August 18, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
I’m excited to welcome you all to the 2025-2026 academic year. It’s been a pleasure to engage with new and returning colleagues, learn about your summer experiences and feel the energy that comes with expanding our community as we welcome new and returning students.
As we begin this new year, it’s important to acknowledge the broader context in which we are operating. Significant shifts at the federal level, evolving priorities of our state, and national trends in higher education continue to present universities with noteworthy challenges. I want you to have a clear picture of these dynamics, as well as how they impact NIU.
Budget
Across the country, the volume of universities, whether public or private, now confronting financial challenges is at a level not seen in decades, particularly since the change in federal administration.
Gov. Pritzker signed the state’s fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget into law June 16, 2025. NIU received an appropriation of $103.6 million, a 1% increase from FY25 with the potential for an additional 2% that can be spent with approval from the governor. Given continued uncertainty, previously communicated guidance on personnel, travel, promotional items and catering remain in effect until further notice.
Throughout the spring semester, employees at every level made a true difference by rethinking processes, reimagining structures and making challenging decisions so that we can sustain our commitment to student access and success. I am immensely proud of the collaboration and diligence from every division and college to achieve a balanced budget for FY26.
We anticipate posting FY25 results, along with projections of FY26 revenues and expenses, to the Budget and Planning website in mid-September. At that time, planning for FY27 will also begin. This is several months earlier than in years past and will follow an updated process that incorporates feedback received from across the university.
National Landscape
Today, higher education exists in an environment marked by turbulence, instability and deep uncertainty. Since January, 188 executive orders have been issued, and more than 350 lawsuits have been filed challenging the sweeping changes.
In that same timeline, NIU faculty have lost more than $3 million in federal grants and have seen anticipated funding decisions and awards delayed. The university is now a supporting institution to the State of Illinois in multiple lawsuits regarding cuts by the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the National Endowment for the Humanities. We are grateful for the efforts of our state and higher education advocacy groups in fighting for us and our students.
On campus, we are doing all that we can to support these faculty members and any impacted students, and our Huskie Frontiers team, aimed at helping to identify alternative avenues and dollars for future research funding and support, is gaining momentum and traction. As we work to address these academic and research issues, it is vital that we also acknowledge the personal toll.
Valued members of the university community, including LGBTQ+ students and employees, undocumented Huskies and new and returning international students and scholars, continue to grapple with intense pressures, stress and fear. I ask you to please encourage students to utilize the resources available to them this year, and importantly, I want you to use the resources available to you as employees so that we can take care of one another.
Our Focus
The world can feel overwhelming, but we do not have to let it discourage us. In difficult times, we achieve the most when we focus on what’s most important: supporting and caring for our students. They are the heart of NIU, the reason we come together and the inspiration behind the work we do each day.
Let me leave you with an example – three, in fact – that shows the difference you make. Next week, three siblings from the same family will begin the new semester with us. One is a returning student, and two are new freshmen. Collectively, they earned more than $10 million in scholarship offers from more than 140 colleges and universities nationwide. Their mother shared that while each had many options to pursue their distinct career paths, they proudly chose NIU because of the very positive experiences of relatives and friends who graduated from here.
This family’s trust in NIU reflects the confidence that so many continue to place in us. I applaud each of you for your daily contributions that make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students. Because of your efforts, they become proud Huskie alumni who inspire and guide the next generation, like these three siblings, to follow in their footsteps.
My administration remains steadfast in upholding our mission, vision, values and commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression. This guides everything we do to empower students, generate and advance knowledge and strengthen communities. We will remain relentless in advocating for making education transformative and accessible, and we will champion the vital role that higher education has in shaping an innovative, just and productive society.
Together Forward,
Lisa C. Freeman
President
