St. Olaf College
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| St. Olaf College | |
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| Motto: | Fram! Fram! Kristmenn, Krossmenn (Adapted from the Old Norse battle cry of St. Olav, King of Norway: "Forward! Forward! Men of Christ, Men of the Cross") |
| Established: | 1874 |
| Type: | Private liberal arts college |
| Endowment: | $315.5 Million [1] |
| President: | David R. Anderson '74, Ph.D. |
| Students: | 3007 undergraduates (approximation) |
| Location: | Northfield, Minnesota, USA |
| Campus: | 3.72 km² (920 acres)[1] |
| Colors: | Black and Old Gold |
| Nickname: | "Oles" (Oh'-lees) |
| Mascot: | St. Olaf Lion |
| Affiliations: | MIAC, ELCA. |
| Website: | www.stolaf.edu |
St. Olaf College is a selective coeducational, residential, four-year private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus.
An average of six St. Olaf students are awarded the Fulbright Scholarship each year. Additionally, the college has produced nine Rhodes Scholars since 1910, including two in 2007.[2]
St. Olaf ranks as one of the top 20 small colleges (those with 5,000 or fewer students) for the number of students who go on to serve in the Peace Corps.
St. Olaf College is listed in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives.
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[edit] History of the college
[edit] Founding of the college
Many Norwegian immigrants arrived in Rice County, Minnesota, and the surrounding area in the late 19th century. With nearly all the immigrants being Lutheran Christians, they desired a non-secular post-secondary institution in the Lutheran tradition that offered classes in all subjects in both Norwegian and English. The catalyst for founding St. Olaf was the Reverend Bernt Julius Muus, and he sought out the help of the Rev. N.A. Quammen and H. Thorson. Together they petitioned their parishes and others to raise money in order to buy a plot of land on which to build this new institution. The three men succeeded in receiving around $10,000 in pledges, and thus went on to form a corporation and to buy a plot of land and four buildings (old Northfield schoolhouses) for accommodations for the school.
St. Olaf, then called St. Olaf's School, opened on January 8, 1875 at its first site under the leadership of its first president, Thorbjorn Mohn. In 1887 the Manitou Messenger was founded as a campus magazine and has since evolved into the college's student newspaper.
[edit] Overview of the campus
Ecology and sustainability are top priorities on the 300-acre (1.2 km²) St. Olaf campus, which includes woodland, prairie and wetlands. The college also owns 600 adjacent acres of no-till farmland. The newest landmark on campus is the 350-foot (107 m) tall, 1.6 megawatt wind turbine that began generating one third of the college’s electricity in fall 2006.
A new Science Complex is scheduled to open in fall 2008. It will join some 14 academic and administrative buildings and 11 residence halls spread across the "Manitou Heights" hilltop on the western edge of Northfield. Many St. Olaf students also live in 18 “honor” houses on the campus periphery. These home-like residences offer students the chance to develop personal interests through local volunteer work or through such organizations as Jewish Student Outreach, the Story House and St. Olaf Cancer Connection. Other honor houses, such as the French, German, Russian, and Asian Studies houses, allow students to further immerse themselves in academics.
Two buildings on the campus are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Old Main, designed by Long and Haglin (#76001073); and Steensland Library, designed by Omeyer & Thori (#82003020).
[edit] Academics
[edit] Curriculum
Before graduating, St. Olaf students complete nearly 20 required courses in foundation studies (writing, a second language, oral communication, mathematical reasoning, physical well-being) and core studies that include studies in Western culture, human behavior and society, biblical and theological studies, artistic and literary studies, and studies in natural science. Many of the courses are, by nature, interdisciplinary. St. Olaf offers 41 major areas of study for the bachelor of arts degree, four for the bachelor of music degree and fourteen areas of concentration.
The average student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1. The average class size is 23 students.
[edit] Study abroad
St. Olaf College is recognized nationally for the quality of its international studies programs. It is ranked 1st nationally out of bachelor-degree institutions in the number of students who study abroad (according to statistics from the "Chronicle of Higher Education"). Seventy-eight percent of the class of 2006 studied off- campus; 71% studied abroad. The college offers more than 120 international and U.S. off-campus study programs in Hong Kong, Japan, Costa Rica, Vietnam, the Czech Republic, London, Florence, Oxford, Aberdeen, Manhattan, Russia and many other locations. Unique study abroad programs offered by the college include the "Global Semester", "Term in the Middle East", and "Term in Asia". Students participating in these programs visit several different countries during the course. They are accompanied by a St. Olaf faculty member and complete academic coursework relevant to the destinations they visit.
[edit] Academic distinctions
According to the National Research Council’s "Survey of Earned Doctorates", St. Olaf ranks eighth among bachelor degree colleges in the number of graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees. (This represents the years 1995–2004.) St. Olaf was also first among baccalaureate colleges in mathematics, second in religion and theology, seventh in chemistry, third in foreign languages, third in art and music and fifth in life sciences as an undergraduate supplier of Ph.D.s.
