Northern Illinois University (NIU) has received a landmark $40 million gift from the Baustert Family Foundation, marking the largest single donation in the university’s history. The gift will fund the development of the Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center, which will serve as NIU’s hub for health professions education and interdisciplinary research.
President Lisa C. Freeman expressed her enthusiasm, stating, “This historic gift allows NIU to realize fully our vision of ‘building for a healthier tomorrow’ by creating a modern space designed to foster innovation, transdisciplinary collaboration and interprofessional practice, and will enable our students and faculty to deliver on the promise of health care technology to improve patient care and health outcomes.”
The Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center aims to connect health-related programs and experts from across the university, including nursing, public health, audiology, and biomedical engineering. The center will be equipped with the latest technologies and will feature specialized laboratories and collaborative learning spaces. It is designed to improve the preparation of future healthcare professionals and enhance the health of individuals and families in the region. The University is committed to increasing enrollment of future nurses, family nurse practitioners, medical lab scientists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists and many more
Construction is slated to begin in 2026, with a total budget of $87 million. The State of Illinois Capital Development Board has allocated $77 million to the project, including $7.7 million for planning and design, which started in 2022. The Baustert Family Foundation’s gift will contribute:
- $10 million towards construction costs.
- $14 million for future programmatic development, including technology acquisition, faculty endowments, and student scholarships.
- $14 million for a restricted facility endowment maintenance fund.
- $2 million will go to the Northern Fund to support emerging projects at the university.
The gift comes from James and Theo (Bahwell) Baustert through the Baustert Family Foundation. James Baustert is a founding partner of Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., a medical device manufacturer. Theo studied speech correction, now known as speech-language pathology, at NIU.
Jeff Baustert, son of James and Theo and Foundation spokesman, spoke about the gift, saying, “NIU is where my parents met and began their lives together. This gift is a marriage of a need by NIU and focus of interest from our family. It stands as a culmination of my parents’ legacy in the medical device industry and their support of education and research. NIU’s plans for the Health Technology Center were a perfect fit for us.”
The NIU Foundation will partner with NIU to fund projects across the university. Catherine B. Squires, vice president for University Advancement and president and CEO of the NIU Foundation, said, “The Baustert Family Foundation gift is emblematic of the philanthropic potential we envision that will fund student and faculty excellence at NIU for decades to come. We are incredibly grateful for this investment and how it will inspire future philanthropy and deliver benefits far beyond the Huskie community, impacting our region and our world.”
