NIU’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously Thursday to extend President John Peters’ contract until 2010 and raise his paycheck about $4,000 to a yearly salary of $272,950.

A review of the president’s three years at NIU prompted the trustees to recognize his achievements.

Peters has made NIU a premier public university, trustee Barbara Giorgi Vella said.

BOT chairman Gary Skoien said Peters deserves a substantial amount of merit.

“Peters has seen this university through a budget crisis with expert guidance through two straight years of budget cuts,” Vella said.

His salary as approved for July 1 was $268,975; his new salary will take effect Jan. 1, 2004.

“I’m overwhelmed by the vote of confidence you’ve given me; but you’ve really given this to NIU,” Peters said.

Peters said he thinks the extension of his contract will provide more ability for the university to think longterm. Many projects cannot be planned and executed within just a couple of years, he said.

The trustees also took time to review events of 2003 and touched primarily on NIU’s ongoing budget situation. Even with successes academically and athletically, Skoien said, the excitement has been tempered because of budget constraints. However, the economy is turning around, he said.

“The economy really does seem to be coming out of the doldrums,” Skoien said.

University Council secretary Sue Willis said NIU has not yet seen the effects of an economic turnaround. NIU still is cutting classes and non-instructional expenses, such as phone lines and the amount of paper copies a department can make.

“Some departments have nothing more to cut except personnel,” Willis said.

While the budget may be down, the university is seeing an increase in outside donations.

Mallory Simpson, president of the NIU Foundation, said the total amount of money given is up 32 percent from this time last year. The amount of donors as compared to this time last year is up 43 percent.

Simpson said this could be attributed to the successes NIU has seen recently, which have caused a resurgence of alumni pride.

A lot of the money that has been raised is expected to go to the future Alumni and Visitors Center. To date, $3.7 million has been raised – $2.5 million of which was donated by Dennis and Stacey Barsema, Simpson said.

The minimum amount of money needed before the center can break ground is $4 million, Simpson said. The foundation hopes the groundbreaking will take place by late spring or early summer.

The board also endorsed a memorial resolution for the late State Rep. David Wirsing (R-Sycamore) to be displayed somewhere on campus. Wirsing died Nov. 16; he was 66.