Castles make leadership gift
to Barsema Alumni
and Visitors Center

by Joe King

John and Nancy Castle have experienced NIU from just about every conceivable angle.

Nancy describes herself as “the quintessential NIU student,” one who transferred here after earning an associate’s degree and paid her own way through college as she earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Northern.

“If NIU was not affordable, I wouldn’t have one degree, let alone three,” says Nancy, who now serves as a member of the faculty in the Department of Communicative Disorders in the College of Health and Human Sciences. “What we do here is important, and we do it well.”

On the other hand, John Castle never attended NIU. Several of his children hold NIU degrees, however, and the lifelong DeKalb resident has worked with the NIU Foundation for the betterment of the university for more than three decades.

Through their many dealings with the university, the couple has come to love NIU and have long been outspoken about their pride in the university. Recently, they chose to demonstrate that pride by making a $200,000 leadership gift toward the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center.

They specifically earmarked the money for the faculty library to honor a group that is, they say, too often taken for granted.

“The NIU faculty is too often overlooked and underrated,” John says. “People are unaware of the national and international reputations that many who teach here have earned. This library is intended to prominently feature and honor those accomplishments.”

Hopefully, says Nancy, the building, and the library in particular, will help instill in all who visit an appreciation for the overall excellence of NIU.

“This building is going to be a portal to campus for everyone from prospective students to returning alumni. It should give all of those people an immediate appreciation for NIU as an outstanding university,” she says. “This library, with its collection of books authored by NIU faculty, its displays of faculty artwork and exhibits acknowledging top teachers and researchers, can be an important, powerful part of that message.”

The Castles’ commitment to the project did not stop at making the gift. John signed on as a member of the project steering committee, while Nancy agreed to co-chair the fundraising campaign alongside fellow alumnus Dennis Barsema.

Serving in that role has been exciting, says Nancy, because it has brought her in contact with so many others who are just as proud of NIU as she and her husband are.

“It’s been wonderful meeting so many people who are so enthused about NIU. They don’t need to be convinced of the value of the project,” she says.

Like his wife, John was pleasantly surprised by the level of excitement over the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, and believes it marks a turning point for the university.

“I think there has been a real change in how people view the university. There is a new-found status attached to being an NIU alumnus,” he says.

Both John and Nancy hope that the building will help spread that excitement.

“This will be a tangible symbol of university pride, and we need more of that,” says Nancy. “From the moment people walk into this building, I think they will get an immediate sense of what an outstanding place NIU is and will want to be a part of that. We hope it will turn prospective students into alumni the first time they step through its doors.”

The Castles also hope that the wood-paneled library, which will include a large fireplace and open onto a patio, will become a social center for campus.

“I love the idea that it could become a gathering place for faculty: a spot to hold small lectures or informal wine and cheese gatherings – a place for true collegiality. We’ve never really had such a thing,” Nancy Castle said.

In addition to the library, the 37,000-square-foot Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, which is being built at the corner of Annie Glidden Road and Stadium Drive, will include state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities and office space for the NIU Alumni Association, the NIU Student Alumni Association and student orientation staff.

The centerpiece of the two-story structure will be its soaring Great Hall featuring plaques, displays and exhibits highlighting the history of NIU and the accomplishments of the university’s alumni.

The building will serve as a stepping-off point for campus tours, a venue for guest speakers and colloquia and a hall for weddings, dances, reunions and other major events. It will also include a large terrace for outdoor entertaining, which should make the center a natural gathering point for events such as football game days.

To date, donors have pledged more than 80 percent of the $6.2 million fundraising goal for the project. Construction began with a groundbreaking prior to the Oct.16 NIU Homecoming football game, and the facility is expected to open by Homecoming 2005.

For more information on the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, visit www.niu.edu/pubaffairs/nnow/winter04/center.html online.

11-29-04