DeKALB | The Board of Trustees held committee meetings Thursday morning.

The meeting began with the induction of Robert Sorsby as the BOT’s new student trustee.

Sorsby, former Student Association president, officially began his roll as student trustee on July 1. BOT chair Marc Strauss administered the oath to Sorsby and expressed his anticipation about Sorsby’s roll in the BOT.

“This board takes the opinions and counsel of the student trustee very seriously,” Strauss said. “And I want you to know we are looking forward to working with you next year.”

Following Sorsby’s induction, several faculty and staff members were honored with the Professional Excellence Award.

Patrick Dawson, dean of NIU Libraries, gave a presentation about his idea of a modern library.

Dawson talked about the changes that the library has seen throughout the generations and the shift toward online journals and books as opposed to hard copies.

“Due to the changing nature in information publication, NIU libraries have created a strategic plan with the aim of engaging our users, harnessing emerging technologies and collaborating with other academic units on campus,” Dawson said.

Lisa Freeman, vice president for research and graduate studies, gave a report on external funding NIU received for research throughout the university.

Also discussed at the meeting was the new processes that will survey NIU off-campus locations and report back the quality of the programs. NIU currently has 19 off-campus locations, and three of them will be up for review.

The meeting also included discussion of the Grant Tower renovations, new residence halls on campus and other on-campus renovations.

The next BOT meeting will be held Sept. 16.