April 22, 2015

NIU a Gift? Thanks, but No Thanks!

"Uhh, on second thought, no thanks."
Previously, I shared the report that the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) would be receiving the former Northland Baptist Bible College as a "gift" from NIU president Daniel Patz.1  Well, after fully unwrapping the "gift" the SBTS contacted Mr. Patz. Yesterday, NIU received the "Thanks, but no thanks" letter.

Dear Northland Family—

On Tuesday, April 21, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary informed the board and administration of Northland International University of its decision not to accept the gift of the Northland campus as they previously announced last October. Therefore, Southern will not open a branch campus of Boyce College or continue management of the camping program. With nearly two weeks until commencement, the Northland board is working to develop an appropriate response to this change of plans. The leadership of Northland is committed to doing everything possible to serve the faculty, staff, and students as we evaluate and adjust our plans for the future.

Despite challenges and changes over the past two years, God has continued to care for and use this ministry to glorify his name by equipping students, staff, campers, and many others for Great Commission living. Northland’s leadership remains steadfast in its commitment to that vision and is appreciative of the relationships developed with Southern and Boyce over the past year in support of that vision. At this time, the Northland board of trustees and administration continue to evaluate all available options and appreciate prayers as they seek to glorify God and trust him for his leading in the days to come.

We understand that you may have questions and concerns. We will be sending you more information very soon.


Daniel Patz
NIU President

Because of Matt Olson's we are "unchanged" strategy NIU alienated its base, consequently blew through the entirety of its cash reserves, and was/is carrying some heavy debts. Why would the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) accept a "gift," that would saddle them (SBTS) with a cash poor, in-debt school with essentially no hope of recovery?

Among the options Mr. Patz and the NIU board are evaluating, surely closure is chief among them. There will be no recovery of what was lost, what was squandered because of Matt Olson's grand vision to remake Northland.

So, who will Mr. Patz and the NIU board reach out to now to buy or accept NIU as a "gift?" The Mormon Church, Rick Warren, KOA? Whether NIU closes or changes hands the once vibrant Northland Baptist Bible College, with a cause for Christ and His holiness, remains a stark image of what happens when leadership compromises biblical principles, its heritage and policies. A reminder of the result of Northland's leadership betraying its base, alumni, supporting churches, pastors and families.


LM

1) Northland Joins Southern Seminary: Culmination of a Modern Day Tragedy

UPDATE: Al Mohler explaines why the SBTS/NIU deal fell through.  Summarizing here:
When the plan was first announced, we all thought that there was a realistic hope of achieving a business plan that would work…In more recent days, we realized that we were unable to achieve a plan that we felt had a reasonable expectation of success. Several factors played a role in this realization. First, it became apparent that no financial model we could establish for a Northland campus of Boyce College could sustain the academic program…. Second…we came to the conclusion that we could not accept students into a program of studies that we did not believe had an adequate chance of thriving and continuing over the course of their studies. Third, we faced the moral reality that, once we knew these facts to be the case, we had to act.  
For Dr. Mohler’s complete statement see, Statement by R. Albert Mohler Jr. on Northland Matter
Site Publisher Notice:
Dr. Dana Everson, former NIU faculty of over 12 years, is contributing an article on the failed NIU experiment.  I heartily recommend his new article, May the "Northland Heart" Perpetuate.  Given Dr. Everson's personal, first hand experience on the NIU faculty prior to and during the initial years of "change," his insights will prove to be a valuable read.

18 comments:

  1. The first question asked by any prospective client, why did Southern decline the gift? This may very well be the last nail to the coffin.

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    1. Yes, that will be the first question. I believe I can confidently say that the "gift" of NIU comes with a large unpaid debt to numerous creditors, utilities likely being the largest. Not much of a "gift."

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  2. I believe the main contributing factor was that the quota of students signed on for the fall semester was not met

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    1. One among others. The enrollment, new and returning students had been falling off sharply once the direction Matt Olson had set for NIU became clear. That was 2011, imo.

      A pastor I've known for many years emailed to me this morning his general opinion, which I am sharing with my readers here. He wrote,

      "Big box education is a dinosaur. The cost of infrastructure to maintain 'Old Main,' is enormous. There are campuses for sale all over America. Those who cannot stay true to their constituency will find themselves quickly in default as their "assets" prove quickly to be liabilities."

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    2. From a reliable source, earlier today, I learned that the new enrollment figure for the Fall semester was 11.

