was consolidated with Trinity Seminary in Blair, Nebraska. When the Dana School was founded, part of its purpose was to be a pre-seminary school for those preparing for ministry in the Lutheran church. Many of Dana's early graduates went on to study at Trinity Seminary. For many years, Dana and Trinity shared faculty, administrators, staff, and presidents. This relationship ended in 1956 when Trinity Seminary merged with Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. The Dana School was begun as preparatory school. By the early 1910s - in cooperation with the University of Nebraska - the Dana School was awarding associate degrees. In the 1930s Dana College became an accredited four-year school and began awarding bachelor's degrees. Closure The institution faced significant, on-going financial challenges in the 2000s. Dana College reported that its deficit rose from $7,170,000 USD in 2005 to more than $12,550,000 USD in 2009. The Dana College Board of Regents attempted to convince major donors to make contributions to the college. Yet Dana College was unable to attract the donations to erase the deficit and fund on-going operations. This lack of financial support for the institution was because of two major problems: The global financial crisis which resulted in the Great Recession of 2008 meant that several prospective donors were unable and/or unwilling to contribute, coupled with a lack of a "big grand vision for what Dana could become", according to one Regent who served during that period. In 2010, the Dana College Board of Regents made a decision to structure an agreement to sell Dana College to an investment group, Dana Education Corporation. The investment group proposed to transform Dana into a for-profit institution with a focus on "doubling enrollment, aggressively marketing the school and building Dana's study abroad program." However, this proposed change of control was not accepted by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The sale of Dana College to the investment group collapsed. On June 30, 2010, the Dana College Board of Regents elected to cease operations, citing a multimillion-dollar deficit. On July 14, 2010, the Dana College Board of Regents wrote in a letter to alumni and supporters "We are firm in our belief that politics, not substance and reason, drove the ultimate decision." Attempts made by students, faculty, staff, alumni and other supporters of Dana College to influence the Higher Learning Commission to reverse its