St. Olaf CollegeProvost & Dean of the CollegeSt. Olaf College

Mellby Lectures Speaker History

1 st Annual (1983-84)

  • Lynn Steen, Mathematics, “1 + 1 = 0: The Invisible Revolution in Modern Mathematics”

2 nd Annual (1984-85)

  • Anne H. Groton, Classics, “’Through much is taken, much abides’: Classics and the Will to Survive”
  • Harold H. Ditmanson, Religion, “Christian Faith and Public Morality”

3 rd Annual (1985-86)

  • Reidar Dittmann, Art and Norwegian, “Turner, Ruskin and the Grand Tour: Switzerland, Italy and the Sublime”
  • Devra Westover, Nursing, “Images of Nursing: Fact and Fantasy”

4 th Annual (1986–87)

  • Albert E. Finholt, Chemistry, “The Inscrutable Face of Science”
  • Jo Fraatz (Beld), Political Science, “The Politics of Excellence”

5 th Annual (1987–88)

  • Samiha Sidhom Peterson, Sociology, “the Search of Authenticity in an Interdependent World: The Case of the Middle East”
  • Howard Hong, Philosophy, “Three Little Words”

6 th Annual (1988–89)

  • Ted Johnson, Biology, “Out of the Laboratory: Challenges and Dilemmas”
  • Carol Holly, English, “Restoring Community to the Canon: A Consideration of Nineteenth-Century American Literature”

7 th Annual (1989–90)

  • Robert L. Nichols, History, “Renewing the Spirit”
  • Anantanand Rambachan, Religion, “Theological Literacy, A Global Perspective and the Challenges of Religious Pluralism”

8 th Annual (1990–91)

  • Robert Jacobel, Physics, “Ice and Climate: A Geophysical Perspective on Global Change”
  • Ann Wagner, Dance, “Dance and its Discontents: American Denominational Opposition”

9 th Annual (1991–92)

  • George C. Helling, Sociology, “For Adults Only”
  • Kathleen Fishbeck, Biology, “Consider the Soybeans…They Toil Much”

10 th Annual (1992–93)

  • Valborg Tollefsrud, Nursing, “The Human Science of Caring”
  • Gwen Barnes-Karol, Spanish, “Preaching, Politics and Theater in Counter-Reformation Spain”

11 th Annual (1993–94)

  • J. Patrick Dale, Political Science, “In the Aftermath of the Communist Interlude”
  • John Maakestad, Art, “The Excluded and Included in 20 th Century Art”

12 th Annual (1994–95)

  • Anton Armstrong, Music, “How Can I Keep From Singing?”
  • Kristina Huber (MacPherson), Library, “Whither the St. Olaf Libraries?”

13 th Annual (1995–96)

  • Fred Stoutland, Philosophy, “Philosophy, Science and Other Cultural Activity”
  • Martha Wallace, Mathematics, “Learning Teaching and Teaching Learning”

14 th Annual (1996–97)

  • James M. May, Classics, “ Cicero’s Ideal Orator and the St. Olaf Graduate: The Tradition Continues”
  • Olivia Frey, English, “What is Education For?”

15 th Annual (1997–98)

  • Eric D. Weitz, History, “The Century of Terror”
  • Wendy Allen, French, “Searching for Averroes: Reflections on Language, Culture and Education Incorporating a Global Perspective”

16 th Annual (1998–99)

  • Charles Huff, Psychology, “An Invitation to Psychology”
  • Alice Hanson, Music, “Conserve, Conservative, Conservatory: The Place of Music at St. Olaf”

17 th Annual (1999–00)

  • Ed Langerak, Philosophy, “Civil Disagreement”
  • Mac Gimse, Art, “Always Leaving, Forever Going Home”

18 th Annual (2000–01)

  • Eric S. Cole, Biology, “Probing Life With Light” & “Science, Mystery and the Art of Inquiry”
  • James J. Farrell, History, “It’s a Mall World After All”

19 th Annual (2001–02)

  • Nancy Paddleford, Music, “Ravel and Rice and Beans”
  • Edmund Santurri, Religion and Philosophy, “Philosophical Ambiguities in Ostensibly Unambiguous Times: The Moral Evaluation of Terrorism”

20 th Annual (2002–03)

  • Charles Taliaferro, Philosophy, “A Defense of a Romantic Education: The Role of Feeling in Personal Development”
  • L. DeAne Lagerquist, Religion, “The Observations of the Observed: Theological Literacy, the Liberal Arts and Global Perspective”

21 st Annual (2003–04)

  • David Wee, English, “Sport (Mostly Baseball) in Culture and the Curriculum”
  • Amy Kolan, Physics, “The Pleasures of Seeing: Making Light of the World Around Us”

22 nd Annual (2004-05)

  • Paul Humke, Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, “A Voyager from the Fourth Dimension”
  • Jolene Barjasteh, Romance Languages – French, “Deceit, Desire, and the Diary: Eugnie de Guerin’s Journal”

23 rd Annual (2005-06)

  • Steve Reese, Classics, “Homer, Jesus and Bass Fishing in Minnesota”
  • Gary Gisselman, Theatre, “Sustainability and the Theatre: Landscape, Intimacy, Sex and Violins”

24 th Annual (2006-07)

  • Rich DuRocher, English, “Why Milton Matters”
  • David Schodt, Economics, “Commodity Connections: Latin America and the United States”

25 th Annual (2007-08)

  • Bob Entenmann, History and Asian Studies, "The Life and Times of Andreas Ly, Shinese Catholic Priest (1693-1774)"
  • Anne Walter, Biology, "Old Questions, New Methods: A Paradigm Shift in How We Think About Cell Membranes and Other Biological Entities"