Hillsdale College 
The information on this page was last updated 1/28/2026. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Hillsdale College is a small, Christian, classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan that operates independently of government funding. Our students represent each of the fifty states and more than a dozen foreign countries, and drawn to the challenge of a Hillsdale education, they grow in heart and mind by studying timeless truths in a supportive community dedicated to the highest things.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Hillsdale College
33 E College St.
Hillsdale, MI 49242
Website: hillsdale.edu
Phone: 517-437-7341
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 381374230
CEO/President: Larry P. Arnn
Chairman: Patrick L. Sajak
Board size: 36
Founder: Freewill Baptists
Ruling year: 1943
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: No
Member of ECFA since:
Purpose
Hillsdale College maintains its defense of the traditional liberal arts curriculum, convinced that it is the best preparation for meeting the challenges of modern life and that it offers to all people of all backgrounds not only an important body of knowledge, but also timeless truths about the human condition. The liberal arts are dedicated to stimulating students' intellectual curiosity, to encouraging the critical, well-disciplined mind, and to fostering personal growth through academic challenge. They are a window on the past and a gateway to the future.
The College values the merit of each unique individual, rather than succumbing to the dehumanizing, discriminatory trend of so-called "social justice" and "multicultural diversity," which judges individuals not as individuals, but as members of a group and which pits one group against other competing groups in divisive power struggles.
Mission statement
Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women "grateful to God for the inestimable blessings" resulting from civil and religious liberty and "believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings." It pursues the stated object of the founders: "to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary, scientific, [and] theological education" outstanding among American colleges "and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils." As a nonsectarian Christian institution, Hillsdale College maintains "by precept and example" the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.
The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.
By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy. By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations. By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.
Statement of faith
Hillsdale College is a Christian school with an earnest and vibrant spiritual life. The College has always welcomed anyone to study here regardless of their faith tradition. For that reason, we do not have an institutional statement of faith to which all students must submit, nor do we have a required chapel service.
Articles
Donor confidence score
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Transparency grade
D
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Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Colleges/Universities
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 1357 of 1366 | 154 of 154 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 1358 of 1366 | 154 of 154 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 1292 of 1366 | 146 of 154 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 1172 of 1367 | 143 of 154 |
To understand our financial efficiency ratings, click here.
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 14% | 30% | 27% | 20% | 18% | 19% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 2% | 20% | 21% | 15% | 12% | 12% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 16% | 68% | 79% | 74% | 70% | 64% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 2% | 30% | 28% | 25% | 24% | 20% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 84% | 32% | 21% | 26% | 30% | 36% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 59% | 62% | 66% | 65% | 68% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 97% | 69% | 77% | 59% | 52% | 60% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 82% | 41% | 48% | 38% | 34% | 41% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 3% | 31% | 23% | 41% | 48% | 40% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 3% | 7% | 5% | 10% | 12% | 10% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 14% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.52 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.14 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 2.77 | 3.14 | 2.78 | 2.60 | 2.43 | 3.15 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.43 | 0.42 | 0.37 | 0.32 | 0.27 | 0.44 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 8.22 | 16.20 | 19.24 | 21.49 | 22.75 | 15.47 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.12 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.06 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 7.08 | 27.10 | 30.85 | 35.26 | 42.16 | 25.38 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 21% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 17% | 9% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 10% | 10% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 2% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 157% | 644% | 639% | 678% | 736% | 651% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Cash | $97,523,681 | $126,147,711 | $89,806,812 | $101,671,187 | $51,410,520 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $151,877,867 | $156,920,251 | $140,452,770 | $130,948,619 | $105,757,774 |
| Short-term investments | $402,196,646 | $390,791,089 | $430,058,714 | $472,043,383 | $233,634,933 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $651,598,194 | $673,859,051 | $660,318,296 | $704,663,189 | $390,803,227 |
| Long-term investments | $1,068,110,864 | $915,798,986 | $797,952,766 | $751,913,134 | $516,240,865 |
| Fixed assets | $269,920,897 | $234,233,151 | $213,076,247 | $203,680,159 | $193,891,878 |
| Other long-term assets | $56,235,751 | $47,734,555 | $48,008,817 | $49,427,789 | $129,374,926 |
| Total long-term assets | $1,394,267,512 | $1,197,766,692 | $1,059,037,830 | $1,005,021,082 | $839,507,669 |
| Total assets | $2,045,865,706 | $1,871,625,743 | $1,719,356,126 | $1,709,684,271 | $1,230,310,896 |
