Dana College

Dana College was rooted in Trinity Seminary, the first Danish Lutheran seminary in the United States, and established in 1884. Its graduates fanned out across the nation to serve Danish immigrant communities, and across the globe as missionaries. In 1886 the first campus building was completed, serving as both living quarters and classrooms for students. For over 100 years that original building stood as the center of the campus. Two years after Trinity's founding, additional college-level courses were offered, leading to the birth of Dana College.

The name Dana is a poetic reference to Denmark, homeland of the immigrants who founded the college. The institutions worked together until Trinity ultimately merged with Wartburg Seminary in Iowa. Dana served as a four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the Lutheran Church for over 125 years. At its peak, Dana College enrolled over 1,000 students from across the United States and across the globe. Its rich academic and cultural heritage made a significant impact on the region, yet fiscal challenges at the turn of the 21st Century led to its closing in 2010.