DeKALB — NIU has seen a number of its director positions vacant throughout the year, leading faculty and students to question when they will be filled and what is being done in the meantime.

Current vacant roles have included the director of the Center for Black Studies and the chair position for the NIU School of Nursing.

While the vacancy of these high positions has been open for a while, students and faculty may see those positions filled by the beginning of Fall 2023.

Since former director of the CBS, Anne Edwards, left, the center has held a vacant director position. But, Joseph Flynn, executive director for equity and inclusion, has since been involved with a search committee filling that role.

“We’re hoping to have the director chosen and staffed by the end of May,” Flynn said.

Flynn is the chair of the search committee, which includes 10-12 other faculty that finalize the decision process. As the position has been open since January, Flynn and others have narrowed down the applicant list to three individuals.

“The directorship of the Center of Black Studies is somewhat different because it’s both a cultural center as well as a housing and academic program,” Flynn said. “So we think it’s important for the director to be knowledgeable on both sides of the house.”

The selection committee prioritized specific requirements throughout the interview process which separated between tasks necessary for managing the center and the personal aptitude of candidates to be a leader to the black students of NIU. 

“We’re looking for both a really strong understanding of Black studies as an academic discipline, as well as an intersectional understanding of the lives of African American students,” Flynn said.

Three finalists have since been approved for a visit to campus where they will be interviewed in the following week.

Beverly Henry, interim dean and director of Ph.D. in Health Sciences Program, is another faculty member in the role of deciding the position for the Chair for the School of Nursing.

The chair position was originally posted in January, though the previous chair stepped down in July of 2022 when they finished their term. Kari Hickey, acting chair and director of the undergraduate Nursing Program, has directed the department during this time.

Henry said the department prioritized factors that lengthened their selection process and choice to keep a temporary chair in the position.

“The university is very careful in the process of selection of leaders,” Henry said. “We know they have an important role for our academic programs and our faculty and our staff, so it’s not something we want to rush through.”

Finalizations for a selected candidate are now currently under review by the School of Nursing, with plans for the individual to begin in July as well.

The start of Fall 2023 will also welcome a new director for the Disability Resource Center, with a confirmation from Joe King, associate director for institutional communications at NIU, that an offer to a candidate was sent in March.