Faculty, staff and other well-wishers came together at Altgeld Hall Monday to celebrate the career of an internationally-recognized scholar and contributor to NIU.

Executive Vice President and Provost Ivan Legg will retire this year after nearly five decades of working in the field of higher education.

Several staff members and President John Peters spoke about Legg’s contributions to NIU before Legg stood up and said goodbye to his colleagues of the past five years.

Peters said Legg has been “quietly effective” during his five years as provost and has shown a love for students.

Those who worked with Legg mention his dedication to diversifying NIU’s programs.

LeRoy Pernell, dean of the College of Law, praised Legg for his contributions the law college and his support of diversity at NIU.

“I think [Legg has] been instrumental in a lot of the positive things we’ve been able to do there,” Pernell said. “The provost has been a strong supporter of diversity.”

Peters recalls Legg’s year of living in a residence hall along with other students while he arranged other living conditions for himself.

“He’s the only provost that learned how to do laundry,” Peters said.

Legg said watching students live and interact in the dorms gave him a new viewpoint.

“They called me ‘Dr. Ivan,'” Legg said of the students. “I was almost ready to say all new provosts should live with students for a year.”

Legg’s career has taken him through several institutions of higher education and has produced a large amount of research.

“He’s always had the courage of his convictions,” said Harold Kafer, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Legg draws his view of multiculturalism from his early life in South America. One of his main areas of focus is to educate students who will one day be leaders with a more international experience, Legg said.

“My background in South America added a lot to my education early in my life,” Legg said. “We need to approach our interactions [with other cultures] with an understanding of our differences.”

Legg received his bachelor of arts degree from Oberlin College and his doctorate from Michigan State University. He served as a department chair at Washington State University and then became the founding dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University. He also served as provost at the University of Memphis before becoming provost at NIU.

Legg said he will miss the challenge of working in academia.

“Being in higher education is a privilege because you’re the source of education at the highest level,” Legg said. “We need to work toward having that opportunity for all our children.”