Northland Forever

04/16/2026

Prescott College and Northland Collaborative have formed a new partnership grounded in shared educational values and a commitment to place-based and practice-led learning. The agreement opens pathways for collaboration that will include program support and accreditation, enabling Northland Collaborative students to transfer to and continue their studies at Prescott College, while Prescott undergraduate and graduate students gain access to internships and research practicum opportunities through Northland Collaborative.
This partnership reflects a mutual conviction that meaningful education grows from community, reciprocity, and ecological engagement. We look forward to the exchange of students, scholars, and ideas it will bring.

03/01/2026

New WPR article on what the remaining ~$3.3 million endowment is being proposed to go towards, here's the short list:

- $2.1m to the Burke Center for Ecosystem Research

- $945,000 to the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute

- "$250,000 to beneficiaries named in gift agreements in the event of the college’s closure. They include the UW-Whitewater Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Kohler Foundation and United Church of Christ."

- "The remaining funds would be paid to various foundations, colleges and nonprofit groups"

Prior to its closure last year, Northland College in Ashland borrowed $22 million from its endowment fund to cover its financial shortfall, causing funds to dwindle to $3.3 million this year.

06/02/2025

Northland didn't open today.

The college officially shut it's doors at the end of May, but it's soul remains. It remains in it's lasting community, and in each of us across the world who carry a piece of it.

Today Northland’s next chapter begins: The Northland Collaborative. This new non-profit was formed by three faculty when the closure of the college was announced.

"Our purpose is to ensure that the spirit of Northland College lives on in a way that is an asset to our community and our region. At this moment, that means guiding the transition from Northland’s past to its future."
Visit the website to learn more, and sign up for their email list to stay informed.

Send a message to learn more

02/26/2025

The interim president shared a little info about Northland Admin's priorities towards closing this spring on WPR. Read or listen below!

TL;DR focusing on student placement for the 150 students who won't be graduating this spring

https://www.wpr.org/education/ashland-northland-college-closing-barb-lundberg

02/24/2025

A group of Faculty and others are formulating a plan for moving forward. Check their page to sign up to help or ask questions!

02/20/2025

A statement from a faculty member:

"While we are heartbroken that Northland College as we know it will close at the end of this academic year, we remain committed to our mission, which seeks to empower our broader community to act with integrity and courage to create a more sustainable and just future. At this moment in time, as other organizations are backing away from complex environmental and social challenges, our faculty and students remain steadfast in our dedication to diverse perspectives, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration.

Today, after the Trustees announced the impending closure of Northland College, a small group filed Articles of Incorporation for a new organization, The Northland Corporation for the Environmental Liberal Arts. We invite partners who share our commitment to a sustainable and just future to join us as we revisit the collective visioning work done by our community last spring.

We remain grounded on the South Shore of Lake Superior, surrounded by northern forests, on land ceded by the Ojibwe people in the Treaty of La Pointe in 1842. We hope to work in true partnership with the Lake Superior Ojibwe and the diverse Indigenous peoples who have called this land home for millennia."

02/19/2025

Unsurprisingly with the continued lack of communication from the Board of Trustees over the past year after vowing to increase their transparency, The Board has now voted to close the school at the end of the school year.

Also a quick fact check: This year Northland's board got rid of the majority of their majors that were true to their mission-centric sustainability and environmentalism, instead diving into traditionalism and athletics that my research, as well as professional feasibility studies regarding football in the late 20teens, said was unsustainable.

With this decision the BoT has struck a major blow to the Ashland community and to that of their students during a time in which community is much needed.

Take care of each other out there,

Alec

Today the Northland College Board of Trustees voted to close the College at the end of the academic year. With declining enrollment and soaring costs, it takes more to operate the College than we raise in tuition. Northland College has no sustainable path forward.

Northland stayed true to its liberal arts missions of environmentalism, sustainability and educational innovation. We are proud of our little school on the great lake and its 133-year legacy of students doing transformative work for good in the world.

Read more: https://www.northland.edu/news/northland-college-board-of-trustees-votes-to-close-the-college-at-end-of-academic-year/

05/22/2024

Employment changes

We at Northland Forever have decided that it is not our place to make specific announcements for the faculty that have been let go. That goes for the few staff members who have left or had their jobs restructured during this time as well, we will leave it up to those individuals as to announce their departure or not, we will not be posting a list. While we knew restructuring and cuts have needed to happen in order for Northland to continue, it can hurt nonetheless and we want to respect staff and faculty privacy during this time. Once we have a concrete view of the structure going forward we will post that.

Northland College in Ashland is cutting nine faculty after leaders announced earlier this month that it will remain open amid financial challenges that threatened to close its doors.

05/09/2024

Hi all!

It's been a little over one week since the board of Trustees announced that Northland will remain open. It has been 9 weeks since the Trustees announced the initial fundraising campaign.

Now, for many of the faculty and staff, the work is only beginning. There are a lot of pieces to pick up and some very tough decisions to be made. There is little doubt that the school will look different next year, and it will be faculty and staff who work to shape the school and its success.

Northland Forever's work is not done yet either. There are still a lot of questions out there and a strong need for transparent leadership. Over the next few weeks and months we will be digging into what steps we take to truly make Northland forever. We are ready for the long game, but will need some time to cook, so we're taking the next few weeks somewhat off. We'll be sure to try and get a few updates out there for you all.

But your work isn't quite done yet either. Northland needs our support and love. If you pledged to our campaign, we will be sending you an email on what we're expecting from the board in the future.

We will see you in a few weeks! Thank you.

Together we make,
Northland Forever

05/03/2024

Post announcement interview with Alex Patterson, Dean of Admissions

We were lucky enough to get the chance to interview with the Dean of Admissions yesterday right after Northland's announcement of staying open! Staff was integral in redesigning the departments and budgets and Alex is able to dip his toe into the financials for us.

Enjoy! The transcript can also be found at northland-forever.com/socials