U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Chicago) made some brief statements about higher education’s budget situation during a surprise visit to the NIU Board of Trustees meeting Thursday.

“John Peters has already been out to Washington with his agenda, and I’ll tell you he wasn’t a bit shy in his askings for Northern Illinois University,” Durbin said. “We will try to do our best in the Senate. We are out of money there too – just like Springfield.”

President Peters also talked about the budget and the difficulties the university has faced.

“I do want our campus community to know that I am well aware of the damage these budget cuts have caused over time,” Peters said.

Before the meeting, Durbin talked about the effects of budget crunches on universities in general.

“Some of these cuts are very hard to take, particularly higher education,” Durbin said. “I know the governor has tried to provide money for K-12, but higher [education] has taken quite a beating.”

The board passed a resolution honoring Athletic Director Cary Groth for 23 years of outstanding service to the university. Groth was presented with a leather-bound embossed copy of the resolution, and many board members commented on Groth’s integrity and leadership skills.

Groth announced March 8 she will leave NIU for a position at the University of Nevada at Reno.

“I have had an unbelievable time here,” Groth said. “I’ve been able to experience great success because of the people that have been associated with the program. We have done it as a team.”

Groth also talked about being proud of the new Huskies logo that was introduced two years ago and proud of a change in the graduation rates over the past 10 years.

“[They] went from 51 percent to 67 percent – that’s huge,” Groth said.

Long-term planning and positioning for the university also was a topic of discussion.

A presentation on P-20, NIU’s preschool to graduate school task force, also was shown at the meeting. P-20 works with all levels of education within the state to help produce better teachers, improving student achievement and making seamless transitions between schools.

The full board will meet again on June 17.