St. Olaf College


St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. The school was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf II of Norway and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college was visited by King Olav in 1987 and King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway in 2011.
As of 2017, the college enrolled 3035 undergraduate students and 256 faculty. The campus, including its 325-acre natural lands, lies 2 miles west of the city of Northfield, Minnesota. Between 1995 and 2020, 154 St. Olaf graduates were named Fulbright Scholars and 35 received Goldwater Scholarships. Of the nation's 267 baccalaureate colleges, St. Olaf ranks 12th in the number of graduates who have gone on to earn doctorate degrees.

History

Seal and motto

The seal of the St. Olaf College displays the Coat of arms of Norway, which includes the axe of St. Olaf.
The motto Fram! Fram! Kristmenn, Krossmenn, written in New Norwegian, is adapted from the Old Norse battle cry of King Olaf. It means "Forward! Forward! Men of Christ, Men of the Cross".

Founding

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; 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 for accommodations for the school. Muus came under scrutiny after a divorce case revealed extensive acts of domestic abuse. While he fell out of favor with many of his predecessors, his abuses were not officially denounced by 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 N. Mohn, a graduate of Luther College. Herman Amberg Preus, President of the Norwegian Synod, laid this foundation stone of the St. Olaf School on July 4, 1877. During 1887 the Manitou Messenger was founded as a campus magazine and has since evolved into the college's student newspaper.
In 1932, Red Wing Lutheran Seminary was merged into St. Olaf and its Red Wing campus was closed. The Seminary was an independent academic institution from 1879 to 1932.

Presidents

St. Olaf has had 11 presidents since its founding:
Known as “The Hill”, St. Olaf College's picturesque campus is home to 17 academic and administrative buildings, 29 student residences and 10 athletic facilities. St. Olaf is a residential college; 96 percent of St. Olaf students reside in one of the 11 residence halls and 18 academic and special interest group houses. Adjacent to campus are of restored wetlands, woodlands, and native tall grass prairie owned and maintained by St. Olaf, and a utility-grade wind turbine that supplies up to one-third of the college's daily electrical needs.
Two buildings on the campus are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Old Main, designed by Long and Haglin; and Steensland Library, designed by Omeyer and Thori. In 2011, Travel+Leisure named St. Olaf as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.
Edward Sövik, a liturgical architect and St. Olaf professor of art until his death in 2014, designed or assisted in the design of 20 campus buildings.
The Flaten Art Museum at St. Olaf College was founded as the Steensland Art Gallery in 1976. In 2002, the gallery was moved to The Center for Art and Dance and renamed to honor Arnold Flaten, a past professor of art, and his family. The museum holds a collection of regional, national, and international works and exhibits these as well as faculty and student work.

Academics

Curriculum

Before graduating, St. Olaf students complete nearly 20 required courses in foundation studies 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 interdisciplinary. St. Olaf offers 39 major areas of study for the bachelor of arts degree, 4 for the bachelor of music degree and 19 areas of concentration.
The average student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1.

Admissions

For the Class of 2022, St. Olaf received 5,496 applications, accepted 2,743, and enrolled 809. For enrolled first-year students the middle 50% range of SAT scores was 600-700 for critical reading and 590-710 for math, while the ACT Composite range was 25–32. Of the 40% of enrolled first-year students who submitted high school class rank, 41% were in the top 10% of their high school classes and 72% ranked in the top quarter. The average high school GPA was 3.67.

Rankings

The 2020 annual ranking by U.S. News & World Report rates St. Olaf College as the 62nd best among "National Liberal Arts Colleges", 33rd for "Best Value", tied at 35th for "Most Innovative" and tied at 62nd for "Best Undergraduate Teaching" among liberal arts colleges.
Forbes in 2019 rated St. Olaf 116th overall in its America's Top Colleges ranking of 650 military academies, national universities, and liberal arts colleges, and 50th among liberal arts colleges.
Washington Monthly ranked St. Olaf 60th in 2019 among 214 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.
St. Olaf College is ranked 47th for liberal arts colleges on Payscale.com's 2016-17 list of highest-paid graduates.

Student life

Student organizations

More than 250 registered student organizations are registered at St. Olaf, including academic, athletic, awareness, multicultural, political, religious, service and other special interest groups. Club sports include rowing, men's and women's Ultimate Frisbee, men's and women's rugby, men's and women's lacrosse, badminton, cycling, judo, and fencing. The Manitou Messenger is the student newspaper and KSTO 93.1 FM is the student-operated radio station. Other groups include an on-campus organic farm, an improv comedy troupe, and an EMT organization that is the first responder for campus emergencies. St. Olaf students edit and publish several journals each year, including The Reed, the world's only international undergraduate journal for existential philosophy.

Student government

St. Olaf's Student Government Association finances many student activities and organizations on campus. It operates through 10 branches, each of which is managed by an elected executive: Diversity Celebrations Committee, Volunteer Network, Music Entertainment Committee, Student Activities Committee, Student Organizations Committee, Board of Regents Student Committee, Student Alumni Association, The Pause, After Dark Committee, and Political Awareness Committee. Besides these committees, students can serve on Student Senate to vote on issues such as constitutional bylaws changes and dorm capital improvement funds and communicate with college administrators about campus issues. SGA also maintains Oleville.com, a website containing information about student activities.

