Commitment to Research

We value inquiry: the discovery and sharing of new knowledge including faculty and student research. We apply these learnings to improve our practice and to positively impact our disciplines, partnerships and communities. One of our priorities is research advancement, a commitment to support our faculty and students in research engagement to deepen understanding, build theory, address problems of practice and/or foster partnerships.

The College Research Committee seeks to expand participation of faculty, instructors, staff and students in the college in the conduct of research and scholarship; to advance capacity of faculty, instructors, staff and students within the college to generate and disseminate high-quality research and scholarship; and to promote visibility of those research and scholarly efforts conducted by faculty, instructors, staff and students. 

Current members: Olha Ketsman (chair), Razak Dwomoh, Wonock Chung, Teresa Wasonga, Michelle Sands, TJ Schoonover, Alissa Droog, Daniel Truesdale (student), Babatola Arogundade (student) and Todd Gilson (ex-officio).

Research Spotlights

Each semester, we feature current research to spark interest, promote future collaborations and recognize the efforts of our faculty and/or students.

Student Scholarship

The College of Education Research Committee hosted the ninth Annual Student Research Symposium on Friday, April 17, 2026, to highlight the excellent scholarship work NIU students completed over the past academic year.

Throughout the event, 23 student presentations were delivered from across departments. In addition, as evaluated by faculty judges, the committee acknowledged the outstanding presentations from students through awards.

• Outstanding Poster Presentation: Behavioral skills training and error correction implementation by Katie Garcia, Amanda Borosh and Brandon Perez, SEED
• Outstanding Oral Presentation: Sampling rigor in instructional technology mixed methods research by Daniel Truesdale, LILT

The committee congratulates the work students completed as well as thanks the mentorship that faculty provided to students in the process.