Bruce Rauner was on campus Tuesday, October 9, 2018 to announce that Northern Illinois University has been included in the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), along with three University of Illinois system sites, and will receive a $23 million, 30,000-square-foot research building on the west side of its campus.
The majority of the financing ($15M) for the new facility, which is slated to open in 2021, will come from the State of Illinois’ $500 million IIN fund. NIU will be responsible for $7.9 million, which they will raise through fundraising efforts.
The 20-acre site will focus on food systems, water resources and environmental change and will include greenhouses, an environmental policy institute and an environmental law clinic.
See the NIU Newsroom report for more details: NIU joins U of I System-led Illinois Innovation Network
Click Here To Submit A News Tip Or Story
44 Comments
Great….money our bankrupt state doesn’t have to build something the University doesn’t need…awesome
I have not read where they plan to put this… Too disgusted I guess. In between the homeless shelter and boarded up buildings across from Greek row? Or amid all the “substandard” apartment buildings and rooming houses surrounding the entire campus? Because students don’t live in those dwellings… So what happens to the actual people who do live in those dwellings?
I donât understand. R&D for corporate gain is well paying career. Why are college students doing it? If these kids are learning how to do to R&D for a career in corporate R&D, arenât they cutting their own throats by donating their results to the 1%?
Please add Resilience, capacity building, and an Emergency Management program so we can become a leading edge University. My husband can build the program, he is an A & M Alum and ran that program. We need it in Illinois. Way to go NIU!
don’t think this will up the enrollment…dekalbs a dying town and NIU probably wont be here in 10 years..
NIU and DeKalb need to spend money to address the huge crime problem they have before anything else. Stop trying to hide how horrible it is and fix it. Too many people have been hurt, or even worse, lost their lives.
Ellen Matejka-Brown this is grant money. Using it for another purpose is illegal.
Our state is broke! Really where is that money coming from
Us. I’m pretty sure not Chicago. They don’t pay a penny to help us even though we have to deal with their increased people!
While research is need, the current president will put a stop to it and not recognice any report. This is why people are leaving dekalb and Il taxes to high. Any already built building would be cheaper. should have been a all state and even global effort to share the cost.
This is great! It will draw students and faculty who are and will be leaders in the environment and food production systems…I think people should be aware of how much this could benefit our farming community. NIU has to innovate and grow if it wants to stay alive. I can think of a lot worse things tax money could (and does) go toward.
a little more info. I think it’s also good to form partnerships with other state campuses. It strengthens the university system overall. http://www.northernpublicradio.org/post/niu-open-sustainability-research-hub-u-i
Has NIU already received approval for adding new academic programs?
Barbara Andree, do you live here?
Wally Bottom , is that veiled sarcasm ?
I grew up in Genoa, graduated from NIU in the 70’s, recently retired from NIU as an office manager after 12 yrs there. I was also the president of the Operating Staff Council and on the executive board of the AFSCME Local 1890 and on the negotiating team for their first contract. Does that qualify me to make a comment Wally ?
I think someone needs to figure out what day this did happen, the 10th was today, Wednesday.
Fixed!
Ok, now it’s fixed in the preview, too 🙂
Really? Great… Not.
The Money comes from the Taxpayers, one way or another, yes the State is broke and Student Population is going down, so it does make one wonder why spend more to go into Debt?
You have to spend money to make money. Introducing and building new, state of the art facilities like this increases the universities potential to attract students, and therefore more money.
Michael Voell Maybe 20 plus years ago that was true. Not anymore. Education is failing, Students and Parents going into Debt, people are waking up.
How does the taxpayers make money? In fact, we got the bill for shit we dont need. Downtown development, etc. Yeah we got the bill for Pappas so he makes the money but we never see a penny of it@
A state institution doesn’t really make any money
Troy Stocker This is a few years old, but the point stands: https://newsroom.niu.edu/2015/12/10/economic-powerhouse-nius-impact-on-regional-economy-estimated-at-900-million-a-year/
Well I was going to reveal all of the solutions to NIU’s problems at this year’s Homecoming Parade, but… so the most exciting thing I’m reading from this is a joint venture with U of I. Maybe a precursor to the most economical solution to the rising costs of higher education for the regional universities — University of Illinois – DeKalb.
Mac Swan I’m hearing a lot of discussion about that lately. I think it would make a lot of sense, economically.
Michael Voell bullshit….when you’re this deep in debt, for crying out loud, STOP DIGGING!
Stephen Haberkorn Yes the Student Population does shop DeKalb & Sycamore, that is one good benefit. But Student Population is in the decline and will remain so, no matter how much money you spend on Education. The Problem is Education and the Cost Factor, it does not go down dollar wise when there are less Students, it keeps going up.
Pam Whitson and safety. ð
Dan McIntyre I think I would feel better about Education if like Government, a Forensic Audit was done. Our School Districts and Universities should have to go thru a Forensic Audit by someone other than other Educators. They do have Math problems.
Economic powerhouse , x amount of taxpayer supported employees spend what. The student population doesn’t have the money it had 30 years ago.
All ready a new president of NIU and spending 23 million dollars and the state is broke thanks taxpayers âNot â
NIU is only contributing 7.9M to this project and it’s all coming from fundraising, not taxpayers.
The money from the State is part of a fund that was going to be spent, with or without NIU
DeKalb County Online The State Has a Math Problem. Maybe one of those Math Professors can help them out. This project will cost the taxpayers, upkeep, etc.
Pam Whitson Some people would argue money spent on things like infrastructure and research are good investments that pay off down the road
DeKalb County Online Yes I am sure they would, The Teachers’s Union, The Administrators and some teachers . . .the problem is when you receive money, you don’t go into further debt because of the free money. Just remember, Nothing is Free.
âI contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.â
â Winston S. Churchill
I feel dumber reading this
Wonder how those funds will be mishandled. They need some grants to clean up the neighborhoods around the campus.
Isnât Illinois bankrupt?
Robin Carson nah, taxpayers still have money.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
For those who are so against post-secondary education, which is the impression I am getting, what is your proposal to have a well-educated populace? Or do you think that a high school diploma is sufficient. And that public education system is a HUGE burden on taxpayers. Why don’t we eliminate that while we’re at it. And please stop dragging crime and downtown businesses into your arguments. Take that up with the City Council. This development is a state supported initiative to bring more of the limited population of eligible students (families don’t have 7 or 8 kids anymore…that demographic is and will continue to decline) to NIU. Maybe attract more international students who will take what they learn back to their country and make ecological improvements. Also, the staff and faculty and students all pay rent or prop taxes, buy food, entertainment, gas etc. If more people are employed by this, the local economy benefits.