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Dean DeBiase Family Board Room
After earning his marketing degree from NIU in 1980, Dean DeBiase learned the ins and outs of management at FedEx and later led the turnaround of a business unit at Zenith Electronics, where his team introduced and commercialized cable modems and spearheaded development of now mainstream broadband services and HDTV. He was recruited to Silicon Valley to become the CEO of the ImagiNation Network, the largest online computer games and instant messaging network. Dean eventually sold the enterprise to America Online and joined the company’s executive team. Among other business ventures that followed, Dean founded Start-Up-Partners, a growth strategy leadership group, helping CEOs and boards tackle their most challenging issues. Linda also attended NIU before graduating from Lake Forest College. Dean and Linda live in Lake Forest with their sons Logan and J.R.
What was your motivation for naming this space in the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center?
We need to transform the buzz we’re getting into sustainable growth and raise the university’s national profile. NIU needs our help. With state universities continually facing budget cuts, we need to rethink our gifting, to set stretch goals. We need people to step up and get a little outside of their comfort zones. For my generation, the time is now. If you make an impact, you can enjoy it for the rest of your life.
What does it mean to you to be involved in a project of such importance for the university?
There was this opportunity to do something big and we said “OK, let’s step up to the plate." This Alumni and Visitors Center project means a lot to NIU. For visitors and alumni alike, this will become the face of the university. It’s going to make a dramatic difference. It will be the epicenter of the university. This will be the place where we can honor our past, celebrate the present and plan for the future. It will be the place where alumni and the business community can come together and network, whether through seminars, meetings or parties.
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Barsema Alumni and
Visitors Center
231 N. Annie Glidden Rd.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815.753.1534
815.753.0278 (fax)
Located on the campus of
Northern Illinois University |
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