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< December 2005
February 2006 >


Anton Armstrong '78 receives $200,000 'great teaching' award
Armstrong
JANUARY 31, 2006 — Conductor Anton Armstrong '78 has been named recipient of this year's Cherry Award, the most prestigious award of its type in the nation. "This award... recognizes all the wonderful family, teachers, mentors, students and singers that have touched my life," he says.

St. Olaf gets $300,000 for scholarship of teaching, learning
Hofrenning
JANUARY 31, 2006 — St. Olaf faculty member Dan Hofrenning says that a new Bush grant will help create opportunities for faculty to experiment with new ideas -- all the time keeping student learning at the forefront of their work. "We want to create a dynamic and creative academic culture in which students can learn."

Two native Kansans return home during St. Olaf Band tour
JANUARY 30, 2006 — Lawrence.com, a website that covers the arts in and around Lawrence, Kan., has posted a story about St. Olaf students Merry Chadwick and Anne Kettle, St. Olaf Band members who are returning home to Kansas during the ensemble's Winter Tour.

Dallas Morning News calls St. Olaf Choir 'tops'
JANUARY 30, 2006 — In its preview of the St. Olaf Choir's Feb. 6 performance in Dallas, the Dallas Morning News quotes "people who know singing," such as Don Krehbiel, director of Dallas' Orpheus Chamber Singers. "[The St. Olaf Choir] is considered by many to be at the pinnacle of American choral singing," he says.

Volunteerism, political activity up among college students
JANUARY 27, 2006 — A report by the Higher Education Research Institute shows that college students nationwide are more interested in volunteer activities and feel the urgency of keeping up with politics. St. Olaf students show an even higher trend in these areas, and they are less likely to be in college solely for future career advancement.

Odell completes book on Ezekiel
Odell
JANUARY 25, 2006 — Odell says that the book's multimedia format gave her a chance to "stretch" as she supplemented her text with illustrations of Western art and poetry.

Choir and band to depart on Midwest tours
JANUARY 25, 2006 — The St. Olaf Band and the St. Olaf Choir are preparing to share the St. Olaf tradition of musical excellence during their winter tours.

St. Olaf was 'within reach' for daughter of Hmong immigrants
JANUARY 25, 2006 — St. Olaf senior Lily Moua, of St. Paul, has successfully straddled two worlds. According to an article in the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune, she is both "a dutiful daughter in a traditional family" and a high-achieving student at a prestigious private college. She got to St. Olaf through a program that helps low-income, first-generation students.

St. Olaf to host "Financial Aid Info Night"
JANUARY 24, 2006 — High school seniors and juniors and their parents, and adults planning to attend any university or college, will find useful information at the "Financial Aid Info Night" to be at 7 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, Viking Theater. St. Olaf Director of Financial Aid Kathy Ruby will be the keynote speaker, followed by a question-and-answer session. The session is free and open to the public.

Artaria String Quartet to present concert at St. Olaf
JANUARY 22, 2006 — The Artaria String Quartet will present a concert "Composers and Their Collaborators" at 4 p.m. in Urness Recital Hall. Works of composers who lived with their musical collaborators, namely their wives, will be featured during this concert.

Student Chamber Ensemble to perform family-friendly concert
JANUARY 20, 2006 — The "Really Good Chamber Ensemble," a student-run chamber orchestra, conducted by Matthew Peterson '06, will give a family-friendly concert at 8:15 p.m. in Christiansen Hall of Music, Urness Recital Hall. Presenting its third annual concert, this ensemble was founded in Jan. 2004 and rehearses and performs a concert during each Interim. The concert, about 45 minutes long, is free and open to the public.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to be observed at St. Olaf
JANUARY 16, 2006 — A special chapel service and reception will be held honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. beginning at 10:10 a.m. in Boe Memorial Chapel, with the theme "The Man, the Message and the Mission." The St. Olaf Gospel Choir, directed by Jack Yates, will perform and there will be special readings from the student essay contest sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. A reception immediately following chapel will be held in Buntrock Commons. Both events are free and open to the public.

'Great Teacher' Armstrong featured on KARE 11
JANUARY 16, 2006 — KARE 11 TV Reporter Boyd Huppert recently interviewed St. Olaf Choir Conductor Anton Armstrong '78 about being awarded the 2006 Cherry Award for Great Teaching -- and the $200,000 that comes with it. But Hupert reports that money has never been the motivating factor for Armstrong. "It's really being able to offer the best of who we are, and we offer it as a gift," says Armstrong.

Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Becky Lourey to visit
JANUARY 12, 2006 — State Senator Becky Lourey will speak at 7 p.m. in the Black and Gold Ballroom of Buntrock Commons. Lourey is chair of the Senate Health and Family Security Committee and at the center of the debate over the future of the state-funded health care in the 2005 legislative session. Lourey's campaign will focus on health insurance, education funding, environmental protections, college financial aid and affordable housing. The public is welcome to attend.

