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Classes begin at Northland

August 19, 2009

Northland’s fall 2009 semester classes officially begin at 5:00 pm, Tuesday, September 9.  New students began arriving on campus in mid-August, however, to participate in Outdoor Orientation Trips. OO Trips are a long-standing tradition at Northland College aimed at welcoming students to the area and easing their transition into college.

The new semester sees the inauguration of Northland’s new environmental liberal arts curriculum. Faculty worked more than three years to design the new academic offerings around the concept of connection. First year students at Northland will begin in the College’s three new course blocks, which involve heavily interlinked and complementary courses.  All of the college’s new majors, Humanity and Nature Studies, Sociology and Social Justice, Humanities (combining History, Religion, Music, and Literature), Sustainable Community Development, and the Environmental Sciences are also built on a foundation of making connections, as have been its most successful continuing majors such as Natural Resources and a redesigned Business Program.

In addition to the new academic programs, Northland is launching the new co-curriculum, a coordinated effort to offer non-credit learning experiences that complement Northland’s academic programs. The co-curriculum includes everything from courses in canoeing and kayaking to workshops on personal finance.  It will work similar to the way that Ed-Venture has operated in past years.

“For those in Academia, the beginning of the school year is the real new year,”said Rick Fairbanks, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Northland, “It has all the excitement and energy of January 1st, and that’s especially true for this year with the launch of our new curriculum and co-curriculum.”

New programs aren’t the only change at Northland, James Peterson, noted educational leader and former president of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., began serving as interim president of Northland College in July after former President Karen I. Halbersleben stepped down from her position. Peterson will serve as interim president until a national search for a permanent replacement is completed.