Northland College (Wisconsin)

For the Baptist college in Dunbar, Wisconsin, see Northland Baptist Bible College

Northland College
Motto	A Highway Shall Be There
Established	1906
Type	Private Liberal Arts
Religious affiliation	United Church of Christ
Endowment	18.5 Million
President	Michael A. Miller
Admin. staff	181
Undergraduates	556
Location	Ashland, Wisconsin, USA
Campus	Rural, A total of 220 acres (89 ha)
Colors	Orange and Blue
Nickname	"Lumberjacks" or "Lumberjills"
Website	www.northland.edu

Northland College is a small, coeducational, liberal arts college in Ashland, Wisconsin, USA. Founded as the North Wisconsin Academy in 1892, the college was established in 1906. Originally affiliated with the Congregational Church, the college remains loosely tied to the Congregational Church's descendant, the United Church of Christ (UCC). The college currently enrolls 748 undergraduate students and employs 82 faculty members and 99 staff members. Northland College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities.

History

Northland College is the successor to the North Wisconsin Academy, and was founded on the same tract of land. Wheeler Hall, built in 1892, was the sole building of the North Wisconsin Academy, providing classroom space, board and cafeteria services. The building was renovated in 1993 and 1994 and remains the centerpiece of campus. Today, Wheeler houses classrooms and faculty offices for the social sciences and humanities and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Location

The college is located in Ashland, Wisconsin, a small city on the shore of Lake Superior. The school is ten blocks from the lakefront. The school's location on the lakefront makes internship opportunities available with agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Ashland Fisheries Resource Office, the Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the United States Geological Survey.

Academics

Northland College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities.

Native American focus

The college has a relationship with the nearby Native American communities, being close to both the Lac Courte Oreilles, Bad River and Red Cliff Ojibwa (Chippewa) reservations. The college offers courses focusing on Native American history, language and culture, and offers a degree in Native American studies. In August 2011, Northland College received a $163,383 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation to establish an Indigenous Culture Center and a Council on Indigenous Relations.

Environmental focus

Northland College hails itself as "The Environmental Liberal Arts College", and 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 environmental outreach arm of Northland College, the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, opened its doors 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 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chequamegon_Bay_Area_Partnership&action=edit&redlink=1>, a coalition of 14 regional municipalities and tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and non-profit 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.

The college is also part of the Eco League, a five-college consortium that enables students to spend semesters at Alaska Pacific University, Green Mountain College, Prescott College and College of the Atlantic.

Sustainability

Northland College has been recognized by Sierra magazine, the Princeton Review, Forbes magazine, the National Arbor Day Foundation, the Sustainable Endowments Institute, and onlineuniversities.com for its commitment to sustainability and developing environmentally-conscious campus initiatives. The campus has two wind turbines, five photovoltaic arrays, four hot water arrays and a geothermal heating and cooling system. Several of the buildings on campus have been recognized for their environmentally-friendly designs, including the McLean Environmental Living and Learning Center and the Dexter Library, which in 2010 received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification.

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 campus-wide 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 is small, having 19 major buildings, and is dominated by the new student union, completed in 2003, and Wheeler Hall, built in 1892 and renovated in 1993-94. The buildings are predominantly brick with sharply peaked roofs, in an effort to emulate the region's historical brownstone architecture. The campus is centered on an open mall, a grassy area where students gather to sunbathe and play ultimate. Small class sizes make it easy for students and professors to get to know each other.^{[citation needed]}

Athletics

The schools athletic teams are called the LumberJacks and LumberJills. The school competes in the NCAA Division III in all sports. The school is a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association. There are ten varsity sports, five each for men and women. The LumberJills compete in volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball and softball. The LumberJacks compete in soccer, cross country, basketball, hockey and baseball. Nordic Skiing is offered as a club sport for both men and women.

Presidents

• M.J. Fenenga 1899-1914
• J.D. Brownell 1914-1942
• John A. Reuling 1942-1945
• Manley E. Mac Donald 1945-1947
• Lewis H. Brumbaugh 1947-1953
• Gus Turbeville 1953-1962
• Richard P. Bailey 1962-1968
• Robert V. Cramer 1968-1971
• Malcolm McLean 1971-1987
• Robert Rue Parsonage 1987-2002
• Karen I. Halbersleben 2002-2009
• James L. Peterson 2009-2010
• Michael A. Miller 2010-present

Notable alumni

• Albin C. Bro - President of Shimer College
• Laurie E. Carlson - former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Stan Gruszynski - former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Barbara Linton - former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• William Plizka - former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Jamling Tenzing Norgay - Mountain climber
• Sigurd F. Olson - Author and prominent environmentalist

See also

• Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute
• WRNC-LP, student-owned radio station
• Northland College Athletic Homepage

References

External links

• Northland.edu