Vice President for Student Affairs and Professor of Counselor Education Dr. Melvin C. Terrell announced that he would resign on Sept. 1 from his Vice President post a press release sent out on June 30 said.
After stepping down, Dr. Terrell will be retiring from Northeastern Illinois University at the year’s end to pursue other professional interests, spend more time with his family and travel.
“I have been privileged to be a part of the NEIU community for 20 years. I have enjoyed a wonderful career, and I am extremely proud of my tenure at NEIU,” said Terrell in a press release. “I believe that the division of Student Affairs will benefit over time from new leadership and fresh ideas.”
While Terrell was Vice President for Student Affairs, he advanced the department of Student Affairs in “student services, assessment, increase in grant funding, and advocacy of underrepresented groups,” the press release continued. He counts among his accomplishments the foundation in 1989 of the Minority Mentorship Program, “Partners for Success,” a program designed to improve the persistence and academic goals of Hispanic and African American students the press release also stated.
In 1990 he received the Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a Student Personnel Administrator, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Region IV East, being the first minority administrator to receive this prestigious recognition.
As the press release states, Terrell “has encouraged the development, scholarly pursuits and professional representation of his staff. In addition, he has mentored many student leaders, staff members, colleagues, administrators, faculty, not only throughout the Chicago area, but also across the country.”
Regarded by many of his colleagues, “Terrell is among the most prolific and influential student affairs practitioners and scholars in the country, authoring more than 30 publications including monographs, book chapters and articles in refereed journals,” the press release also stated.
Before his tenure at NEIU in 1988, he was the Director of Minority Affairs and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Toledo, where he as awarded by the student body the “Administrator of the Year Award” for three years in a row. He also served as Director of the Multicultural Education Center and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Education and Human Services at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, in addition to several other institutions.
There will be a retirement party on Thurs., Aug. 28 at 4:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall.