We've all heard about St. Olaf's new president and how tall he is, what a great basketball player he was, and how he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Lately, however, President Thomforde is becoming known for his visits to the Pause, basketball games, musical events, and many other student body functions.

Part of the reason Thomforde has been frequenting the student scene lately is for the simple reason that he wants to learn about students. He states, "I'm not going to learn about anybody at St. Olaf by sitting in my living room." He said that it is important not to forget that each individual here is a human being with a different experience. "A college is made up of people and you need to know who the people are," said Thomforde.

In addition to knowing who the people are, Thomforde feels he needs to also have an appreciation of all the different groups and how they fit in, which leads to a "responsibility for the president to allow moral discussion."

His own experience in college was an important factor in his decision to work with students. He explains, "Faculty and staff members took me very seriously as a person of promise and potential, as somebody who would be able to do something important. If I could serve students as well as I have been served, it would be a good thing to have done."

All the students that he has interacted with seem to agree that in the short time he has been here, he is already well on his way with this aspiration. Senior Eric Hoplin was impressed by seeing him at student functions on campus, and describes Thomforde as a "student's president."

Senior Kristin Olson feels that when watching him, it is noticeable how much he loves interacting with students. She adds, "Every student I have spoken with has been impressed with the efforts that he and his wife Christine have made to get to know the student body."

One of these efforts is living on-campus in the President's house on St. Olaf Avenue. Thomforde said that he was given a choice of where to live, but "we chose to live on-campus so we could be part of the community."

Doing so has allowed for some memorable events. He will always remember that when he and his wife were moving in, the women's cross-country team ran in the house and began to sing the school song, loud Um Ya Ya's and all.

Tim Cashin, a member of Senate, remembers how Thomforde and his wife asked the students in Senate to come to their house and help them move some of the heavy stuff. He explains with a smile how the president and his wife had him move a huge plant around a room to see how it would look in different places, "only to finally decide they didn't want to keep it anyway." He goes on to describe Thomforde as "a helluva guy­he's very accomplished academically and in his relations with others, and he's also a striking, friendly person who makes his presence well-known in a great way."

The high opinion that the student body has of their new president is a mutual one. The first impression Thomforde had of the students here was also positive. "Students here seem to be doing serious things like sports and plays, but also very serious academics." He adds that they appear "lighthearted, and seem to be pretty happy."

His second impression was on Welcoming Day, when he and Christine felt that the enthusiasm they were shown was amazing. Thomforde says that for a president to be successful, he or she needs to have breadth, fairness, a vision for the institution, tons of energy, prudence, and accessibility. He has definitely accomplished many of these goals, and hopes that he is well on his way in the others.

Although being the president of St. Olaf is a time consuming job, Thomforde feels that it is a privilege which he loves. After seeing him eating pizza in the Pause, inviting students to his house, or joyously crashing his toboggan on the Old Main hill, it is obvious that he believes this whole-heartedly.