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After threatening to close unless it could raise a whopping $12 million in a matter of weeks, Northland College announced Wednesday that its doors will remain open under a new “refocused model.”
The plan, which the Board of Trustees approved, is drawn from a range of proposals submitted by faculty and alumni. It includes reducing the number of majors offered from 24 to eight, restructuring the operations budget and cutting enough employees to save $7 million annually, and securing additional funds to address both short-term deficits and long-term stability. It also mandates the continuation of the college’s current intercollegiate athletics program.
“To save Northland, we needed to significantly reduce the deficit in the short term and develop a compelling, financially feasible and sustainable model for the long term,” Board of Trustees chair Ted Bristol said in a press release. “Achieving this was an iterative process that included reviewing all ideas … validating them against the budget, and refining as needed to arrive at a workable plan. Now we need to execute on this plan.”
The press release did not clarify how long the college is expected to remain open.
The small Wisconsin liberal arts institution first announced its dire financial status in March and declared financial exigency on April 4, setting a deadline of April 23 to raise the necessary funds. Even the day before the deadline, all hope appeared lost. But several “transformational gifts” came in at the eleventh hour, giving Northland a lifeline.
“It is not lost on us that today’s announcement could have gone a very different direction,” Bristol said. “Many colleges like Northland are being forced to make difficult decisions and we’ve seen many closures in recent years—even in recent weeks. We feel fortunate to be sharing a path forward despite the realities of declining enrollment and rising costs.”
