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

Composers and Conductors

• 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 2001
• Jocelyn Hagen, class of 2003
• Matthew Peterson, class of 2006

Politicians, Statesmen and Judges

• 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

• 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
• Frank Bures, class of 1995
• Emily Rapp, class of 1996
• David Oppegaard, class of 2002

Religion

• 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

• 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
• Bill Winter, class of 1962, professional football player ^[1]
• Kristine Gebbie, class of 1965, American public health official and United States AIDS Policy Coordinator, 1993-1994
• Mark W. Olson, class of 1965, American economist and former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
• 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
• Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, class of 2009, the first openly transgender person to work as a White House staffer

Fictional

• Jay Gatsby, titular character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, attended for two weeks, did not graduate

Notable faculty

• 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. ^{[2] [3] [4]}
• 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

1. "Bill Winter Pro Football Stats, Position, College, Draft, Transactions". www.profootballarchives.com.
2. "Haucks inducted in inaugural CSCAA Division III Hall of Fame class". athletics.stolaf.edu.
3. "Rippel, Joel, Longtime St. Olaf swim coach and professor Dave Hauck dies at 87". startribune.com.
4. "St. Olaf Hall of Fame, Dave Hauch". athletics.stolaf.edu.