NIU dean retires after 30 years on campus

DeKALB – Northern Illinois University bid farewell to one of its venerable deans Thursday, who retired after being on campus for three decades.

“There’s an opportunity that came my way. It was very difficult to say no to,” said Promod Vohra, who has headed NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET) since 2005. “The job was good and uses all the skills that I’ve learned being a dean and in academia.”

Also important, he said, his new role as a senior vice president in the private sector allows him and his family to remain in DeKalb.

Vohra’s journey began at NIU in 1986, when he became the first student to enroll in CEET’s graduate program to study electrical engineering. After graduating two years later, he started as an instructor in CEET and began his ascent to full professor in the technology department.

Vohra, 58, continued his studies and employment with NIU, getting an Ed.D in instruction technology in 1993, and four year later, being named associate dean, and then selected to be the dean.

“I’m leaving [my successor] a good college, with a growing trend, satisfied students and with an optimal operational environment,” he said.

He immigrated here with is family from India. The experiences back home and his journey here in the U.S. inspired a compassion in him, he said, that has led him to do continued outreach to minority and underserved communities.

Vohra boasts an engineering program that includes a diverse student body of nearly 2,000. Also, NIU has forged partnerships with area community and four-year colleges to offer opportunities for students interested in engineering to afford classes.

Starting this fall, NIU will offer engineering courses at Rock Valley College in Rockford, the retired dean said. CEET also has given to high school youth in places such as south suburban Chicago and Kankakee.

“My whole mantra of success is compassion and opportunity,” he said.

Vohra has been a fixture on campus and throughout the community at large. He represented the school in a myriad of official and unofficial capacities. NIU credits Vohra with helping CEET grow its enrollment and become a nationally ranked academic program.

His leadership has led to employment collaborations for students and area companies, supporting the regional manufacturing community’s needs and partnering with other area colleges to help students take needed engineering courses – among a host of other distinctions, according to NIU officials.

“Promod has been a great ambassador for NIU and for engineering as a discipline,” said NIU President Doug Baker. “In many regards, Promod is the ultimate embodiment of student career success that we try to help every NIU graduate attain.”

Omar Ghrayeb, an associate CEET dean, is serving as the interim leader.