I write to inform the Northland College community that today the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to close the College at the end of the academic year. Despite the collaborative efforts of the entire Northland family—students, faculty, staff, administrators, board members, alumni, partners, donors, friends, and the Ashland and surrounding communities—we no longer have the resources needed to navigate the economic and demographic storms endangering so many small, liberal arts institutions today.
Simply put, with declining enrollment and soaring costs, it takes more to operate the College than we raise in tuition. Even after enacting aggressive measures to cut costs and raise revenues, Northland College has no sustainable path forward.
The Board of Trustees is deeply grateful to the more than one thousand donors who responded at historic levels to our spring 2024 financial exigency appeal, and to those who have continued to donate since. Members of the Board itself have contributed millions of dollars in transformative gifts to save Northland. As alumni, and people with strong ties to the College, we share the grief of our special community today as the 133-year-old story of our little college on the big lake comes to a close.
We will have more to say, at a later time, about the exceptional heritage of Northland, including our mission-driven faculty, our leadership in environmental education and in creative uses of our natural, north woods classroom. Our greatest legacy, of course, is the generations of Northland students who have done, and are doing, transformative work for good in the world. The Northland community has much to be proud of.
Also today, the Board of Trustees accepted with regret the resignation of Chad Dayton as president of the College and voted unanimously to appoint Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Barb Lundberg as interim president.
The entire board shares my gratitude to Chad for his service as the sixteenth president of Northland during a period of historic upheaval for the College. After nearly a decade of service and leadership on the Board, Chad stepped up in 2023 to take the helm of our unique institution. His steadfast commitment to our shared purpose of finding a sustainable path forward for Northland never flagged. Chad’s determination, creativity, and resilience, in the face of what proved to be impossible odds, inspired us all to lean in, try harder and think again. We wish Chad, his wife Maggie, and their daughters much health and happiness in the years ahead.
The Board recognizes Vice President Lundberg’s thirty years of higher education experience in student and academic affairs, and her leadership as interim president at one of four colleges she served before joining Northland. Her four years at Northland began as the Indigenous cultures advisor at the Indigenous Cultures Center, and she later assumed the position of assistant dean for inclusive excellence. As vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, Barb has overseen the delivery of the College’s restructured course offerings for this academic year. Barb has also served our community as central coordinator for the Board’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Sense of Belonging Initiative. She has a true understanding of the College, its mission and our community.
Barb’s willingness now to serve Northland at a time of great sorrow and challenge speaks to her strength of character and commitment to the College. The Board of Trustees is grateful that Barb has agreed to take on this challenge and has full confidence that she will be the College’s north star as we walk unfamiliar trails together on this final journey.
Ted Bristol
Chair, Northland College Board of Trustees
