Macalester College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Macalester College
Motto	Natura et Revelatio Coeli Gemini
Established	1874
Type	Private Liberal Arts
President	Brian C. Rosenberg
Faculty	216
Undergraduates	1,865
Location	Saint Paul, MN, USA
Campus	Urban (residential), 53 acres (214,000 m²)
Endowment	$577 million USD [1]
Mascot	The 'Fighting Scots'
Website	www.macalester.edu

Coordinates: 44°56′21.07″N, 93°10′4.70″W

Macalester College (commonly called "Mac" by those affiliated with the college) is a privately supported, coeducational liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a 53 acre (21.4 ha) campus in a historic residential neighborhood and includes seven academic buildings, ten residences, a library, and a technology center. Famous alumni include Kofi Annan, Walter Mondale, DeWitt Wallace, and Tim O'Brien. Macalester enrolls approximately 1,850 undergraduate students.

Contents 1 Campus Dynamics 2 Internationalism and domestic diversity 3 Academics 4 Housing 5 Athletics 6 Student life 7 Traditions and Trivia 8 Awards and Recognition 9 Notable Alumni 9.1 Academics and Thinkers 9.2 Actors 9.3 Artists and Architects 9.4 Business and Finance 9.5 Musicians 9.6 Politicians and Leaders 9.7 Writers and Journalists 10 Notable Faculty 11 External links

[edit] Campus Dynamics

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

[edit] Internationalism and domestic diversity

Macalester desires internationalism and diversity in its student body. Accordingly, international students represent 90 different countries and comprise 14% of the student body, a high share relative to most American colleges. In addition as of 2005, 4% of students are dual citizens or permanent residents of foreign countries. U.S. students, 20% of which are not caucasian, come from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The United Nations flag is flown on campus alongside the U.S. flag in honor of this ideal. U.S. News & World Report: America's Best Colleges 2005 noted the college's affinity for international diversity. The World, in St. Paul.

[edit] Academics

In the past 10 years, Macalester students have earned honors including Rhodes Scholarships, Fulbright Scholarships, Foreign Government Grants, National Science Foundation Fellowships, Truman Scholarships, Watson Fellowships, Mellon Fellowships and Goldwater Scholarships.

Macalester participates in Project Pericles.

As a member of CLIC (Cooperating Libraries in Consortium), the Macalester library provides students with substantial academic resources. Through the consortium, students have access to books, articles, and other media available from liberal arts colleges in the Twin Cities. Students also have access to the University of Minnesota libraries, and can obtain copies of papers and articles therefrom on campus.

The college hosts the MITY (pronounced "mighty"), Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth, which is a two-week program that offers junior high and high school students classes and optional residential stay.

[edit] Housing

As at many small liberal arts colleges, students at Macalester are required to live on campus for their first two years. Dupre Hall, which houses first-year students and sophomores, is located on the corner of Summit and Snelling Avenues, and was built in 1962. Renovated in 1994, Dupre houses about 260 first-years and sophomores and is Macalester's largest dorm. Turck Hall was built in 1957 and most recently remodeled in 2004. It houses nearly 180 first-year students. Doty Hall was built in 1964 and is one of two dorms on campus to feature single-sex floors. Doty also houses first year students.

Bigelow Hall is on the corner of Grand Avenue and Macalester Street. Built in 1947 and most recently remodeled in 1992, it is connected via tunnels to Wallace, Doty and 30 Macalester Street and features single-sex and co-ed floor arrangements. It is also connected to Turck via a skyway, and houses over sophomores. 30 Macalester Street is one of the newest dorms on campus, and is more handicap accessible than other dorms and houses small amount of students. Wallace Hall is the oldest dorm on campus, built in 1907 and renovated in 2002.

Upperclassmen living on campus at Macalester have a wider range of options than underclassmen. They can live in either George Draper Dayton or Kirk Hall, or in one of six cottages. Students can also apply to live in the Veggie Co-op, the Cultural House, the Hebrew House (part of Kirk Hall), the Eco-House or one of the Language Houses, where students are expected to speak the language of their particular house as much as possible. Currently there are five Language Houses, focusing on German, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Russian.

Recently, Macalester has made news by offering limited gender open housing options for juniors and seniors. George Draper Dayton Hall, the Grand-Cambridge Apartments, and the six cottages are all gender-open. Student-led groups are working to increase these options and make gender-open bathrooms available, particularly for incoming first-year students.

In recent years, the college has had difficulty filling the dorms, as an increasing number of students opt to live off-campus. In Fall 2006, students founded Macalester's first off-campus housing cooperative.

[edit] Athletics

Macalester College is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The college's team nickname is the Scots. The football team, after many years of poor performance in the MIAC (including losing 50 straight games in the 1970s), has competed independently since 2002.

