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Physical plant named in honor of former college architect

By Kari VanDerVeen
July 21, 2009

It's official: St. Olaf College's physical plant is now the Norman E. Madson Facilities Building.

A formal dedication ceremony was held last month to name the facility in honor of Madson, who helped shape the look of the St. Olaf campus during the two decades he served as the college's staff architect and director of the physical plant before retiring in 1993. Madson's work on campus buildings began even before his career at St. Olaf, while he was with the local architectural firm of Sovik, Mathre & Madson. Over the course of more than 35 years, he was involved in the design and construction of most new buildings and reconstruction on campus -- work that included 25 buildings on the Hill. In total, Madson had a significant role in the development of more than 1.2 million square feet of campus space.

At the time of his retirement, Madson noted that a college campus should communicate "values of beauty, order, quality, integrity, concern, and a lack of artificiality." He helped St. Olaf achieve that with its signature limestone buildings and tree-studded grounds.

After Madson's death in 2003 discussions began about renaming the physical plant in his honor, and a formal naming ceremony was arranged this year. About 60 guests, including Madson's family members, former colleagues, and close friends, were on campus June 12 for the dedication ceremony.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.