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President: 'St. Olaf evolving but maintaining heritage'

By Amy Gage
April 27, 2007

St. Olaf College is becoming a more selective institution and increasingly is attracting students from throughout the country while maintaining its heritage and "distinctive character," President David R. Anderson '74 told a group of alumni gathered in the Twin Cities on April 3.

Of the record-high 4,000 young people who applied to St. Olaf for admission in fall 2007, 49 percent are from outside Minnesota, which marks the highest percentage of out-of-state applications, Anderson said. Among all students who have made deposits for the coming first-year class, 38 percent have a legacy connection to the college, and 46 percent are Lutheran.

"You can have it all," he said to the approximately 50 alumni who gathered for West Bank Oles, an effort to create connections among St. Olaf graduates who have earned advanced degrees from the Carlson School of Management, the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs or the University of Minnesota Law School.

The event, held on the university's Minneapolis campus, was the brainchild of Humphrey Institute Director of Development Lars Leafblad '99, also a 2006 graduate of the Carlson School's MBA program.

Since becoming president of St. Olaf in July 2006, Anderson often is asked what strikes him most strongly about returning to his alma mater. It is student culture, he said, the "passion for learning in community" that he sees among St. Olaf students.

"That is the college's greatest strength," Anderson said. "It is heartwarming to be on the Hill."

Joking that he doesn't want to be known as the president with an "edifice complex," Anderson nevertheless extolled the building and renovation projects that have occurred on campus during this academic year. Those include renovating Boe Memorial Chapel, erecting the wind turbine (which the president has dubbed Big Ole) and building the ring road for the new Science Complex, which is scheduled to open in fall 2008.

The biggest challenge for St. Olaf? "Money," Anderson said in response to an audience question. The college's endowment of approximately $280 million is small compared with the endowments of peer institutions such as Carleton and Macalester colleges in Minnesota.

Once the "Beyond Imagination" campaign for the Science Complex is completed, Anderson hopes to launch a comprehensive campaign to build the endowment, he said, allowing the college to offer more student financial aid and to reduce the student-faculty ratio.

The president urged the assembled Oles to give generously each year to Partners in Annual Giving and to speak with pride about what makes St. Olaf unique: an intensely residential experience and a top academic program, set within the context of a "living and meaningful" faith tradition.

"There are lots of places in America where you can go to get smart," Anderson explained. "There are far fewer colleges where you can go to get smart and nourish your faith journey."

St. Olaf Regents Ron Hunter '70 and Martha Nelson '73, Dean and Provost Jim May, and deans from the University of Minnesota professional schools also were on hand. Oles in attendance included employees of Best Buy, Cargill, Habitat for Humanity and the venture capital firm Sherpa Partners.

Leafblad dubbed the first-time event a rousing success, one that met his goal of "strengthening the connections within our St. Olaf alumni community."

A proponent of "affinity-based" relationships among alumni, Leafblad two years ago collaborated with Ted Hillestad '99 to create the St. Olaf MBA Association.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.