After working at NIU for six years, the vice president for Development and Alumni Relations officially will resign May 18.

Tom Montiegel, who came to NIU in 1986 from the University of Dayton, has accepted a job with the Western Golf Association as the director of the Evans Scholarship Program.

In the six years he worked here, Montiegel was involved in most of the major off-campus projects that NIU has done.

“I have had some role in most everything that has happened off-campus involving this university,” Montiegel said.

NIU President John La Tourette said he gives Montiegel “high marks” in several areas.

“This is the first year that NIU has raised more than $2 million in outside funding,” he said.

“He has also been important in representing the university off-campus, especially in the western suburbs, working on the Hoffman Estates facility and also in Rockford,” La Tourette said.

He also played the role of a leader in the alumni and development areas, helping NIU to achieve a better delivery system for off-campus education, La Tourette added.

Montiegel said he thinks his greatest achievement while working at NIU was the Hoffman Estates project.

Working with the Sears Corporation and the village of Hoffman Estates, Montiegel put together a deal that allows NIU to have an extension center in Hoffman Estates.

“I initiated first contact with Sears and the village. We were able to get four acres of land, and the center is now under construction,” Montiegel said.

The extension center will offer only graduate level courses, and is expected to be completed by the fall semester.

In many respects, Montiegel’s new job as director of the Evans Scholarship Fund will be similar to his NIU job.

“The scholarship supports students at 14 Midwestern universities,” Montiegel said. “As director of the fund, I am responsible for generating $5 million a year. All this money has to come from private gift money and endowments.

“My new job will be very focused. I really won’t miss having an office of 40 people under me. The only person I will be in charge of here will be me,” he said.

La Tourette said Montiegel’s job is a “fine appointment. It is a nice position to have. Not only does he have a sport that he likes and is very good at as part of the job, but he will also have contact with the students in the program, officials with the Western Golf Association, as well as leading golf professionals.”

Montiegel’s resignation will mean there will be a few changes made at NIU. “We now have to think about what we are going to do on either a long-term or interim basis. It will be a week or so before we can announce anything,” La Tourette said.

“It will be hard to replace him; people who effectively work in this area are not numerous. They are difficult to recruit, and very expensive,” he said.

La Tourette said Montiegel has helped NIU build a strong foundation of donations. “Hopefully we can find a replacement who is as strong of a leader, and can build this base up to $5 to $10 million a year in donations,” he added.