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Approximately 650 to graduate from St. Olaf College during 112th annual commencement Sunday, May 27

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May 18, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Approximately 650 seniors will graduate during St. Olaf College?s 112th annual commencement on Sunday, May 27. Keynote speaker for the event will be Christopher Thomforde, newly inaugurated St. Olaf College president.

The ceremony will start at 2:30 p.m. on the college?s Manitou Field. (In case of inclement weather, it will be in Skoglund Center Auditorium.) As of May 18 there are 644 senior graduates for degrees. Senior class speaker will be Sean Thomas-Breitfeld, a social work and American racial and multicultural studies major from Brookfield, Wis.

Commencement will be one of the main attractions of the annual alumni reunion and commencement weekend Friday, May 25, through Sunday, May 27. The "Celebration 2001" events will include three concerts; recognition of seven distinguished alumni; dozens of luncheons, dinners and reunion events for the classes of 1926, ?31, ?36, ?41, ?46, ?51, ?56, ?61, ?66, ?71 and ?76; and a reunion for St. Olaf graduates who served in the Martin Luther Schule in Rimbach, Germany, from 1948 to 1967.

Graduates will file onto the field to the accompaniment of the St. Olaf Band, conducted by Timothy Mahr. College Pastor W. Bruce Benson will give the invocation, and graduates will be introduced by Provost and Dean of the College James Pence. The commencement celebration will be broadcast by KYMN Radio, Northfield, 1080 on the AM dial.

Baccalaureate for the graduating seniors will be at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 27, in Skoglund Center Auditorium, with Benson as speaker.

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The seven distinguished alumni will be recognized by Thomforde as part of commencement, and will be honored at a celebration ceremony on Saturday, May 26. The seven are geneticist David Benton of Devon, Pa.; former ambassador Robert A. Flaten of Northfield, Minn.; community leader DeLores Hinrichs Henehan of Britton, S.D.; neighborhood developer Ruth Kelly Hustad of Eden Prairie, Minn.; Independent Colleges Office director Jeanne Kunau Narum of Washington, D.C.; businessman Herbert M. Stellner Jr. of Kasson, Minn.; and Minnesota Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum of Kenyon, Minn.

The "Rimbach-Ole" reunion includes 19 Oles who served as student teachers in the Martin Luther Schule, Germany. The students taught English and literature for one-year terms, helping the impoverished school enter a new era of peace and democracy. The reunion will be celebrated with luncheons, banquets and photo programs.

Several St. Olaf professors and professors emeriti will conduct Learning Seminars for visiting families and alumni. The seminars will include "Ytterboe the Dog: the Legend Revisited," "Café Ole: An Electronic Community," "The Story of Women?s Studies at St. Olaf," "Hands-on Watercolor in an Hour," "Stories, Life Journeys and Memories," "Baseball: Field of Study, Field of Dreams," "Photography: Going Digital, The Pros and Cons," "Planting the Church by Train," "A Prairie Tour," "Forming St. Olaf, 1874-1942" and "Transforming St. Olaf, 1943-63."

St. Olaf commencement and reunion events that are open to the public include:

o St. Olaf Band Concert (Timothy Mahr, conductor) Friday, May 25, 8 p.m., Skoglund Center Auditorium.

o The 15th annual Ole Roll 5K Run/Walk Saturday, May 26, 8 a.m., Skoglund Athletic Center (registration 7-8 a.m.).

o Rolvaag Memorial Library open house Saturday, May 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with tours available.

o St. Olaf Archives and Kierkegaard Library open house Saturday, May 26, 1-3 p.m.

o Tour of 89.3 WCAL Saturday, May 26, 1:30 p.m., Hector R. Skifter Radio Building.

o St. Olaf Orchestra Concert (Steven Amundson, conductor) Saturday, May 26, 3:30 p.m. in Skoglund Center Auditorium.

o St. Olaf Choir Concert (Anton Armstrong, conductor) Saturday, May 26, 8 p.m. in Skoglund Center Auditorium.

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St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.