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Four days of festive public eventslead to inauguration of Christopher Thomforde

mjc
April 18, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Four days of gala events at St. Olaf College will culminate with the April 29 inauguration of Christopher Meredith Thomforde as the college?s 10th president.

Five concerts, two worship services, two performances of a Roman comedy, an art exhibit, a dance festival/concert, a community celebration and a spectacular fireworks display are among the events that will be part of the festivities Thursday through Sunday, April 26-29.

All of the events are free and open to the public. Among the more popular will be the dedication Thursday, April 26, of a new exhibit at the Northfield Historical Society. The exhibit celebrates the unique partnership between St. Olaf College and the citizens of Northfield. The dedication, on Bridge Square, will feature free cake and music by the Norseman Band of St. Olaf College, conducted by Paul Niemisto with guest conductor Ron Rodman of Carleton College.

Another popular public event will be a fireworks display Friday, April 27, at 8:45 p.m., visible from many parts of Northfield. Northfield citizens are invited to watch the display from their homes or yards.

The official inauguration will be a colorful academic ceremony in Skoglund Center Auditorium at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29, with Librarian of Congress James Billington, a personal friend of Thomforde?s, delivering the main address. Inauguration Day also will include a tree-planting ceremony, a worship service, a reception and an orchestra concert.

Thomforde was named president of the 127-year-old St. Olaf College last September following an extensive national search. The college, an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is nationally recognized for its quality liberal arts curriculum and international studies programs.

Inauguration speaker Billington is one of Thomforde?s former professors at Princeton University. As librarian of Congress, he oversees the world?s largest repository of knowledge ? more than 28 million printed items and 119 million items in all formats. In 1987 he became librarian of Congress, a lifetime appointment, following in the footsteps of poet and writer Archibald MacLeish and author and historian Daniel Boorstin.

Billington is a 1950 Princeton graduate who attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. After teaching history at Harvard and Princeton, he went to Washington, D.C., first as director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and then as librarian of Congress.

Thomforde graduated from Princeton in 1969 with a bachelor?s degree in medieval and Russian history. He earned a master?s of divinity degree from Yale University Divinity School (with concentrations in biblical studies, church history and philosophy), and he completed a doctor of ministry degree at Princeton Theological Seminary.

He brings to St. Olaf College significant experience in higher education. From 1996 until this year he was president of Bethany College, another ELCA college, in Lindsborg, Kan. Before that he served for 10 years as chaplain of Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. He also has served as a parish pastor and taught western languages and medieval European history at Tunghai University in Taiwan.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Thomforde grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and graduated from Long Island Lutheran High School. He is married to Christine Stone Thomforde, a registered nurse and accomplished cellist. They have three grown children.

Thomforde, who began work at St. Olaf on Jan. 15, has quickly become involved in Northfield activities, preaching at St. John?s Lutheran Church, meeting with numerous local groups and speaking to local service clubs, including the Northfield Lions and Northfield Rotary.

Events during the four-day inauguration festivities include:

  • A program celebrating "Intersecting Communities," a Northfield Historical Museum exhibit, Thursday, April 26, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Bridge Square, downtown Northfield, with a brief program and ribbon-cutting, cake, coffee and music by St. Olaf College?s Norseman Band.
  • The annual Spring Concert by St. Olaf College?s Percussion Ensemble Thursday, April 26, at 8:15 p.m. in Urness Recital Hall, Christiansen Hall of Music.
  • Service of morning prayer Friday, April 27, at 10:10 a.m. in Boe Memorial Chapel, celebrating the teaching and learning community of St. Olaf.
  • The ancient Roman comedy Pseudolus, by Plautis, performed by St. Olaf classics students Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 233, Christiansen Hall of Music.
  • The annual Spring Concert by the St. Olaf Jazz I Ensemble Friday, April 27, at 8 p.m. in the Pause of Buntrock Commons.
  • Fireworks, launched from the athletic fields near Skoglund Center and visible from most locations in Northfield, Friday, April 27, after 8:45 p.m.
  • Wellstock, a student celebration of spring featuring several music groups, Saturday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the campus green of St. Olaf College.
  • A Festival of Senior Work art show Saturday, April 28, from 2-7 p.m. in Steensland Art Museum.
  • "Intersecting Communities," a Northfield Historical Society exhibit, Saturday, April 28, from 2-7 p.m. at the historical society?s museum, 408 Division St.
  • An International Dance Festival/Concert Saturday, April 28, at 3 p.m. in Urness Recital Hall, Christiansen Hall of Music.
  • A special inaugural recital by several St. Olaf music faculty members Saturday, April 28, at 8 p.m. in Urness Recital Hall, Christiansen Hall of Music.
  • A tree-planting ceremony honoring the college?s new president Sunday, April 29, at 9:30 a.m. at the presidential grove east of Old Main.
  • A worship service and holy communion Sunday, April 29, at 10:30 a.m. in Boe Memorial Chapel.
  • The inauguration of Christopher M. Thomforde Sunday, April 29, at 2:30 p.m. in Skoglund Center Auditorium.
  • A reception in honor of Christopher and Christine Thomforde Sunday, April 29, at 4:30 p.m. in the Crossroads of Buntrock Commons.
  • The annual Spring Concert by the St. Olaf Jazz II and III Ensembles Sunday, April 29, at 4:30 p.m. in the Pause of Buntrock Commons.
  • The St. Olaf Philharmonia?s "home" concert following its spring tour Sunday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Boe Memorial Chapel.

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.