Laurie Elish-Piper, Ph.D., is dean of the College of Education at Northern Illinois University.
She is also a Presidential Engagement Professor and a Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Literacy and Elementary Education (LEED), and she has recently completed a term as NIU’s Presidential Advisor on College and Career Readiness.
She also served as the director of the Jerry L. Johns Literacy Clinic for 15 years and as and co-director of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy for seven years. Elish-Piper has provided leadership to professional organizations, including her service as the president of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers and as a member of the International Literacy Association Board of Directors.
Elish-Piper’s scholarship and teaching focuses on literacy leadership, literacy coaching, teacher professional development, literacy assessment, and struggling readers. She has co-authored eight books and more than 80 articles and chapters. She is a regular presenter at international, national, state and local conferences.
Before starting her career in higher education, she was an elementary teacher and a middle-school language arts/reading teacher in Indiana. Elish-Piper has been on the faculty at NIU since 1995.
Laurie has been married to Steve for 26 years, and they have one son, Michael, age 17. An avid reader, Laurie also enjoys traveling, watching cooking and design shows, and playing fetch with her dilute calico cat, Lyla.