Soccer has always been a popular sport. Both men and women's teams remain competitive, appearing in multiple NCAA playoffs since 1995. The women's team won the NCAA championship in 1998.

The Cross Country Ski Team became a club team in 2004, when skiing was eliminated as a MIAC sanctioned sport. It was the first team to be dismantled since Hockey was cut (and turned club) in the 1970s. A women's hockey team formed in 2000 and continues to play at the club level.

Macalester's athletic facility, of which the original gymnasium was built in 1925 (and a fieldhouse, weightrooms and a natatorium were added later) began being torn down, with the exception of the swimming pool, in December 2006. A new facility is scheduled to come on line in September, 2008 amid protests from students that the planned facility is too expensive if Macalester is indeed in a "financial crisis" (see above).

[edit] Student life

In general, most students are left-leaning and very politically aware.

Political debate on campus occurs largely between the radical and mainstream left, although there is a small group of conservative students. The sizable number of international students also contributes to the political atmosphere on campus.

The main campus newspaper is The Mac Weekly, a student-run operation. It has a circulation of approximately 1,800 and was established in 1914. Almost all the newspaper staff works on a volunteer basis. The paper publishes twelve or thirteen volumes, ranging from 16 to 24 pages, each semester. A satirical section, The Mock Weekly, is added to the last issue of each semester. The paper has published a magazine twice, in April 2006 and March 2007.

Popular student groups include the Macalester Peace and Justice Coalition, Student Labor Action Coalition, African Music Ensemble, Fresh Concepts, The Trads and other a cappella groups, Cheeba, MacBike, Macalester Conservation and Renewable Energy Society (MacCARES), Macalester Democrats (Mac Dems), Macalester International Organization (MIO), MacPlayers, NARAL Pro-Choice Macalester and Queer Union.

There are no fraternities or sororities at Macalester.

[edit] Traditions and Trivia

• The rock on campus, which was moved around and painted by many students after first being rolled onto campus in 1908, was at one point stolen by students from Carleton College and mailed back to Macalester COD, and is now cemented into the ground on the college's main quad.
• Group traditions include the Christmas Candlelight Service, a Founder's Day Gala celebrating the yearly anniversary of the college and the all-day Springfest, an outdoor festival featuring bands, food, and other activities. The Midnight Breakfast returned in Fall of 2005, but at an earlier time.
• A communal rite of passage for those losing their on-campus virginity includes ringing the old chapel bell outside the Weyerhauser administration building. It is often incorrectly assumed that total virginity must be lost on-campus in order to ring the bell.
• In the Fall of 2004 the college eliminated need-blind admissions in favor of a need-aware model, after significant student activism surrounding the issue, and an alternate proposal by students. The policy change was instituted because of what the administration, and administration mouth-piece Professor Kaplan called a financial crisis.
• During the 2005-6 school year, the school inaugurated it's new Institute for Global Citizenship.

[edit] Awards and Recognition

• Ranked 16th (as of 2005) in the nation by Washington Monthly College Guide, based on criteria that "should be engines of social mobility, they should produce the academic minds and scientific research that advance knowledge and drive economic growth, and they should inculcate and encourage an ethic of service." [2]
• Named "America's Hottest Liberal Arts College" by the 2006 Kaplan/Newsweek "How to Get into College" Guide. According to the magazine, America's Hottest Colleges "have one attribute in common: they're creating buzz among students, school officials and longtime observers of the admissions process...each reflects a place that is preparing students well for a complex world."[3]
• At a fall 2005 school assembly, Macalester President Brian C. Rosenberg summarized these rankings and honors by saying Macalester students are "cheap smart hotties with a conscience." The phrase now appears on t-shirts worn by a number of students.

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] Academics and Thinkers

• Laurence BonJour - Philosopher
• Karlyn Kohrs Campbell - Rhetorician, activist
• William P. Gerberding - President Emeritus, University of Washington
• David C. Hodge - President, Miami University, Ohio
• Patricia Ingraham
• Edward Everett Nourse
• Alexander Wendt
• Alex Bleiberg

[edit] Actors

• Peter Berg - Actor (Collateral), Director (The Rundown), Producer
• Carl Lumbly - Actor, Men of Honor, Alias
• Danai Gurira - Actress, Director, Writer (In the Continuum)

[edit] Artists and Architects

• Cass Gilbert - architect best known for United States Supreme Court building, Woolworth Building, and Minnesota State Capitol (did not graduate)
• Duane Hanson - American sculptor most known for his photorealistic human figures
• Yuko Nii - Japanese-American artist
• Flip Schulke - Civil Rights photographer
• Siah Armajani - Iranian-born American sculptor

