| CONVERSATIONS FOR MEN | |
Conversations programs provide opportunities for Ole men and women to reconnect with other alumni and parents on a monthly basis, hear a presentation from St. Olaf faculty or staff, and engage in thoughtful conversations.. "...knowledgeable citizens of the world..." |
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Speakers are scheduled for the following dates:
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| Guest Speakers | |
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Monday,
September 15, 2008 Few people have a better grasp on the current life of St. Olaf’s student body than Vice President and Dean of Students Greg Kneser. From the quality of food in the cafeteria, to the stability of the student government organization, to the health and safety of students, Greg has a careful eye and guiding hand over it all. Join him for our breakfast gathering, as he relates stories about who St. Olaf students are. Greg came to St. Olaf in 1989 as the Director of Residence Life and has held positions in the Student Life Division ever since. He and his wife, Sandy Kimmes ’89, and their two children, Wylie and Amelia, live just down the Hill on St. Olaf Avenue. |
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Monday,
October 20, 2008 The St. Olaf football team has a new leader this year. Jerry Olszewski was named the 11th head football coach at St. Olaf on March 31, 2008, taking over for Chris Meidt, who left St. Olaf for a coaching position with the Washington Redskins. Olszewski was at his alma mater, Wis.-Stevens Point, as defensive coordinator the last two seasons. He spent a total seven seasons as an assistant at Division II Minnesota State University-Mankato (1993-96, 1999-02) before a three-year stint as the CEO of the Mankato YMCA. He also spent one season as the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Bombers of the Arena Football league (1999) and another as an assistant at California Lutheran University (1998) as defensive line coach. Our breakfast meeting will take place on a Monday between two of the team’s biggest games – Bethel on the 11th and St. John’s on the 25th. Help welcome our coach to the St. Olaf family, hear his plan for the men of his team, and get insider stories and views of the current season and those seasons to come. |
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Monday,
November 17, 2008 St. Olaf College was first founded by Norwegian immigrant farmers, who, at the heart of their intent, wished to provide a comprehensive and thorough education for immigrant children. This tradition of providing access and guidance to first-generation students is still alive and thriving at St. Olaf. The college has institutionalized its commitment to diversity by sponsoring five grant-funded Educational Opportunity Programs. These programs are funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Education with additional support from other grants and the college, and have a profound effect on young people’s ability to experience scholarship and learning. The majority of students who participate in these programs are from low-income, first-generational families. Staff and student members from TRiO and GEAR UP will share an in-depth view of these programs, exhibiting how they function and to what extent they help shape lives in the pursuit of education. Theirs are the stories that are important to the very fabric and tradition of St. Olaf. |
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Monday,
December 15, 2008 Ole men and women throughout the Twin Cities are invited to this annual Christmas celebration, where we gather together in the spirit of the holiday and celebrate being Oles. This year we will hear a presentation from Judy Seleen Swanson '57 who transforms the Skoglund Auditorium from a gymnasium into a beautiful concert hall for the Christmas Festival each year. The set is both a creative challenge and a major installation. As Judy says, “We’re not just decorating for Christmas. We’re creating a visual message that will help people appreciate the richness of the music.” After Judy's presentation, we'll sing our favorite hymns of the Christmas season. Since 1992, Judy Seleen Swanson '57 has created the backdrop for the Christmas Festival and the design of the printed program. She is a liturgical artist known for her ability to communicate complex themes with deceptive simplicity. She combines the boldness of Matisse with the clean lines of Scandinavian design, using stylized cutouts and vivid colors. |
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Monday,
January 19, 2009 After the demanding work of Christmas Festival and just before a marathon, two-week tour to the nation’s southeast, Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir Anton Armstrong has graciously agreed to be present with us. Over breakfast, Ole men have a chance to hear how Dr. A, as his students affectionately call him, shapes the choir, the music, and the message underlying it all. Armstrong is the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, a position he assumed in 1990. He came to this position following ten years in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he served on the faculty of Calvin College and conducted the Campus Choir, the Calvin College Alumni Choir and the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus. A graduate of St. Olaf College, Anton Armstrong earned a Master of Music degree at the University of Illinois and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. He holds membership in several professional societies including the American Choral Directors Association, Choristers Guild, Chorus America, and the International Federation for Choral Music. He also serves as editor of a multicultural choral series for Earthsongs Publications and co-editor of the revised St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress Publishers. In January 2006, Baylor University selected Anton Armstrong from a field of 118 distinguished nominees to receive the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. The award is designed to honor great teachers, to stimulate discussion in the academy about the value of teaching and to encourage departments and institutions to value their own great teachers. He spent February-June 2007 in residency at Baylor University as a visiting professor. During 2008-2009, Dr. Armstrong will serve as conductor of the All-State Choirs in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. He is also leading choral festivals in the Smetana Hall, Prague, Czech Republic as well as Carnegie Hall, New York, and the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. Additional guest conducting and lecturing engagements this season include appearances in Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Texas, and Kentucky. |
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Monday,
February 16, 2009 Sit for a moment and imagine the following. You are in charge of a team of over 30 people who actively recruit and build relationships with 16-18 year-olds across the world to become interested and eventually apply to attend St. Olaf. Together, you bring in over 4,000 applicants – which means you read over 4,000 applications – and eventually make decisions on admissions that are at once scary, hard, and life-changing. Yours is the work of prediction. How do we admit a class that is geographically and ethnically diverse, while remaining true to those tenets of the college’s history: legacy families, Lutherans, and first-generation families? How do we ensure that accepted students are ready for the caliber of work at St. Olaf? How do we meet the demonstrated need of these students and financially support an applicant’s pursuit of a St. Olaf education? Tired yet? Thankfully, this is not your job, but that of Michael Kyle ’85, vice president and dean of enrollment since the fall of 2005. On February 16, join Michael as he paints a picture of a St. Olaf class and the thousands of pieces that make up this gigantic, annual puzzle of enrollment. |
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Monday,
March 16, 2009 Matt Richey is a 1981 graduate of Kenyon College majoring in mathematics and physics, and he received his Ph.D. in mathematical physics from Dartmouth College in 1985. He joined St. Olaf in 1986, and his area of interest today is in applied mathematics as it relates to computation and algorithms. Another of his specialties, software and database design and implementation, has led him to an involvement in the college’s redesign of the student information system. Matt enjoys talking about the new science and mathematics building, Regents Hall, as he has been involved in its evolution from inception to completion. He will share with you how the decision-making team applied St. Olaf’s mission and its belief in the importance of environmental integrity to all aspects of the building process and yet provided cutting edge technology and processes that have created innovative and inspiring learning spaces for students. |
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Monday, April 20, 2009 If a student wants to major in international business or social justice studies or even archaeology, there’s no such major at St. Olaf. That’s where the Center for Integrative Studies steps in. Through the CIS, students may propose an individual, integrative major on any subject that permits coherent, in-depth study using resources available through the college, and that does not duplicate any existing program at the college. They propose any sequence of courses, seminars, independent studies, internships, and other learning experiences as the means of pursuing such a major. How does this all work? Who are the students that are willing to put in this extra work? On April 20, Mary Titus, Susan Carlson, and a CIS student will join us and take us through the beginnings of a major and the amazing outcomes after the process is completed. This program is a unique way of demonstrating how flexible and worthwhile a liberal arts major can be. |
Planning Committee |
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