Finlandia University Announces Closure

Finlandia University announced this week that it will no longer enroll students for the next academic year and will close.

The institution was founded in 1896 by members of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church and it is located in Hancock, Michigan. It was initially known as Suomi College and changed its name to Finlandia University in 2000.

Finlandia recently celebrated the 125th anniversary of its founding and you can read more in a College History Garden post, "Finlandia University Prepares for 125th Anniversary."

You can also read more on the closure in "‘Deeply saddened’: Community reacts to Finlandia’s closure" in The Daily Mining Gazette with reporting by Garrett Neese.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers, and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Carthage College Marks 175th Anniversary with Placement of Marker

The Fort Madison (IA) Daily Democrat published "Carthage College celebrates 175 years" on October 24, 2022. The article coincides with the unveiling of a historical marker in Carthage, IL. 

Carthage College President John Swallow along with alumni and friends of Carthage College gathered at the entrance pillars to the former campus in Carthage to mark the college’s 175th anniversary.

While Carthage College has operated in Kenosha, WI since 1962, it was founded in Hillsboro, IL in 1847 as The Literary and Technological Institute of the Lutheran Church of the Far West. 

It was soon became known as Hillsboro College. It then moved to Springfield, IL in 1852 and operated at Illinois State University before moving to Carthage, IL in 1870. 

Campus buildings remain prominent in Carthage. Robert Morris College occupied the campus from 1965 until it moved to the Chicago area. 

You can visit the Carthage College History page to read more about the institution.

Finlandia University Prepares for 125th Anniversary

The Daily Mining Gazette of Houghton, MI posted "Finlandia plans 125th-anniversary celebration" on September 9, 2021 with reporting by Garrett Neese. 

The institution affiliated with the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded as Suomi College in 1896 in Hancock, MI. The name was changed to Finlandia University in 2000.

You can visit the 125th Anniversary web pages for upcoming events, a timeline of key institutional dates, and other resources.

Concordia College New York Announces Closure

 The Board of Regents of Concordia College New York posted an announcement this morning that the institution will close this fall.

A joint statement with Iona College is also posted indicating that  Iona will acquire Concordia’s Bronxville campus and provide continued education for Concordia’s students through a teach-out plan, enabling most students to continue their degrees to completion at Iona. 

In the joint statement Iona says that it plans to "...utilize the Concordia campus to develop a leading school of health sciences, furthering Iona’s strategic investments in the field, and continuing Concordia’s legacy of excellence in health sciences education."

Concordia College New York traces its founding to 1881 when classes started in St. Matthew's Lutheran Church New York City. The institution's first location was in Hawthorne, NY before land was purchased for present site in Bronxville, NY. Concordia is affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers, and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Ku Klux U: An Indiana University briefly considers KKK Control in 1923

Hoosier State Chronicles posted a fascinating article by Stephen J. Taylor on January 6, 2016, "Ku Klux U: How the Klan Almost Bought a University." 

Taylor explores a brief period in 1923 when Valparaiso University, facing seemingly insurmountable financial problems, entered into talks with Milt Elrod, editor of the KKK's The Fiery Cross newspaper. 

While the conversations didn't lead to any serious offer, they did cause quite a bit of concern with opposition to any deal reflected in a number of articles and editorials published in various newspapers. 

Taylor incorporates images of newspaper articles and advertisements into his writing and places them within a broader narrative explaining how the once promising institution of higher education was at a point of desperation where it seriously considered a possibility of KKK control.

JSTOR also offers an article online by Lance Trusty, All Talk and No "Kash": Valparaiso University and the Ku Klux Klan, from the Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 82, No. 1 (March 1986), pp. 1-36.

Visit the Valparaiso University web site for a timeline and more information on institutional history.

Several previous College History Garden posts provide more information on Valparaiso University history:

• Sunday, September 2, 2012  Valparaiso Male and Female College (IN)
• Tuesday, December 19, 2017  Campus Fires Shape Valparaiso University and Students Present Results of Archival Research
• Sunday, December 13, 2015  Campuses: Four Centuries of Changes and Challenges

St. John's College Alumni Gather Three Decades after Closure

The Wellington (KS) Daily News published an article on June 6, 2018 by Adam Catlin, "Thirty-two years after its closure, St. John's College still brings back its alumni."  St. John's College operated in Winfield, Kansas from 1893 to 1986 and Catlin reports on a recent successful gathering of St. John's alumni.  His article includes comments from a number of alumni he interviewed and also provides information on the institution and several historical images.

The city of Winfield maintains the campus as Baden Square and has successfully repurposed a number of the building for other community activities.  You can read an earlier College History Garden post from several years ago that includes links to a couple of alumni web sites.

Concordia College Alabama will Close

The Selma Times-Journal published this week that, "Concordia College Alabama to close at the end of spring semester."  Reporter Blake Deshazo visited with Dr. James Lyons, chief transition officer and interim president for the college, who had shared the news with faculty, staff, and students on Wednesday.  Concordia is a historically black Lutheran College with approximately 400 students.

