Gustavus Adolphus College

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Gustavus Adolphus College

Old Main at Gustavus Adolphus College
Motto E Caelo Nobis Vires (Latin, "Our Strength Comes From Heaven")[1]
Established 1862
Type Private
President James L. Peterson
Students Approximately 2,700
Location St. Peter, Minnesota, USA
Campus 340 acres
Website www.gustavus.edu
For other people and places of the same name, see Gustaf Adolf (disambiguation).

Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college founded in Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1862 by Eric Norelius and was originally named Minnesota Elementar Skola. In 1865 on the 1,000th year anniversary of the death of St. Ansgar, "the Apostle of the North," the college was renamed and incorporated as St. Ansgar's Academy. In May of 1873, the college was again renamed and reincorporated as Gustavus Adolphus Literary and Theological Institute in honor of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. On October 16, 1876, it opened as Gustavus Adolphus College in its new location in St. Peter, Minnesota. Gustavus is the oldest of several Lutheran colleges in Minnesota. It was founded as a college of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1962 it became a college of the Lutheran Church in America, when the Augustana Synod merged into that body. Since 1988 it has been affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Gustavus consistently ranks high among U.S. liberal arts colleges, currently placed among the best 100 national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Gustavus students choose from over 50 major subject areas, ranging from physics to religion to Scandinavian Studies. The College is lauded for its Writing Across the Curriculum program, which fosters strong writing skills in all academic disciplines. Since the 1980s Gustavus has had a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the United States.

The vast majority of Gustavus' 2,700 students ("Gusties") live in residence at the College, in traditional dormitories, College-owned houses, and theme areas, such as the Carlson International Center and the Swedish House. Campus life is enhanced by the many musical ensembles which perform throughout the year, including the Gustavus Choir, Christ Chapel Choir, the Lucia Singers, the Gustavus Adolphus Symphony Orchestra, Gustavus Wind Orchestra, Jazz Band, etc. Theater is also a regular part of campus life and there are two art galleries on campus, the Hillstrom Museum of Art and the Schaefer Art Gallery.

The Gustavus campus features state-of-the-art science facilities, several computer and language labs, and a large, new dining facility which has improved the cafeteria food from that endured by previous generations of students. The College's majestic Christ Chapel, which seats 1500 people, stands in the center of campus. Gustavus' first building in St. Peter, Old Main, originally housed the entire college. Major renovations to the building, such as the addition of an elevator, have recently been completed. The campus is well-landscaped with every tree indigenous to Minnesota in the Linnaeus Arboretum and it is further graced by a number of remarkable sculptures by the late, well-known, Minnesota sculptor, Paul Granlund--an alumnus of the College who for many years was sculptor-in-residence. Recently Gustavus announced that they will no longer require an ACT or SAT score for acceptance into the college. It is the first private college in Minnesota to no longer require either test.

Contents

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Core Values

The College's mission statement describes five core values:

  1. Excellence
  2. Community
  3. Justice
  4. Service
  5. Faith


[edit] Nobel Conference

Gustavus has been host to the annual Nobel Conference since the first conference in 1963. The conference has a focus on scientific topics such as "Medicine: Prescription for Tomorrow" (2006), "The Legacy of Einstein" (2005), "The Science of Aging" (2004), "The Nature of Nurture" (2002), "Virus: The Human Connection" (1998), and "The New Shape of Matter: Materials Challenge Science" (1995). The conference is open to the public and geared toward lay persons. The 2007 conference topic is Energy and the Future and will take place October 2-3.

[edit] Disasters

  • On January 8, 1970, the Auditorium was completely gutted by a fire.
  • On March 29, 1998, the College's campus was hit by a mile-wide F3 tornado that broke 80 percent of the windows, leveled nearly 2,000 trees, toppled the chapel's spire, and caused more than $50 million in damages. Amazingly, there was only one death (not a Gustavus student), despite the tornado's widespread path. This can be attributed, in part, to the fact that most of the college was on spring break at the time of the tornado. Hundreds of volunteers worked extremely hard to get the campus back into a condition where the students could return after a three week hiatus. Still, students were forced to attend some classes in FEMA trailers as some on-campus buildings were too severely damaged.

