Now that St. Olaf College has announced the next president, Susan Rundell Singer, we here at The Bathtub wanted to reflect back on past presidents. All of these rankings are completely subjective, though we have offered some insights as to our reasoning.
From the very beginning St. Olaf has been a Lutheran organization. Naturally, many past presidents have been religious. The first president to not be an ordained clergy member was Melvin George.
Our reasoning:
Thorbjorn N. Mohn: 7/10 - Ordained in 1873 but began teaching at St. Olaf in 1875 so didn’t have a ton of time to devote himself entirely to that profession. Also St. Olaf never had a seminary
John N. Kildahl: 10/10 - Served as a pastor at Bethlehem Church in Chicago for ten years before becoming President
Lauritz A. Vigness: 7/10 - He went to seminary but seemed mostly interested in Academia- he did later become fairly involved with the Norwegian Lutheran Church because he merged it with the school and became education secretary after he stepped down
Lars W. Boe: 8/10 - Was ordained very young and worked for the church before becoming St. Olaf president, plus he refused to build a chapel
Clemens M. Granskou: 7/10 - He was a missionary in China but I don’t get super religious vibes
Sidney A. Rand: 7/10 - Mostly taught religion instead of being a pastor, but he did go seminary and was the first executive director of the Board of College Education for the American Lutheran Church
Harlan F. Foss: 7/10 - Went to seminary but seemed to be more focused on teaching religion, though he did serve as a parish pastor in Milwaukee for a bit
Melvin D. George: 3/10 - The first President not to be an ordained clergy member, though he was an active Lutheran layman. He got his degree in mathematics and was a math professor at the University of Missouri for a stretch
Mark U. Edwards, Jr.: 7/10 - I don’t think he went to seminary but he did go to Harvard Divinity School and he was very interested in Christianity, as well as the environment
Christopher M. Thomforde: 8/10 - Super religious guy, went by Reverend. Went to divinity school and seminary, and was active in prison ministry, among a lot of other types of ministry
David Andersen: 2/10 - Doesn’t seem very involved in religion, especially compared to his predecessor
When we consider leadership style, The Bathtub likes to consider the involvement of the president in staff life. We want a president that could serve as a professor as well. That's why President Mohn and President Foss dominate this category, as they both served as staff members themselves.
Our reasoning:
Thorbjorn N. Mohn: 10/10 - Was out with the other faculty teaching classes and ran the whole damn school. What a man
John N. Kildahl: 7/10 - He hired a lot of good faculty
Lauritz A. Vigness: 4/10 - Not much info on faculty relations, he did merge us with the church but that’s not a super strong form of leadership I don’t think
Lars W. Boe: 9/10 - Some faculty weren’t nuts about him but he was incredibly involved with them
Clemens M. Granskou: 7/10 - He had to deal with a lot of logistical stuff with the GI bill and major US history and whatnot but I don’t really know how the staff felt about that
Sidney A. Rand: 9/10 - He had very clear ideas about what his job was and he worked hard to fulfill his role
Harlan F. Foss: 10/10 - I would imagine as he was faculty for 30 years he knew how to run the place, and he achieved the highest level of giving in our history
David Andersen: 3/10 - Doesn’t seem terribly involved, and kind of disappeared during covid
Student outreach isn't an essential part of the presidency, but it can certainly help to cement a president's legacy. President Rand's sassy op-eds in the Mess live on in the archives, and President Andersen's failings in matters of campus diversity weigh heavily against student opinions of him.
Our reasoning:
Thorbjorn N. Mohn: 10/10 - Literally lived in the Old Main with students and taught classes. Principal before president
John N. Kildahl: 7/10 - Was very involved in student religious life but I don’t think he was teaching classes? Doesn’t feel super involved to me
Lauritz A. Vigness: 1/10 - The students literally voted to get rid of him
Lars W. Boe: 8/10 - “Prexy Boe”- I think he was more concerned with the faculty but he would visit with students fairly regularly and seemed to be very friendly with them- “Take this, it will be good for you”
Clemens M. Granskou: ?/10 - No data. I feel like there weren’t any major conflicts?
Sidney A. Rand: 10/10 - A sassy man who was not afraid to tell the campus community how he was feeling
Harlan F. Foss: 8/10 - Not a ton of data, apparently he was very involved in “Energy Day” in 1980- seems like the kind of guy that was very involved with students considering he was faculty for 30 years
Melvin D. George: 3/10 - Apparently he lived in Mohn Hall for a week before he became President but the alums I talked to absolutely hate the guy because of the condoms issue
David Andersen: 1/10 - He barely makes an effort, and has made a lot of fumbles in terms of diversity dialogue
Some presidents have shaped the college and their impact is still seen today. Others are mostly forgotten. How many of these men do you know? How many will still be remembered in the future?
