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Wurlitzer building sits in limbo in DeKalb
STARTING EARLY I
n a way, Douglas Baker is a college freshman again at age 57. But instead of taking placement tests, Northern Illinois University’s new president has spent hours meeting with each of the school’s vice presidents and reviewing their written summaries of priorities and projects. Instead of his parents dropping him off at his dorm room, he made the trek from the University of Idaho on a motorcycle with his wife, Dana. He’s taken in the beauty of the campus lagoon and Altgeld Hall, and visited NIU’s branch campuses in Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Rockford. Baker’s administration officially begins Monday, but he arrived on campus this week and has been working on the transition since the Board of Trustees selected him in April. Baker beat out 47 other applicants to earn a five-year contract with a base salary of $450,000 a year – $110,000 more than his predecessor – partially by echoing outgoing President John Peters’ emphasis on students. Baker said he wants NIU to attract the right students, help them through the financial challenges that can come with college and prepare them for the working world with internships, service learning and strong academic and research opportunities. “If mom and dad are assured and the student is assured that if they come here, they are going to get a grade-A education and get a job when they get out, I think that’s going to be very attractive,” Baker said. “We’re going to work toward that.” He also wants to make sure NIU helps new students acclimate to their new environment. “It’s always difficult as you enter a new institution, whether you’re a president or a freshman,” Baker said. “You have to go through that learning curve.”
NIU’s new president, Douglas Baker, officially begins Monday, but already is on campus and at work
By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The fate of a crumbling building in DeKalb has yet to be decided. None of the damage to the Wurlitzer Co. building at 1660 Pleasant St. has been repaired since parts of it collapsed twice last year. The building owners are embroiled in a lawsuit with their insurance company over whether the company should pay for repairs or demolition, DeKalb City Attorney Dean Frieders said. Although nothing has been decided yet, repairs likely would exceed the cost to demolish the collapsed part of the building, which could range from $300,000 to more than $1 million. City officials are not satisfied with the condition of the building, but they are waiting until the legal fight concludes before deciding what to do next, said T. J. Moore, DeKalb’s director of Public Works. “There is a process underway right now,” Moore said. “As long as that process is underway, the city will decide what avenues are available after that.” DeKalb Logistics, Woodworks and an office where Northern Illinois University makes steel drums use a section of the building. “There’s a portion that has been deemed safe by a structural engineer that is still being used on the northeastern corner of the building,” Frieders said. The main section of the building was inspected by city officials, who deemed it unsafe, Frieders said. A court order followed that prohibited anyone from living in the building, he said. The section of the building deemed unsafe was condemned last year, Moore said. The building was built in sections between the 19th century and the 1960s. The Building Division within the Public Works Department is responsible for making sure the area outside the Wurlitzer building has strong fencing, he said. In case the building collapses, he doesn’t want any debris going into the roadway and hurting motorists. City officials said at the time of the collapse in May 2012, some of the damage went all the way to the first floor. No one was harmed when the collapse happened.
By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI, FELIX SARVER and DAVID THOMAS - news@shawmedia.com
See BAKER, page A5
The new president’s priorities
Search cost
• Continuing with Vision 2020 initiatives • Give students hands-on experience • Review financial aid programs • Study NIU’s overall fiscal model
Douglas Baker’s bio • Age: 57 • Birthplace: Hood River, Ore. • Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business-industrial relations and management from Colorado State University. Ph.D. in business from University of Nebraska • Hobbies: Golfing, playing basketball, motorcycling, flat-water kayaking and hiking • Family: wife, Dana L. Stover; and daughters, Hannah and Robin • Last job: Provost and executive vice president of University of Idaho, 2005 to 2013 • Twitter handle: @DougBakerNIU Source: Northern Illinois University
The Daily Chronicle sent a Freedom of Information request to Northern Illinois University requesting copies of documents regarding costs incurred by the school in the search for a new president. An analysis of the documents provided showed the university spent at least $189,521.82 on the search. The largest share of the money was spent on Parker Executive Search, which submitted eight invoices for a total of $110,622.33.
On the Web • Visit daily-chronicle.com to view some of these documents and read more about the expenses. • Video of new President Douglas Baker speaking of his plans and goals for NIU. • Voice your opinion: What should be incoming Northern Illinois University President Douglas Baker’s top priority? Let us know by voting in our online poll.
“There is a process underway right now. As long as that process is underway, the city will decide what avenues are available after that.” T. J. Moore
Photo by Monica Maschak - mmaschak@shawmedia.com
DeKalb’s director of Public Works
Obama’s ties to Mandela loom over S. Africa visit By JULIE PACE The Associated Press JOHANNESBURG – Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s struggles in South Africa, a young Barack Obama joined campus protests in the U.S. against the racist rule that kept Mandela locked away in prison for nearly three decades. Now a historic, barrier-breaking figure himself, President Obama arrived in South Africa Friday to find a country drasti-
cally transformed by Mandela’s influence – and grappling with the beloved 94-year-old’s mortality. It was unclear whether Mandela’s deteriorating health would allow Obama to make a hospital visit. The former South African leader is battling a recurring lung infection and is said to be in critical condition at a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria. Speaking to reporters on Air
Force One as he made his way to Johannesburg, Obama said he would gauge the situation after he arrived. “I don’t need a photo-op,” he said. “And the last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela’s condition.” Obama’s visit to South Africa is seen as something of a tribute to the man who helped inspire his own political activism. The
president will pay homage to Mandela at Robben Island, the prison where he spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. And with South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, facing questions about its effectiveness, Obama will urge the government and the South African people to live up to the democratic example set by their first black president.
See OBAMA, page A5
AP file photos
Nelson Mandela (left) helped inspire President Barack Obama’s political activism.
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