Some opportunities are too good to pass up. This was the belief held by Matthew Streb, associate political science professor, when President John Peters approached him to become associate to the president.

The position is meant to expose mid-career faculty members to day-to-day operations of NIU’s administration, said Brad Hoey, vice president of university relations. A number of universities across the nation have instituted the type of position, and Peters felt NIU should also be on the list with Streb serving the role.

“The president felt that Dr. Streb would be an excellent candidate,” Hoey said. “Not only will it benefit him, but I think Dr. Streb has an opportunity to reach out to other faculty members and share the experiences he’s going through.”

The one-year appointment that began Aug. 1 has a variety of responsibilities, including being a member of the President’s Cabinet, representing Peters at meetings and working with students, faculty and alumni if they have concerns or want to speak to the president.

His main role is to be advisor to Peters, and he has been working closely with him on the State of the University address which will be delivered on Sept. 2.

Getting accustomed to this role, Streb admits, has been a challenge

“This is much different than my traditional role as a faculty member,” Streb said. “As a faculty member, I would come in the morning and I’d say today I have to do a, b and c. And in this role I come in and say I got to do a, b and c and by the time I’ve left, I never done a, b and c and I’ve ended up doing x, y and z.”

With classes beginning Monday, Streb also did not do something for the first time in almost his entire life.

“It’s the first time in 31 years that come fall I haven’t come back to class, so it was a little weird [Monday] morning,” Streb said. “I actually came in and was somewhat sad about that. It’s only a year, and so I’m not going to be out of the classroom for that long, but I love teaching and I love being around the students.”

Matt Venaas, former student trustee, was a witness to Streb’s passion of teaching, as one of his former students.

“In all honesty, from a student perspective, he’s just a tremendous professor,” said Venaas, who is now a graduate student in political science. “He’s someone who cares very deeply about his students, is very passionate about his work, and even more so, he’s very passionate about this institution. In terms of the professors I’ve had here, I can’t think of anybody more qualified to have an opportunity like this.”

The opportunity to work with Peters and learn how the administrative side of NIU operates was something Streb could not pass up.

“This gives me a different exposure to whole different types of issues. In some ways it’s exciting to see how the university’s evolving and some of the challenges that we face and how we respond to those challenges,” said Streb. “I do miss the classroom; there is no doubt about that. But this is a unique opportunity and a lot of things that can be learned from it.”

And now that he is working in Altgeld Hall, his sons may be visiting campus more often.

“My sons think it’s cool because I work in the castle now, so they like it,” Streb said.