Correction: This story and headline were changed to reflect that the information in this report was provided to the Finance, Audit, Compliance, Facilities and Operations committee.
DeKALB – Construction of two new buildings and energy improvement investments at NIU were presented on Thursday at the Board of Trustees’ first Finance, Audit, Compliance, Facilities and Operations committee meeting of the semester.
Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Campus Services John Heckmann gave a status update for two new construction projects, the Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center and the Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability.
The construction of the health and technology center, made possible by a $40 million gift given to NIU in 2024 by the Baustert Family Foundation, will host many disciplines including nursing, public health, audiology, biomedical engineering and anatomy.
The schematic design for the health and tech center was completed in July and construction may start next fall, according to Heckmann.
“At this point, the project timeline could feasibly reach a groundbreaking milestone by fall of next year if final design and construction procurement efforts play off,” he said.
The new sustainability facility is planned for completion in 2027.
“The NICCS (sustainability center) project reached a significant milestone with the release of the request for proposals in July. This should put the project on track to begin work next summer and possibly complete in 2027,” Heckmann said.
George Middlemist, vice president and chief financial officer at NIU, explained that the Division of Information Technology renegotiated an agreement with Adobe.
“Although the university is currently in the final year of a three-year Adobe contract, DoIT is collaborating with Academic Affairs and Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning to evaluate and refine the institution’s application portfolios to better meet the needs of students, faculty and staff,” Middlemist said. “As a result of this effort, DoIT successfully renegotiated the Adobe agreement, securing a cost reduction of $43,000 for FY26 and $28,000 per year for the remaining years of the contract.”
The Adobe suite is available for free to all NIU students who have an NIU login. Furthermore, the new contract will last until 2029.
“The new agreement will take effect Oct. 1, 2025, and will run for nine months in the first year, realigning the contract to end with NIU’s fiscal year end,” Middlemist said. “The cost of the negotiated contract is $177,000 for the first nine months, and $236,000 per year and the remaining three-year agreement for a total of $885,000.”
The next Board of Trustees meeting will be 9 a.m. Sept. 25 in Room 315 of Altgeld Hall.