U.S. News & World Report's “America’s Best Colleges 2007” ranked St. Olaf among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges in graduation rate performance (33rd), academic reputation (35th), freshman retention (25th) and percentage of incoming students who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class (53rd).
[edit] Campus Life
[edit] Student organizations
The college is home to over 130 student organizations, including an on-campus organic farm, an improv comedy troupe (Scared Scriptless), and an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) organization that is the first responder for campus emergencies. There are 16 religious organizations, over a dozen multicultural organizations, and many academic, service and political groups. [3] And, two-thirds of students on campus participate in at least one intramural sport.[4]
[edit] Student government
One of the most visible student organizations on campus, St. Olaf’s Student Government Association (SGA) organizes a variety of extracurricular experiences and represents the student body to members of the faculty, administration, and the Board of Regents.
SGA operates through ten branches, each of which is managed by an elected executive. Each branch serves a unique purpose, such as organizing volunteer programs, diversity events and campus entertainment, fostering political dialogue and providing financial support to other student organizations. Student Senate, one of the largest branches, consists of elected student senators who represent their constituency in the assembly.
SGA also maintains Oleville.com [2], a student-oriented portal site which contains updates on campus events, news feeds from local and national sources, and blogs by administrators and student leaders.
[edit] Music at St. Olaf
St. Olaf's music program, founded by F. Melius Christiansen in 1903, is world-renowned. Its band, choir and orchestra tour the continental U.S annually and have made many critically-acclaimed international tours. International tours regularly occur every three years. The St. Olaf Band, currently under the direction of Dr. Timothy Mahr, was the first American college musical organization to conduct a concert tour abroad when it traveled to Norway in 1906. The orchestra was the first college orchestra ever to be a part of the Community Concert series.
The St. Olaf Choir, currently directed by Anton Armstrong '78, was founded by Christiansen in 1907 as the St. John's Lutheran Church Choir in Northfield, and is regarded as the pioneer a cappella college choir in the United States. It is recognized as one of the premier collegiate ensembles in the United States. [3]It has toured Europe several times, as well as China, Korea, and Australia, performing before heads of state and producing over a dozen recordings. The choir performs in the nationally broadcast annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, along with the St. Olaf Orchestra and four of the college's other choirs. The St. Olaf Choir can also be heard performing Mozart's Requiem with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in the new Nike commercial "Jordan XXII-Takeover". In 2005, the St. Olaf Choir was invited to perform at the White House on May 5 for President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and guests to commemorate The National Day of Prayer.
Other student musical ensembles include Chapel Choir, Cantorei, Manitou Singers, Viking Chorus, Collegiate Chorale, Philharmonia, Norseman Band and many smaller vocal and instrumental ensembles. One of the many student-run music ensembles at St. Olaf that has received the most recognition is the men's a capella group known as the Limestones, though it operates independently from the college.
In 2005 the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Orchestra and St. Olaf Choir toured throughout Norway to help that country celebrate its centennial of independence from Sweden.
A few ensembles that sprouted their roots at St. Olaf include the Minnesota Symphonic Winds and the a cappella choral groups Cantus, Inpulse and Magnum Chorum.
[edit] Athletics
St. Olaf College is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). St. Olaf athletic teams and students are nicknamed the "Oles." St. Olaf's Swimming and Diving team is traditionally the strongest of its sports teams, having won a majority of its MIAC conference championships, and is strongly competitive at the national level, often finishing within the top ten NCAA Division III schools at nationals. St. Olaf competes in the following sports:
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St. Olaf also has many student coached club and intramural teams that compete within the student body and also intercollege. Most notable is the St. Olaf ultimate team The Berzerkers, which makes an annual trip to a national collegiate tournament (Spring Ultimax) in North Carolina.
[edit] Rivalry with Carleton College
St. Olaf is a traditional athletic rival of its crosstown neighbor, Carleton College. Each year in American football, Carleton and St. Olaf compete in a contest recently dubbed the "Cereal Bowl" in honor of the Malt-O-Meal production facility that is located in Northfield. In this contest, the Oles have not lost to Carleton since 1995, and hence have retained both the "Goatrophy" (created by a St. Olaf carpenter in 1931) and the silver Cereal Bowl trophy that are awarded annually to the winning team. The rivalry between St. Olaf and Carleton, which began with a Carleton victory over St. Olaf in 1919, is one of the oldest in all of college football, and the only to feature two colleges from the same ZIP code.
A lesser known fact about the Cereal Bowl is that Northfield's veterans' memorial (located in Bridge Square) features an eagle that is turned to face the college that wins the annual football match between the two schools.
These football teams are also significant for constituting the only NCAA-sanctioned metric football game in history (which St. Olaf won).
