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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Jill F. Nilsen,
4 Vice President for External Relations at Eastern Illinois
5 University, on her retirement; and
 
6     WHEREAS, She joined the faculty of Eastern Illinois
7 University in 1976 in what is now Communication Disorders and
8 Sciences; she completed a PHD at the University of Illinois in
9 Urbana-Champaign in Speech and Hearing Science and went on to
10 become the department chair; she moved on to be the Associate
11 Dean of the Graduate School, where she started the first ever
12 Graduate Student Advisory Council, a group that still exists
13 and provide a voice for graduate students at the University;
14 President David Jorns tapped her to be his Special Assistant
15 and thereby began her career in legislative affairs and
16 outreach; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Dr. Nilsen is an ASHA member and holds a tenured
18 full professorship in the Department of Communication
19 Disorders and Sciences at Eastern Illinois University; she is
20 currently serving as Vice President of External Relations; Dr.
21 Nilsen is an effective and successful administrator with a
22 thorough knowledge of business and administrative practices
23 and procedures; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, During her career at Eastern, as a department
2 chair, associate graduate dean, and now as a vice president,
3 she has demonstrated visionary leadership in every position;
4 she demonstrates a great talent for analyzing situations and
5 recognizing areas that need improvement and preserving those
6 that are at the core of the institution’s culture; she is adept
7 in strategic planning, setting priorities and goals, and
8 demonstrating accountability as progress toward the goals is
9 made; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Early in her career at Eastern, Dr. Nilsen was
11 faculty advisory for the EIU NSSLHA chapter; as the
12 Vice-President for External Relations, she developed the EIU
13 Student Action Team which is an active group of EIU students
14 who lobby the State legislature on behalf of the University;
15 Dr. Nilsen works with the Action Team leadership to develop
16 appropriate communication skills and messages for legislative
17 visits; she accompanies the students to the State capitol and
18 works closely with them as they meet legislators in their
19 offices or on the House and Senate floors; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Her ability to work with students to develop
21 professional skills and responses to professional issues is
22 easily transferable to NSSLHA and the role of Executive
23 Director; Dr. Nilsen is very experienced in working with

 

 

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1 boards, legislative bodies, and executive councils; she
2 coordinates the Board of Trustee meetings at the University;
3 and
 
4     WHEREAS, She is a member of the area hospital board and has
5 also served on the board of the local domestic violence
6 prevention council; Dr. Nilsen is also a former president of
7 the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association; she works
8 well with diverse groups and has a talent for finding common
9 ground even when significant diversity of opinion exists; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Dr. Nilsen will retire on December 31, 2009;
11 therefore, be it
 
12     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
14 congratulate Dr. Nilsen on her retirement and wish her
15 continued success in her future endeavors; and be it further
 
16     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17 presented to Dr. Jill Nilsen as a symbol of our respect and
18 esteem.