Literacy Education. Please feel free to contact us about any question you might have about our programs. If you are on campus, please come in for a visit or to tour our new state of the art Literacy Clinic.
Norman A. Stahl, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair