Norse Phonathon, Northern Kentucky University’s call center, operated by the Office of Annual Giving, will be closing its doors at the end of April and not reopening.
In a statement to The Northerner, NKU Chief Communications Officer Corey Best said:
“The university is in the process of transitioning away from the current phonathon model, and our contract with Ruffalo Noel Levitz will not be renewed. Calling will continue through the end of April. This change reflects broader shifts in engagement trends. Fewer individuals are responding to phone outreach, and contact rates have declined over time. As a result, we are moving toward a more relationship-based engagement model.
We are developing an Engagement Center that will take a more integrated approach to outreach, including phone, text, video and email, with an emphasis on personalized, one-to-one engagement. Planning is still underway, but position descriptions are expected to be posted at the beginning of the fall semester.
As part of this transition, the operation will be scaled differently, and there will be fewer student positions than in the current phonathon model. Students will have the opportunity to apply for roles in the new Engagement Center as those positions become available.”
Ruffalo Noel Levitz is a leading provider of enrollment, retention and fundraising technologies for universities, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In October 2025, RNL was acquired by Austin, Texas-based research and technology organization Encoura. Encoura was acquired by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Nexus Capital Management in 2024. Nexus Capital manages a wide portfolio, dealing in industries from aerospace and defence, consumer beauty and food products, construction/building products and education, through entities like Encoura.
While “Norse Phonathon,” as a fundraising entity, has existed in different forms for decades, the current call center format has been obtaining services from RNL since 2011.
The Norse Phonathon has received over $400,000 in donations over the past two years, and over $131,000 this academic year alone.
Management at the phonathon was informed of the closing in late March, but the Office of Annual Giving director, Judy Caldwell, instructed the center not to inform staff of the closing until April so they would remain on staff.
Jake Leach, a first-year political science and accounting major, has been working at the phonathon since September. He noted that the suddenness of the announcement left the staff reeling.
“It was really out of nowhere,” Leach said. “No one said there was a possibility that it would happen; it just kind of happened all at once.”
Leach serves as a Senator in the Student Government Association, representing the College of Business and chairing the academic excellence committee. He is also an active member of the Residence Hall Association, having served as community council president for New Residence Hall this past year and assuming the Vice President role for RHA next year. Being this involved on campus, Leach is concerned about the impact the shuttering of phonathon will have on the campus and its community.
“I feel like most people don’t know about it, but it helps connect alumni to campus, and within that, we help raise donations,” Leach said. “That could be for scholarships, that could be for development of a program.”
The phonathon offers a unique and flexible job option for students on campus. Students can select their own hours and are given semester raises for continual employment, which is a rare benefit for student positions.
Abby Robinson, a sophomore majoring in political science and criminal justice, has been working at the phonathon since October 2024. Robinson has been a supervisor since the fall 2025 semester. Despite the university’s promise of a new engagement center, she expressed skepticism about the future of the current 22-person staff.
“When they have brought up the Engagement Center, they’ve made it very apparent that if they do decide to make something else, none of our jobs are confirmed,” Robinson said.
Job security is not the only concern being raised by employees. Leach took issue with the lack of transparency, but didn’t lay responsibility on the phonathon management, saying they were only informed “two weeks earlier.” Instead, he looked toward the university administration for answers.
“I just wish there was more of a clear explanation of why they are laying the entire staff off and why they’re rebranding,” Leach said. “Why did this come about so fast without giving us more of a warning that it was a possibility. I understand that there were budget cuts for us as an institution, but I wish that there had just been more transparency about the why. We just got blindsided a little bit in my opinion.”
The university has yet to release details about the structure or hiring capacity of the upcoming Engagement Center. It remains to be seen how the new model will function or to what extent it will replace the outreach formerly handled by the phonathon.
The Northerner will continue reporting on this story as it develops.