"Global awareness to accent school year"

Thinking about St. Olaf without a global perspective is almost unimaginable. The 1985-1986 school year was designated the "Year of Global Emphasis." The new focus came as a result of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of international studies programs. The coordinators of the themed year sought also to raise international consciousness on campus, fund raising, and long range planning.

Mark Nornes, a student member of the global task force, was in charge of the planning of the new global perspective. His biggest challenge was to get departments, professors and the student senate to implement global emphasis through talks, lectures, chapel talks and PAC and SAC events.

The challenge of making the campus more culturally aware was placed primarily on the shoulders of the professors. "If the staff is willing to tell, the students are forced to listen." A QUILL grant of $5,000 was given to a special summer faculty group that spent their time studying ways to include abroad programs in the college curriculum.

One suggested plan as to where the money should be applied was proposed by Russian professor Bob Nicholas. Nicholas played a large part in the planning and stated three areas where the money would be used: student scholarships for study abroad, better training for professors involved with abroad programs, and international activities on campus. Abroad programs at St. Olaf were alive prior to 1985, but the new "Year of Global Emphasis" celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first fully organized international program, which at the time was a radical idea. St. Olaf's international study programs have always been exceptional, yet the challenge was, and is still, to integrate off-campus learning with on-campus learning. Students throughout the years have been encouraged to take advantage of these study abroad opportunities.

"Alumni continue in theater"

A survey, which was given to the graduating classes of 1951-1984, showed that over half of all theater majors were still active in their field. Some alumni have become industry leaders in theater, television and media-related fields. The study was done primarily to update the department's records and to show current students the range of opportunities available to them. "With more than 60 percent of our graduates still involved in related work, it is apparent that the theater experiences they had at St. Olaf made them interested in continuing on," noted Patrick Quade, chair of the speech-theater department. Duane Morris, Œ57, has been a regular performer on Broadway in both "The Fiddler on the Roof" and "Hello Dolly." Eric Berglund, Œ70, has taught mime and drama in New York and is a regular performer at the children's theater. Stephan Rose, '79, was the associate producer for the "Love Boat" and was also involved in "Dynasty" and "Hotel."