Northland College to Close at End of 2024-25 Academic School Year

ASHLAND, Wis. — Northland College Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday to permanently close the college at the end of the 2024-25 academic school year.

The college was founded in 1892, being the first to fully integrate an environmental focus with its liberal arts curriculum. But after it’s 133-year run, officials say the college is closing due to declining enrollment and soaring costs.

Last spring, the college announced it was severely struggling financially and that it needed to raise $12 million dollars to figure out a new Northland College going forward. Since then, more than 1,000 donors responded to the campus’ fundraising appeal and the college reduced costs by limiting their academic offerings and cutting staff.

At the start of fall 2024 semester, Northland College continued with a smaller student body and focused only 9 majors.

“Despite the collaborative efforts of the entire Northland family, we no longer have the resources needed to navigate the economic and demographic storms endangering small, liberal arts institutions today,” said Ted Bristol, Chair of the Northland College Board of Trustees in a press release. “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 also accepted resignation of President Chad Dayton and appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Bard Lundberg as Northland’s interim president.

To read the full press release, click here.