NORTHWOOD INSTITUTE
by
Bill Patterson
Northwood Institute opened an Indiana campus at the hotel to begin its first academic year in the fall of 1967. Mr. and Mrs. Macauley Whiting of Midland, Michigan, donated the facilities to the school. When the Whitings saw a folder, advertising the sale of the building, they immediately set into motion plans to purchase the property. Two years after the Jesuits moved to Illinois, the grounds and buildings were sold at an auction for an undisclosed amount to the Whitings on November 2, 1966.
Converting the building from a Jesuit Seminary to a modern private college proved to be a major undertaking. Painting and remodeling transformed the personality of a seminary to that of a co-educational college. Each room was redecorated, while dormitory showers and bath facilities were installed on the second and third floors. The use of "barrier doors" separated the dorms of the men and women students on those two floors. Classrooms were no problem though since the Jesuits had renovated the old garage into a classroom building and also divided the ballroom over the dining room into an auditorium and two classrooms.
For sixteen years Northwood Institute occupied the hotel. Career training with degrees was offered in the following areas: advertising, arts and science, automotive marketing, business, management, general teacher education, hotel and restaurant management, and the performing arts.
The former hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. A restoration committee was also named in 1972, but as the expenses continued to mount due to the aging of the building, plans to continue using the hotel became doubtful.
On October 12, 1982, Dr. David E. Fry, president of Northwood Institute, announced that with the completion of the 1982-1983 academic year the West Baden Campus would be closed.
REFERENCES
Bundy, Chris. West Baden Springs: Legacy of Dreams, 505 Main Street, Salem, IN 47167.
Gatsos, Gregory S. History of West Baden Springs Hotel, Paoli, IN: Printing Perfection, Inc., 1998.