Although many departments at NIU do not have a dress code, faculty and staff are expected to dress in appropriate attire, said Cliff Mirman, professor and chair of the department of technology.

Appropriate attire in the department of technology consists of slacks and a button-down shirt, Mirman said. However, because there isn’t a dress code in effect, sneakers, jeans and sweatshirts may be worn on occasion, he said.

“But from what I’ve seen, it is the odd exception,” Mirman said.

Norman Stahl, professor and chair of literacy education, said faculty members know the importance of dressing in a professional manner.

“Since our field deals with professional education, we cannot look like deadbeats and then tell our students that they should be dressed in a professional manner when they are in the field teaching,” Stahl said.

The industrial engineering department also does not have a dress code, said Nourredine Boubekri, chair of the department of industrial engineering. In laboratories, however, people have to dress appropriately for safety reasons, Boubekri said.

Peter Gutierrez, associate professor and assistant chair of the psychology department, said although the department doesn’t have a formal dress code, he finds everyone has his or her own individualized code.

Some male professors choose to wear a suit and tie when they teach, even though they aren’t required to, Gutierrez said.

“I would imagine that a dress code has never been deemed necessary,” he said, “since we are all capable of determining what is appropriate professional dress for the type of work we do.”

A university should be a relaxed environment that allows people to open up to each other, said communication professor Angela Powers.

However, Powers said she also thinks teachers are in a position of responsibility and should take it upon themselves to dress appropriately. She chooses to dress professionally every day even though her department doesn’t require her to.

Aaron Adams, a first-year communication graduate student, said dress codes should depend on the department.

“In some departments, it’s necessary,” he said. “In others, it’s not.”

In the College of Business, for example, Adams said a dress code may be beneficial because the way people dress often affects how they act. In a physics lab, however, a suit and tie would not be appropriate.

Wearing jeans and a sweater could influence students to look at their professor in a less professional way, Powers said.

However, Adams said students won’t respect their teachers any less because of the way they are dressed.

Powers said dress codes are more important when representing clients or going to a business meeting. No matter what the setting, Powers said, dress may affect the situation.

Adams said he agrees dress may affect the way students see their professors, but not necessarily in a negative way. Some students are more comfortable approaching a professor wearing jeans than a professor wearing a suit and tie, Adams said. A suit could be seen as a status symbol, he said, which makes the professor more of an authority figure.

Dressing up too much also could intimidate students, Powers said.

“Overdressing could make students feel too distant from their professor,” she said.

Cost also is a factor that must be taken into consideration.

Compared to executives, Powers said, some professors or instructors may not be paid enough to have an extensive wardrobe. Having a dress code that requires teachers to wear specific clothing could become a financial issue.