On Feb. 14, 2008, Barbara Peters sat in Altgeld Hall designing a PowerPoint project for her upcoming presentation on women’s studies month.

Her husband, NIU President John Peters, passed by around 2 or 2:30 p.m. to say hello and briefly tease her about whether she got it done.

Finishing her work for the day, Barbara returned home. Shortly after 3 p.m., the phone rang; it was John and his tone of voice indicated he was serious. He said something terrible happened on campus.

Barbara returned to Altgeld Hall.

“I don’t know if I would have been comfortable at home watching on TV,” Barbara said.

The Peters have spent nearly 40 years of their lives in universities. NIU is particularly attractive to them because it has a reputation as a straightforward and hard-working community. That reputation was never more evident than Feb. 14. Barbara said the events helped push NIU and its community together, and John feels the same.

“We have been defined by the way we reacted to that horrific act of violence,” John said. “We are marked by it, but I think now in a positive way, this is a legacy of character.”

The road to recovery has not been easy and NIU has seen its share of challenges. Rerouting students was a “logistic nightmare,” John said. Additional support programs were also arranged for students, faculty and staff who were dealing with the tragic event.

John believes the event brought out anxieties for students and the campus, but ultimately dealing with it has refined NIU.

“It is hard to imagine it has been a year, but it is coming up and I would say during that time the one thing that sticks in my mind is the tremendous strength and character of everybody who was involved,” Peters said.

Back at NIU, work had already begun in John’s office when Barbara arrived at Altgeld. She hadn’t even noticed the police cars, ambulances and firetrucks on campus. NIU staff members were assembling information and dealing with the situation the best they could.

Facts were coming into news outlets quicker than NIU officials could confirm them.

Later, NIU hosted two press conferences with national media present. After the conferences, staff members discussed what needed to be done for that night and the next morning among making many other preparations.

After they stayed long into the night, Barbara went to the house and attempted to sleep while John visited the hospital. He did not return home until about 1:30 a.m.

“The first 48 hours were so overwhelmingly sad,” Barbara said.

John often thinks of the day and the people involved. He knows the event has changed him, and though it was tragic, he believes NIU really shined through adversity.

“I have learned so much from this event; first of all I have learned how strong people are,” John said.

The Peters luckily had a chance to speak with their son Russell on Feb. 14. soon after the news broke. They received phone calls from many family members and friends, not to mention the hundreds of e-mails.

John believes NIU to be an extension of his family, and sharing this event has helped that bond grow.

“I know it is old-fashioned, but I think of you all as my kids,” he said. “NIU is an extremely special place, and the people who are here who have experienced this are really special people.”