NEWS Our institution has enjoyed tremendous success in fundraising recently, and we are seeing the largest incoming class of freshmen and transfers in years. Tom’s leadership capabilities will quickly prove to be a tremendous asset to the continued development of the College.”
Martin named Chair of Northland Board Noted conservationist and environmental advocate Thomas D. Martin has been named Chair of the Northland College Board of Trustees. Martin, well known for his decades of conservation leadership, including senior positions at the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Audubon Society, was elected by the Board of Trustees in May to succeed outgoing Chair and Northland alumnus John N. Allen. Martin assumed his duties on July 1. Allen continues his service as a member of the Board. “I am pleased to extend my congratulations to Tom,” said outgoing Chairman John N. Allen. “His extensive and impressive experience in conservation, advocacy and education aligns seamlessly with Northland’s sustainability mission.
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Community gardens flourish at Northland Incoming students get their first taste of life at Northland College when they arrive for their fourteenor five-day orientation trips, and this year that “first taste” included food grown by their fellow students. Each outgoing trip received fresh herbs and vegetables from the campus gardens.
Martin joined the Board of Trustees in 2008. He is President and CEO of the American Forest Foundation and manages nearly 200 acres of mixed hardwoods on family land in Wisconsin. A tireless champion of conservation, Martin has served as the Executive Vice President of the National Parks Conservation Association as well as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Audubon Society. In addition to his work in the private sector, Martin has long been a public ally of conservation efforts, serving as the Chair of the Great Lakes Commission, on the Governor’s Commission on a Sustainable Florida, and as Vice President of the Council of Great Lakes Governors. Martin holds a B.S. from The American University, Washington, D.C., a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, and was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1979. “For young people interested in preparing themselves for jobs in the new green economy, there is no better place than Northland,” said Martin. “It’s an honor to be of service to such a widely respected institution.”
“We try to show incoming students about what the food should look like when it’s ready to pick, and they ask a lot of questions,” says Emily Schlager (at left), student coordinator of Northland’s community gardens. Students oversee two community gardens on campus. The school also leases additional land from the Agriculture and Energy Resource Center (AERC) in Ashland where students grow vegetables such as cucumbers, kale, and onions. Food produced at the AERC is then harvested for use in the outdoor orientation trips, as well as the campus cafeteria.
Northland receives Platinum STARS rating Northland College was one of two schools in the nation to receive the highest score for sustainable education and research, according to data from the Association for the Advancement
of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Northland College is among more than a hundred top schools nationwide that have completed AASHE’s self-reporting rating system. The association ranks Northland ahead of other notable institutions, such as Yale University, in its sustainability performance. Northland received a Platinum
STARS score in the association’s education and research category for its accomplishments in areas such as sustainabilityrelated courses, organic gardens, wilderness programs, and faculty engaged in sustainability research. To date, Green Mountain College in Vermont is the only other school to receive a Platinum STARS score in educa-
tion and research. STARS stands for Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System, which AASHE developed to provide a transparent framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. Northland College received a Gold STARS rating for the institution as a whole. WINTER 2012 6