As we mark the 150th anniversary of St. Olaf College and celebrate the generations of teachers and learners who have laid a strong foundation for a transformative liberal arts education grounded in our Lutheran tradition, we move confidently into the future.
Our “True North” is developing individuals of action and substance who will shape the world — in other words, solution seekers.
Our new strategic plan, Solution Seekers, outlines the steps we will take in the coming years to elevate vocation, expand innovation, and sustain our community. As the work gets underway, four implementation teams are charged with turning those steps into reality.
Generate additional resources for the Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry Program, Piper Center for Vocation and Career, and the Smith Center for Global Engagement to provide need-based support for student participation in study away and experiential learning.
Innovate and enhance the student employment program to build technical and leadership competencies aligned with character development, including the community-based work-study program.
Enhance opportunities for alumni to connect with and support students in their vocational discernment by expanding on our existing Connections Programs.
Ensure every student has vocational discernment opportunities through academic programs, including St. Olaf Orientation to Academics and Resources (SOAR), Design Your Life, and continuation of the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community Vocation Across the Academy initiative.
ONGOING
Establish an Academy for Leadership and Character that serves all students, with customized tracks in diverse fields — including athletics, fine arts, business, health care, civic leadership, and sustainability — with credentialing opportunities.
ONGOING
Establish a Civic Preparedness and Engagement Program within the Institute for Freedom and Community that integrates and expands upon the current Academic Civic Engagement program and the student volunteer programs.
Develop an annual college theme focused on solution-seeking for the common good that is supported by our centers and integrated into the curriculum.
ONGOING
Assess and innovate our academic programs, building on our distinctive strengths to address the needs of students and growing industries.
With an architectural firm, assess potential reconfiguration of existing spaces in Rolvaag Memorial Library to create an innovation and creativity space.
Test and plan for program adjacencies to maximize creativity and imagination, focused on the benefits of bringing together our academic innovation with the college’s centers of excellence — including the Center for Innovation in the Liberal Arts — and the curriculum, makerspace, digital analytics, and leadership development to create a social impact or innovation hub.
ONGOING
Generate resources and devise training to help advisors and mentors guide student exploration, reflection, and development of their St. Olaf Pathway.
Develop a robust second-year experience with a holistic focus on vocation, which we define as “life on purpose for the common good.” This builds on our existing first-year experience, and students should transition into a major through a process of discernment of their desired outcomes and contributions to the common good.
Develop or adopt a software platform that makes the multiple dimensions of a student’s pathway visible and amplifies and facilitates advising and mentoring.
ONGOING
Develop credentials programs to allow students to deepen, expand, and document competencies and character qualities they have cultivated within and beyond their classroom experiences. Possibilities include Public Leadership, Business and Entrepreneurship, Healthcare Innovation, Rural Health, Artificial Intelligence, and Google Analytics.
Develop credentials that align with our Ole Core learning outcomes and the National Association for Colleges and Employers learning outcomes to assist students in articulating the career readiness competencies afforded by a liberal arts education.
Enhance alignment of credentialing opportunities and academic programming, including collaborations with business and industry partners.
Expand credential opportunities for alumni to enhance our commitment to lifelong learning.
ONGOING
Implement our vision for a Vice President for Community and Belonging.
Develop and implement a strategy for college-wide inclusion, belonging, cultural competence, and engagement across differences through all dimensions of our community, supported by the Division of Community and Belonging and the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community.
Continually adapt our academic offerings to align with the needs of the changing demographics within the student body.
Develop and implement a 10-year plan to advance the accessibility of the college’s buildings, technology, and course materials.
Attract and retain outstanding, diverse faculty and staff through competitive pay and benefits that are based on the appropriate benchmark/market for each employee group.
Develop programs that provide support and professional development to faculty and staff through all the phases of their employment.
Assess and adapt services for student, staff, and faculty mental health and wellness.
Eliminate select activities/work for students, staff, and faculty.
ONGOING
Increase endowment support for need-based aid.
Align the college’s budget with strategic priorities.
Create a St. Olaf–based cohort program focused on student retention that complements and builds on lessons learned from Posse and TRIO Student Support Services programs.
Enhance the ability of students to transfer and integrate into the St. Olaf community while maintaining the distinctive elements of the St. Olaf residential educational experience.
Develop a 10-year campus-wide renewal plan, including maintaining our residence halls for a population of 3,000 to 3,200 undergraduates.
Nurture our relationship with Northfield and the regional community through the development of a community relations initiative.
Plan and implement a comprehensive campaign that helps sustain the college.
ONGOING
Identify steps for St. Olaf to be a leader in addressing the global climate crisis via modifications and commitments to the college’s operations, with a goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040 or sooner.
Identify and focus on two or three of the UN Sustainable Development Goals that align with our mission and our capacity through Voluntary University Review, the Brookings Institution 17 Rooms approach, and publicly sharing our progress through the Times Higher Education Impact Report.
Partner with Carleton College and the City of Northfield in achieving our shared sustainability goals.