Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university located in DeKalb, Illinois, United

States, with satellite centers inChicago, Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was
originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois
Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system for producing college
educated teachers. Douglas Baker was named the university's twelfth president in May 2013. [5]
The university is composed of seven degree-granting colleges and has a student body of 25,000
with over 225,000 alumni. Many of NIU's programs are nationally accredited for meeting high
standards of academic quality, including business, engineering, nursing, visual and performing arts,
and all teacher certification programs. NIU is one of only two public universities in Illinois that
compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the highest levels of all sports, Division I.
The University's athletic teams are known as the NIU Huskies and compete in the Mid-American
Conference (MAC).
Contents

1History
1.1University presidents

2Academics
2.1Rankings

2.1.1Science and research

2.1.2Other programs
3Campus

3.1Residence halls

3.2Athletic facilities

4Student life
o

4.1Programs

4.2Facilities

4.3Organizations

4.4Arts and culture

5Athletics

5.1Affiliation

5.2Titles and highlights

6Notable Alumni

7See also

8References

9External links

History[edit]

Altgeld Hall and Still Hall along College Ave. Altgeld Hall was the first building to be constructed on campus.

Northern Illinois University was founded as part of the expansion of the normal school program
established in 1857 in Normal, Illinois. In 1895, the state legislature created a Board of Trustees for
the governance of the Northern Illinois State Normal School, which would eventually grow into
what is today known as NIU.
In July 1917, the Illinois Senate consolidated the boards of trustees for the five state normal schools
(Eastern Illinois State Normal School, Illinois State Normal School, Northern Illinois State Normal
School, Southern Illinois State Normal University, and Western Illinois State Normal School) into one
state Normal School Board.
Over the next fifty-eight years both the school and the governing board changed their names several
times. In 1921, the legislature gave the institution the name Northern Illinois State Teachers
College and empowered it to award the four-year Bachelor of Education degree. In 1941 the Normal
School Board changed its name to the Teachers College Board. In 1951 the Teachers College Board
authorized the college to grant the degree Master of Science in Education, and the institution's
Graduate School was established. On July 1, 1955, the state legislature renamed the
college Northern Illinois State College and authorized the college to broaden its educational

services by offering academic work in areas other than teacher education. The Teachers College
Board granted permission for the college to add curricula leading to the degrees Bachelor of Arts
and Bachelor of Science. On July 1, 1957, the Seventieth General Assemblyrenamed Northern
Illinois State College as Northern Illinois University in recognition of its expanded status as
a liberal arts university.
In 1965, the Illinois State Teachers College Board became the Board of Governors of State Colleges
and Universities and was reorganized to include Northeastern University, Governor's State, and
Chicago State Universities. In 1967 authority for Northern Illinois University, Illinois State University,
and Sangamon State University were passed on to a newly formed Board of Regents. In 1984, the
Board of Regents created the position of Chancellor for the three regent universities, to act as a
chief executive for all three schools; the first person appointed chancellor was then-NIU
President William R. Monat. The Board of Regents and the Chancellor governed the three Regency
universities until the end of 1995. On January 1, 1996, authority for each of the three regency
universities was transferred to three independent Boards of Trustees, each concerned solely with
one university.[6]

University presidents[edit]
Since NIU's 1899, there have been 12 presidents that have served at the university.[7]

John Williston Cook

(18991919)

Leslie A. Holmes
(19491967)

Clyde Wingfield
(19851986)

J. Stanley Brown
(19191927)

Rhoten A. Smith
(19671971)

John E. La Tourette
(19862000)

Joseph Clifton
Brown (19271929)

Richard J. Nelson
(19711978)

John G. Peters
(20002013)

Karl L. Adams
(19291948)

William R. Monat
(19781984)

Douglas D. Baker
(2013present)

Academics[edit]

Swen Parson Hall - Northern Illinois University College of Law

NIU has seven degree-granting colleges[8] that together offer more than 60 undergraduate majors, 70
minors, nine pre-professional programs, and 79 graduate programs, including a College of Law,
[9]

and over 20 areas of study leading to doctoral degrees.[10] Many of NIU's academic programs are

nationally accredited for meeting the highest standards of academic quality and rigor, including
business, engineering, nursing, visual and performing arts, and all teacher certification programs.
[11]

New interdisciplinary academic programs in Environmental Studies and Community Leadership

and Civic Engagement were established in FY 2012.