Northwood University

Northwood University opened as Northwood Institute in 1959 by Arthur E. Turner and R. Gary Stauffer. One hundred students enrolled at the new school, which was initially located in a 19th-century mansion in Alma, Michigan . Northwood Institute moved to Midland, Michigan, in 1961. [ 5 ] The Jesuits operated a seminary known as "West Baden College" at the former West Baden Springs Hotel , in Orange County, Indiana , from 1934 until June 1964, when declining enrollment forced the closure of the facility. They sold the property to a Michigan couple, who in turn donated it to Northwood Institute, which operated a satellite campus of their business management school, "Northwood University-West Baden", under the dome on the property from 1966 until 1983, when it was closed. [ 6 ] During the same time frame during which the Indiana campus was opened, a Northwood facility was also established in Texas. In 1982, David E. Fry became president of the school. The Florida residential campus was added and the academic curricula was expanded. The school was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission . [ 7 ] In 1993, the name was changed from Northwood Institute to Northwood University and The DeVos Graduate School of Management was created. A joint program with the Hotel Institute Montreux was established in 2001 to combine Swiss hospitality traditions with American management practices. The school, located in Montreux, Switzerland was Northwood University's first international venture. University College program centers were expanded for a total of 40 locations in eight states and program centers were begun in Bahrain, China, Sri Lanka, and Switzerland. In October 2007, Keith A. Pretty was named Northwood's third President and CEO. Kent MacDonald became president in 2019. [ 2 ] In 2014, Northwood announced that it would close its residential operations at its Texas location, while continuing to expand its adult degree program and graduate program there.

[ 8 ] A year later in 2015, the university sold its Florida location to Keiser University . [ 9 ] Since 2019, Northwood has expanded its online offerings, launched new industry-aligned business programs, and increased access to adult and professional learners through degree-completion pathways and graduate business education. [ 10 ]

Northwood University has appeared in national and state business-school evaluations. In 2024, the university was included in the rankings of top undergraduate business schools in Michigan and in lists highlighting programs in management, entrepreneurship, and online business education. [ 11 ]

Midland's Church Family Administration building Northwood University focuses on business and management education at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Academic offerings include bachelor’s degree programs in areas such as business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, management, and automotive marketing and management. The DeVos Graduate School of Management oversees Northwood’s graduate and professional programs, including the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). Graduate curricula emphasize applied leadership, analytical decision-making, and industry-relevant business practice. Northwood also operates online and hybrid programs for working professionals and degree-completion students. These include online business degree options at the bachelor's and master's levels, as well as accelerated pathways designed for learners with prior college credit or professional experience, including by online learning. [ 12 ] Online and professional programs Northwood offers a range of online programs designed for working adults, transfer students, and military learners. These include fully online bachelor’s degrees in business disciplines, online MBA pathways, and degree-completion programs for students with previously earned college credits. Courses are structured around applied learning, professional experience, and market-based problem-solving.