Our reasoning:
Thorbjorn N. Mohn: 7/10 - College wouldn’t exist without him but also the dorm named after him is super shitty and I don’t think many people realize how great he is. His wife was also a major player though and we should acknowledge that
John N. Kildahl: 5/10 - The dorm named after him is also somewhat shitty, and I think his impact is more seen through the staff he hired (Rolvaag and Christiansen) so I don’t know that his personal legacy is super strong
Lauritz A. Vigness: 3/10 - He did merge us with the new Norwegian Lutheran Church of America but I don’t think anyone liked him
Lars W. Boe: 8/10 - Boe the Builder- I feel like he deserves a nicer chapel. He nearly doubled the student population while here and really put us on the map
Clemens M. Granskou: 5/10 - There is a building named after him and he did a good job and was President for 20 years but he’s overshadowed by Boe and Rand
Sidney A. Rand: 7/10 - He expanded enrollment to 3k, built a lot of dorms (including Rand Hall), and created the Rand Scholar Award, plus gave us the 4-1-4 calendar
Harlan F. Foss: 1/10 - Honestly I had no idea who he was and I think he’s a super cool guy but he doesn’t have a building (a shame!) and I don’t think his international exchange program is still happening
Melvin D. George: 2/10 - No buildings named after him, and even though he built Ytterboe they called it Manitou and not George Hall so I think that says something
Mark U. Edwards, Jr.: 3/10 - No building named after him, though he built Buntrock and was here for the 125th anniversary, where he adopted a new Identity and Mission
Christopher M. Thomforde: 1/10 - Mostly seems interested in religion, no notable lasting impacts on St. Olaf
David Andersen: 2/10 - Has made very good money moves and got us through Covid, but had major race scandals during his time- TBD on if he gets a building
We have no data on the musical ability of any presidents, but we still felt like this was a relevant category to include considering St. Olaf is a huge music school. The only president that we ranked in this category is President Kildahl, as he is responsible for hiring F. Melius Christiansen, and we all know how impactful his work has been
Our reasoning:
6/10 - He recruited F. Melius Christiansen so that’s pretty epic, but I don’t know if Kildahl was musical himself
While our presidents are in office they are certainly dedicated to the college, but some show more commitment than others. President Mohn and President Boe died in office, and Harlan Foss was a faculty member for 30 years.
Our reasoning:
Thorbjorn N. Mohn: 10/10 - Literally died in office
John N. Kildahl: 6/10 - He left to go teach at Luther
Lauritz A. Vigness: 1/10 - He served as President of two other colleges that later went broke before he came to St. Olaf, and he was our shortest serving President
Lars W. Boe: 9/10 - He’s an alum and died in office, but he did briefly serve as President of Waldorf College
Clemens M. Granskou: 5/10 - He was an alum and served as President for 20 years but also was President of Waldorf and Augustana, and had an honorary degree from Carleton
Sidney A. Rand: 6/10 - Not an alum, and served as President of Waldorf College first. Didn’t serve as long as Boe or Granskou, but did seem to really love his job
Harlan F. Foss: 9/10 - He was a faculty member for 30 years, and both he and his wife were alums
Melvin D. George: 6/10 - He was here for 9 years but wasn’t an alum and honestly doesn’t seem super passionate about it
Mark U. Edwards, Jr.: 3/10 - Not an alum, and was only here for 6 years
Christopher M. Thomforde: 1/10 - Only here for 5 years, not an alum, and served as President of Bethany College first
David Andersen: 6/10 - He has been President for as long as Rand was, and has gotten us through a lot. Plus, he’s an alum
St. Olaf was founded by Norwegian immigrants, and our connection to the old country has remained through the years. While recent presidents aren't fluent in Norwegian, they are still happily welcoming Norwegian monarchs to campus.
Our reasoning:
Thorbjorn N. Mohn: 10/10 - Literally from Norway
John N. Kildahl: 10/10 - Literally from Norway
Lauritz A. Vigness: 2/10 - He was born in a Norwegian immigrant community but wasn’t super big into Norway and became more “American” during WW1
Lars W. Boe: 7/10 - I don’t know if he ever went to Norway but he did get the Crown Prince to visit and he was involved in NAHA
Clemens M. Granskou: 2/10 - I don’t know if he is Norwegian? He and his wife were missionaries in China, so his international ties were not to Norway
Sidney A. Rand: 8/10 - Not a Norwegian guy himself but he brought King Olav V to campus and he became ambassador to Norway after he left
Harlan F. Foss: 2/10 - Doesn’t seem to be super interested in Norway, had a faculty exchange agreement with East China Normal University in Shanghai
Melvin D. George: 3/10 - I don’t think he was very Norwegian but an important Norwegian bishop visited so I guess that’s something?
Mark U. Edwards, Jr.: 5/10 - King Harald V and Queen Sonja visited, and Edwards seems like a global kind of guy
David Andersen: 3/10 - Oversaw the visit of Queen Sonja but honestly as a Nordic Studies major I’m not impressed
Is this important? No. Is this fun? Yes.
Our completely subjective reasoning:
Thorbjorn N. Mohn: 3/10 - The sideburns just aren’t doing it for me- also HT Ytterboe is often pictured with him and he’s much hotter
John N. Kildahl: 5/10 - He’s hot but he seems a little too serious and too religious
Lauritz A. Vigness: 3/10 - The glasses and mustache just aren’t doing it for me
Lars W. Boe: 8/10 - Young Boe? Insanely hot. Older Boe? Still has it going on
Clemens M. Granskou: 6/10 - He’s a distinguished gentleman and has good bone structure
Sidney A. Rand: 3/10 - He’s cute but I’m not super into him
Harlan F. Foss: 2/10 - Maybe it’s the 80’s vibes but I’m just not feeling it
Melvin D. George: 1/10 - Wouldn’t use a condom
Mark U. Edwards, Jr.: 4/10 - Seems like kind of an average type guy, I’ve got nothing against him
Christopher M. Thomforde: 1/10 - I am not feeling the bowtie
David Andersen: 1/10 - Sorry Dave, I’m not interested. (Also I think it would be weird to say that while you’re in office)
Who's the most bangable?
Mohn
Kildahl
Vigness
Boe
Here are the total percentages. Again, these rankings are completely subjective and a little meaningless, but we hope they've been entertaining and that you've learned something!
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