Introducing Our Newest Board Members

Universalist Fellowship and religion and philosophy professor, Charlie Krysinski ’16, in consultation with emeritus faculty member and former campus minister David Saetre.

For many years, David’s leadership of Baccalaureate created a truly special event for graduates and our community. And after his retirement, Stacy carried on the tradition with grace and passion. Professor Krysinki’s experience working with both David and Stacy, along with his current role as a conduit to the student body, is a perfect complement to the Baccalaureate Ceremony. With their combined experience, this year’s iteration of the Baccalaureate program promises to be both meaningful and memorable.

The ceremony will be held the Friday before Commencement

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Beth is a James Beard

Award-winning food writer who has authored and co-authored over a dozen books celebrating the bounty of America’s Northern Heartland. She is passionate about our region’s cuisine and guides local food trips for Wilderness Inquiry via Taste of the Apostles.

Ashland, Wisconsin

Blake returned to Ashland in 2018 to practice law in his own firm after beginning his legal career as a partner in one of the nation’s largest law firms. He is an accomplished litigator and counselor representing clients in both civil litigation and criminal cases.

Ashland, Wisconsin

Dylan is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Ashland. He serves on the Bay Area Civic Center Board, is president of the local chapter of the Elks, and leads workshops on financial literacy. He is an outdoorsman who loves the hunting, fishing, and recreation opportunities in the north woods.

Ashland, Wisconsin at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, which is conveniently located next to Fenenga Hall on the north side of campus. This venue allows accessibility to campus for everyone and will make for a seamless transition to the celebratory Champagne Toast gathering on the Campus Mall. Following the Ceremony, graduates and their families and friends are invited to the Champagne Toast to raise a glass in honor of their achievements.

Preston is the owner and general manager of Ashland Ford Chrysler. He is a member of both the Advisory Committee for Gogebic Community College’s Automotive Program and Bayfield County’s Business Park Planning Committee. He moved to the bay area in 2007 with the goal to make a positive impact on the community.

As part of Baccalaureate, graduates will participate in a procession across a bridge over Bay City Creek. The procession mirrors the path the graduates took during Convocation their first year at Northland—crossing over Bay City Creek, which feeds into Lake Superior less than a mile from campus. As they walk over the bridge, each graduate will hold their Lake Superior Stone, a traditional token collected from the shore of the great lake, that each first-year student inscribes prior to taking their first walk together during the inaugural procession. Like Baccalaureate, the Lake Superior Stones represent what has been learned and what has yet to be learned; the deep values that will become the touchstones for life; the memories you have made; and the place that will always welcome you back as home and harbor.

During Baccalaureate and Commencement, the Class of 2023 will reflect on their time at Northland—the challenges they faced and the successes they achieved, the friends they made and the professors who inspired them, the path behind them and the road ahead. This talented and diverse group of individuals are ready to make their mark on the world. And as graduates of Northland College, they’re prepared to make a difference.

Congratulations, Class of 2023! We are so proud of you!

Creating Vibrant Communities

Congratulations to Professor Nicole Foster who recently published a study in Urban Planning titled “From Urban Consumption to Production: Rethinking the Role of Festivals in Urban Development Through Co-Creation.” Community planning is just one of the subjects students study in Northland’s sustainable community development major, which focuses on all the different systems—cultural, social, economic, natural, built environment, transportation—and how these systems create vibrant communities. Through research and applied projects, students learn how to reassemble or redesign community systems to create more sustainable outcomes. “So many community programs focus just on the economic aspect,” says Nicole, “but community is so much more than economic vitality. Cultural programs like festivals, are about creating transformative, joyful experiences for people who live there.”

Ode to a Northwoods Winter

They say, “Know your audience” and “Write what you know.” As a former children’s performer with a bachelor of science in elementary education, Jeff Lang ’05 knows kids. And after spending four years at Northland, he’s no stranger to the magic of a Northwoods winter. It follows, then, that the Northlander has written a children’s book about his love of winter in the Northwoods. Published in fall 2022, Lang’s book, Winter Solitude (Orange Hat Publishing), is about “what winter in an isolated woods feels like when you’re a kid,” he says: “Time stops, everything is alive and you’re surrounded and alone at the same time.”

