News

St. Olaf College President David R. Anderson ’74 has announced his intent to retire after the 2022–23 academic year.

“It is not common for the conversation about a leadership transition at a college to begin openly this far in advance of the event itself, but as the Board of Regents charts the future of this college and plans for its next leader, it is important to have time to gather input and prepare the college for the transition,” Anderson says. “We will want to have conversations with faculty, staff, students, and alumni. We will need to think deeply about the vision for the future and identify the skills, the competencies, and the habits of mind and heart required of our next leader.”

St. Olaf Board of Regents Chair Jay Lund ’81 says, “David has led the college through an incredible 15 years of progress — having more than doubled the college’s endowment; improved access to financial aid; increased the diversity of our student body, faculty, and staff; created new centers focused on vocation, faith exploration, diversity and inclusion, and discourse; and launched the $60 million Ole Avenue Project. We are grateful for his service to date and know he is up to the challenge of the work left to be done.”

St. Olaf Board of Regents Chair Jay Lund ’81David has led the college through an incredible 15 years of progress — having more than doubled the college’s endowment; improved access to financial aid; increased the diversity of our student body, faculty, and staff; created new centers focused on vocation, faith exploration, diversity and inclusion, and discourse; and launched the $60 million Ole Avenue Project. We are grateful for his service to date and know he is up to the challenge of the work left to be done.

According to Lund, the Board of Regents — which concluded its spring meeting on May 7 — is in the process of establishing a search committee and will soon select a firm to lead the national search for the next president. “One sign of a mature organization is that its leadership transitions are marked by thoughtful planning,” Lund says. “The board is engaged in significant planning about the college and its future. Announcing David’s retirement now will give us the time we need to be deliberate in our approach and engage the community openly and transparently in these important conversations.”

Anderson, a 1974 alumnus of St. Olaf, became the college’s 11th president on July 1, 2006. He had previously served as provost and professor of English at Denison University. During his time at St. Olaf, Anderson has led efforts to diversify the community; improve access and affordability; and build and renovate academic and athletic buildings. Over the past 15 years domestic students of color have increased from 8 percent of the student body to 22 percent; the portion of the endowment dedicated to supporting the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student has grown from $75 million to $196 million; and the college raised more than $250 million in a comprehensive fundraising campaign to support key programs and opportunities that directly benefit students.

He led the college through fundraising and planning to build Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences in 2008 to provide technology-rich classrooms that promote interdisciplinary teaching and collaborative research; renovated Holland Hall in 2017 to provide more flexible, modern classrooms for social sciences departments; and brought men’s and women’s hockey back to campus with the addition of the St. Olaf Ice Arena in 2019. In 2020, under Anderson’s leadership, St. Olaf launched the $60 million Ole Avenue Project to address a decades-long housing shortage on campus and improve the residential experience for all students.