The Baustert Family Foundation donation, the largest in NIU history, will fund creation of the Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center
Northern Illinois University and the NIU Foundation are proud and honored to announce a $40 million gift from the Baustert Family Foundation, the largest single gift in the university’s history.
This transformational gift will support the development of the Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center, NIU’s future home for health professions education and transdisciplinary research.
President Lisa C. Freeman shared:
“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.”
NIU’s Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center will connect health-related programs and experts across the university – including nursing, public health, audiology, biomedical engineering and anatomy among other disciplines – to catalyze learning, service and research for students and faculty.
Outfitted with the newest technologies to deliver an enhanced approach to curriculum, the center will house specialized laboratories and flexible learning, study and collaboration spaces, all designed to improve the preparation of future clinicians and professionals and, ultimately, the health and well-being of individuals and families in our region.
The center will highlight the importance we place on health care education programs delivered through transdisciplinary collaboration, helping to attract more students and faculty to NIU.
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. With nearly 80% of our alumni staying in our region, this state-of-the-art facility will help meet a critical need in our area and beyond.
Construction on the center is expected to begin in 2026 with a budget of $87 million. The State of Illinois Capital Development Board designated $77 million for the project. Of that amount, NIU received $7.7 million for planning and design efforts that began in 2022.
The Baustert Family Foundation gift will provide: $10 million identified to close the gap on construction costs; $14 million for future programmatic development, including the acquisition of technology, faculty endowments and student scholarships; and $14 million held in a restricted facility endowment maintenance fund.
The remaining $2 million of the gift will go to the Northern Fund in its support for emerging projects at the university.
The gift was made by James and Theo (Bahwell) Baustert through the Baustert Family Foundation. James is a founding partner of Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., a former St. Paul, Minnesota-based manufacturer of implantable cardiac rhythm management devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators.
The company, founded in 1971, was acquired by Eli Lilly in 1978 and is now a subsidiary of Boston Scientific.
As a student at NIU in 1954 and 1955, Theo studied speech correction – known today as speech-language pathology. One year into her studies, Theo met her future husband, James, both natives of Elgin, Illinois, when he was visiting campus for a social event. That moment cemented their lifelong romance and fondness for the university.
After Theo departed NIU, the couple continued their courtship and married, eventually settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where James began his career in the medical device industry. The couple have three grown children, Jeff, Tim and Julie, and 13 grandchildren.
James and Theo have been active philanthropists for decades, most recently through the Baustert Family Foundation, established in 2016. The foundation has been an active supporter within the health and human services non-profit space, with gifts to local community organizations throughout Minnesota, Illinois and beyond.
Jeff Baustert, son of James and Theo and Foundation spokesman, shared: “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, partners with NIU to fund projects across the university, including the programmatic and facility development of the Baustert Bahwell Health Technology Center.
“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,” said Catherine B. Squires, vice president for University Advancement and president and CEO of the NIU Foundation.
“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.”