Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university located in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system for producing college educated teachers. John G. Peters has been president since 2000.
NIU's athletic teams are known as the Huskies and compete in the Mid-American Conference.
For more info,
http://www.niu.edu/about/history.shtml
