NIU President John Peters revealed plans for expensive projects Thursday in his annual state of the university address.

Speaking to a full audience in the Holmes Student Center’s Carl Sandburg Auditorium, Peters said that by next year, large events will be held at the $36 million arena, an additional 3,000 parking spaces will have been added to the west part of campus. Altgeld Hall will be near completion, and students and professors will be occupying the new $20 million Barsema Hall.

“Over the course of these last three years, we’ve received nearly $22 million from the state of Illinois for new buildings and building improvements,” Peters said.

This funding will benefit projects that will be constructed around campus within the next year, including the completion of the new Family Violence Center research facility, the completed renovation of DuSable Hall and the possible addition of an Asian-American Cultural Center.

Other large sums of money have been received by NIU within Peters’ first year serving as the school’s executive chief. A $1.5 million LAAP grant, the U.S. Department of Education’s “Learning Anytime/Anywhere Partnership” program, was awarded to NIU to be used in the school’s service mission of working with underprivileged clients in Chicago.

In his address, Peters said his main goal for the school goes beyond building renovations and snazzy new school logos. Peters stated that his No. 1 goal is to improve NIU teacher and staff salaries, especially those of non-tenured instructors, whom he believes deserve “more recognition and reward.”

A great deal of attention was given by Peters to what can be referred to as a rather lackluster NIU reputation. He said the negative attention given to NIU by the media and certain rating agencies is mostly because of a lack of strong institutional identity.

As a solution to this, Peters revealed that along with the NIU Foundation and the Alumni Association, he is working on a serious study of NIU’s image issues. The anticipated end result of this study is the creation of a lasting and recognizable image for the school.

Joint ventures between NIU and the city of DeKalb will address common issues in the near future. Safety issues, such as the traffic problems on Annie Glidden Road, will be addressed by a joint city and university task force.

Peters also warned the crowd that he wouldn’t attempt to “sugarcoat” NIU’s financial future.

“We have enjoyed much growth in recent years,” Peters said. “But I do not expect that to continue this year.”

He went on to explain that improvements in programs and stature still will be made, but state support like the school has seen in recent years most likely will dwindle.

The NIU campus soon will approach its capacity, a frightening fact Peters mentioned about the school’s population. With NIU’s total enrollment at about 24,000 students, Peters feels that a few adjustments will need to be made. Suggestions he offered included possibly reconsidering current admission standards or perhaps charging an application fee at enrollment.

Peters made a generalization about NIU.

“Many things have impressed me about NIU during my first year here,” Peters said. “If there is a single theme to what I have discovered about this university, it is that NIU is a value-driven institution.”

In a showing of school spirit, Peters urged the audience to attend NIU football games.

“Call me if you need a ticket,” Peters said. “I’ll sell you one.”

Responding to a flood of laughter from the audience, Peters added, “You didn’t think it would be free, did you?”