NIU had a $15.5-million banner year for grants and contracts, said President John La Tourette at last week’s Board of Regents metting.

Amoung the $15.5-million, the Student Financial Aid Office will receive a supplemental $166,851, bringing the total award to $4,771,595. The money comes from the United States Department of Education and is meant to asist eligible students.

“The amount of money which we administer is solely determined by the number of eligible students that enroll here,” said Jerry Augsburger, director of Student Finacial Aid. “More or less, it (the money awarded) all goes to the students.”

Also, $162,901 was awarded to Educational Services and Programs. The funds will be used to provide service to the participants in the Student Support Services Program for Low Income Families, said Tendaji Ganges, director of Educational Services and Programming.

The program is designed to provide academic support services to individuals who come from low-income families, he said. “They are the first generation in their family to attend college and demonstrate the ability to succeed at college,” he said.

Another $147,593 will be alotted to the geology department for the continuation of the ongoing project to collect samples and evaluate the geochemistry and petrology of the lower crust in Antarctica.

The Illinois State Board of Education awarded $1990,998 to the Center for Governmental Studies. The money will be used to design a strategic planning and performance management system for vocational education in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services will give NIU a supplemental award of $72,000.49 to Human and Family Resources for establishing home provider networks, bringing the total award to $135, 506.

WNIU-FM will receive a cumulative award of $102,212.50 from the State of Illinois for general operating expense.

Some of the grants awarded to the departments are $20,000 to anthropology, $54,900 to biological sciences, $25,000 to chemisrty, $4,471 to computer science, $11,158 to curriculum and instruction and $27,600 to Educational Pychology, Counseling and Special Education.

Also awarded were $134,363 to electrical engineering, $278,004 to geology, $269,392 to the center for governmental studies, $297,506 to leadership and educational policy studies, $5,000 to mathematical sciences and $145,769 to nursing.

Lastly, $161,367 to political science, $18,720 to psychology, $280,447 to physical education, $256,995 to physics, $15,000 to sociology, $166,851 to the student financial aid office, $17,525 to University Libraries, $175 to University programming and Activities and $102,212 to WNIU.