List of St. Olaf College people
This list of St. Olaf people contains links to Wikipedia articles about notable alumni and other people connected to St. Olaf College, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota.
Notable alumni
[edit]Composers and Conductors
[edit]- Frank Pooler, class of ~1948
- Kenneth Jennings, class of 1950
- Dale Warland, class of 1954
- David Boe, class of 1958
- Kurt Westerberg, class of 1972
- René Clausen, class of 1974
- Anton Armstrong, class of 1978
- Timothy Mahr, class of 1978
- Bradley Ellingboe, class of 1980
- Craig Hella Johnson, class of 1984
- Abbie Betinis, class of 2021
- Jocelyn Hagen, class of 2003
- Matthew Peterson, class of 2006
Politicians, Statesmen and Judges
[edit]- Andrew Volstead, class of 1881, US house of representatives for Minnesota, introduced National Prohibition Act
- August H. Andresen, class of 1912, United States Representative from Minnesota
- Arthur E. Thompson, class of 1915, former North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Mary Forsythe, class of 1922, member of Minnesota House of Representatives
- Harold Hagen, class of ~1923, United States Representative from Minnesota
- Harold Lovre, class of ~1924, United States Representative from South Dakota
- George Thompson, class of 1940, 35th Attorney General of Wisconsin
- Karl F. Rolvaag, class of 1941, 31st Governor of Minnesota
- Bruce Laingen, class of 1947, United States Ambassador to Malta, 1977-1979
- Al Quie, class of 1950, 35th Governor of Minnesota
- Arlen Erdahl, class of 1953, United States Representative from Minnesota
- David Minge, class of 1963, United States Representative from Minnesota
- Russell A. Anderson, class of 1964, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
- Kim Elton, class of 1968, former member of the Alaska Senate
- Tom Saxhaug, class of 1970, former member of the Minnesota Senate
- John Nilson, class of ~1973, Canadian politician
- David Bly, class of 1974, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
- Raymond Cox, class of 1974, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
- Arnie Arnesen, class of 1975, fellow of Harvard Institute of Politics and member of New Hampshire House of Representatives
- Joan Ericksen, class of 1977, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
- Ian C. Kelly, class of 1977, US Ambassador to Georgia and US Ambassador to OSCE
- Tom Fiebiger, class of 1978, member of the North Dakota Senate
- John Marty, class of 1978, member of the Minnesota Senate
- Steve Sviggum, class of 1979, Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
- David Knutson, class of 1982, Minnesota State Senator of District 37, 2003-2004
- Erik Paulsen, class of 1987, United States Representative from Minnesota
- Eric C. Tostrud, class of 1987, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
- J. B. Van Hollen, class of 1988, 43rd Attorney General of Wisconsin
- Jim Meffert, class of 1989, U.S. Congressional candidate (2010)
- Monthian Buntan, class of 1990, Thai politician
- Satveer Chaudhary, class of 1991, former member of the Minnesota State legislature
- Kristi Pursell, class of 2003, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
- Jay Xiong, class of ~2005, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Writers
[edit]- Ole Rolvaag, class of 1905, author of Giants in the Earth
- Robert Bly, class of 1950 (transferred out), leader of the Mythopoetic men's movement
- Timothy Mason, class of 1972, playwright
- Siri Hustvedt, class of 1977
- Erin Hart, class of 1980
- Sarah Lindsay, class of 1980
- Chris Raschka, class of 1981
- Kij Johnson, class of 1982
- Peg Kerr, class of 1982
- Danel Olson, class of 1983
- Mark Rein-Hagen, class of 1988, author of Vampire: The Masquerade
- Kristina Halvorson, class of 1993
- Michelle Hoover, class of 1994
- Emily Rapp, class of 1996
- David Oppegaard, class of 2002
Religion
[edit]- Johan Arnd Aasgaard, class of 1898, American Lutheran church leader
- James Reeb, class of 1950, minister, pastor, and Civil Rights activist, 1927-1965
- Stuart E. Barstad, class of 1951, Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force from 1985 to 1988
- David Ede, class of 1957, American scholar of Islam
- Alan M. Olson, class of 1961, philosopher, Boston University, 1974-2013
Other
[edit]- Margaret Sordahl, class of ~1924, ornithologist
- Einar Haugen, class of 1928, Harvard professor of Scandinavian and linguistics
- Anthony Dexter, class of 1935, actor
- Edward Sövik, class of 1939, architect and later St. Olaf faculty member
- Roger Grimsby, class of 1950, television news anchor
- Dean Buntrock, class of 1955, founder and former chairman and CEO of Waste Management, Inc. and largest school benefactor
- Willis H. Flygare, class of 1958, chemist credited with "outstanding contributions to the understanding of molecular electronic structure"
- John Enemark, class of 1962, American biochemist
- Kristine Gebbie, class of 1965, American public health official and United States AIDS Policy Coordinator, 1993-1994
- Barry Morrow, class of 1970, Oscar-winning screenwriter
- Kenneth Neilson, class of ~1970, American banker and businessman
- Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, class of 1973, American academic and U.S. Senate candidate (2008)
- Elizabeth Nabel, class of 1974, American cardiologist and former Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Susan Seacrest, class of 1975, environmental activist and teacher
- Gretchen Morgenson, class of 1976, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- Barbara Peterson, class of 1977, Miss USA 1976 and President of the Burwell Family Foundation
- Cheryl Willman, class of 1977, cancer researcher and executive director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Programs
- Diane Havlir, class of 1980, American AIDS researcher
- Lisa Stevens, class of 1986, RPG designer and CEO
- Jonathan Tweet, class of 1987, game designer and author
- David L. Rose, class of 1989, tech entrepreneur and inventor
- Ward Sutton, class of 1989, cartoonist and illustrator, 2018 Herblock Award winner
- Kelly Kaduce, class of ~1996, American operatic soprano
- Jason DeRose, class of 1997, Western Bureau Chief for National Public Radio News
- Amanda Cox, class of 2001, Editor of The Upshot section of the New York Times
- Mark W. Olson, class of 2003, American economist and former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
- Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, class of 2009, the first openly transgender person to work as a White House staffer
Fictional
[edit]- Jay Gatsby, titular character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, attended for two weeks, did not graduate
Notable faculty
[edit]- Anton Armstrong, class of 1978, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir
- Kenneth O. Bjork, class of 1930, historian and educator
- F. Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf Choir
- John Ferguson, organist and composer
- Dave Hauck, Swimming coach for St. Olaf College for over 40 years from 1973-2016, winning 43 Minnesota Conference (MIAC) championships. Also served 30 years as Assistant Football Coach, 9 years as Men's Gymnastic's Coach for Men, seven years as Men's Golf Coach, and six as a softball coach.[1][2][3]
- Kenneth Jennings, class of 1950, composer and former conductor of the St. Olaf Choir
- Robert Jenson, theologian
- Chris Meidt, head football coach (2002–2007), assistant coach with Washington Commanders
- Anantanand Rambachan, Hindu scholar
- Ole Rolvaag, class of 1905, author
- Edward Sövik, class of 1939, architect and later St. Olaf faculty member
- Lynn Steen, mathematician
- Charles Taliaferro, philosopher
References
[edit]- ^ "Haucks inducted in inaugural CSCAA Division III Hall of Fame class". athletics.stolaf.edu.
- ^ "Rippel, Joel, Longtime St. Olaf swim coach and professor Dave Hauck dies at 87". startribune.com.
- ^ "St. Olaf Hall of Fame, Dave Hauch". athletics.stolaf.edu.