Student protests

Ytterboe the Dog

Ytterboe, named after former professor H.T. Ytterboe, was a black dog who became a facet of campus life at St. Olaf in 1942. Fed and taken care of by students, the dog became an unofficial mascot. In 1957, Ytterboe the Dog "allegedly" bit the son of a local police officer Peter Morris. In response, Morris sent two officers to St. Olaf's campus to capture the dog. After evading capture, Ytterboe was shot with a shotgun by the police on the library hill, in front of students who were studying for finals. In response, St Olaf and Carleton students protested, gaining the attention of local and national news. At the protests, an effigy of the officer who shot Ytterboe was hung from a streetlight and burned. The Minnesota highway patrol was called in to control the protest as students continued demonstrating in Northfield. In response to the protests, the chief of police said "Nobody loves a dog more than I do. We didn't mean to kill him". St. Olaf President Clemens M. Granskou commented, "As far as I could see, this is one of these tempests in a teacup that usually take place once in a while in the springtime on a college campus".
Initially, the Northfield Police sent Ytterboe's body to a local landfill, but the students later retrieved it. Afterwards, Ytterboe's head was sent to Minneapolis to be tested for rabies, which later came back negative. His body was buried on a slope of Manitou Heights the day after he was shot as a crowd of 2000 students and members of the community gathered to pay their respects.

ROTC

Between 50-75 students from St. Olaf, accompanied by some Carleton Students, occupied the St. Olaf administration building on April 16th, 1970, demanding that the school cut ties with the ROTC. Students occupied the building until Friday afternoon. Students ended their occupation after President Sidney Rand came to an agreement with the leaders of the protest. The school moved forward on votes within the administration and the board of regents in return for the cease of all "obstructive demonstration". The protests at St. Olaf coincided with a similar occupation at Macalaster College.

Sexual misconduct

In 2016, students protested the school's policies on sexual harassment through a T-shirt campaign. Students donned grey shirts reading "Ask me how my college is protecting my rapist" to draw attention to the school's policies surrounding sexual misconduct. Information about the T-shirt campaign was circulated through social media and was soon picked up by local news sources. In response to the campaign, the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Education Department launched an investigation into the sexual misconduct policies of St. Olaf College. Soon after, the school officially announced an overhaul of its policies surrounding Title IX.

Racism

Following the emergence of a series of notes containing threats and racial slurs 2017, students protested for systematic changes within the school on issues like diversity and inclusion, cultural sensitivity, and hate crimes. As of May 1, 2017 there had been 9 reported acts of hate speech during the school year. Through occupying campus buildings, blocking entrances the cafeteria, and boycotting classes, demonstrators pushed school administration for action on a number of demands. While the protests were able to prompt administration into a reevaluation of their policies, an investigation revealed that one of the notes was forged. While the forgery of one of the notes undermined the movement for some, others saw this as the actions of a rogue individual which did not take away from the progress made.

Music program

St. Olaf's music program was founded by F. Melius Christiansen in 1903. Its band, choir and orchestra tour the continental United States annually and have made many international tours, typically occurring triennially. The St. Olaf Band, currently under the direction of Timothy Mahr '78, was the first American college musical organization to conduct a concert tour abroad when it traveled to Norway in 1906.
The St. Olaf Orchestra is conducted by Steven Amundson. Under Amundson's direction, the Orchestra has performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Stravinsky’s Petrouchka and Rite of Spring, Ravel’s La valse, and tone poems by Richard Strauss.
The St. Olaf Choir, conducted by Anton Armstrong ’78, was founded by Christiansen in 1907 as the St. John’s Lutheran Church Choir in Northfield, a collegiate ensemble. It has toured Europe several times, as well as China, Korea, and Australia, performing before heads of state and producing more than 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. In 2005 the St. Olaf Choir was invited to perform at the White House for President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, and guests to commemorate the National Day of Prayer.
The St. Olaf Jazz I ensemble was awarded the DownBeat magazine award for top undergraduate large ensemble in 2011. Led by St. Olaf music faculty member Dave Hagedorn, the ensemble toured Cuba during March 20–25, 2016.
Other student musical ensembles include The St. Olaf Handbell Choir, Chapel Choir, Cantorei, Manitou Singers, Viking Chorus, Collegiate Chorale, Philharmonia, Norseman Band, and many smaller vocal and instrumental ensembles. There are also student-run music ensembles at St. Olaf: Valhalla Band, Naknefeler Orchestra, and the men's and women's a cappella groups: The Limestones, Agnes, and Krossmen. In addition, the Gospel Choir of St. Olaf is one of few Midwest college gospel choirs. These groups are not a part of the college's music program and operate independently.
In 2005 the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Orchestra, and St. Olaf Choir toured throughout Norway to celebrate its independence centennial.
A few ensembles that were founded at St. Olaf include the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Copper Street Brass and the a cappella choral groups Cantus, Inpulse, and Magnum Chorum.
St. Olaf is also the location of the sacred choral music radio show Sing for Joy.

