Tim Struthers, Board of Trustees trustee, said his skills as a financial professional and life-long banker and his care for NIU set him apart from others.

The Board of Trustees is the seven-member governing body of the university. Struthers fills a vacancy left by former trustee Anthony Iosco, after Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed Struthers to the NIU Board of Trustees Sept. 25. Struthers said his goal is to help make the university more competitive, with the result being increased enrollment of qualified students.

I’m a “strategic thinker, and [I’ve been] focused on results as a business leader for a good portion of my life,” Struthers said.

Struthers said he understands the dynamics of NIU’s complex financial environment and a lot has to do with the execution and decision making around it.

“I think I can understand our revenue and cost structures completely, but more importantly, I think I will be able to offer help in determining how we execute on the decisions around the environment,” Struthers said.

Struthers holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master of business administration from NIU and said the institution has been a big part of his life. Struthers said the programs at NIU have become more enriched since he attended.

A main focus of Struthers’ is making students’ experience the best it can be.

“It’s all about the students,” Struthers said. “Nothing would make me happier than to see more kids on campus that we can enrich their lives and help. When the university prospers, the town prospers. I just think it’s important with all the challenges in the state of Illinois and higher education in general in Illinois that we need to put our best foot forward and make the best of our situation,” Struthers said.

Those challenges in the state include Rauner’s stalemate with the General Assembly over an appropriate state budget for more than three months. Rauner will visit NIU for the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation’s Annual Dinner and State of the County event on Oct. 29. The impasse may jeopardize the future of Monetary Assistance Program grant funding, the reconstruction of an academic hall and state health insurance claims of NIU employees, according to an Oct. 12 Northern Star article.

Student Trustee Raquel Chavez will be working with Struthers on the Board of Trustees, which Struthers said he looks forward to.

“I would hope our goals are completely aligned and that’s really to make NIU more attractive and to attract and retain students,” Struthers said.