NIU President John Peters will facilitate discussion on the future of Cole Hall until May 1, when he hopes to have a campus consensus.

Peters will then take the information to the NIU Board of Trustees, which will start planning over the summer for what will happen in the fall.

“We need to move purposefully over the next six to seven weeks if we are to obtain true consensus before students and faculty disperse for the summer,” Peters said in an e-mail statement to the NIU community Monday.

As reported Monday by the Northern Star, the Student Association is hosting three public forums this week to help generate discussion on campus.

Faculty, staff and alumni will have their own opportunities to voice opinions on the issue as venues and dates will be announced soon, according to the e-mail.

Peters has also set up an advisory task force that will have representation from the student body, faculty, staff and alumni. The task force will work with the various governance councils on campus, as well as with Peters, to help make recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

After setting up the anonymous public e-mail address, the university has received almost 700 responses from many members of the NIU family.

“The scope of that response — and the wide range of views expressed — have convinced me of the need to expand opportunities for input,” said Peters in the e-mail.

The four most common opinions expressed, according to the e-mail, are:

–> Demolish Cole Hall and build a new classroom building.

–> Leave Cole Hall standing and remodel it for a new, non-classroom purpose.

–> Repurpose Cole Hall and build a new classroom building.

–> Perform minor renovations to Cole Hall to be used for a classroom facility.

These ideas will be discussed at the SA forums, but additional ideas are encouraged.

Peters stressed urgency in the e-mail, as formulating the schedule for the fall semester will be difficult without the use of Cole Hall.

“Many of these new class locations are less than ideal learning environments and some will not be available to us next fall,” said Peters in the e-mail.

The NIU Board of Trustees will next meet March 27 and then again June 19.