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  3. Site Publisher Notice:
    Dr. Dana Everson, former NIU faculty of 11 years, is contributing an article on the failed NIU experiment. His article, May the "Northland Heart" Perpetuate, will appear here on Monday, April 27. Given Dr. Everson's personal, first hand experience on the NIU faculty prior to and during the initial years of "change," his insights will prove to be a valuable read.

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  4. I am deeply saddened to read of Northland's continue demise, yet, not in sympathy with the cavalier decisions that brought them to this place through their recent history.
    On another note...perhaps a statement behind why the change of SBC direction on receiving the Northland campus would be...a reflection on the seeming duplicity of SBC intention via Al Mohler and Boyceville/SBC Board and Seminary Board in light of their exuberant public "receiving" the gift earlier. It is hard for one to think they would not have been more aware of any liabilities accompanying the "gift". Not much positive can be said of such a public debacle on the part of such an influential body. This does not lend positive credibility to this type of decision making in SBC leadership. Just a thought.

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    1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think there is little chance we'll hear any specific from Mohler, SBTS or the SBC.

      As for "Northland's continued demise," imo very soon after the May graduation Patz will announce the school's closure.

      For several years I have felt, believed and suggested that, try as they might, NIU wouldn't survive Matt Olson's failed experiment.

      Very sad that a thriving, dynamic ministry that launched so many into service for Christ, whether in a ministry or any occupation, has been ruined.

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  5. Is it possible that the SBTS board of trustees came to the realization that closing the campus was the best way forward? Its certainly the case that they went into receiving the gift with the intent of somehow making the campus viable.

    And instead of closing the doors on its own, SBTS opted to do a rather strange 'giving back the given gift' to allow Northland to either try a different route or ultimately make the decision to close for itself.

    My guess is that those upset and wanting transparency and details would probably be more upset if all those details were aired in public.

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    1. There may be a number of plausible explanations for how/why the "gift" deal unraveled. In any event, I believe the school and camp ministry is weeks if not days away from a closing announcement.

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  6. To be clear, the decline in enrollment began long before Olson's days.

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    1. Long before?” Even without the hard numbers in front of me, I would say that the enrollment was primarily growing and/or neutral long before Olson arrived. What is irrefutably clear is that because of Matt Olson’s intentions to remake Northland the enrollment took a meteoric fall in a few short years. The legacy of Matt Olson is the destruction of the former Northland Baptist Bible College.

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  7. My son is a senior this year at NIU. I can tell you the enrollment is way down from when her first started. At least more than 50% off. It's sad because my son got saved at Northland and whether you agree or not with the leadership's direction the Gospel was still front and center. As I have evidenced through my son's own growth.

    As a parent, the money my wife and I paid in tuition over the past four years has paid dividends. Do we like the direction the college was headed? No we didn't but my son still wanted to finish what he started. He will graduate debt free and is ready to impact the world for Christ. He had the opportunity to develop close friendships with some extremely Godly people and you can't put a price tag on that.

    That's my two cents as a parent of a current student. This is my one and only post to this forum. I'm sorry that it appears evident the school was closed.

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    1. A delight to read of the Lord's blessings in your family.

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    2. Dana Everson4/24/2015 12:59 PM

      It is very good to hear of your son's growth in the Lord. Hopefully, he will take this and be powerfully effective in service to Him. You must be experiencing several conflicting emotions right now. I hope the Lord will use him in great ways!

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  8. UPDATE: (4/24/15 @ 12:10pm)
    It is presumed that NIU president Daniel Patz was going to make an important announcement in today's chapel. That announcement, that Daniel Patz was going to speak, appeared to have been removed from the NIU site. During live chapel time a phone call was placed to NIU's main switchboard, there was no answer. Was every NIU student and staff in chapel for an announcement? If NIU's closure was announced maybe they did not want to show the emotions that would likely follow such an announcement. Maybe the compete chapel video will be available for viewing later. Maybe an open letter will appear at the NIU site. Details to follow as they are learned and confirmed.

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  9. Al Mohler explaines why the SBTS/NIU deal fell through. Summarizing here:

    When the plan was first announced, we all thought that there was a realistic hope of achieving a business plan that would work…In more recent days, we realized that we were unable to achieve a plan that we felt had a reasonable expectation of success.

    Several factors played a role in this realization. First, it became apparent that no financial model we could establish for a Northland campus of Boyce College could sustain the academic program…. Second…we came to the conclusion that we could not accept students into a program of studies that we did not believe had an adequate chance of thriving and continuing over the course of their studies. Third, we faced the moral reality that, once we knew these facts to be the case, we had to act.

    For Dr. Mohler’s compete statement see, Statement by R. Albert Mohler Jr. on Northland Matter

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  10. Prediction: The decision to close will be announced after graduation

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