Illinois State University’s new provost asks a lot of questions. She has a habit of answering questions with questions. Her inquisitive nature was born long ago.
Appears InDr. Ani Yazedjian was raised in Cairo, Egypt, in an Armenian family that fled its homeland to escape genocide more than a half century before she was born. They were entrenched in Cairo’s small but tightknit Armenian community, a connection that was lost when she moved to the United States. The move came at a time in Yazedjian’s life when countless questions swirled around her in imaginary thought bubbles. Was she Armenian? American? Armenian American?
“I was an adolescent trying to figure out those questions of ‘What am I?’ and ‘Who am I?’ People here didn’t know what an Armenian was,” Yazedjian recalled. “I was trying to figure myself out at the same time they were.”
That quest for self-discovery continued as a sociology major at the University of Florida, and later as a human development and family studies graduate and doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She explored topics of race, ethnicity, and identity. Much of it was driven by her own experience. “What I was really looking at was the sense of belonging,” Yazedjian said. “We didn’t talk about it in those terms then, but that work I did 20-plus years ago is impacting what I do now as a provost.”
Yazedjian brings the totality of her experiences to the role of vice president for Academic Affairs and provost. That includes answers to the questions she asked all those years ago, knowledge gained through her own college education, and more than two decades working in higher ed. An accomplished scholar awarded more than $7 million in external funding for her research, Yazedjian arrived at Illinois State University in 2013 as a department chair, becoming the first woman in school history to serve as a University Professor. She moved to the Office of the Provost in 2019, serving as associate provost and acting provost before being appointed to her current role by Illinois State President Aondover Tarhule, the last person to serve as Illinois State’s provost.
—Dr. Ani Yazedjian
“It’s a blend of honoring our traditions but also continuing to look at how the world around us impacts those areas of strength and asking what we can do to continue to evolve in order to stay relevant.“
“Having worked closely with Dr. Yazedjian since I arrived four years ago, I can tell you with the utmost confidence that she is uniquely equipped and well prepared to serve as Illinois State’s chief academic officer,” Dr. Tarhule said. “Her experience will help us elevate the Illinois State experience, and I am delighted that our work together will continue.”
In her time in the Office of the Provost, Yazedjian has helped establish new academic offerings such as the College of Engineering and expanded existing ones like the School of Creative Technologies. She’ll continue development of programs both new and old in her role as provost.
“Are we offering cutting-edge programs that meet student demand and market needs? But are we also providing programs in the humanities and social sciences that sometimes don’t get mentioned?” Yazedjian asked, rhetorically. “I think those are all critical parts of a comprehensive university.”
Yazedjian sees room for further development of Illinois State’s hallmark programs with interdisciplinary approaches and new technology. Last spring, she convened a committee exploring the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI).
“We’re already known as a preparer of teachers, so how do we think about and integrate AI into the work of preparing future teachers?” she asked. “It’s a blend of honoring our traditions but also continuing to look at how the world around us impacts those areas of strength and asking what we can do to continue to evolve in order to stay relevant.”
Yazedjian has faced challenges along the way. She learned from them all. One test came in her service to Illinois State’s COVID-19 steering team.
“If you made this decision, one group would be mad at you. But if you made the other decision, another group was mad at you,” Yazedjian recalled. “We really had to think about what was best for the institution, and the decisions were hard. But it was an opportunity and an experience where I learned a lot.”
Another obstacle Yazedjian faced came right out of the starting blocks. As a newly minted Ph.D. eager to begin her teaching career, she initially struggled to find work. “I felt like a real failure when it didn’t happen right away. I’d worked all those years in school, applied for all those jobs, and I didn’t get them,” she said. “I think sometimes we gloss over our perceived failures, but that impacted so many other things that I did along the way.”
As she searched for a faculty position, she busied herself working in the University of Illinois’ Center for Teaching and Learning. Yazedjian learned best practices she put to use when she finally landed a job in Texas State University’s family and child development program. An impactful experience came six years into her tenure there when she served as a presidential fellow, a role she describes as an “administrative internship,” which provided her a yearlong seat in the president’s cabinet and exposure to high-level discussions.
That first trial of academic administration led her to apply for a job at Illinois State in 2013. Yazedjian served as chair of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences for more than five years, doing departmental-level work she now does university-wide.
In the Office of the Provost, Yazedjian has divided her focus between people, programs, and processes. People come first. She’s facilitated professional development opportunities for faculty and staff that include establishing a provost fellows program that mirrors the one that so positively impacted her.
—Dr. Ani Yazedjian
“A lot of families are taking on a significant financial burden to send their kids to school. But they will think differently about that price tag if they have confidence in the value they’re going to get from spending that money.“
Above all is her commitment to student success. Yazedjian promotes multidisciplinary approaches to academic programming because “most people are going to change jobs multiple times,” she explained. “We’re teaching students skills to be successful in whatever they choose.” Yazedjian is also determined to increase student retention rates. “It hurts my heart when students leave here with debt and no degree,” she said. “As an institution, we need to look at our policies and practices to support those students in completing their degrees.”
Just as Yazedjian’s personal life influenced the beginning of her journey through academia, it continues to guide her. She has two adolescent children now. The “sports mom” is keenly aware of the questions families have about higher education, and she answers them from perspectives that are equal parts professional and personal.
“A lot of families are taking on a significant financial burden to send their kids to school,” Yazedjian said. “But they will think differently about that price tag if they have confidence in the value they’re going to get from spending that money.
“And as a provost and a mom, I can tell parents that their kids are going to get something of value from their experience at Illinois State.”
