A 25-Year Grad School Retrospective w/Carolyn Law and Brad Bond

by Augie Morado

This year marks both an anniversary and a turning point for the NIU Grad School. First, our very own Carolyn Law will complete her 25^th year in the Thesis and Dissertation Office. Additionally, Brad Bond, Dean of the Graduate School, will be stepping down to take a sabbatical and will likely return later to the History Department to teach and research.

For this post, I asked both Law and Bond to reflect on their time at NIU in their current roles as well as changes they’ve seen over the past quarter century and significant challenges they’ve worked to overcome.

Carolyn Law

Retrieved from NIUToday.

In response to major changes she’s witnessed during her time leading the Thesis and Dissertation Office, Law highlights technological changes that have impacted the way that her department receives submissions from students. According to Law, electronic submission of theses and dissertations became mandatory in 2008; at the beginning of her tenure in the Thesis and Diss Office, papers were submitted as hard copies, as were all the support materials for students, such as the format and style guidelines. The Guidelines had to be purchased from the university bookstore and students had to deliver papers to the Grad School during business hours.

While commercial Internet certainly existed 25 years ago, in 1996 this technology was very much in its nascent phase and its full potential yet to be realized. Additionally, taking inflation into account, computers were relatively more expensive back then versus today. Today, with more reliable and ubiquitous Internet connections, as well as better, more varied types of generally more affordable devices, writers are able to work and submit much more efficiently. Law also points out that evolving technology has made it easier for students to take innovative approaches to their research, including multimedia theses and dissertations.

Law also discusses how her own role has evolved over time. Originally, she only interacted with students at the conclusion of their degree. Now, the Thesis and Dissertation Office offers workshops throughout the year and is open to assist writers at any step in the process. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused most of the Thesis and Diss Office’s services to move online, which Law considers a plus: “I can reach many more graduate students via one online session than I ever could with in-person programming.”

Brad Bond

Retrieved from NIUToday.

Bond points to the Graduate Career and Professional Development (GCPD) program as being particularly “important and impactful.” I discussed this program and its many benefits for NIU grad students in an earlier post. Regarding what makes NIU’s GCPD program stand out from similar resources at other schools, Bond says, “It’s revolutionary because it’s at once focused on human beings and informed by big data.” He also credits Dr. Beth Wilkins, professor of Curriculum and Instruction, with helping to realize and implement his vision of what the GCPD could become, and he points out that she has done much of this work in collaboration with other departments on campus, including the Thesis and Diss Office.

And while Bond acknowledges the impact of evolving technology on positive changes in the Graduate School, he highlights the significance of changed policies and practices, such as the existence of shared governance, that have also resulted in greater efficiency.

Looking Forward

It is hard to say what the world, much less the NIU Graduate School, will look like 25 years from now. For the time being, it is clear that the Grad School and its associated departments, including the Thesis and Dissertation Office, are making their best efforts to adapt to changes, especially during the 16 months that we have been contending against a viral pandemic. Near the end of her interview, Law added that while remote delivery of resources has enabled her to reach more students than ever before, she misses working with students in person and looks forward to opening the office for face-to-face appointments in Fall 2021. The Thesis Office (Williston 100) will resume office hours Monday-Thursday, 12:30pm to 3:30pm, on October 4, 2021. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us through email at thesis@niu.edu!