Deshazo of The Times-Journal previously reported the institution was facing financial pressure on February 6, 2018 that "Concordia College in need of investors to remain open."

The institution was founded as Alabama Lutheran Academy & College in 1922.  Alabama Luther College graduated its first class of four women in 1926, but discontinued the college program for a time during the Depression and it was renamed Alabama Lutheran Academy.  College coursework was added back and the name changed to Alabama Lutheran Academy and College.   Then in 1981, the name was changed to Concordia College.

Concordia received accreditation as an associate-degree granting institution by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 1983. In 1994, SACS granted Concordia accreditation as a bachelor’s degree granting institution. Concordia continued to grow and in 2010 it acquired the property of the United Methodist Children’s Home, expanded the size of the campus from 22 acres to 57, as well as adding additional housing and historic buildings.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions.  Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Illinois State University: The founding, life, and demise of a small Midwestern College

I just finished reading Robert Allan Stevens' book, Saga of an Antebellum College: The Story of the Original Illinois State University, and can recommend it to those with an interest in the founding of denominational colleges during the 19th century.  The author expertly places ISU within the contexts of western expansion across the Midwest, Lutheran denominational interests, and the competition of other similar institutions in the state and region.

ISU's story is really the story of the founding of three institutions.  Hillsboro College operated in Hillsboro, IL from 1847-1852 and its closing coincided with a decision to found ISU as a Lutheran institution in a more promising location, the state's capitol in Springfield.  A variety of complex issues confronted ISU during its relatively brief existence and it closed in 1869 as attention turned to the founding of Carthage College in Carthage, IL.

Stevens' skills as a story teller are evident as he weaves the results of extensive research into an interesting narrative that underscores the importance of ISU.  Even though it enjoyed a relatively brief existence, a number of ISU students played important roles as adults.  Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, and John Hay, Lincoln's private secretary, biographer and later U.S. ambassador to England and Secretary of State, were ISU students.

Lists of trustees, students, graduates, and short bibliographic sketches are included as appendices, along with references and other sources.

Augsburg College will become Augsburg University

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on March 2, 2017 that Augsburg College will become a university with the beginning of the upcoming fall semester.

Augsburg was founded in 1869 in Marshall, Wisconsin and was the first seminary founded by Norwegian Lutherans in the United States.  It moved to Minneapolis three years later in 1872. 

The Augsburg web site offers a page devoted to the university name change that includes links to FAQs and other relevant information.

Augsburg enrolls 3,458 students with 2,474 in undergraduate programs.

Tarkio, Missouri and Blair, Nebraska...sharing a common bond after colleges close

"Tarkio and Dana: 2 closed colleges," reflects excellent reporting by Katie Rohman, Managing Editor of the Washington County Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise in Blair, Nebraska as she contrasts the situation facing her community with the closing of Dana College and that of Tarkio, Missouri, after Tarkio College closed in 1992.

Rohman traveled to Tarkio for interviews with alumni and supporters.  Her article includes extensive comments from Robert Hughes who is serving as president of Tarkio College and leads an effort to reopen the institution.

A Town Struggles to find Alternative Uses for Campus of a Closed College

Katie Rohman, managing editor of the Washington County Enterprise and Pilot Tribune has several interesting articles where she interviews various people involved with efforts to develop the campus of the former Dana College in Blair, Nebraska.  

Rohman and her papers certainly deserve commendation for their reporting over the past couple of years and their service to the community struggling to deal with the reality of their situation.  The latest articles,"Interest in Dana campus remains," and "Dana's developer speaks out," highlight the difficulties of marketing and maintaining a campus.

You can also review previous posts on the College History Garden since the July 2010 announcement that Dana would close:

• Midland University will no longer plan to use campus of former Dana College [from March 19, 2016]
• Midland University Considers Purchase of Dana College Property (NE) [from April 27, 2013]
• Dana College #3 and Dana College #2 [from July 13, 2010]
• Dana College [from July 1, 2010]

Midland University will no longer plan to use campus of former Dana College

Midland University announced this week that it no longer plans to develop the former campus of Dana College located in Blair, NE.  Dana College was affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and closed in 2010.  The KETV-7 report includes a brief video and the full text of Midland's announcement.

Katie Rohman's reporting for the Washington County Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise, "Midland won't reopen Dana campus" offers more details of Midland's efforts and those of the local Blair government to find alternative uses for the campus.  The article is accompanied by a short video of the campus and other photographs.

Trinity Lutheran College announces it will be Closing

Trinity Lutheran College in Everett, WA announced it will be closing at the end of the current academic year.  You can also read an article written by Chris Winters of the Everett Daily Herald.

Trinity was founded in 1944 as the Lutheran Bible Institute of Seattle, a branch of the Minneapolis-based Lutheran Bible Institute.  The initial campus was in downtown Seattle.  It then moved to the Greenwood area of north Seattle.  It relocated in 1979 to Issaquah on a campus formerly owned by Sisters of Providence.  The name was changed to Trinity Lutheran College in 1998 and the institution then moved in 2008 to Everett.  

Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD will become Augustana University

Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD announced on August 21, 2015 that it will become Augustana University on September 1, 2015.  Augustana is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA]. The institution has a fascinating history that dates from 1835 and the founding of Hillsboro Academy in Hillsboro, IL.  

Christy Olsen Field of the Norwegian American Weekly offered a brief historical sketch noting that Augustana College, "...traces its roots to the Hillsboro Academy in Hillsboro, Ill. in 1835. A Scandinavian Lutheran group changed the name in 1846 to “The Literary and Theological Institute of the Lutheran Church of the Far West.” The school later moved to Springfield, Ill., where it became known as Illinois State University...Due to doctrinal differences, Professor Lars Paul Esbjorn and a group of followers moved to Chicago in 1860 to establish the Augustana College and Seminary. In the 1860s, the fledgling college was caught up in the westward movement of pioneers, moving its location to Paxton, Ill. in 1863; Marshall, Wis. in 1869; Beloit, Iowa in 1881; and to Canton, S.D. in 1884...Meanwhile, the Lutheran Normal School for educating teachers opened in Sioux Falls, S.D., in 1889. In 1918, synod officials felt that two institutions so close together —approximately 20 miles— was not cost-effective, and therefore merged Augustana College in Canton with the Lutheran Normal School in Sioux Falls under the name Augustana College. After the merger, the school site in Canton became the Augustana Academy (no affiliation with the college), and closed in 1971. Augustana College identifies 1860 as its founding date along with its sister-school, Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. Those familiar with the two institutions, often refer to Augustana, Rock Island as the Swedish Lutheran school while Augustana in Sioux Falls is known as the Norwegian Lutheran school." 

Reflections on Lutheran Higher Education featured by The Pietist Schoolman

The Pietist Schoolman features a podcast July 30, 2015 with Dan Hanson offering a Lutheran perspective on higher education. Hanson reflects on the difference between a “college of the church” and a Christian college, explains why vocation and “faithful criticism” are central to Lutheran higher education, and looks into the future of theological education.

Five Alberta Institutions Gain University Status

Elise Stolte of the Edmonton Journal reports that five Alberta institutions received permission to call themselves universities.

Institution	Affiliation	Notes
Ambrose University Calgary, Alberta, Canada	Church of the Nazarene	Founded as Calgary Bible Institute in 1921
Canadian University Lacombe, Alberta, Canada	Seventh Day Adventist	Founded in 1907
Concordia University Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod	Founded in 1921
Kings University Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Christian	Founded in 1979
St. Mary’s University Calgary, Alberta, Canada	Catholic	Founded in 1986

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Lutheran Higher Education in North America

Lutheran Higher Education in North America was written by Richard W. Solberg.  The book was published in 1985 by Augsburg Publishing House.  Solberg pulled together a interesting book that involved the contributions of many other historians, archivists, librarians, and others representing colleges, seminaries, synods, and other church groups. 

A good review by William A. Kinnison was published in The Journal of Higher Education , Vol. 59, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb., 1988) , pp. 87-89 is available through JSTOR.

Midland University Considers Purchase of Dana College Property (NE)

An April 4, 2013 article by Leslie Reed of the Omaha World Herald indicates that Midland University of Fremont, NE extended an offer to purchase the campus of the former Dana College in Blair, NE.

An article by Brett Ellis in the April 6, 2013 Fremont Tribune also covered the possible purchase.  

There no longer appear to be plans for a possible reopening of the institution as the Renewable Nations Institute cited in a March 2012 post on this blog.

UPDATE, June 14, 2013

An article in the Fremont Tribune reports that Midland University announced it will be closing on the purchase of the former Dana College campus July 19, 2013. 

Valparaiso Male and Female College (IN)

A Porter County historical images page, part of the Indiana GenWeb Project, features over two dozen historical images of Valparaiso Male and Female College.  The institution was founded by the Methodist Church as the Valparaiso Male and Female College and operated between 1859 to 1871. The college was closed for approximately two years, reopening in 1873 as the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute. The name was changed to Valparaiso College in 1900 and it was rechartered in 1906 as Valparaiso University.  In 1925, the Lutheran University Association, an independent organization promoting higher education purchased the institution.

Marion College (VA)

New River Notes offers a brief history of Marion College by Goodridge Wilson, Jr., published by the Class of 1948 and the Alumnae Association for the Seventy- Fifth anniversary of the founding of the institution.  The college operated from 1873-1967 in Marion, VA.

Thomas W.West, the last president, also authored a history of Marion College that was published in 1970 just three years after the closing of the institution.  West's interesting account is detailed and appears to be an honest appraisal of the problems facing a two-year Lutheran institution in a small community.  The extensive appendices include lists of faculty, trustees, enrollment figures, and directory of former students.