Alumni Magazines Always Say Nice Things

The Northern Illinois University online magazine NIU Today put out a "puff piece" on NIU alumnus Andrew Traver this week. They described him as a "great friend" to the Sociology Department.

Obama nominates NIU alum to head ATF

An NIU alumnus and “great friend” to the sociology department has been nominated to a key post in the administration of President Barack Obama.

Obama nominated Andrew Traver, a native of Naperville, to head the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Traver, who currently serves as the agency’s special agent in charge at its Chicago field office, graduated summa cum laude from NIU in 1985. He majored in sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice.

Jack King, internship placement coordinator for the Department of Sociology, described Traver as a “great friend of the department” who has visited campus two or three times a semester in recent years to speak with students.

“This semester he spoke in my Introduction to Sociology class and in a criminology class. He has also spoken at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Lifelong Learning Institute,” King said.

“ATF has also provided internships for sociology majors for the past four years,” King added. “We have an intern with the agency this semester.”

Traver has spent 23 years with the ATF, starting with the Chicago branch in 1987 before taking positions in Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco. He is most known for his attempts in clearing Chicago’s city streets of gang violence.

ATF has not had a permanent director since Carl Truscott’s resignation in 2006. Traver is the first ATF special agent to be presidentially nominated.