Gubernatorial candidate Becky Lourey to appear tonight
JANUARY 12, 2006 — DFL candidate for governor Becky Lourey has scheduled a town-hall style meeting at St. Olaf College tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. in the Black and Gold Ballroom, Buntrock Commons. The meeting is open to the public. A state senator from Kerrick, Minn., Lourey is a nationally recognized expert on health care public policy. She currently chairs the Minnesota Senate Health and Family Security Committee.

Lourey was in the news recently after her son Matt died in the Iraq war.

St. Olaf art apprentice show opens
JANUARY 11, 2006 — Each year the St. Olaf Art Department retains four of the most promising art majors for an additional fifth year. This year's quartet includes a printmaker, two sculptors and a ceramist. See their work in Flaten Art Museum.

Director of financial aid to speak at free public event
Ruby
JANUARY 11, 2006 — St. Olaf will host a 'financial aid information night' for college-bound high-school students and their parents on Tuesday, Jan. 24. The evening event is free and open to the public.

Late religion professor lauded for work on women, the church
JANUARY 11, 2006 — St. Olaf Professor of Religion Susan Lindley, who died Dec. 27 after a long battle with breast cancer, was eulogized in the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune for her seminal study of the history of women and religion in America. The first non-Lutheran member of the Department of Religion at St. Olaf, Lindley, 60, was an active member of the Episcopal church.

Organ work begins in Boe Memorial Chapel
JANUARY 10, 2006 — The initial stages of construction in Boe Memorial Chapel, which will eventually lead to the installation of a new organ and worship platform, got underway recently.

Clarinet masterclass to be offered by Burt Hara
JANUARY 9, 2006 — Minnesota Orchestra's Burt Hara will present a clarinet masterclass at 7:00 p.m. in the Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf Campus. Hara, a 16-year member of the Minnesota Orchestra is currently on staff at the University of Minnesota School of Music and has presented many guest lectures, clinics and performances to audiences around the country. This event is free and open to the public.

Reopened Ole Store endears itself to a 'wired' generation
JANUARY 9, 2006 — "Nobody wants to go to a place that's not busy," says one of the new co-owners of the Ole Store, an off-campus landmark that reopened last summer with new touches and some of the best of the old feel. From current students to retired professors, Oles are among the main patrons of the establishment.

Nationally recognized admissions expert joins St. Olaf
Pope
JANUARY 9, 2006 — In hiring Jerry Pope as director of admissions, St. Olaf College has gained a well-respected expert on the admissions process, a frequently quoted source in the national press and a man who knows how to take a great regional school to national heights.

St. Olaf Choir to perform at St. John's Lutheran Church
JANUARY 8, 2006 — The internationally-renowned St. Olaf Choir will give two performances at St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield. The choir will sing at both the 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. services. Directed by Dr. Anton Armstrong '78, and comprised of 75 St. Olaf students, the St. Olaf Choir has excelled in a cappella choral performance since its beginning over 75 years ago. Near the end of the month, the choir will embark on its winter tour to Texas and back. This event is free and open to the public.

Art exhibit to feature works by art apprentices
JANUARY 6, 2006 — Four St. Olaf art apprentices will show their works in Dittmann Center, Flaten Art Museum during the month of January. An opening reception for Max Clark, Lewis Colburn, Nick Kosack and Andrew Webber will be held on January 6. Gallery hours are M,T,W,F 10a.m.-5 p.m., Th 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and weekends 2-5 p.m. The exhibit will close January 22.

St. Olaf Regent named to Order of the British Empire
Brunelle
JANUARY 5, 2006 — Choral conductor and St. Olaf Regent Philip Brunelle now has an Order of the British Empire to add to his honors from Hungary and Sweden. He received the award at the British Embassy in Washington earlier this month.

Faculty musicians to present viola and piano recital
Een
JANUARY 5, 2006 — Andrea Een, associate professor of violin, viola, Hardanger fiddle and chamber music, and Lori Ronning Folland, staff pianist, will give a recital at St. Olaf College this Sunday. The recital will feature performances on viola and piano.

Dittmann Center honored for distinction in architecture
Dittmann Center
JANUARY 3, 2006 — The Dittmann Center for Art and Dance received the American Institute of Architects' Honor Award in recognition of architectural excellence. Alumnus Mark Larson '88 was also honored by the AIA.

Oles to spend Interim with New York City congregations
JANUARY 3, 2006 — Six St. Olaf students will travel to New York City this January to work with Lutheran churches in Brooklyn, Bronx and Manhattan. The trip will offer the students the opportunity to explore ministry within several New York congregations.

Visitation, funeral set for Religion Professor Susan Lindley
Lindley
JANUARY 2, 2006 — The family of Religion Professor Susan Lindley has announced the arrangements for her visitation and funeral service. Professor Lindley died of cancer on Tuesday, Dec. 27.