NIU graduate student teaching assistants will live in a new residence hall at the Lorado Taft field campus thanks to the Board of Regents approval of $300,000 to fund the project.

The residence hall will measure 6,600 square feet and have 18 rooms, with a bathroom serving two rooms each. The new residence hall will include a conference room.

According to the 1989-90 NIU Undergraduate Catalog, the Lorado Taft field campus is a 140-acre, outdoor, teacher education center. It is located about 35 miles west of DeKalb near Oregon, Ill. The area is used for natural laboratory work and for the study of outdoor education not available in the classroom.

The facilities of the Lorado campus are used for meetings, conferences, workshops and retreats by other university-related groups, such as the foreign language floor in Douglas Hall.

NIU now has to contract an architectural firm to develop plans and to receive construction bids.

Housing conditions at the campus have deteriorated over the last few years, according to the Board of Regents chancellor’s report of Oct. 19.

The Regents govern NIU, Illinois State University in Normal and Sangamon State University in Springfield. The board’s monthly meeting was held last Wednesday and Thursday in the Regency Room of the Holmes Student Center.

The facility was built during the 1950s and requires structural work. Problems include heating difficulties in the building during the winter and sewage backup problems. There are also problems with ventilation and lighting at the residence hall.

NIU had considered remodeling the residence hall, but due to its age, high cost of repair and renovation, a new residence hall will be built.

The Lorado Taft project was submitted to the board for approval as a part of the Fiscal Year 1990 budget. The board delayed action until the chancellor and university staffs could discuss academic and financial questions concerning the future of the field campus.