News

St. Olaf College | News

Thank you

St. Olaf College President David R. Anderson ’74 shared the following message with students, parents, faculty, and staff as the fall semester concluded.

Dear Oles,

I’m writing to simply say thank you. Your hard work, diligence, and commitment to safety enabled us to remain on campus through the entire semester. It’s a significant achievement, and we’re grateful to all of you for making it possible.

As we prepared to depart for break, we conducted 2,220 saliva tests and had a positivity rate of 0.4% — a rate even lower than our baseline testing at the beginning of the semester, and far lower than what many colleges and universities are currently experiencing.

Starting the semester early and reworking our academic calendar so we could finish before Thanksgiving was a bold move, but we did it. And while we had a good plan, it really relied on all of you to make it work. Despite the fact that so many aspects of campus life looked different and felt different, you went above and beyond to make the best of it. Your commitment to this community was impressive and inspiring.

Thank you.

President David R. Anderson ’74