Northern Illinois University

Undergraduate Admissions

Bob BurkRobert "Bob" Burk

Director of Admissions
rburk@niu.edu

B.A., Government, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
M.S., Education, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

 

On behalf of the entire NIU Office of Admissions, "Welcome!" Please feel free to call upon our staff at any time with questions or concerns.

I personally have been involved in college admissions since 1974 and specifically at NIU since 1986. I’m active in both national and regional professional organizations. My wife, Roberta, and I have two children, Rebecca and Amy, and we have a granddaughter,  Hannah (AKA: Center of the Universe). My hobbies include: travel, golf (the most frustrating game ever created), professional sports (I’m a HUGE St. Louis Cardinals fan and consider Lou Brock and Bob Gibson my two all-time Cardinal favorites), college sports (I’m an avid NIU Huskies fan), reading, music and theatre.

ADVICE FROM THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

Selecting a college is one of the most important decisions a person will make in his/her lifetime. It is our goal as admissions professionals to represent our institutions honestly and completely to ensure that students have the information to make intelligent and informed decisions.

As students progress through the college selection process the most important thing they can do is visit college campuses. After the visit, students should be able to answer the following three questions:

  1. Does the college or university offer the program that I want and does it have the faculty and facilities necessary to support the program?
  2. Is the college or university located in a geographic region in which I feel comfortable?
  3. Are the people (faculty, students, staff) at the college or university the type of people with whom I feel comfortable?

GOOD LUCK!