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"These recipients of Northern's highest teaching honor continue the tradition of outstanding teaching that has been at Northern's core since its founding," says NIU President John La Tourette. "They have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to students and their welfare, inspired the best in students and received their respect, explored instructional methods and technology, and actively worked to improve education at Northern, all qualities we seek in awarding these honors."

Beachy, a recipient of NIU's 1986 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, is committed to finding the appropriate uses of technology in teaching mathematics and has created a World Wide Web site, where he posts resources and assignments for his students. Yet, in some classes, he finds that the "old-fashioned" technique of having students work in groups at the blackboard still works well.

"John expects a lot of his students, and they rise to the challenge. He also places a very high value on meeting students' needs," says mathematics department chair William Blair, adding that Beachy also has a knack for making abstract ideas come alive.

Beachy's particular area of interest is ring theory, a branch of algebra. Although his work is in pure mathematics, the area has applications to algebraic coding theory, which is used in communications, modems and data storage.

Beachy, who came to NIU in 1969, is the co-author of a book on abstract algebra and has published many papers in international journals. He also has designed a new curriculum for a basic math course and has served as a consultant on a scientific literacy grant project with secondary teachers from Rockford.

Neher, a specialist in Southeast Asia, is the director of NIU's internationally known Center for Southeast Asian Studies and a former chair of the political science department. "There is almost no other university in the country that could offer me a position where 24 colleagues, from across the university, share my interests in Southeast Asia," Neher says. He also notes that he teaches the nation's best graduate students in Southeast Asian studies, who choose NIU because of the center.

"Clark absolutely loves teaching," says Andrea Bonnicksen, the current political science department chair. "He has the ability to open the minds of students, from the freshman to doctoral level, to the integrity and wonder of differing cultures."

Neher first went to Southeast Asia as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand in 1963. He is now an internationally active scholar in Thai and Southeast Asian studies, serving on the editorial board of several Asian studies journals. He is the author or editor of seven books. Since coming to NIU in 1969, Neher has received Fulbright, Ford Foundation and other grants to work and study in Southeast Asia, where he also has been a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Simon, the Coopers and Lybrand Professor of Accountancy, has won numerous teaching awards, including NIU's 1984 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, since coming to NIU in 1973. His particular areas of interest are financial reporting, the CPA review, and governmental and nonprofit accounting.

Simon teaches in Northern's famed CPA Review program and was its director from 1980 to 1990, during which time NIU's pass rate ranked first in the nation four times. Simon is well known for standing outside the examination hall on the day of the exam and shaking the hands of his students as they enter.

"John is totally unselfish with his time for his students," says accountancy chair Patrick Delaney. "He also is deeply concerned for his students' learning, spending hours and hours revising the original materials that he develops for his courses."

Simon explains that he basically no longer uses textbooks in his classes but rather notes and projects that he develops from scratch.

Simon also is among the NIU business professors teaching in a managerial corporate training program for Safety-Kleen, a Fortune 500 company, based in Elgin.

Each Presidential Teaching Professorship carries a $5,000 per year stipend for four years to support activities directly related to the improvement of the professor's teaching. Each recipient also receives a $2,000 base salary increase and one semester of released time to create new course materials or develop instructional methods. Candidates must be tenured full professors, who have taught at NIU for at least six years.

Editor's note: John Beachy and Clark Neher live in DeKalb; John Simon lives in Sycamore.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Presidential Teaching Professorhips for Two LA&S Faculty

Beachy and Neher Latest College Faculty
Members to be Recognized


Professors John Beachy (left) of the Department of Mathematical Sciences and Clark Neher (right) of the Department of Political Science have been named Presidential Teaching Professors by NIU President John E. La Tourette. Beachy and Neher began their five-year terms July 1, 1997. They will retain the title Distinguished Teaching Professor when their terms as Presidential Teaching Professors expire.

John Beachy, who also has received NIU’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching award, came to NIU in 1969. He is the author of a book on abstract algebra and has published many papers in international journals. His particular area of interest is ring theory, a branch of algebra. Although his work is in pure mathematics, the area does have applications to algebraic coding theory, which is used in communications, modems and data storage. He has worked on the curricular development of a new sequence of Math 108 and 109 for students in NIU’s Educational and Special Programs, a project he found “very rewarding,” and he has served as a consultant on a scientific literacy grant project, working with teams of secondary teachers from Rockford.

“As a mathematician, I am motivated by the sheer joy of discovery and understanding that I find in my work, but as a teacher, I am motivated by the desire to help others find that same spark of joy in discovering and understanding new concepts,” he says.

“The most rewarding part of my career as a teacher is to work with a student one-on-one and to witness the moment when he or she finally grasps the essence of a new idea,” he continues. “That moment can surprise and delight a student at any level, from beginning algebra to category theory. Sharing the moment, however brief, always boosts my enthusiasm and continues to provide motivation for me.”

Beachy is also committed to finding the appropriate uses of technology in teaching mathematics. He built a web site with a “dictionary” of abstract algebra, and he posts assignments, information and supplementary material for his textbook on the World Wide Web for students. Yet, like all good teachers, he has not lost sight of the human face in cyber space and finds that the “old fashioned technology” still works well.

“Some of my most successful classes have used the old rather than new technology,” he notes. “In small classes, I often have students work in groups at the blackboard. Chalk on slate is a tried-and-true technology. It has the advantage of covering a large area with all the work visible to everyone, which leads to a more cooperative experience.”


Clark Neher, who also came to NIU in 1969, is a specialist in the politics of Southeast Asia, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand in 1963. In addition to his position in the political science department, he is currently director of NIU’s internationally renowned Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and he estimates that in his many return trips to the area since his first experience there, he has spent a total of eight full years in Southeast Asia.

“If you want your students to understand another culture, you have to experience the culture, society, and politics yourself, and you can only do that if you’ve lived there, worked there, and seen the social and political milieu from the perspective of local residents,” he says.

Neher cites the Southeast Asian Studies center as a major reason he enjoys teaching at NIU. “There is almost no other university in the country that could offer me a position where 24 colleagues from across the university share my intellectual interests,” he says, noting also that he teaches the “the nation’s best students in Southeast Asian studies,” who have chosen NIU because of the center. “Invariably, I walk away from the classroom feeling that I made a difference for some students, and that’s important for me,” he says.

Neher says he believes a good teacher must be constantly rethinking his or her ideas. In his own field--international political systems--developing areas change so rapidly that he can never use last year’s lecture notes. He says he has become “dependent upon the computer,” using it to read overseas newspapers everyday for information that used to take weeks to reach him. He also uses e-mail to keep in close touch with colleagues around the world who keep him posted on their local news.

As an internationally active scholar in Thai and Southeast Asian studies, Neher serves on the editorial board of Asian Thought and Society, and Asian Affairs, as well as being the author of several books and numerous articles and conference papers.

During his terms as chair of the Department of Political Science from 1982-88 and 1993-96, Neher continued to teach. He also has been actively involved with the women’s studies program as a faculty associate.

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