Northeastern Illinois University has awarded emeritus status to six retiring faculty members. They will be honored during Commencement on May 7.
Northeastern awards the prestigious status to eligible retiring faculty members upon the recommendation of the department or program, with the concurrence of the dean and the provost, and with the approval of the University president.
The new professors emeriti are:
Saba Ayman-Nolley
Professor Emerita
Ayman-Nolley joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology in 1987. During her 31 years of service she has taught at all levels of the curriculum, and has advised and mentored hundreds of students, guiding them toward postgraduate education and careers. Ayman-Nolley has been the recipient of numerous awards, including two Faculty Excellence Awards. For her outstanding service as department chair, she was recognized with a Chairs Meritorious Award. Her prolific research has resulted in 13 journal and chapter publications and more than 80 conference presentations. She has been awarded 14 grants, ranging from institutional to national sources of funding. Ayman-Nolley served as chair of the NEIU Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, and has also served on the executive board of the Jean Piaget Society, a prestigious international society for developmental psychology.
Andy Chen
Associate Professor Emeritus
Chen joined the faculty of the Department of Accounting, Business Law and Finance in 1990. During his 28 years of service, he taught numerous courses in accounting, and prepared his students to be on the leading edge of business information technology development. He served on dozens of committees, including at the department, college, university and community levels. Chen’s primary research interests focus on creating conceptual frameworks to describe and explain societal problems and on emerging technologies to solve these problems. He has published numerous journal articles and given many conference presentations in these areas. Chen has also been the recipient of the prestigious Professor Peter W. Stonebraker College of Business and Management Senior Incentive Faculty Research Recognition Award.
Judith Kaplan-Weinger
Professor Emerita
Kaplan-Weinger joined the faculty of the Department of Linguistics in 1987. During her 31 years of service, she served as the coordinator for the undergraduate and graduate linguistics programs, and in leadership roles on major committees such as the Faculty Senate, the Faculty Council on Academic Affairs and the Higher Learning Commission Self-Study Committee. Kaplan-Weinger is a well-respected and influential scholar whose achievements have greatly impacted the study of linguistics. She produced four substantial books, including a major textbook in her field. Additionally, she published several articles and presented numerous refereed papers at important conferences in her field. Kaplan-Weinger has also been the recipient of the Teaching Professional/Resource Professional Excellence Award.
Shahrzad Mahootian
Professor Emerita
Mahootian joined the faculty of the Department of Anthropology, Linguistics and Philosophy in 1994. During her 24 years of service she taught numerous linguistics courses, and served as department chair, program coordinator and graduate coordinator. She also served on a number of University committees, including the Faculty Senate and the College of Arts and Sciences Academic Affairs Committee. Mahootian is an internationally recognized scholar with expertise in the study of the Persian language. She has published four books, including a major textbook in her field. She has also published numerous articles in the leading scholarly linguistics journals, and has been invited to give presentations on the national and international stage.
JoAnne Vazzano
Associate Professor Emerita
Vazzano joined the faculty of the Department of Reading (now part of the Department of Literacy, Leadership and Development) in 2006. During her 12 years of service she demonstrated a high level of distinction in her teaching, research and service. Vazzano has given dozens of presentations at conferences and workshops and has had several of her works published. She served as chair of the Literacy Department and director of the Literacy Center, and also served on numerous committees and councils at the University. Vazzano has been a member of a number of professional organizations, including the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers and the Illinois Reading Council.
Judith Yturriago
Associate Professor Emerita
Yturriago joined the faculty of the Department of Teacher Education in 2008. During her 10 years of service she taught numerous courses in the Bilingual Bicultural (BLBC) Program. She served as coordinator of the undergraduate and graduate BLBC programs and as the BLBC Coordinator of Teacher Performance Assessment. Yturriago published numerous scholarly works and presented at dozens of conferences. She served as an executive board officer to the Illinois Association for Multilingual Multicultural Education, and has also been a member of other professional associations, such as the National Association for Multicultural Education and the National Association for Bilingual Education.