[edit] Business and Finance

• JJ Allaire - internet entrepreneur
• Jeremy Allaire - internet entrepreneur
• Decker Anstrom - President, Landmark Communications, Inc.
• David A. Bell - Chairman Emeritus, The Interpublic Group
• Cecil Callahan - President, Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund
• Ruth Stricker Dayton - Founder/Executive Director, The Marsh, A Center for Balance and Fitness
• David J. Deno - Chief Operating Officer (retired), Yum! Brands, Inc.
• Ari Emanuel - talent agent for celebrities such as Larry David, Michael Moore, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Mark Wahlberg
• Jeffrey B. Larson - Founder and Principal, Sowood Capital Management L.P.
• George A. Mairs, III - President, Mairs and Power, Inc.
• Lois E. Quam - CEO, Ovations, a UnitedHealth Group Company
• Mark A. Vander Ploeg - Vice Chairman, Investment Banking, Merrill Lynch
• DeWitt Wallace - Founder, Readers' Digest Magazine (did not graduate)
• Stephen F. Wiggins - entrepreneur and co-founder, Oxford Health Plans, Inc.

[edit] Musicians

• Bob Mould - Musician, best known as member of Hüsker Dü
• Walt Mink - Indie rock band named after Macalester professor
• Joey Waronker '93 - Drummer, best known for his work with Beck, R.E.M. and Walt Mink
• Lyle Nordstrom '65 - founder and co-director of "The Musicians of Swanne Alley," the well-known Elizabethan music ensemble, and currently director of early music activities at the University of North Texas. (See https://web3.unt.edu/the/faculty.php?member=Nordstrom)
• Will Sheff '98 - frontman for Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River.

[edit] Politicians and Leaders

• Kofi Annan - Secretary-General of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
• Sharon Belton - mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota (1994-2001)
• Michael J. Davis - U.S. District Court judge
• Teresa Daly - Minnesota state politician
• Matt Entenza - Minnesota state politician
• Scott McCallum - Governor of Wisconsin (2001-2003)
• Joan Mondale, Second Lady of the United States
• Walter Mondale - U.S. Senator from Minnesota (1964-1976), 42nd Vice President of the United States (1977-1981), 1984 U.S. Presidential Candidate, U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1993-1996)
• Olli Rehn - European Commissioner for Enlargement
• Paul H. Anderson - Minnesota Supreme Court judge

[edit] Writers and Journalists

• Charles Baxter - author, The Feast of Love
• Leo J. Enright (World Press Institute Fellow) - Irish broadcaster
• Mary Karr - Bestselling author, The Liars' Club (Attended for one year)
• Corina Knoll - Sports writer
• Tim O'Brien - Bestselling author, The Things They Carried
• Mark Strauss - Editor "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists"
• DeWitt Wallace - Founder, Reader's Digest Magazine
• Michael Fredrickson, legal fiction writer [4]
• Dave Zirin - Author of What's My Name Fool and also has a website blog edgeofsports.com
• Sarah McColl - Creator and writer of popular DIY food and craft Vlog Pink of Perfection..

[edit] Notable Faculty

• David Bressoud
• Stephen Burt
• Daylanne English
• Diane Glancy
• John Haiman
• Hubert Humphrey
• Joan Hutchinson
• George Latimer
• Harold LeVander
• Marjorie Merryman
• William G. Moseley
• Edward Duffield Neill
• Peter Rachleff
• Kristina Curry Rogers
• Brian C. Rosenberg
• Patrick Schmidt
• G. Michael Schneider
• James Spradley
• Stan Wagon
• Karen Warren
• Jack Weatherford
• James Wright

[edit] External links

• Macalester Public Knowledge Base
• Macalester College
• Visual Tour
• The Mac Weekly
• WMCN Macalester College Radio

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

Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities

Agnes Scott Albertson • Alma • Arcadia • Austin • Barber-Scotia • Belhaven • Blackburn • Bloomfield • Buena Vista • Carroll • Centre • Coe College • College of the Ozarks • College of Wooster • Cook College and Theological School • Davidson • Davis and Elkins • ClaflinEckerd • Grove City • Hampden-Sydney • Hanover • Hastings • Illinois • Jamestown • Johnson C. Smith • King • Knoxville • Lake Forest • Lees-McRae • Lyon • Macalester • Mary Baldwin • Maryville • Millikin • Missouri Valley • Monmouth • Montreat • Muskingum • Peace College • Queens University of Charlotte • Rhodes • Rocky Mountain • Schreiner • Sheldon Jackson • St. Andrews Presbyterian • Sterling • Stillman • Trinity • Tusculum • Dubuque • The Ozarks • Tulsa • Warren Wilson • Waynesburg • Westminster (Missouri) • Westminster (Pennsylvania) • Westminster (Utah) • Whitworth • Wilson