Northland College back for fall semester — though with fewer offerings and students

The Fall semester at Northland College in Ashland is underway after the small college faced closure last spring.

In March administrators announced the spring semester would be its last unless they could raise $12 million in a matter of weeks. Though the college didn’t get the amount hoped for, it did see a successful fundraising campaign, enough to keep the doors open at the school that has gained a national reputation for its environmental education programs.

Northland’s president, Chad Dayton, joined WPR’s Robin Washington on “Morning Edition” to talk about how the fall semester is proceeding.

The following conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Robin Washington: School started on Sept. 4. What’s the mood on campus?

Chad Dayton: The mood on campus is very positive. Our faculty, staff, students and local community are very excited to see the liveliness and activities on campus after a very difficult spring. We’re very focused on our student experience and building community and having fun together.

RW: What’s different about this semester? I imagine some programs may have had to be cut or combined or consolidated.

CD: Yes. During the month of April, we distilled our curriculum from over 40 majors to eight, which are our heaviest enrolled majors and our most mission-aligned offerings. We also have a more streamlined admission strategy.

RW: Last spring, we spoke with some students who weren’t sure if they would be coming back because of the uncertainty. What are the enrollment numbers?

CD: It’s still a moving target as we sit here today, with some students still joining us as we speak. But we’re anticipating just under 300 students for this fall semester.

That’s down from about 450 in the last academic year. We have about 180 returnees and we were very fortunate to welcome about 95 new students this year.

RW: How is the school doing financially? What did you ultimately raise last spring and what’s needed to keep the books balanced?

CD: We overall reduced operational expenses by about $3 million. As we embark on this academic year, we are fortunate to have a reserve fund of about $5 million.

So overall, we have raised about $8 million. Most important is that we are in a financial position to successfully complete this academic year and look forward to continuing from there.

RW: Your reserve fund is new, right? 

CD: Yes.

RW: When we spoke last spring, I asked if some of your unique programs or institutes could be spun off or supported by partnerships with corporate entities or environmental groups. Is any of that in the works?

CD: We continue to operate our iconic centers, such as our Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, as in-house entities. Each of the centers has a dedicated donor base, but no, those are very much a part of what Northland is and what we do.

RW: How does it feel seeing students walking around campus again, getting all their belongings together? And faculty too?

CD: It is incredibly exciting and incredibly fun to have students around campus with canoes on the trailers and tents and hammocks in the mall. It is exciting to see a path forward to institutional viability and a real joy to be back to what we do.

If you have an idea about something in northern Wisconsin you think we should talk about on “Morning Edition,” send it to us at northern@wpr.org.