News of Norway, issue 6, 1998
Founded in 1874 by Norwegian immigrants, the purpose of the school was to prepare students for careers in business, politics, clergy and other professions. From the beginning all classes were held in English. St. Olaf operated as an academy until 1886, when a college department was added. The academy was discontinued in 1917.
Over the years the purpose of the college has changed very little; delivering quality education in a Christian context is still a priority. "The heart and soul of St. Olaf is actually the intersection of three things," said Mark Edwards, President of St. Olaf for four years. "Outstanding liberal arts, a very strong Christian context and the nation's leading overseas program-global education."
According to Edwards, St. Olaf sends more students abroad each year than any other liberal arts college in the country and is consistently ranked among the top programs in the country for overseas study.
How such an international connection grew out of Northfield, a little community of now 14,000 people, might be a mystery to some. Part of the answer can be found in the location of the school. "Well there is a certain irony, but we are right in the center of the North American continent," Edwards said. "If you want people to have an international perspective in the middle of the North American continent, you have to send them abroad."
St. Olaf is also located only 45 minutes south of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This offers students cultural opportunities without the distractions of the city right in your backyard, Edwards explained. Northfield is also the home of Carleton College, which adds an element of healthy competition.
The St. Olaf Oles point to their Norwegian heritage for further explanation of the school's global orientation. "The college was founded to prepare children for life, help them to be good citizens and be leaders within their church and religious community, but also to preserve and celebrate the Norwegian heritage," said Edwards. "So there was this international component built into the school."
A third element is the Christian heritage of St. Olaf, also a legacy from its Norwegian founders. "St. Olaf has always had a very strong connection to missionary movements," Edwards explained. "And then when the Peace Corps came along, St. Olaf sent large numbers into the Peace Corps, which I think is a continuation." Students who come to St. Olaf also come to pursue degrees in other areas, and they are given a choice of over 40 majors.
St. Olaf doesn't just send students abroad but also see students from abroad come study in the U.S. for a semester or to earn a degree. About a dozen students come over from Norway each year to join the 2,889 full time St. Olaf students. But what does the Norwegian heritage really mean to the school? "It means a variety of things," explains Edwards. "We have one of the largest and strongest Norwegian programs in the country, so academically it has a strong presence on campus. Norwegian is one of the favorite languages students take."
Last school year, about 250 students took Norwegian classes, out of which 95 were beginners. St. Olaf requires three semesters for students to fulfill their language requirement. Some take Norwegian because of their Norwegian heritage, others because they met a Norwegian exchange student in high school or because they have traveled to Norway. Others, again, choose Norwegian because they are fed up with French, German and Spanish, and they want to try something new and unusual, said Solveig Zemple, chair of the Norwegian department.
In addition to the language department, Edwards points to the school's strong Scandinavian and Norwegian presence in the history department with the King Olav V Chair in the history department, held by Odd Lovoll since its foundation in 1992. The Chair was created by the Norwegian government, St. Olaf College and the Norwegian American Historical Association (through the Kenneth O. Bjork Endowment Fund), and it serves both the college and the NAHA, which is located at St. Olaf.
Edwards also emphasized the Norwegian heritage being embodied in most names of campus buildings, the fact that they call themselves the Oles and in the college being named after Norway's patron saint. Olav II Haraldson (spelled Olaf in the 19th century) was Norway's king from 1016-1030, later made a patron saint and recognized as the man who Christened Norway.
About one-third of the students and faculty who come to St. Olaf are of Norwegian heritage, but nobody who comes to St. Olaf will leave without coming to know the country behind the school's name. "In the same way that people for example go to Notre Dame, whether they are Irish or not, they are part of a community that is Irish Catholic," Edwards explains. "People who come to St. Olaf, whether they are Norwegian or not, join in a community that celebrates the Norwegian character-both in profound ways and in the funny ways with 'uff da,' etc."
Edwards does admit that it is harder now than in the past to preserve the Norwegian heritage, but he underscores that it is something important to do because it's such an integral part of the school and who they are. "The Norwegian heritage takes a variety of forms, the most important form is the Lutheran Christian character of the school," he said. "We are founded by folks with very strong religious beliefs... It has led to the kind of volunteer service that I was talking about a moment ago. That's what makes us quite different from many other, most other, schools in American higher education."
But what is it that makes the students leave well rounded and ready to move on to graduate school or begin their careers? Edwards explains that part of the answer depends on what students are like when they arrive. "Beyond that, I think there are several characteristics that are not unique but unusual," he said, pointing out three factors: St. Olaf's music program, St. Olaf being a residential campus and the trickling down of tradition.
At St. Olaf, over a third of the student body is involved in music. According to Edwards, this is an important learning experience because it teaches students to work together, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and how if you cooperate with others, you can get more done.
By being a residential campus, a community is being built through students living very closely together in and outside of class.
Edwards also pointed to the older Oles modeling the type of behavior that first and second year students learn. "And so you can trace this back over the generations of this commitment to service, and it is the sort of thing that even though the people change, the tradition continued because it is always being learned by the new folks and as they move on, they teach to the ones that come in behind them."
But Edwards added that this experience isn't for everyone. But those who want a premiere liberal arts education in a rural setting, in a residential community with a strong Christian context and what they call a global perspective, and the opportunity and encouragement to study abroad during their four years should come to St. Olaf, according to Edwards. "That sort of education isn't available very many places, and I would argue that at the level of quality, St. Olaf is unique among American higher education," Edwards added.
Contact Info
St. Olaf College
1520 St. Olaf Avenue
Northfield, MN 55057
Ph.: (507) 646-2222
Admissions (general questions)
(507) 646-3025
(800) 800-3025
admissions@stolaf.edu
www.stolaf.edu