11th Hour To Save Northland College From Closure; Former City Council Pres. Speaks Out

ASHLAND, Wis. – A former Ashland city council president is speaking out about the possible closure of Northland College. This comes as the college faces a deadline of Tuesday, March 3, to raise $12 million to stay open, according to the college’s president.

Northland College in Ashland announced March 11th that it needed $12 million before April 3. The president of the school, Chad Dayton, said the money would be used to “fund a new Northland College for a more sustainable future.”

On its website Sunday, the Board of Trustees said it had raised $1 million. That was the first piece of news the school had issued about the status of the fundraising. The lack of information from the school has not been well received by those connected to the school and the city of Ashland.

Former Ashland city council president Eric Lindell said he has great memories of living in Ashland with his wife who is a graduate of Northland. Lindell is frustrated by the lack of news from the school and has been trying to find out the background on how this situation came about.

“They’ve always struggled,” said Lindell. They’re always talked about their enrollment numbers. And, you know, they want to do better. But it was never this, Hey, by the way, we might be going out of business. So I think everybody’s been caught off guard. And I know many alumni and many current students are very frustrated.”

Lindell says the college is quote “Immensely important” to the city of about 79 hundred people.  Lindell says the city has no large employers, the economy is driven by small businesses and stores. In many cases, it’s the students from Northland that make up much of the workforce.

Lindell says the school has had issues regarding money in the past, but Lindell says this announcement caught everybody off guard.

“It really raises questions because the previous president had said when he left the college and navigated Covid successfully, they were in a financially good position from what he said. So was he telling the truth? Were they keeping things from the public? I think they owe, students the public and alumni answers, said Lindell.”

In an interview with FOX 21 last month, Chad Dayton the college president said the school has been using the endowment to cover operating costs.

“The institution has used all of its tools and resources, both for donations and philanthropic contributions to the college, but also its endowment as a resource to continue operations,” said Dayton. “Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a position where our endowment is no longer an operational resource for the institution. And that brings us to this moment.”

Northland has used its endowment fund to cover operating expenses. Intentional Endowments Network reports the endowment fund which was at $25 million, in 2020, had shrunk to $ $6.2 million by 2022.

This Thursday, the school’s President and its Board of Trustees will provide an update on the completion of the fundraising appeal.