First Presidential Research Professors Named

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By the early 1980s, NIU had attracted a substantial number of accomplished research faculty who were quite vocal about the need to expand science facilities and Ph.D. programs. But movement of those initiatives through the multi-layered bureaucracy of a three-university governing board and the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) proved slow-going.

The Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professors wear these specially designed medallions with their academic regalia.

In an effort to rally the troops, NIU President William Monat announced in his 1981 State of the University Address that he was establishing a new way to highlight and reward faculty scholarship, research and artistry.

“Accepting a faculty recommendation, I established the Presidential Research Professors Award, which was designed to recognize and honor sustained excellence in scholarship and creativity,” Monat wrote in his memoir The Achieving Institution.

PRPs were appointed to four-year terms during which the award provided an annual subsidy for the professor’s work. A base salary increment was also included. At the May Graduate School commencement, the honorees were given medallions to wear with their academic regalia. And at the end of their four-year terms, the Presidential Research Professors would attain the permanent designation of Distinguished Research Professor.

A select committee comprised of the University’s leading scholars and artists invited nominations and reviewed applications from tenured full professors.

In its inaugural year, the PRP award attracted nearly 50 full nominations. Acknowledging a pent-up demand for recognition, the selection committee chose eight winners for the first class of PRPs.  (Subsequent years were limited to three). They were:

Dr. Carl Albright, professor of physics, conducted research in particle theory, a branch of high energy physics. Albright was a scientific visitor in the Theory Group at Fermilab.

Jan Bach, professor of music, composed in virtually every acoustic performance medium. He was nominated four times for Pulitzer Prizes and the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.

David Driesbach, professor of art, presented more than 150 one-man shows since 1946. He exhibited in nearly every major art museum in the U.S., including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Dr. Clyde Kimball, professor of physics, established a research program that studied the properties of superconducting and magnetic materials, and also initiated the university’s first partnerships with Fermilab.

Dr. Paul Kleppner, professor of history and political science, conducted research focused on historical voting behavior in the U.S. He also served as director of NIU’s Social Science Research Institute.

Dr. Arnie Hampel, professor of biology and chemistry, studied the biochemistry of mammalian systems and the protein synthesis in cultured animal cells. His later work expanded his findings into possible treatments for AIDS.

Dr. Bruce Lincoln, professor of history, was an acknowledged world expert on Russian history and the author of multiple books considered definitive in the field. Lincoln was a senior fellow at the Institutes of History at Moscow and Leningrad State Universities.

Dr. Wallace McAllister, professor of psychology, conducted research focused on developing behavioral interventions to battle chronic fear in people crippled by neurosis and anxiety.

In its 38 years of existence to date, the Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Awards have been given to 104 of NIU’s best. In 2017, the award’s name was changed to underscore Monat’s original intent: recipients are now Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professors (PRSAPs).  See the complete listing of NIU Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professors.