[edit] College fight song
Based on a Norwegian folk tune, the college song, Um Yah Yah, is the only college fight song in the United States to be in 3/4 (waltz) meter. It is also one of the few college songs to mention another college in its lyrics. Other fight songs that mention rival schools include those of Texas A&M University, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Alabama, the University of Texas, and Georgetown University.
The lyrics to the St. Olaf song include the unofficial St. Olaf "battle cry" - "Um Ya Ya!". The most common version uses the name of traditional cross-town rival, Carleton College, but the current opposing institution's name is inserted when sung at athletic competitions.
We come from St. Olaf, we sure are the real stuff.
Our team is the cream of the colleges great.
We fight fast and furious, our team is injurious.
Tonight Carleton College will sure meet its fate. Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya!
Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya!
Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya YA! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya!
Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya!
Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya YA!
These are the lyrics to the unofficial St. Olaf song:
We come from St. Olaf, we wear cashmere sweaters, We live on a hill to be closer to God. We don't smoke, we don't drink, At least that's what they think, But under the covers we Um Ya Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya! Um Ya Ya Ya!
[edit] Presidents of the college
St. Olaf has had 11 presidents since its founding:
- Thorbjorn N. Mohn 1874-1899
- John N. Kildahl 1899-1914
- Lauritz A. Vigness 1914-1918
- Lars W. Boe 1918-1942
- Clemens M. Granskou 1943-1963
- Sidney A. Rand 1963-1980
- Harlan F. Foss, Ph.D. 1980-1985
- Melvin D. George, Ph.D. 1985-1994
- Mark U. Edwards Jr., Ph.D. 1994-2000
- Christopher M. Thomforde, D.Min. 2001-2006
- David R. Anderson, Ph.D. 2006 to Present
[edit] Church affiliation
- 1874-1887 Norwegian Synod
- 1887-1890 Anti-Missourian Brotherhood
- 1890-1917 United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
- 1917-1960 Evangelical Lutheran Church
- 1960-1987 The American Lutheran Church
- 1988-present Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
[edit] Notable alumni
- See also Category:St. Olaf College alumni
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- Russell A. Anderson, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
- August H. Andresen (1890-1958), U.S. Congressman
- Anton Armstrong, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir
- Craig Arnold, Luther College Nordic Choir conductor
- Robert Bly, poet
- Dean Buntrock, founder of Waste Management, Inc.
- Rene Clausen, Concordia Choir conductor, composer
- Jason DeRose, journalist, public radio reporter/anchor
- Arlen Erdahl, U.S. Congressman
- David Grose, historian and scholar of Ancient Rome
- Harold Hagen, U.S. Congressman
- Sam Hanson, Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
- Einar Haugen, renowned linguist
- Siri Hustvedt, writer
- Kenneth Jennings, St. Olaf Choir conductor emeritus, composer
- Bruce Laingen, former U.S. charge d'affaires in Iran who was one of the American diplomats taken hostage at the American embassy in Tehran
- Traci Lambrecht, co-author (P.J. Tracy) of the popular Monkeewrench mystery novels
- Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901–1958), physicist and Nobel laureate
- David Minge, U.S. Congressman and judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals
- Olaf M. Norlie, Bible translator, professor, editor, writer
- Mark W. Olson, Governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve
- Al Quie, U.S. Congressman and 35th Governor of Minnesota
- Chris Raschka, children's author and illustrator (prior winner of Caldecott award)
- Ole Rolvaag (1876-1931), author (Giants in the Earth) and professor
- George Thompson, Attorney General of Wisconsin
- Andrew Volstead, U.S. Congressman, sponsor and namesake of the National Prohibition Act of 1919
- Dale Warland, founder and conductor of the Dale Warland Singers
[edit] St. Olaf College in popular culture
St. Olaf is mentioned in the works of Minnesota author F. Scott Fitzgerald. His character Jay Gatsby of The Great Gatsby attended the college briefly and worked as a janitor. It also is mentioned in Garrison Keillor's radio program A Prairie Home Companion.
The fictional Minnesota city of St. Olaf was the hometown of Rose Nylund in the TV show The Golden Girls. In the TV show the fictional city's sister city was St. Gustav, Minnesota, a nod to rival Gustavus Adolphus College, located nearby in St. Peter, Minnesota. Betty White, the actress who played Rose, visited the St. Olaf campus on one occasion and was given an honorary membership in St. Olaf's chapter of the theater honorary society.
[edit] References
- ^ St. Olaf College | Northfield, Minnesota, USA
- ^ Ferraro, Nick. "Education / Apple Valley woman named Rhodes Scholar", Pioneer Press, November 18, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
- ^ St. Olaf College Student Organizations. St. Olaf College (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
- ^ Good Game. St. Olaf College (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
[edit] External links
- St. Olaf College
- St. Olaf Records
- Oleville.com -- St. Olaf's student-run resource
- College history resources
- St. Olaf Virtual Tour
- Unofficial St. Olaf College Alumni Myspace.com page
- Northfield's homepage
- Northfield Visitor Information
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