| Liabilities | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $37,971,919 | $33,028,077 | $29,369,618 | $29,915,113 | $24,599,540 |
| Other current liabilities | $2,247,889 | $1,993,848 | $1,354,150 | $1,055,657 | $667,894 |
| Total current liabilities | $40,219,808 | $35,021,925 | $30,723,768 | $30,970,770 | $25,267,434 |
| Debt | $198,852,470 | $191,540,381 | $181,685,497 | $211,750,274 | $27,610,572 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $64,239,090 | $56,569,568 | $53,712,182 | $54,933,318 | $52,018,355 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $263,091,560 | $248,109,949 | $235,397,679 | $266,683,592 | $79,628,927 |
| Total liabilities | $303,311,368 | $283,131,874 | $266,121,447 | $297,654,362 | $104,896,361 |
| Net assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Without donor restrictions | $314,948,294 | $241,977,900 | $208,181,902 | $166,157,005 | $129,325,408 |
| With donor restrictions | $1,427,606,044 | $1,346,515,969 | $1,245,052,777 | $1,245,872,904 | $996,089,127 |
| Net assets | $1,742,554,338 | $1,588,493,869 | $1,453,234,679 | $1,412,029,909 | $1,125,414,535 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Total contributions | $268,471,774 | $253,577,837 | $271,985,519 | $256,292,905 | $184,464,315 |
| Program service revenue | $77,413,719 | $68,416,955 | $63,352,203 | $60,056,200 | $56,164,820 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $40,261,198 | ($7,386,506) | $29,582,672 | $51,244,542 | $38,170,593 |
| Other revenue | $8,006,346 | $6,176,536 | $1,293,251 | $403,036 | $8,623,121 |
| Total other revenue | $125,681,263 | $67,206,985 | $94,228,126 | $111,703,778 | $102,958,534 |
| Total revenue | $394,153,037 | $320,784,822 | $366,213,645 | $367,996,683 | $287,422,849 |
| Expenses | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Program services | $160,914,768 | $152,925,134 | $140,506,329 | $123,911,532 | $116,942,292 |
| Management and general | $29,375,462 | $26,894,895 | $20,472,288 | $22,281,409 | $21,073,790 |
| Fundraising | $80,431,201 | $68,707,162 | $53,287,092 | $45,574,456 | $34,792,498 |
| Total expenses | $270,721,431 | $248,527,191 | $214,265,709 | $191,767,397 | $172,808,580 |
| Change in net assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $123,431,606 | $72,257,631 | $151,947,936 | $176,229,286 | $114,614,269 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $123,431,606 | $72,257,631 | $151,947,936 | $176,229,286 | $114,614,269 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Larry P Arnn | President | $1,291,057 |
| John Cervini | VP For Inst. Advancement | $612,650 |
| Robert Norton | VP & General Counsel | $437,509 |
| Matthew Spalding | VP For Dc Ops & Dean of Vasog | $430,015 |
| Christopher van Orman | Provost | $398,323 |
| Richard P Pewe | VP of Admin. Affairs & Secretary | $379,573 |
| Matt Schlientz | Associate VP of Programs | $359,388 |
| Doug Banbury | VP For Admissions & Bus Development | $356,935 |
| Bill Gray | VP of Marketing | $353,865 |
| Judy Duke | Consultant For Major Gifts | $344,860 |
| David Whalen | Associate VP For Curriculum | $332,784 |
| Patrick H Flannery | VP For Finance & Treasurer | $316,453 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2024
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 1/28/2026. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
Hillsdale College was founded as Michigan Central College in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in 1844. Nine years later it moved to Hillsdale and assumed its current name. As stated in its Articles of Association, the College undertakes its work "grateful to God for the inestimable blessings resulting from the prevalence of civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety in the land, and believing that the diffusion of sound learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings."
Though established by Freewill Baptists, Hillsdale has been officially non-denominational since its inception. It was the first American college to prohibit in its charter any discrimination based on race, religion, or sex, and became an early force for the abolition of slavery. It was also the second college in the nation to grant four-year liberal arts degrees to women.
Professor and preacher Ransom Dunn, who would serve Hillsdale College for half a century, raised money to construct the new hilltop campus in the early 1850s by riding 6,000 miles on horseback on the Wisconsin and Minnesota frontier. It was largely through Dunn's efforts that Hillsdale would survive while over 80 percent of colleges founded before the Civil War would not.
A higher percentage of Hillsdale students enlisted during the Civil War than from any other western college. Of the more than 400 who fought for the Union, four earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, three became generals, and many more served as regimental commanders. Sixty gave their lives.
Because of the College's anti-slavery reputation and its role in founding the new Republican party (Professor Edmund Fairfield was a leader at the first convention), many notable speakers visited its campus during the Civil War era, including Frederick Douglass and Edward Everett, who preceded Lincoln at Gettysburg.
Hillsdale's modern rise to prominence occurred in the 1970s. On the pretext that some of its students were receiving federal loans, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare attempted to interfere with the College's internal affairs, including a demand that Hillsdale begin counting its students by race. Hillsdale's trustees responded with two toughly worded resolutions: One, the College would continue its policy of non-discrimination. Two, "with the help of God," it would "resist, by all legal means, any encroachments on its independence."
Following almost a decade of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court decided against Hillsdale in 1984. By this time, the College had announced that rather than complying with unconstitutional federal regulation, it would instruct its students that they could no longer bring federal taxpayer money to Hillsdale. Instead, the College would replace that aid with private contributions.
Hillsdale continues to carry out its original mission today, both in the classroom and nationwide, through its many outreach programs, including its monthly speech digest, Imprimis. A prayer written in the Bible that was placed inside the 1853 cornerstone of Central Hall reflects its continuing commitment: "May earth be better and heaven be richer because of the life and labor of Hillsdale College."