St. Olaf Mission Statement
St. Olaf, a four-year college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America, provides an education committed to the liberal arts,
rooted in the Christian Gospel, and incorporating a global perspective.
In the conviction that life is more than a livelihood, it focuses
on what is ultimately worthwhile and fosters the development of
the whole person in mind, body, and spirit.
Now in its second century, St. Olaf College remains dedicated to the high standards set by its Norwegian immigrant founders. In the spirit of free inquiry and free expression, it offers a distinctive environment that integrates teaching, scholarship, creative activity, and opportunities for encounter with the Christian Gospel and God's call to faith. The college intends that its graduates combine academic excellence and theological literacy with a commitment to lifelong learning.
St. Olaf College strives to be an inclusive community, respecting those of differing backgrounds and beliefs. Through its curriculum, campus life, and off-campus programs, it stimulates students' critical thinking and heightens their moral sensitivity; it encourages them to be seekers of truth, leading lives of unselfish service to others; and it challenges them to be responsible and knowledgeable citizens of the world.
(Approved by the St. Olaf College faculty in 1987 and the opening paragraph adopted, as a shorter version, by the Board of Regents that same year.)
Mission for the 21st century
At its centennial in 1975, St. Olaf College paused to consider the deeper meanings embedded in its mission, to explain more fully its commitments and challenges. In 1999 the college's ninth president, Mark Edwards, deciding it was time for another such examination, commissioned a group of faculty members from a variety of disciplines to "extend the conversation about the identity and mission of St. Olaf College in the 21st century." After a great deal of study, deliberation and discussion, the group drafted preliminary statements which it then shared with faculty colleagues, initiating a year-long series of refinements. The result was St. Olaf 2000: Identity and Mission for the 21st Century, a 72-page printed document that provides important insight into the college, past, present and future.
