Sidney Anders Rand (May 9, 1916 – December 16, 2003) was an American Lutheran minister, educator and college president. He served under the

Carter administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

United States Ambassador to Norway The United States ambassador to Norway (formally the ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Norway) is the official representative of the President of the United States, president and the government of the United States of America to ...

from 1980 to 1981.

Background

Rand was born in

Eldred, Minnesota Eldred is an unincorporated community in Polk County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. History A post office called Eldred was established in 1897, and remained in operation until 1968. According to Warren Upham, the community may be named for Na ...

, to Charles W. and Alice Pedersen Rand. He lived in Beltrami and

Williams, Minnesota Williams is a city in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 191 at the 2010 census. History Williams was incorporated in 1922. It developed with the Minnesota and Manitoba Railroad as a shipping center for tim ...

, where his father was Superintendent of Schools. Following his father's death in 1920, the family moved to

Rothsay, Minnesota Rothsay is a city in Otter Tail and Wilkin counties in the State of Minnesota. The population was 498 at the 2020 census. One of Rothsay's major tourist attractions is the large prairie chicken statue near the northwest outskirts of the town ...

, his mother's hometown. He graduated in 1938 from Concordia College, was ordained at the Lutheran Seminary in St. Paul in 1943 and served as a pastor in northern Minnesota.

Career

Rand joined the Concordia College faculty in 1945. He was president of

Waldorf College Waldorf University is a private for-profit university in Forest City, Iowa. It was founded in 1903 and associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its predecessors. In 2010, it was sold to Columbia Southern University and be ...

in Forest City, Iowa, from 1951 to 1956, when he became executive director of college education for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. In July 1963, he became President of

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...

, Northfield, Minnesota and served in that capacity until February, 1980, at which time he became United States Ambassador to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The Norwegian government recognized Ambassador Rand for his services in promoting good relations between the two countries. He was awarded the Knight First Class —

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

and the Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. He retired in Minneapolis during 1981. He later taught part-time at

Luther Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

in St. Paul and served as a consultant to colleges on management studies. He served as interim President of two colleges, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1986–87 and 1992–93) and Suomi College (now

Finlandia University Finlandia University was a private Lutheran university from 1896 to 2023 in Hancock, Michigan. It was the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1896 as Suomi Opisto (Finnish College) and Theological Seminary, it was affiliat ...

), Hancock, Michigan (1990–91). Rand was a member of the

Norwegian-American Historical Association Norwegian American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...

and was inducted into the

Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame (SAHF) was established in 1984 in Minot, North Dakota, by the Norsk Høstfest Association. The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame is "an enduring means of honoring the persons of Scandinavian descent in North ...

at the 1987

Norsk Hostfest Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

Minot, N.D. Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

Rand Scholar Award

The Rand Scholar Award was established at St. Olaf College. it was named in honor of former college president Sidney Anders Rand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Sidney Anders 1916 births 2003 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Norway Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) alumni Finlandia University People from Polk County, Minnesota St. Olaf College people Waldorf University Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal American people of Norwegian descent 20th-century American academics