History of NIU
Presented by Dr. William Monat
February 21, 2002, 7:30pm
Staff Lounge, Founders Memorial Library (Lower Level)
The third program in the Friends of NIU Libraries program series was an entertaining evening of anecdotes presented by professor emeritus William Monat. Introduced by long-time colleague and Dean of the Graduate School, Jerry Zar, Dr. Monat presented some of the stories behind his recent book, The Achieving Institution: a presidential perspective on Northern Illinois University. As former professor of political science, department head, provost and president of NIU, and chancellor of the Board of Regents, Dr. Monat has a unique and insightful perspective on NIU that spans more than thirty years. The book, he insists, is a perspective, not a memoir.
Founded in 1895, the Northern Illinois State Normal School slowly evolved from a teacher training institution to a remarkably evolved doctoral degree granting research institution, with most of the latter occurring under Dr. Monat's tenure at NIU. It is this growth and development over the past thirty-five years that Dr. Monat covers in the book. The term "achieving institution" was first used by then Provost John LaTourette in a 1984 speech. The phrase caught on with Dr. Monat as a descriptor fitting of NIU's remarkable development starting approximately 1965 on.
Dr. Monat's talk primarily focused on the development of graduate programs. Starting with the first doctoral program approved in 1961 and moving past the period between 1967 and 1979 when no new doctoral programs were approved, Dr. Monat then proceeded to stories of success. During his presidential years, he oversaw the approval of Ph.D. programs in Geology (1979), Biology (1982), and Mathematics (1983). In addition, the Law School was approved through a political process, not an academic process, that is to say, while the Illinois Board of Higher Education turned down the proposal, it was subsequently passed by the state legislature. Purchased from the defunct Lewis University in 1979, it was the first time ever that a law school moved from a private to a public university. The last Ph.D. program approved was in 1999 in Physics bringing the total number of doctoral programs to ten Ph.D.'s and seven Ed.D.'s. Dr. Monat had input and influence in all of these programs.
The Achieving Institution is the first published history of NIU since Earl W. Hayter's Education in Transition: the history of Northern Illinois University (1974). Besides the university's growth and development over the past thirty-five years, Monat's book also identifies the unique characteristics and mission of NIU. The book was published by Northern Illinois University Press, and is available through the library and at local bookstores.
-- Byron Anderson
For more information, please call (815) 753-9838 or e-mail libraryfriend@niu.edu.
Last Updated: September 28, 2007