| CONVERSATIONS FOR WOMEN | |
Conversations programs provide opportunities for Ole men and women to reconnect with other alumni and parents on a monthly basis, hear a presentation from St. Olaf faculty or staff, and engage in thoughtful conversations. "...knowledgeable citizens of the world..." |
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Speakers are scheduled for the following dates:
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| Guest Speakers | |
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Thursday,
September 25, 2008 How do families pay for a St. Olaf education in today's increasingly complex higher education financing environment? This session will discuss the various types and sources of financial aid offered through St. Olaf, and the institution's philosophy about how to distribute our institutional dollars. Kathy Ruby has led the Financial Aid Office at St. Olaf for the past ten years and currently serves as Assistant Vice President of Enrollment and Dean of Student Financial Aid. She has worked as a financial aid professional for over twenty-one years, at a variety of institutions. Prior to coming to St. Olaf, she worked at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Eastern Virginia Medical School (Norfolk, VA), and Brown Institute. Kathy is a frequent presenter at college financing seminars at Twin Cities metro area college preparatory schools, as well as public schools in the region. She has been an active member of state financial aid associations since 1988, and is currently serving as President of the Minnesota Association of Financial Aid Administrators. She lives in Northfield with her husband and two teenage children, and in the fall of 2009 will learn how to actually pay for college (instead of just talking about it) when she sends her oldest child off to college. |
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Thursday, October 23,
2008 Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a choral conductor at St. Olaf College? Join us for this presentation by Dr. Christopher Aspaas as he shares his rich experiences in the world of choral music. As conductor of Viking Chorus and Chapel Choir, he has many stories to tell about the challenges and opportunities of working with young St. Olaf singers as he develops a superb choral experience for those who sing and for those who listen. Dr. Christopher Aspaas, assistant professor of Choral/Vocal Music at St. Olaf College, received his Ph.D. in Choral Music Education at The Florida State University in Tallahassee, his M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and his B.M. in Voice Performance from St. Olaf. Christopher has served on the faculties of Central Washington University and Mount Holyoke College. At St. Olaf, Aspaas conducts the Viking Chorus, an 88-voice ensemble of first-year student men, and the Chapel Choir, a 120-voice ensemble specializing in the performance of oratorio and larger works with orchestra. In addition to conducting, he teaches choral literature, choral conducting, and applied voice, and has recently been appointed as the Interim Music Director for Magnum Chorum, leading the 2008-2009 season. This summer, Aspaas led choirs at the St. Olaf Summer Music Camp, the St. Olaf Conference on Worship, Theology, and the Arts, and Lutheran Summer Music. He is in demand as a clinician and guest conductor and will lead All-State Choruses in South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Virginia. Aspaas is also active as a tenor soloist, performing Bach cantatas with Helmuth Rilling and the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, the Evangelist roles in the Bach Passions with the Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, Ind., and other solo roles with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic in Russia. Most recently, Aspaas performed Franz Josef Haydn's Thereseinmesse and Johann Michael Haydn's Requiem in San Luis Obispo, California, with the Cuesta Master Chorale. |
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Remember your math class at St. Olaf? Well,
times and teaching techniques have changed since you were on campus. Matt
Richey will lead a lively conversation on the latest innovations in teaching
math today. With
the opening of Regents Hall, the faculty has more opportunities
to provide challenging projects to math and computer science majors. Listen
to his presentation on the innovations happening on the Matt Richey grew up in the great state of Kentucky, went to Kenyon College in Ohio, graduate school at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and spent two years at the University of California at Davis. He came to St. Olaf in 1986, joining the department of mathematics as an assistant professor. Matt is currently the Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics. His research interests include computational mathematics and applied mathematics. In his limited spare time, Matt is working on improving his golf game. |
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Monday,