Athletics

St. Olaf College is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in NCAA Division III.
Twenty-seven varsity teams participate in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, hockey, skiing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Athletic colors are black and gold, and the nickname for St. Olaf teams is the Oles. All varsity athletic teams compete in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with the exception of wrestling and Alpine and Nordic skiing.
St. Olaf competes in the following sports:
St. Olaf also has many student-coached club and intramural teams that compete within the student body and also inter-college. Notable are the St. Olaf Ultimate teams, The Berzerkers and Durga, which make an annual trip to a national collegiate tournament in North Carolina. This year Durga played at the Division III Nationals tournament in Buffalo, New York, finishing at 7th place. The St. Olaf Dance Team supports St. Olaf athletic teams with half-time performances and also competes in intercollegiate events every year. They have previously performed in the Minnesota Swarm lacrosse team's half-time show and were awarded third place in their division at the 2011 St. Thomas Invitational.

Rivalry with Carleton College

Football

St. Olaf is a traditional athletic rival of its crosstown neighbor Carleton College. The annual American football game between the Knights and the Oles was recently dubbed the "Cereal Bowl" in honor of the Malt-O-Meal production facility that is located in Northfield. The annual winner receives the "Goat Trophy", which was created by Minneapolis dentist Ranthus B. Fouch in 1931.
The rivalry between St. Olaf and Carleton began with a Carleton victory over St. Olaf in 1919. A statue of an eagle in Northfield's Civil War Veterans' Memorial is turned to face the college that wins the annual football match between the two schools.
These football teams are also significant for having played the only NCAA-sanctioned "Liter Bowl" metric football game in history, which St. Olaf won in 1977.

Cross Country

The Great Karhu Shoe Race is an annual rivalry between the cross country teams of Carleton and St. Olaf College. The race was founded in 1972 when Carleton Coach Bill Huyks was in search of a new championship course for the Midwest Conference Meet. St. Olaf coach Bill Thornton agreed to a competition between the runners on each team who were not on the varsity top 7. The varsity athletes were still racing later in the season. The trophy for the 1972 race was a pair of Karhu Shoes worth $10. These shoes have remained the trophy to this day.
Several traditions exist between the St. Olaf and Carleton runners at the race. As the race typically falls near Halloween, many of the runners will often don costumes. The runners for the St. Olaf men use safety pins to attach gummy bears to their shorts, which the Carleton runners attempt to rip off.

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 meter. It is also one of the few college songs to mention another college in its lyrics.
The lyrics to the St. Olaf song include the unofficial St. Olaf "Um! Yah! Yah!" battle cry. 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 Yah Yah! Um Yah Yah!
Um Yah Yah! Um Yah Yah!
Um Yah Yah! Um Yah Yah!
Um Yah Yah YAH!

Um Yah Yah! Um Yah Yah!
Um Yah Yah! Um Yah Yah!
Um Yah Yah! Um Yah Yah!
Um Yah Yah YAH!

Kierkegaard Library

The Hong Kierkegaard Library was established with funds from St. Olaf College and Kierkegaard scholars Howard and Edna Hong. As curator, Howard Hong acquired books owned by Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard's complete works in many languages, and secondary bibliographies about Kierkegaard. A subsequent curator of the library was philosopher C. Stephen Evans.
Each year, the library hosts a summer fellowship program. Activities in the summer include Danish courses and a symposium every other year. Year-long Kierkegaard Fellowships see scholars living in St. Olaf's Kierkegaard House.
St. Olaf students edit and publish The Reed, an undergraduate journal of existential philosophy, from the library. The Reed began in 1998, and since then has published articles from undergraduates across the globe every year.

Notable alumni

Notable St. Olaf alumni include civil rights activist James Reeb, AIA Gold Award-winning architect Edward Sövik '39, Minnesota Governor Al Quie '50, Oscar-winning screenwriter Barry Morrow '70, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gretchen Morgenson '76, and writers Ole Rolvaag 1905, Siri Hustvedt '77, and Traci Lambrecht '89. Game designer Jonathan Tweet studied at the college, as did the first female major league baseball coach, Justine Siegal. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and Norwegian.
Ernest Lawrence, recipient of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics, studied for a year at St. Olaf.

In popular culture

St. Olaf is mentioned in the works of Minnesota author F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose character Jay Gatsby of The Great Gatsby attended the college briefly and worked as a janitor. The college is also frequently mentioned in Garrison Keillor's radio program A Prairie Home Companion, which broadcast its show from St. Olaf on November 17, 2001, and November 19, 2011.
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 Gustavus Adolphus College, located in nearby 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.
The St. Olaf Choir can be heard performing Mozart's Requiem with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Nike's "Jordan XXII-Takeover" commercial. The St. Olaf Choir was also heard on the soundtrack of the 1972 film The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid.
In October 2008 the Coen Brothers shot scenes at St. Olaf for their film A Serious Man. After a long search of many campuses, the Coen brothers chose St. Olaf's old Science Center because it had the late 1960s look of the movie. St. Olaf has since built a new science center and remodeled the old facility into Tomson Hall.