Beginning January 1, 2023, Chad Dayton will serve as interim president of Northland College, succeeding President Karl Ivan Solibakke. Dayton is not new to the College, however. He first joined Northland College’s Board of Trustees in 2015, and was board chair from 2018 through 2022, meeting with administrators regularly long before being appointed interim president.
Northland’s foundational strengths are as solid as ever.
Our location—the Great Lake Superior, in the midst of the northern forests, which Northland’s faculty and students utilize so adeptly as an extension of the traditional classroom, is conducive to experiential education, field research, and transformative outdoor pursuits.
Our faculty—we are blessed with dedicated, innovative, and passionate faculty, all experts in their fields. Hearing our faculty speak or observing them in indoor classrooms, in our outdoor learning spaces on campus, and in the field, is both insightful and inspiring. Their strong commitment to the College, their students, their colleagues, and the environment is unparalleled.
Our students—Northland students are passionate about their peers, their faculty, their sense of place, and a belief in their ability to impact the world, an inherent tribute to a deep commitment to achieving meaningful and lasting change on our planet.
Our staff—leadership, administrative personnel, maintenance, security, food service—the collective drive for excellence across all aspects of the College is an unsung strength and uniquely Northland.
Northland has weathered challenging times before, especially during periods of fluctuating student enrollment. A compelling solution to this essential challenge is strategically growing the size of the student body, in spite of recent reports about a national decline in college bound students after 2028. Our constituents are keenly committed to the College’s future, and I firmly believe that Northland could be more unabashed about telling its extraordinary story to prospective students, alumni, funders, and partners. In celebration of 130 years of operation, we have an impressive narrative to convey; we occupy a unique niche in higher education; and boundless prospects lie ahead.
Retention and orchestrating the most appealing student experience have also proven particularly challenging. As these are addressed and assuaged and resources are secured, College leadership is committed to bolstering student support services—better academic infrastructure as well as investments in student life—and to developing the quality of the student experience by underwriting internship, career service, student research, and travel opportunities.
In addition to addressing the challenges above, one additional area of excitement is the continued investment in Northland’s research centers. The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, and the Hulings Rice Food Center have excelled locally, nationally, and internationally. There are compelling reasons to build on these successes, working to sustain social and environmental change, deepening the student experience, bolstering student recruitment, and promoting faculty research.
Moreover, College leadership is exploring ways to revitalize and invigorate regional partnerships, summer programs for youth and the surrounding community, pre-college courses with dedicated environmental curricula, and adult learning formats. In many ways, we underutilize our beautiful campus and our exceptional physical resources during the summer months, and programs such as these would resonate with and enhance our outreach objectives.
A liberal arts education infused with an environmental focus across disciplines is an inherently inspiring mission for Northland. It emboldens exploration and advocacy at the intersection of environmental justice, critical thinking, research and learning, as well as a commitment to place and a strong desire to advocate for change in ourselves, our region, our country, and beyond.
The Board is wholeheartedly committed to the College, navigating through immediate and future challenges, in order to develop and implement innovative programming, increase student support and broaden the campus experience, stabilize financial viability, expand institutional capacity, and identify what lies ahead for Northland in the next 130 years.
With an eye towards exploring avenues for improved communication among constituencies, board members look forward to being back on campus for in-person meetings, listening sessions and topical forums, community gatherings, and continued project-relevant working group events that unite trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members, partners and a host of Northland enthusiasts.
A highway shall be there—the future of Northland is in our hands.
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