Northland International University

History

Northland Mission Camp (now Northland Camp and Conference Center) was founded on December 31, 1958 by Paul and Mamie Patz and Rev. Harold and Arlene Sailer. Rev. Sailer and his wife both graduated from Northwestern Bible College. Property for the 1,500-acre (6.1 km²) facility in northeast Wisconsin was purchased in 1960. In 1976, Northland Bible Institute was started. The following year, it changed its name to Northland Baptist Bible College. On April 7, 2009, the school created the name Northland International University as a canopy name for its four entities: Northland Baptist Bible College, Northland Graduate Studies, Northland Center for Global Opportunities, and Northland Online. Northland Camp and Conference Center and Northland International University are branches of Northland Mission, Inc.

For much of its history, Northland operated without accreditation, which meant that its students were not eligible for government financial assistance. In 2004, Northland obtained provisional accreditation from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), making its students eligible for federal funds. TRACS granted full accreditation in 2008.

In 2009, Northland requested inclusion in the Wisconsin Tuition Grant Program, so that undergraduate students from Wisconsin attending Northland could receive state financial assistance. In August 2009, the Wisconsin Higher Education Aids Board determined that Northland students were not eligible for state financial aid because the college's accreditation was not from a regional accreditation organization. Northland appealed the ruling to agency's board, citing TRACS' federal government recognition. A decision was expected in the fall of 2009, but students were not eligible for state aid for the 2009-2010 school year.

Leadership Changes

On April 29, 2013, then-President Matthew Olson announced to faculty, staff and students that he had been removed as president by the board. On May 8, the four board members that were not members of the founding family resigned. The remaining three board members voted to bring Olson back on as President, and on May 22, 2013 voted to install Daniel Patz as the new chairman of the board. A month later, On June 13, 2013, President Olson announced to faculty and staff that he had resigned. He indicated that this would give the board the best opportunity to move forward and to succeed. On June 17 and 18 a Board Advisory Council (BAC) convened, and Mr. Daniel Patz was appointed as the university's fourth president.

Change in articles of faith

On May 10, 2013, Northland announced that it was provisionally replacing its articles of faith with the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith of 1853, while developing a new set of articles of faith that would be specific to Northland. The new revision of the statement was completed in the fall of 2013.

Closure

In October 2014, Northland announced that the board of trustees of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary had decided to accept the university's assets and campus as a gift and to establish an extension of Southern's Boyce college at the campus. However, on April 22, 2015 President Patz announced that The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary had reversed their previous decision and no longer intended to acquire Northland's campus. Following a meeting of the Northland Board of Trustees, President Patz communicated the board's decision to close both the graduate and undergraduate schools of the university following the end of the 2014-2015 school year. Although the education branches of Northland Mission were closed, the Camp and Conference Center remain open, offering a variety of summer camps, and various youth, family, and ministerial retreats during the school year.

Northland International University ceased academic operations in 2015. Lancaster Bible College became the custodian of student academic records (transcripts).

Campus

Northland's 1500 acre campus is located approximately 6 miles southeast of Dunbar, Wisconsin. The main classroom buildings are the Founder's Center, named in honor of the school's founder, Paul Patz; and the Jacquot Educational Center (JEC), named in honor of former dean Dr. Ardell Jacquot. The Founder's Center also housed the administrative offices, registrar's office, and business office of the university. The University library, which houses over 50,000 volumes, is located in the JEC. The campus also has a Fine Arts Center where music classes and performances were held.

Athletics

Northland's intercollegiate sports mascot was the Pioneer. The school was a Division II member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, and has competed in men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross-country, men's golf, and women's volleyball. Men's hockey and men's volleyball competed as athletic clubs not under the sanction of the NCCAA. Men's soccer and men's cross-country were traditionally Northland's strongest sports; as the soccer team won over ten regional championships in addition to several national championships. Their 2012 season ended with a loss in the national championship game to Moody Bible Institute, and in 2013 they earned a top three at-large bid in the national championship tournament. The cross-country teams earned four national titles in five years (2001-2003, 2005), and finished as the runner-up in 2006.

Mission and purpose

Northland International University's stated mission was "(1) to glorify God by providing an educational environment for developing servant-leaders in honesty, obedience, wisdom, and service to love Jesus Christ with all their heart, soul, and mind (2) and by teaching students to live by the principles of God's Word, to walk with God as His faithful laborers, and to serve in local churches for revival, world evangelization, and the discipling of future generations for the cause of Jesus Christ." The university's purpose statement was "Preparing the next generation of servant-leaders for Great Commission living."