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Athletics

Gustavus is a member of the MIAC and is well-known for excellence in both men's and women's tennis. Other key sports at the College are basketball, golf, and soccer. Gustavus has had two players drafted in the NFL Draft. They are Kurt Ploeger in the sixth round to the Dallas Cowboys in 1985, and Ryan Hoag in the seventh round to the Oakland Raiders in 2003. The school's team name is the Golden Gusties with their mascot a Lion given that Gustavus Adolphus was known as "The Lion of the North."

[edit] Performance

The Gustavus soccer team finished second in the NCAA Division III national tournament in 2005 - lead in part by three-time all American Robert "Bobby" Kroog. Also, in 2003 the Gustavus men's basketball team finished second in the NCAA Division III national tournament in Salem, Virginia, losing by only 2 points. Recently, The Gustavus football team has had below average performance under coach Jay Schoenebeck. Conversely, Jon Carlson coached both the men's and women's swim teams to top 10 finishes at NCAA Division III Nationals. In addition, the women's hockey team, coached by Mike Carroll, is consistently strong, and has placed third and fourth at the last two NCAA national tournaments.

[edit] Campus media

Gustavus Adolphus College is home to five different media outlets which are represented on the campus media board.

  • The campus newspaper is called The Gustavian Weekly and is the oldest media outlet. It is an informative publication featuring articles and opinions about events and issues on campus in addition to global issues.
  • KGSM is a radio station run entirely by students. Among its more popular shows are Scotty and Friends, The Kaleb and Stephen Show, Bob and Mark After Dark, The Glower Hour, Blacklisted, and Yoshi and Mike's Super Fantastic Happy Hour.
  • The third and newest campus media outlet is GAC TV. Started by an enterprising group of students looking to bring the power and versatility of television broadcasting to campus, GAC TV became an instant success when students started watching the weekly show before free on-campus films.
  • Firethorne is a literary magazine that is published twice per year. Students are encouraged to submit stories, poetry, or other creative content.
  • The Gustavian Yearbook publishes a yearbook for each class.

[edit] In the media

  • In the November issue of Men's Fitness Magazine, Gustavus Adolphus College was ranked 6th in the 25 most fit colleges in the nation.
  • Gustavus Adolphus College was named on the list of "All Steinway Schools". There are only 66 schools on the list, and only 4 of those schools are in the state of Minnesota. To be considered for the Steinway designation, a school must first have at least 90 percent of its pianos be Steinways — which are completely handmade and can run upwards of $140,000 — or be of Steinway design.
  • In 2006, Gustavus Adolphus College was ranked 9th in the nation for Best College Food by The Princton Review
  • With over 50 percent of Gustavus Students studying abroad before they graduate and over 27 possible programs, Gustavus was ranked 4th in the nation for best baccalaureate institutions to study abroad at by The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2003
  • The school was ranked as the 79th best liberal arts college in America by US news and world reports

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Augsburg • Augustana (IL) • Augustana (SD) • Bethany • California Lutheran • Capital • Carthage • Concordia • Dana • Finlandia • Gettysburg • Grand View • Gustavus Adolphus • Lenoir-Rhyne • Luther (IA) • Midland • Muhlenberg • Newberry • Pacific Lutheran • Roanoke • St. Olaf • Susquehanna • Texas Lutheran • Thiel • Wagner • Waldorf • Wartburg • Wittenberg


Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Augsburg • Bethel • Carleton • Concordia Moorhead • Gustavus Adolphus • Hamline • Macalester • Saint Catherine • Saint Benedict & Saint John's • Saint Mary's • Saint Olaf • Saint Thomas
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