Former St. Olaf College President, U.S. Ambassador Sidney Rand Dies

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Sidney A. Rand, former president of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., U.S. ambassador to Norway, and retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died Dec. 16 at a Northfield hospital.
Rand, 87, served at president of St. Olaf College from 1963 to 1980, and was U.S. ambassador to Norway in 1980 and 1981. St. Olaf is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.
Rand and his wife, Lois, lived in Northfield.
"Sidney Rand was one of Minnesota's truly remarkable men. He was a great president of St. Olaf College, a highly respected educator throughout the state and the nation, and a wonderful human being," said Walter F. Mondale, former vice president of the United States, who worked with Rand for many years on the Nobel Peace Prize Forum conference, which Rand helped establish.
The Rev. Christopher M. Thomforde, president of St. Olaf College, recalled Rand as "a great churchman, a great citizen and a great Christian gentleman." Rand served as a mentor and adviser to Thomforde during the current president's early days on the job in 2001.
"He was very helpful in the craft of being a college president," Thomforde said. "All of us -- the college, the Lutheran church and even the United States -- have lost a great, great man and a great leader."
During Rand's more than 16 years as president of St. Olaf, the college's enrollment increased from 2,094 to just over 3,000. Six major buildings were constructed, and two highly successful fund-raising campaigns, which together raised about $25 million, were carried out under his direction. An additional campaign was well on its way to bringing in more than $21.5 million when he left for the embassy in Norway.
Rand was called out of retirement three times to serve as interim president at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., from 1986 to 1987 and 1992 to 1993, and Suomi College (now Finlandia University), Hancock, Mich., from 1990 to 1991. He taught homiletics at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., from 1984 to 1985. Augustana College and Finlandia University are ELCA colleges; Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Rand was born in 1916 in Eldred, Minn. In 1938 Rand earned a bachelor's degree at Concordia College. He earned a bachelor of theology degree in 1943 from Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul. In 1956 Luther Seminary awarded him a doctor of divinity degree. He also did graduate work at the University of Chicago.
Rand was ordained in 1943 and served as pastor of Nashwauk and Trout Lake Lutheran churches in northern Minnesota for two years. He joined the faculty of Concordia College, an ELCA college in Moorhead, Minn., as assistant and later associate professor of religion from 1945 to 1951.
Prior to serving St. Olaf College, Rand was president of Waldorf College, an ELCA college in Forest City, Iowa, from 1951 to 1956; executive director of the Board of Christian Education of the former Evangelical Lutheran Church from 1956 to 1961; and executive director of the Board of Higher Education of the American Lutheran Church from 1961 to 1963.
Praised as a friend to higher education in general, Rand served as acting executive director of the Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC), St. Paul, in 1983. The following year the MPCC bestowed on him the Edgar Carlson Award for distinguished higher education service.
The King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies was founded at St. Olaf during Rand's presidency. Established through a substantial gift from the people of Norway and other friends of the college, the endowment was created to ensure the continued study of Scandinavian and Scandinavian-American history at St. Olaf. The current holder of the chair -- the Rev. Todd Nichol, professor of church history, Luther Seminary -- also serves as editor for the Norwegian American Historical Association.
Rand received numerous recognitions of his work, including honorary doctoral degrees from Concordia College; Colorado College, Colorado Springs; St. Olaf College; St. John's University, Collegeville, Minn.; Carleton College, Northfield; College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minn.; Augustana College; and Luther College, an ELCA college in Decorah, Iowa.
His Majesty King Olav V of Norway decorated Rand with the Knight First Class, Order of St. Olav and the Commander's Cross, Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. His Majesty King Harald V, the current king of Norway, bestowed on Rand the Commander's Cross with Star of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. Rand also received the Brotherhood-Sisterhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Luther Institute's Wittenberg Award. The institute is in Washington, D.C.
After much encouragement from Lois Rand and the St. Olaf community, Rand published his autobiography, "In Pleasant Places," in 1996. His first book, a coffeetable volume titled Norway, was published in collaboration with his wife and photographers Robert and Loren Paulson.
In 1942, Rand was married to Dorothy Holm, a college classmate. Two children, Peter and Mary Rand, were born to them. Dorothy died in 1974, and later that year he married Lois Ekeren.
Rand is survived by his wife, Lois; by son, Peter, daughter Mary Taylor, stepdaughter Sarah Buck; and stepson Mark Ekeren; by nine grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; and by a brother, Lyman Rand.
A funeral service is planned at Boe Memorial Chapel, St. Olaf College, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m.
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*Amy Gage is director of communications for St. Olaf College.

Information about St. Olaf College is available at http://www.stolaf.edu on the Web.

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