The student-led male a cappella group the Limestones took top honors in this year's Battle of the A Cappella Bands at Concordia College.

After participating in St. Olaf's new Research Experience for Undergraduates program, Kosaizee Yang '11 is making plans to study microbiology in graduate school — a future that seemed unattainable just a few years ago.

Ray Shows, instructor in music for violin and viola, has received the Master Teacher Studio Award from the Minnesota String & Orchestra Teachers Assocation for making "a significant contribution to string music in our state."

Shelly Gossman '99 recently joined the team of writers behind the iconic sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live. She shares how she made it to New York, her advice for Oles, and why she once titled a 30-page research paper "Past Gas."

In addition to their snorkel and SCUBA gear, St. Olaf students participating in January’s Island Biology Interim course in the Bahamas will pack something extra this year — a remotely operated vehicle designed and built by students.

Not only did St. Olaf place first in this year's Give to the Max Day — earning the college a $20,000 bonus — but the 1,791 people who contributed $195,605 made it the most successful 24 hours in annual giving history on the Hill.

Professor of English and Associate Dean of Students Richard DuRocher, 55, died November 16 at his home in Northfield after a long battle with cancer. He was a nationally recognized scholar of English poet John Milton.

Among all baccalaureate institutions in the nation, St. Olaf sent the most students to study abroad during the 2008–09 academic year, according to the Open Doors 2010 Report on International Educational Exchange.

Professor of Philosophy and Curator of the Kierkegaard Library Gordon Marino, who covers the boxing beat for the Wall Street Journal, was in Dallas recently for the Pacquiao-Margarito bout. According to the Journal, Marino's live blog of the event received more traffic than had the paper's World Cup and Olympics blogs.

“Spreadsheet psychic” and “number-crunching prodigy” Nate Silver, founder of the award-winning political blog FiveThirtyEight.com, will speak on campus November 16.

St. Olaf College ranks No. 27 in the latest edition of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's "Best Values in Private Colleges" list that includes 200 institutions.

The November issue of Food & Wine includes a “40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under” section that notes, at No. 8, the accomplishments of Nick Fauchald '01, editor in chief of the trend- and artisan-scouting e-newsletter Tasting Table. We asked him a few questions . . .

St. Olaf Professor of Sociology Mike Leming will share why he believes "praxis makes perfect" when he gives the fall Mellby Lecture November 16.

A 50-acre piece of land owned by Northfielders Greg '82 and Nancy Clark Carlson '82 is becoming an outdoor laboratory for St. Olaf students, who have already established a sustainable farming operation.

The St. Olaf Magazine received five awards — including four golds — at this year's Minnesota Magazine & Publishing Association Excellence Awards competition, plus a gold award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

St. Olaf Associate Archivist Jeff Sauve was recently recognized by the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums, who awarded him the Minnesota History Award for his editing of Pioneer Women: Voices of Northfield’s Frontier.

Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Diane LeBlanc, who also is director of the college’s writing program, was a featured writer at the Lutheran Festival of Writing.

Sarah Minor '11 didn't have to travel far to get to her off-campus study destination: a Creative Writing for Social Change program in Minneapolis. It's "the perfect melding of my interests in creative writing, visual art, and social activism," she says.

St. Olaf College will award an honorary doctorate of humane letters to Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov, president and general director of Russia’s Mosfilm studio, during a ceremony November 11. The event is part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the college’s Russian Department.