Northern Illinois University (NIU) has received a landmark $40 million gift from the Baustert Family Foundation, the largest single donation in the university’s history. This transformational contribution will fund the development of the Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center, designed to be NIU’s premier facility for health professions education and transdisciplinary research.
President Lisa C. Freeman celebrated the news, 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 across NIU, including nursing, public health, audiology, biomedical engineering, and anatomy, facilitating enhanced learning, service, and research opportunities for students and faculty. The center will be equipped with advanced technologies, specialized laboratories, and flexible learning spaces. These improvements are intended to improve the preparation of future clinicians and professionals to enhance health and well-being for those in the surrounding region.
The university is dedicated to increasing enrollment in health-related programs, including nursing, family nurse practitioners, medical lab scientists, and physical therapists, which the new facility will aid. The center will highlight the significance of transdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare education, thereby attracting more students. With almost 80% of NIU alumni remaining in the local area, the state-of-the-art facility is expected to help meet critical healthcare needs.
Construction for the facility is set to begin in 2026, with a projected budget of $87 million. The State of Illinois Capital Development Board has already allocated $77 million for the project, including $7.7 million for planning and design that began in 2022. The Baustert Family Foundation’s gift will be used to:
- Address a $10 million gap in construction costs
- Provide $14 million for future programmatic development, including technology acquisition, faculty endowments, and student scholarships
- Hold $14 million in a restricted facility endowment maintenance fund
- Provide the remaining $2 million to the Northern Fund, supporting 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 company acquired by Eli Lilly and now a subsidiary of Boston Scientific. Theo studied speech correction at NIU in the 1950s, where she met her future husband, James, on campus. The couple, both natives of Elgin, Illinois, married and settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Bausterts have been active philanthropists. Their son, Jeff Baustert, also a spokesman for the foundation, said, “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, which is the recipient of the Baustert gift, will partner with NIU to fund projects, including the Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center’s programmatic and facility development.
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.”
