After 26 years in the history-social sciences education program, the Department of History is saying farewell to Dr. Monica Noraian. While she is just moving across the Quad to serve as the director of the Cecilia J. Lauby Teacher Education Center, a role she’s been serving since 2021, her absence will be felt in Schroeder Hall.
Noraian has served as the program’s director and a tenured track professor since 2008. Previously, she wore various hats in the department, including coordinator of student teaching, university supervisor, and advisor. Noraian began her teaching career in 1991 at both West Chicago and Adlai E. Stevenson high schools before coming to Illinois State.
Dr. Ron Gifford, the department’s director of Undergraduate Education and Enrollment Management, remembers when Noraian arrived in 1998.
“She came to ISU as a veteran high school teacher, and she elicited excitement from her students,” Gifford said. “More than once, I heard a former student tell her that she had changed their life. As an instructor, advisor, tenured professor, and director, Monica always focused on how she could help students become the best teachers possible. In the process, she played an essential role in our mission and continues to do so.
“I will miss having Monica in the Department of History, but ISU will always be best served by people like her who want to make the institution work for students, faculty, and staff alike. She truly understands more than most that we are all rowing in the same boat.”
If your cohort went on one of the famous two-day urban education trips to Chicago or helped clean along Route 66, then you experienced Noraian’s commitment to service learning in action. She is responsible for partnering with the TCH program on campus and the University of Brighton in England to bring the student teaching abroad opportunity to our program. Her work with the Ivy Collegiate Academy in Taichung, Taiwan, has made the summer internship possible for secondary education majors. These are just a few examples of how Noraian has gone above and beyond for our program to ensure that students have exposure to various educational experiences.
Gabe (Buckrop) Vandewostine ’17 remembers how Noraian expanded her view of what learning and teaching could look like.
“During our History 300 seminar, she held our classes all over Bloomington-Normal. From visiting the ISU archives and library’s special collection to the McLean County History Museum and Eyestone one-room schoolhouse, she made learning memorable and impactful,” Vandewostine said.
Megan Somers ’18 appreciates how Noraian always made the class interactive and fun.
“She didn’t just tell us how to create a student-centered classroom; she truly modeled it for us,” Somers said. “I remember using silly bands or candy to group up differently in class. I use many of the strategies she modeled with us in my class with my own students. I’m grateful for having had the opportunity to learn from her in both 290 and 390.”
Longtime colleague Fred Walk fondly remembers his time working with Noraian.
“She is the consummate creative professional who initiated numerous lifelong learning avenues for the thousands of students she has mentored,” Walk said. “The history-social science education program has greatly benefitted from her leadership and organizational skills. Monica has served as an excellent role model who has had a tremendous impact on enhancing our educational system in Illinois and throughout the nation. I am proud to have been her colleague and remain her good friend.”
Dr. Ross Kennedy, chair of the Department of History, classifies Noraian’s work for the department as exemplary. Upon taking over as chair, Kennedy said that navigating the complex world of history-social sciences education was not an easy task.
“As chair, I have found the various constituencies and requirements involved with it to be confusing,” he said. “Monica has consistently given me sensible counsel about how to advance the goals of our program, and I have always been impressed with her ability to represent the department’s interests with the history education community with good cheer and determination, and to maximize our students’ chances for success in a challenging field. The College of Education is very, very lucky to have her.”
Dr. Richard Hughes, who is now the program director, offered more accolades.
“One of Monica’s many strengths in the classroom has been her ability to create and sustain a sense of community among our large and diverse cohorts of teacher candidates,” Hughes said.
Dr. Sara Piotrowski said it was bittersweet to talk about her former professor, mentor, and friend.
“Monica was my HIS 290 professor back in 2002. I didn’t know it then, but she was already modeling what it meant to be a dedicated teacher and mother,” Piotrowski said. “Since we began working together in 2011, I have been in awe of her dedication to our program and the University as a whole. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank her for teaching me (and all her former students) how to lead while fighting for those excluded (both in history and our classrooms).
“Over the years, Monica and I have presented at countless conferences, traveled to England on behalf of our program, and served on various committees. As a graduate student, I helped research her book. At the time, her daughters were young, and my kids were infants. She showed me that women can be scholars, teachers, and mothers simultaneously. On behalf of all your students and colleagues, thank you, Dr. Monica Noraian, for your 26 years of service to the history-social sciences education program.”
From left: Dr. Sara Piotrowski, Dr. Ron Gifford, Reggie Redbird,
Dr. Monica Noraian, Dr. Dan Stump, and Dr. Ross Kennedy
