"Drip, drip, drip — that’s what insomniac thoughts feel like, a leaky faucet behind the eyes," begins St. Olaf faculty member Gordon Marino in a recent New York Times piece.

This year, six Gates Millennium Scholars are attending St. Olaf: Phoua Xiong ’12, Serena Xiong ’13, Mai Tong Vang ’10, Vue Yang ’11, Kosaizee Yang ’11, and Kia Her ’12.

St. Olaf Instructor in Music Anna Clift has founded Cello: An American Experience, a new summer camp for young Chinese cellists.

Despite three flawless runs, the St. Olaf Rube Goldberg team was edged out by the University of Wisconsin–Stout to place second at the national Rube Goldberg Competition hosted by Purdue University Saturday.

In a recent performance with the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra, faculty member Jun Qian "went from the haunting depths of the lower register to unbelievable highs in showing his mastery of the clarinet," wrote the Pueblo Chieftain's music critic.

St. Olaf Professor of Religion Anantanand Rambachan recently presented “Is There a Purpose for Creation? Rethinking the Meaning of Not-Two,” a lecture that was part of Harvard University's Hindu Studies Colloquium Series. 

Hannah Sorenson '10 recently was accepted into three of the country's top Master of Fine Arts programs for theatre. Her classes at St. Olaf — whether philosophy, mathematics, Norwegian, biology, or religion — have helped by making her "think about the world in a different light."

Local TV stations KARE 11 and WCCO 4 have featured the St. Olaf Rube Goldberg team as the students make their final preparations for the national competition at Purdue University March 27. "I'd say it's the engineering version of 'March madness,'" Bryce Danielson '11 told KARE.

Members of the St. Olaf Band, conducted by Timothy Mahr ’78, embarked on a two-week study tour of Japan earlier this year. In addition to their performance schedule, students completed a course that examined Japanese culture and history.

St. Olaf Artist in Residence Anthony Roberts says he's pleased to have three “high-caliber” pieces — choreographed by four students — represent St. Olaf at a national dance conference.

Mary Abbe, art critic for the Star Tribune, recently ventured down to campus to check out "Arabesque" -- an art show by the mother-daughter team of sculptor Judy Onofrio and painter Jennifer Onofrio Fornes.

For Olaf Millert, the emeritus faculty member who founded the St. Olaf Psychology Department in 1960, helping students is a normal part of life. His numerous gifts to the college will result in a Regents Hall laboratory being named in his honor.

Retired Army General Wesley Clark will discuss war and international politics during a public appearance at St. Olaf Tuesday. A Rhodes Scholar and presidential candidate, Clark is perhaps best known for leading NATO forces in the Kosovo War in 1999.

Maria Karagianis, former Boston Globe and Rand Daily Mail reporter, and currently director of U.S. operations for the Greek school Anatolia, is visiting St. Olaf March 22-26 as part of the Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow Program.

The 1,770 St. Olaf students who logged more than 46,000 hours of community service last year have landed the college on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

Keith Hobson, a bird conservation and management researcher for the Canadian government, will present two talks at St. Olaf that tie in with the college's current academic theme of "Migration."

St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Howard Hong '34 died March 16 in Northfield. Hong is best remembered for founding, along with late wife Edna Hatlestad Hong '38, the Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf. The March 27 funeral will be streamed online.

John Schantzen '10 won shot put with a school record 17.37-meter effort at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday.

As seniors prepare to enter a tough job market, St. Olaf is launching a networking program that will connect students with St. Olaf alumni and parents. Kirsten Cahoon '98, senior associate director of career connections, hopes the program will "create lasting and sustained relationships."

Who knew that dispensing hand sanitizer could take 204 steps? This year’s Rube Goldberg team — hoping to repeat last year's victory — has created a "medieval" machine that uses chemistry, physics, geometry, music, and computer programming to complete the task.

Associate Professor of Psychology Shelly Dickinson and Brandon Fritz '10 are researching how alcohol affects the brain — specifically what the correlation might be between early consumption and addiction.

For the third time over the past four years, a team of St. Olaf math students — Nathan Clement ’10, Mathew Deram '11, and Vladimir Sotirov '12 — has come out on top at the annual Konhauser Problemfest.

Inside Higher Ed recently quoted James May, provost and dean of St. Olaf and professor of classics, in a story about how some institutions are trying to trim costs by targeting small academic programs such as classics departments.

St. Olaf College will award honorary degrees to Marjorie Jobson, a South African human rights activist, and Joe Dowling, longtime artistic director of the Guthrie Theater, during a convocation ceremony Thursday. In addition, Jobson will present a lecture later that day about post-apartheid South Africa.

“I love the multitude of different applications that mathematics has in the world, and the kid in me loves all the fun math tricks you learn along the way as well,” says Emily Jones '11, who returned to campus recently with the undergraduate best poster prize from the Regional Celebration of Women in Computing.

On March 18 St. Olaf students and interested others will meet with state legislators during Day at the Capitol. The St. Olaf contingent will join counterparts from other private colleges in discussions with members of the House of Representatives and Senate on the importance of the Minnesota State Grant program to students and their families.

Long ago deemed “the work of the devil” by college officials, swing dancing has grown to become one of the most popular after-hours activities at St. Olaf. The annual Lindy Fest hosted by the St. Olaf Swing Club attracts participants from across the region.

The St. Olaf Orchestra, St. Olaf Choir, and Manitou Singers have all been invited to perform at this year's American Choral Directors Association conference in Minneapolis. A number of alumni also are involved with the event.

A group of Norwegian Home Guard officers recently visited campus to learn more about Norwegian-American ties.

St. Olaf Provost and Dean of the College Jim May recently announced that five St. Olaf faculty members have been promoted to full professor and eight have been granted tenure this year.