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 Anton Armstrong, class of 1978 David Boe, class of 1958 Abbie Betinis, class of 2001 Olaf Christiansen, class of 1925 Paul J. Christiansen, class of 1934 René Clausen, class of 1974 Bradley Ellingboe, class of 1980 Jocelyn Hagen, class of 2003 Kenneth Jennings, class of 1950 Craig Hella Johnson, class of 1984 Timothy Mahr, class of 1978 Matthew Peterson, class of 2006 Frank Pooler, class of 1948 Marie Pooler, class of 1950 Dale Warland, class of 1954 Kurt Westerberg, class of 1972

Politicians, statesmen and judges Russell A. Anderson, class of 1964, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court August H. Andresen, class of 1912, United States representative from Minnesota Arnie Arnesen, class of 1975, fellow of Harvard Institute of Politics and member of New Hampshire House of Representatives David Bly, class of 1974, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives Monthian Buntan, class of 1990, Thai politician Satveer Chaudhary, class of 1991, former member of the Minnesota State legislature Raymond Cox, class of 1974, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives Kim Elton, class of 1968, former member of the Alaska Senate Arlen Erdahl, class of 1953, United States representative from Minnesota Joan Ericksen, class of 1977, judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota Tom Fiebiger, class of 1978, member of the North Dakota Senate Mary Forsythe, class of 1922, member of Minnesota House of Representatives Harold Hagen, class of 1927, United States representative from Minnesota John L. Helgerson, class of 1966, former CIA Inspector General Ember Reichgott Junge, class of 1974, former member of the Minnesota Senate Ian C. Kelly, class of 1977, US ambassador to Georgia and US ambassador to OSCE David Knutson, class of 1982, Minnesota state senator of District 37, 2003–2004 Bruce Laingen, class of 1947, United States ambassador to Malta, 1977–1979 John Marty, class of 1978, member of the Minnesota Senate Jim Meffert, class of 1989, U.S. Congressional candidate (2010) David Minge, class of 1963, United States representative from Minnesota Al Quie, class of 1950, 35th governor of Minnesota Karl F. Rolvaag, class of 1941, 31st governor of Minnesota Tom Saxhaug, class of 1970, former member of the Minnesota Senate Erik Paulsen, class of 1987, United States representative from Minnesota Kristi Pursell, class of 2003, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives Gretchen Quie, class of 1971, former first lady of Minnesota Theodor S. Slen, class of 1912, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives Steve Sviggum, class of 1979, speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Arthur E. Thompson, class of 1915, former North Dakota superintendent of Public Instruction George Thompson, class of 1940, 35th attorney general of Wisconsin 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 Andrew Volstead, class of 1881, member of the US House of Representatives for Minnesota, introduced National Prohibition Act Jay Xiong, class of 2010, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives

Writers Robert Bly, class of 1950 (transferred out), leader of the Mythopoetic men's movement Frank Bures, class of 1995 Kristina Halvorson, class of 1993 Erin Hart, class of 1980 Michelle Hoover, class of 1994 Siri Hustvedt, class of 1977 Kij Johnson, class of 1982 Peg Kerr, class of 1982 Sarah Lindsay, class of 1980 Timothy Mason, class of 1972, playwright Loran Nordgren, class of 2001, behavioral scientist and author Danel Olson, class of 1983 David Oppegaard, class of 2002 Emily Rapp, class of 1996 Chris Raschka, class of 1981 Mark Rein-Hagen, class of 1988, author of Vampire: The Masquerade Ole Rolvaag, class of 1905, author of Giants in the Earth

Religion Johan Arnd Aasgaard, class of 1898, Lutheran church leader Stuart E. Barstad, class of 1951, chief of chaplains of the United States Air Force 1985–1988 Carl Braaten, class of 1951, Lutheran theologian David Ede, class of 1957, American scholar of Islam Alan M. Olson, class of 1961, philosopher, Boston University, 1974–2013 James Reeb, class of 1950, minister, pastor, and civil rights activist, 1927–1965 Fredrik A. Schiotz, class of 1924, former president of the Lutheran World Federation

Other Dean Buntrock, class of 1955, founder and former chairman and CEO of Waste Management, Inc. and largest school benefactor Jake Christiansen, class of 1924, football coach and namesake of Jake Christiansen Stadium Frank Cleve, class of 1924, minor-league baseball player, football and basketball coach Maren Costa, class of 1991, co-founder of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice Amanda Cox, class of 2001, editor of the "Upshot" section of the New York Times Jason DeRose, class of 1997, Western Bureau chief for National Public Radio News Anthony Dexter, class of 1935, actor John Enemark, class of 1962, biochemist Nicholas Epley, class of 1996, professor and author Willis H. Flygare, class of 1958, chemist credited with "outstanding contributions to the understanding of molecular electronic structure" Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, class of 2009, first openly transgender person to work as a White House staffer Kristine Gebbie, class of 1965, public health official and United States AIDS policy coordinator, 1993–1994 Roger Grimsby, class of 1950, television news anchor Einar Haugen, class of 1928, Harvard professor of Scandinavian and linguistics Diane Havlir, class of 1980, AIDS researcher Kelly Kaduce, class of 1996, operatic soprano George L. Kelling, class of 1956, criminologist and co-developer of the Broken Windows Theory Neil A. Kjos Jr., class of 1953, former president of the Neil A. Kjos Music Company Henrietta Larson, class of 1918, first female assistant professor at Harvard Business School Gretchen Morgenson, class of 1976, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barry Morrow, class of 1970, Oscar-winning screenwriter Elizabeth Nabel, class of 1974, cardiologist and former director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Martha Nause, class of 1977, professional golfer Kenneth Neilson, class of 1970, banker and businessman Judith Nelson, class of 1961, operatic soprano Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, class of 1973, academic and U.S. Senate candidate (2008) Mark W. Olson, class of 1965, economist and former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Anna Palmer, class of 2004, co-founder and CEO of Punchbowl News Barbara Peterson, class of 1977, Miss USA 1976 and president of the Burwell Family Foundation Helen Piwnica-Worms, class of 1979, cancer researcher and Vice Provost for science at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Tom Porter, class of 1951, football and ice hockey coach Mary Reid Kelley, class of 2001, visual artist David L. Rose, class of 1989, tech entrepreneur and inventor David Rysdahl, class of 2009, actor Susan Seacrest, class of 1975, environmental activist and teacher Justine Siegal, class of 1998, first woman to coach a professional men's baseball team H. P. Skoglund, class of 1925, businessman and co-founder of the Minnesota Vikings Edward Sövik, class of 1939, architect and later St. Olaf faculty member Lisa Stevens, class of 1986, RPG designer and CEO Ward Sutton, class of 1989, cartoonist and illustrator, 2018 Herblock Award winner Jonathan Tweet, class of 1987, game designer and author Cheryl Willman, class of 1977, cancer researcher and executive director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Programs

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

Notable faculty Mark Almli, minor-league baseball player, St. Olaf baseball, football and basketball coach Anton Armstrong, class of 1978, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir 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, 1973–2016, winning 43 Minnesota Conference (MIAC) championships; served 30 years as assistant football coach, nine as men's gymnastic's coach, seven as men's golf coach, and six as softball coach 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