The NIU Board of Trustees paved the way for enhancing academics and increasing research.

The BOT met Thursday morning and approved items which included the 2008 fiscal year budget, a renewed technology fee, a research center for particle accelerator and detector development and a college of engineering program.

Final budget approval

The fiscal year 2008 budget had been discussed at the previous meeting. It was then endorsed after having been lowered $123,900 by Gov. Blagojevich’s item reduction veto, then approved in Thursday’s meeting.

Academic and technology fee

Also approved was the renewal of the Academic Program Enhancement and Instructional Technology Surcharge. The surcharge funds will be used, among other things, for smart classroom equipment and to support high-demand courses and technology upgrades.

President John Peters has in the past referred to the surcharge as providing “direct deliverables” to students, making it easy to appreciate.

Furthering that sentiment, trustee Marc Strauss said, “This is the sort of fee that is easy for me to support.”

The fee renewal will begin Fall 2008 and continue a five-year period.

New particle physics center

A request for a new research center, the Northern Illinois Center for Accelerator and Detector Development, was also approved.

NICADD will conduct research in collaboration with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory.

A temporary center had been established in 2001 and has resulted in the publishing of 150 journal articles.

Manufacturing project in Rockford

Among the expenditures approved by the trustees was over $3 million for the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology Rapid Optimization of Commercial Knowledge or ROCK program.

NIU has been assigned to oversee the efforts of Alion Science and Technology, LMC Corporation and Reliance Tool and Manufacturing Company in their efforts to work toward “next generation” manufacturing capabilities and supply chain assistance for manufacturers in Rockford.

The project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.