Northland College is the successor to the North Wisconsin Academy, which initially opened on July 14, 1892. Sponsored by the Congregational Churches, it was a co-educational high school intended to serve the isolated, northern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.[2]
The academy expanded its program to include college coursework in 1906, thus becoming Northland College. Wheeler Hall, built in 1892, was the North Wisconsin Academy's sole building, providing classroom space, board and cafeteria services. The building was renovated in 1993 and 1994 and remains the centerpiece of campus, housing classrooms and faculty offices for the social sciences and humanities. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2011, the college's accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, required Northland to file a financial recovery plan because of their concerns about the college's financial position.[3] The college's endowment, which incurred losses in the stock market crash of 2008-09, recovered and the college reported 2010-11 fund raising at the highest level in several years.[4]
In the spring of 2024, the college's administrators publicly declared that the college was experiencing severe financial distress. In their call for donations, they declared that the college lacked the funding to remain open beyond the current academic year.[5] In the accompanying press release, administrators said that $12 million was required to keep the institution running.[6] On the day after the original fundraising deadline on April 3, the college declared financial exigency and delayed the deadline by two weeks. By that point, the college had raised US$1,500,000 from 900 donors.[7] On May 1st, the college officially announced that it would remain open under a restructured model to be implemented in the Fall 2024 semester.[8]
The college has a relationship with the nearby Native American communities, being close to the Lac Courte Oreilles, Bad River and Red CliffOjibwe reservations. The college offers courses on Native American history, language and culture, and a degree in Native American studies. In August 2011, Northland College received a $163,383 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation to establish a Native American and Indigenous Culture Center and a Council on Indigenous Relations.
Environmental focus
Each program at Northland College incorporates an emphasis on the environment and sustainability.[9] Many classes focus on or include environmental issues.
In 1971, shortly after the first Earth Day, Northland College hosted its first environmental conference. One keynote speaker was Sigurd Olson. The college's environmental outreach arm, the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, opened in 1972. The institute works to educate the North country, students and community members about Great Lakes environmental issues.
Northland College is a sponsoring partner of the Chequamegon Bay Area Partnership, a coalition of 14 regional municipalities and tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations working toward the restoration of Lake Superior. Since September 2010, the partnership has won more than $1 million in competitive grants from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to fund habitat restoration, outreach, and education and environmental survey initiatives. This amount includes two grants totaling nearly $500,000 awarded in August 2011.
Other campus initiatives include the student-managed Renewable Energy Fund, which provides over $40,000 annually to fund campus sustainability initiatives, the Northland Bike Shoppe, which provides free-to-use bicycles for the campus community, and a robust campuswide composting program, which diverts nearly two tons of food waste from landfills each year.
Northland is an active member of several organizations focused on sustainability in higher education, including the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the Midwest Regional Collaborative for Sustainability Education, the Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence, and the Leadership Circle of the American Colleges and Universities Presidents' Climate Commitment, which commits participating colleges to constructing buildings that meet or exceed LEED Silver certification.
Campus life
Northland's campus has 19 major buildings, and is dominated by the Ponzio Campus Center, completed in 2003, and Wheeler Hall, built in 1892 and renovated during the 1993–1994 school year. The buildings are predominantly brick with sharply peaked roofs, in an effort to emulate the region's historical brownstone architecture. The campus center is on an open mall, a grassy area where students gather to sunbathe and play.
There are 15 varsity sports. The LumberJills compete in volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, golf, hockey, and softball. The LumberJacks compete in lacrosse, soccer, cross country, basketball, hockey, golf, and baseball. Nordic Skiing is offered as a club sport for both men and women.
