Cuts, deferred maintenance to help NIU shore up budget

DeKALB – Cuts and deferred maintenance at Northern Illinois University will be necessary to keep reserves adequate, President Doug Baker said.

Without a state budget, Baker has said the university is facing a projected $35 million funding gap, and must prepare for a worst-case scenario until the next fiscal year – lack of funding and no Monetary Award Program grants, which about 5,000 students rely on.

Baker said in an email April 28 that to offset lack of funding, spending reductions must be made – including cuts. He added that attrition will not be enough to support the burden of personnel costs, and some staff members have been notified about how their employment may be affected, while others will hear about the status of their jobs this month.

Baker said other keys to closing the gap will be increased support from donors and other revenue generators.

“We have amazing alumni and donors that really want to help the university succeed, and we will work hard with them over the year to provide additional revenue,” Baker said. “One other example of revenue enhancement is to bring more conferences and institutes to the university to increase revenue and give the university more visibility.”

He added that a lot of progress has been made this year in NIU’s program prioritization plan, a comprehensive analysis of more than 450 university programs, to determine which ones should be invested, disinvested, left as is, reorganized or eliminated.

Other cost-saving measures that have been planned include deferring various purchases and maintenance projects.

NIU spokesman Joe King said scheduled repairs that are not creating safety problems or affecting university operations will be put off.

“For instance, the stone faces of Swen Parson and Davis halls are deteriorating with pieces falling off in some areas and in others, creating gaps where water infiltrates, but unless the condition poses a safety hazard, repairs will not be made,” King said. “Similarly, Wirtz Drive is in bad shape and needs an overhaul, but for now we will just patch potholes.”

Baker added that other proposed deferrals include buying new vehicles and paving campus parking lots.

Although Baker said it might put additional pressures on the university, the NIU Board of Trustees set flat tuition and room and board expenses for this year to try not to burden students during this process.

The Division of Research and Innovations Partnerships is the only area at the university that will not be asked to make cuts, Baker said.

He said RIPS underscores NIU’s commitment to the success of its faculty and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of the school’s academic mission.

“RIPS helps build our research portfolio as well as provide innovation partnerships with for-profit and nonprofit organizations,” Baker said. “We felt like that was an area where we need to at least maintain resources.”

This year, the division was able to build a relationship with Sycamore-based IDEAL Industries, a manufacturing company that provides products for electrical and telecommunications industries and gives students hands-on learning experiences.

“We’re excited that this division can be making those kinds of positive relationships in helping students and the university move forward,” Baker said.