Coming Soon April 22, 2026 — 3:30 p.m. (CT)
Buntrock Institute for Freedom and Community Conversation
Polarization, Partisanship, and Political Violence
Liliana Mason, SNF Agora Institute Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University
Viking Theater
Coming Soon April 24, 2026 — 5 p.m. (CT)
St. Olaf Student Leadership Awards Celebration
Recognizing Achievement in Student Life
Black and Gold Ballrooms
Coming Soon April 25, 2026 — 9 a.m. (CT)
2026 Ole Cup Student Entrepreneurial Pitch Competition
Business Pitches, Keynote Speaker, and Award Presentation
Viking Theater
Coming Soon May 1, 2026 — 10:10 a.m. (CT)
Honors Day Convocation
The Politics of Hope
Thomas Williamson, Kenneth Bjork Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
Boe Memorial Chapel
Coming Soon May 1, 2026 — 2 p.m. (CT)
Buntrock Institute for Freedom and Community Journalism Conference Panel
Press Freedom in a Polarized Age
Gretchen Morgenson '76, Senior Financial Reporter, NBC News Investigations
RonNell Andersen Jones, University Distinguished Professor and the Lee E. Teitelbaum Chair in Law, University of Utah
Scott Libin, Senior Fellow, Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
Viking Theater
Coming Soon May 1, 2026 — 5 p.m. (CT)
Buntrock Institute for Freedom and Community Journalism Conference Keynote
American Politics in the 21st-century: Distrust, New Media, Polarization, and Dissatisfaction
Jamie Druckman, Martin Brewer Anderson Professor of Political Science, University of Rochester
Viking Theater
Coming Soon May 2, 2026 — 9 a.m. (CT)
Buntrock Institute for Freedom and Community Journalism Conference Panel
Telling the story: Visual, Documentary, and Data Journalism
Ben Hovland '11, Visual Journalist, MPR News
Renée Jones Schneider, Photographer, Minnesota Star Tribune
Lea Zora Scruggs, Emmy Award-Winning Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker
David Montgomery, Data Journalist and History Podcaster
Viking Theater
Coming Soon May 2, 2026 — 10:30 a.m. (CT)
Buntrock Institute for Freedom and Community Journalism Conference Panel
Innovators in Journalism
Anna Palmer, Founder and CEO, Punchbowl News
Mukhtar Ibrahim, Founder and Principal Consultant, Sayid Group
Sean McPherson, Podcast Host, City Cast Twin Cities
Viking Theater
Coming Soon May 2, 2026 — 1 p.m. (CT)
Buntrock Institute for Freedom and Community Journalism Conference Panel and Closing Remarks
Polarized Publics and the Press
Catharine Richert, Correspondent, Minnesota Public Radio News
Matt DeLong, Audience Editor, Minnesota Star Tribune
Dan Myers, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota
Isaac Saul, Tangle News Media
Viking Theater
Coming Soon May 21, 2026 — 11 a.m. (CT)
Last Lecture and Parting Words for the Class of 2026
Boe Memorial Chapel