Dana College in Blair, Neb., former home to over 500 students, closed on June 30. The Lutheran college had been open for 126 years and was a central hub for Blair.
The closing of Dana College has left many college students in the dark and numerous faculty members out of a job.
“We’ve had companies who located here because of our college,” Mayor Jim Realph said.
It was determined that the college would be closing after the HLC, Dana’s accrediting body, decided that it would not reaccredit the college. Earlier in the year, Dana had plans to be bought out by an out-of-state investment company. This move would have transitioned Dana from a non-profit college to a for-profit one.
The HLC didn’t support this change and denied reaccreditation, motioning that the outside investment group did not have the experience, outlook and principles needed to run Dana. It was feared the corporation and Dana would no longer be able to maintain Dana’s original mission as a non-profit Lutheran college.
The closing of Dana left over 500 students without a place to go, many of whom had loans and scholarships through Dana. However, other universities in the area reached out to help, including Grandview, Midland Lutheran College and the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
UNO has made some specific concessions of its own to help transfer students from Dana to UNO.
Director of new student enrollment services, David Cicotello, said all Dana transfer students who apply to UNO will have their application fee waived. He also said UNO is honoring the equivalent of Pell grant and/or student loan awards received by Dana students.
Furthermore, UNO is offering the Maverick advantage and UNO advantage programs on a case-by-case basis. Both of these programs work to reduce the cost of tuition for non-resident Dana students. A page has even been set up on UNO’s website for Dana transfer students at unomaha.edu/dana/.
While the closing of Dana College has been tough for many, there have also been a large number of people willing to help. Some good things have come from this tragic event.
For example, with the closing of Dana College, UNO has received Dana’s bird collection. This collection will aid UNO’s biology department and provide new instruments for teaching in the classroom.
“Dana’s bird collection will be used in our animal biology courses,” said William Tapprich, chair of the biology department.
Tapprich went on to say that the birds will be incorporated into teaching and will specifically aid students learning about the anatomy and physiology of animals. He also said the birds will become a part of the biology department’s collection in the animal museum in Allwine Hall.
Dana College was a home to many students and faculty. The closing of the college was a definite shock. Earlier this past year, a large part of the student body thought that Dana would see improvements, as the outside company buying the non-profit college promised.
A lot has changed as a result of Dana closing. Families have moved and faculty is now unemployed. But an outpouring of assistance from universities around Nebraska and Iowa has helped to house those left out by Dana.