Northland College needs $12M or faces closure

Leaders of Northland College, a private environmental college in Ashland, said the school will close unless it raises $12 million by April 3. 

The school announced the urgent funding goal Tuesday. If the money is not raised, the college will begin the closure process at the end of the academic year, according to a statement from the university. 

“A recent, comprehensive review by the board confirmed the college does not have sufficient resources or the financial stability to continue current programs and operations beyond this academic year,” according to the statement.

Ted Bristol, chair of the Northland College Board of Trustees, said the $12 million would allow the school to “reinvent” itself and refine the college’s focus. 

Funds raised would be used to support a transition year in 2024-25 to explore and create a new Northland model, according to the university. 

The announcement comes at a time when many small liberal arts colleges across the country face similar financial challenges due to declining enrollment, growing costs of higher education and decreased financial support. Last week, St. Norbert College, a private college in DePere, announced it would lay off a dozen faculty members. The school has a projected $5 million deficit in fiscal year 2025.

“Northland College has evolved many times in the last 132 years,” President Chad Dayton said in a statement.

“This is a difficult time for all of us who love Northland and are committed to its mission,” Dayton said in an email to WPR. “Northland has evolved many times since its original founding, and we hope this will be the beginning of our next evolution. It will take all of us working together to secure and define Northland’s future.”

The college has been operating in the red since 2016, according to the investigative nonprofit newsroom ProPublica. The group reported that tax filings in 2022 show the college had nearly $35.1 million in expenses and $31.8 million in revenues, indicating a shortfall of roughly $3.3 million.

Kelly Westlund, a former state Senate and congressional candidate, graduated from Northland College in 2007. She also taught sustainable community development as an adjunct professor.

She said many people in the community felt blindsided by the announcement.

“It feels like a bomb went off in Ashland,” Westlund said. “It’s just the prospect of this campus closing, and the ripple effects that that’s going to have throughout the region. I think it’s really serious, and I hope that folks recognize it as such.”

The city of Ashland lists Northland as one of its major employers. Westlund noted rural private colleges across the country have been struggling with declining enrollment and increasing costs. Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows rural students graduate from high school at higher rates. However, only 55 percent go straight to college, according to NPR.

She questions how soon the college became aware of its financial issues. A review of Northland’s fiscal performance was completed in February, according to the college. Westlund said she wants to know where the money would go and how Northland’s financial position has changed since the beginning of the academic year.

“I just really feel for the students that are there right now, and now having to think about where they’ll go in the fall…and, of course, all of the professors and staff and faculty on campus,” she said. “I’m sure that they’re all just in shock and wondering what’s going to happen to them and their jobs.”

Northland College is a private environmental liberal arts college along Lake Superior. It was founded in 1892. In 1974 the school adopted a mission as the first college in the country to fully integrate an environmental focus into its curriculum. 

The school has about 500 students and 60 staff members.