Inspired by a photo of a giant bull moose standing next to the Northland College Rock, the book is a lovely ode to the Northwoods and a testament to the impression it leaves on those of us lucky enough to know its charms.

Jeff Lang is currently a union rep for the Arizona Education Association in Phoenix, where winter temperatures rarely dip below a balmy forty-five degrees fahrenheit. His fondest Northland winter memories include snowboarding to County Market, sledding down Mount Ashwabay, and snow days spent with his friends.

Calling the Shots

Northland alum Kevin Haas

’15 knows how to call the shots. Literally. He’s so good he now has a championship title to show for it! Haas was recently named National Broadcaster Champion by D3HockeyNews for his work calling both LumberJacks and LumberJills hockey games. “To me it’s a huge honor that is mind-boggling,” he said. “I do this for fun and for my love of Northland and the community, so seeing this recognition means a lot. I think it means a lot to the Northland community, too. I might be the voice on the microphone, but this is all about the community, the fans, the teams, and the other people involved in making the broadcasts happen.”

Slimy Goo

Professor Nick Robertson and three of his chemistry students—Rachel Fine ’24, Phoebe Cahill ’24, and Mary Johnson ’23—recently published articles in Chemical and Engineering News magazine (“Chemistry in Pictures: Slimy Yet Sustainable”) and on the front page of the Ashland Daily Press (“Slimy Green Goo”). Both articles featured research on the development of new polymers that can pull metals out of water. “I came to Northland specifically to study with Professor Robertson because of his innovative work in the field of sustainable polymers,” said Johnson, who’s set to attend graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley next fall, aiming for a PhD in chemistry.

The Perils of Plastic

In honor of World Water Day, and in service to its goal of improving water literacy, Northland’s Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation hosted a lecture by leading researcher Dr. Sherri Mason. The presentation titled “The Perils of Plastic” provided an overview of plastic’s proliferation in our society and its emergence as one of the most prominent environmental pollutants. “It was shocking to learn that pollution occurs in every step of the process of making plastic until it’s disposed of in a landfill,” said Elsie Dickover ’25. “While plastic may seem like a temporary blip in our normal lives, it is very much a permanent problem.”

Eighty people attended the event, which was free and open to the public.

Stand and Deliver

Alexandria Espinoza ’23 was selected to present a poster at the American Psychology Law Society’s (APLS) annual conference in March. “The experience of presenting my poster helped me have more confidence in my ability to stand behind my work and engage with others in discussion,” said the senior psychology major, who credits her professors for shepherding her on her journey from shy Texas freshman to a soon-to-be officer in the Marine Corps. “My professors made it easy for me to excel in academics because they were always so accessible,” she said. “Whenever I had a question or a problem, they were always there.”

Climate Science Close-up

Northland College will be featured in the short documentary series, Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid. Northland was selected to be a part of the award-winning series because of its focus on environmental liberal arts education and its climate science program. The Viewpoint film crew interviewed former President Karl Solibakke, biology and water science–water chemistry student, Elisabeth Westgard ’24, and, and Professor Meghan Salmon-Tumas about Northland’s hands-on, experiential opportunities to learn in a living laboratory and its commitment to creating a more sustainable future.

“It was really exciting to be involved in making the Viewpoint segment,” said Meghan, who prepared for the filming by writing pages and pages of notes.

“I think the final video accomplishes a lot in its short time. It arcs from broad environmental concerns related to climate change, through sustainability and humans’ role in finding solutions, to Elisabeth’s inspiring example of applied research. Given its short running time and the need to keep it broad enough to be relevant to people everywhere, I think it came out very well.”

The video, which will be airing on public television over the next year, is also available online at northland.edu/viewpoint.