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Kenyons Steve Sviggum to be cited as St. Olaf College distinguished alumnus

mjc
May 17, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Minnesota Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum is one of seven St. Olaf College graduates who will be honored by the college on Saturday, May 26, as a Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.

Sviggum, of Kenyon, Minn., will receive the award as part of the college?s "Celebration 2001" commencement and reunion weekend May 26-27. He and the six other honorees will be cited at an All-Alumni Banquet Saturday evening, May 26, and will be recognized by President Christopher Thomforde during St. Olaf College?s commencement Sunday, May 27.

Other Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are geneticist David Benton of Devon, Pa., former ambassador Robert A. Flaten of Northfield, Minn., mayor and community activist DeLores Hinrichs Henehan of Britton, S.D., neighborhood developer Ruth Kelly Hustad of Eden Prairie, Minn., education reform catalyst Jeanne Kunau Narum of Washington, D.C., and businessman Herbert M. Stellner Jr. of Kasson, Minn.

Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are selected each year based on distinction in profession, community service, religious involvement and involvement in St. Olaf College.

Sviggum, who graduated from St. Olaf College in 1973, is the second most powerful political leader in Minnesota as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A public servant for more than 20 years, he has been elected to the Minnesota House every two years since 1978, and has been House Republican leader since 1993.

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Distinguished Alumni Award ? 2

He has earned the respect of his colleagues by following a consistent philosophy, articulating himself in an understandable and common-sense way, being generous with his time, and being open to the ideas of others. A former high school math teacher and football and basketball coach, he has developed a strong commitment to education and has placed it, as well as agriculture, high on his priority list. He has worked hard for better financial aid for private college students through the Minnesota State Grant Program. Active in Vang Lutheran Church, he is down-to-earth and genuine, committed to his family, church, community and state.

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.