Established in 2006 by the Board of Regents, this chair recognizes Kenneth O. Bjork who taught history at St. Olaf from 1937 until 1974 and who served as editor for the Norwegian American Historical Society (NAHA) from 1960 to 1980. Dr. Bjork is the author of Saga in Steel and Concrete; Norwegian Engineers in America and West of the Great Divide: Norwegian Migration to the Pacific Coast, 1847-1893. Dr. Bjork is one of several long-time servants of the College whom the Board has chosen to recognize for distinguished teaching, professional work, and service to the college and community. The first holder of the Kenneth O. Bjork Distinguished Professor Chair was Martha Wallace, Department of Mathematics, followed by Gary Stansell, Department of Religion; Charles Wilson, Department of Religion; James May, Department of Classics; Corliss Swain, Department of Philosophy; and Paul Roback, Professor of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science.
Current Chair: Thomas Williamson, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
Thomas Williamson has been an anthropologist at St. Olaf since 2001, following graduate study at the University of Michigan. His research and teaching initially focused on Asia, including five years working in Malaysia, along with time in Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan. More recently he has delved into the anthropology of health, including medical anthropology and the intersection of drugs and addiction.
Williamson enjoys team-teaching, and has co-taught courses with colleagues in history, religion, philosophy, neuroscience, economics, and Asian studies. He also likes creating new courses, and has taught 20 different ones in his two decades at St. Olaf.
To support his research he has received two Fulbright research grants, leading to publications on Malaysian healthcare, automobility, nationalism, and forms of political violence. He has also published articles on his pedagogical approach to anthropology. His most recent project investigates the dynamics of American college campuses. Titled The Incoherent Campus, the book examines the complexity of combining faculty, staff, and students into a successful and effective institution.
Tom lives in St. Paul with his wife, two daughters, and neurotic cat. He graduated from St. Olaf in 1986, benefiting from Paracollege study and the Term in Asia, along with patient professors and loyal friends.