December 15, 2008 Since 1992 Judy Seleen Swanson '57 has created the backdrop for the Christmas Festival and the look of the printed program. She is a liturgical artist known for her ability to communicate complex themes with deceptive simplicity. She combines the boldness of Matisse with the clean lines of Scandinavian design, using stylized cutouts and vivid colors. Ole men and women throughout the Twin Cities are invited to this annual Christmas celebration, where we gather together in the spirit of the holiday and celebrate being Oles. This year we will hear a presentation from Judy Seleen Swanson '57, who transforms the Skoglund Auditorium from a gymnasium into a beautiful concert hall for the Christmas Festival each year. The set is both a creative challenge and a major installation. As Judy says, "We're not just decorating for Christmas. We're creating a visual message that will help people appreciate the richness of the music." After Judy's presentation, we'll sing our favorite hymns of the Christmas season. |
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Thursday, January 22, 2009 Since 1994, St. Olaf College has required all students to take a general education course under the rubric, "Ethical Issues and Normative Perspectives." Doug Schuurman has co-directed programs implementing this requirement since its inception. He will talk about the content of this course, why it was added as a requirement for general education, and how St. Olaf has created faculty development programs to prepare faculty from various academic disciplines to teach courses in ethics. Douglas J. Schuurman received his B.A. from Calvin College, M.Div. from Calvin Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He taught at Calvin College (1984-1986), and St. Olaf College (1986-present). Since 1994 he has been co-director of St. Olaf’s Ethics Across the Curriculum program, and related faculty development programs for teaching of ethics. He was “Visiting Scholar” at Calvin College (1989-1990, 1999) and “Research Fellow” in South Africa, sponsored by South Africa’s Centre for Science Development (1998). He is the author of Creation, Eschaton, and Ethics (Peter Lang, 1991), Vocation: Discerning Our Callings in Life (Eerdmans, 2004), and co-author of After Eden: Facing the Challenge of Gender Reconciliation (Eerdmans,1993). |
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Thursday, February 26, 2009 St. Olaf is committed to exposing students to a global perspective through its international study programs. After spending the semester in the Middle East with 18 St. Olaf students, Dave Van Wylen will share their experiences, what they learned and the challenges faced in the Middle East. A 1980 graduate of St. Olaf, Van Wylen has taught at the college since 1994 and served as Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics from 2002-2008. He received his Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Michigan, was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Virginia, and served on the faculty of SUNY at Buffalo for seven years before coming home to St. Olaf. His teaching experience at St. Olaf has included Human Anatomy and Physiology, Cardiovascular Physiology, and a cross-cultural perspective course taught while leading Term In Asia in 1998. Many Januarys, like the one just past, one can find Dr. Van Wylen with a class of Oles studying cardiac physiology at Emory University. Students tell me it's one of the most prized of all Interims in which to gain acceptance. |
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Thursday, March 26, 2009 When you think
of St. Olaf in the summer, do you picture empty classrooms, empty
offices and empty residence halls; a virtual ghost town? In fact,
every summer the Teresa came to St. Olaf in 1999 working with conferences and camps and special events within the Center for Lifelong Learning. In 2006, she was named the director of internal conferences and camps. She produces camps for middle and high school students in areas of swimming, music, theater, diving, chess, and piano. She also plans conferences for professional adults looking to re-energize and obtain continuing education credits. |
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Thursday, April 23, 2009 Mac Gimse creatively develops themes of peace in his works of poetry and sculpture. Powerful images through word and bronze or stainless steel will be shared with our group. You'll touch sculptures entitled "Roots and Wings," "Bearing the Burden of Peace," "Horizon's Brim," and "Between Earth and Sky," and hear Mac recite poems to expand themes represented in those sculptures. Mac will explain the process of making his bronze and welded stainless steel works, along with a brief history of the foundry at St.Olaf. Help him decide what to sculpt next. Mac Gimse joined the St. Olaf faculty in 1970, after earning his graduate degrees in art at the University of Iowa and teaching in Western Canada. He taught sculpture, built a bronze foundry and created art in his private studio. Professor Gimse is an internationally recognized sculptor. As a professor, he was dedicated to his students and to teaching on many International and Off-Campus Studies programs. His art history topics include: India/Southeast Asia; China/Tibet; Japan; Africa; Islam; and Renaissance Art. He continues to lead students abroad, and enjoys teaching alumni on Study Travel programs. Mac received the Distinguished Alumni Award in May 2008. Mac's sculpture is primarily inspired by the NORWEGIAN NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FORUM at St. Olaf. He has completed 12 art/poetry projects out of his list of 22 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, and says he plans to finish them all before he checks out of his earthly "hotel." To learn more visit his website at http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/art/faculty/gimse.html. |
Planning Committee |
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