The former campus of Wells College on Cayuga Lake may soon enter a new chapter as the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge advances its plans to open an Indigenous-led university as early as next year. Envisioned as a center for Indigenous languages, technologies, arts, and environmental stewardship, the initiative represents a powerful act of cultural reclamation and adaptive reuse on ancestral land. For preservationists, the project presents a rare alignment of mission-driven education and the opportunity to retain and reactivate an architecturally significant campus rather than see it vacated or dismantled.

The nonprofit Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge (HIIK) recently purchased the shuttered campus in Aurora, NY, for $12.5 million. Andrew Roblee, president of the Preservation Association of Central New York toured the campus with HIIK representatives in February and reported that they were particularly impressed by the Walter Netsch designed buildings and plan to keep them as a core part of the campus. Roblee also noted that the Netsch buildings were in surprisingly good shape after having sat vacant without oversight or maintenance for more than a year. 

The sale and reuse plan is particularly meaningful given earlier uncertainty about the site’s future. Docomomo US/NY Tri-State previously reported on and raised concerns about potential demolition threats to key modernist buildings on the campus, including notable works by Walter Netsch. As discussions now shift from closure and possible loss toward reuse and stewardship, the project underscores the importance of advocacy in safeguarding late-modern heritage. For the preservation community, the redevelopment of Wells College campus site could serve as a compelling case study in how culturally grounded reinvention can sustain both architectural legacy and community identity.

“Region’s first Indigenous university could open next year on the former Wells College campus,” WXXI News, January 27, 2026.