Lois S. Self

Lois Self served the Department of Communication (formerly “Communication Studies”) and university for more than 30 years from 1979 to 2009. After earning two degrees in history, she began her work at NIU by serving as a graduate assistant in Communication Studies and later as an instructor in the Fundamentals of Communication course. In 1979, while completing a Ph.D. in rhetorical studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she was hired as an assistant professor and coordinator of speech communication skills to direct the program for educationally disadvantaged NIU undergraduates. In 1986, she was selected as the director of the interdisciplinary program in women’s studies—a position she held for eight years—expanding the program and pioneering its graduate concentration. In 1995, she was recognized with the university’s first Wilma Stricklin Award for improving the climate on campus for women.

Throughout her leadership in women’s studies, Lois continued to teach in her home discipline. In 1996, she became chair of the communication department, a position she held for nine years. In 1997, she received the National Communication Association’s Francine Merritt Award for contributions to the status of women in the discipline. At the request of the dean and provost, she

led in establishing a university-wide multicultural curriculum transformation project to assist faculty in developing more inclusive curricula and pedagogical practices. After formally retiring in 2006, Lois organized the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 50th Anniversary celebration and helped create the college’s communications office. She served as the first CLAS communication director on a part-time basis for more than two years. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the college, university, profession, and community, Lois was named a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor in 2013.