 "Photo: Ben Taylor/Manitou Messenger")
St. Olaf College awarded honorary doctorates this year to Henry Oertelt and Roderic Camp, two individuals who the college feels embody the college’s commitment to lives of worth and service. Although St. Olaf is an undergraduate school, honorary doctorate awards are given to individuals that the Board of Regents and faculty members find
embody the spirit of St. Olaf. Past receivers of this esteemed honor include composer and
conductor Timothy Mahr, Estonian President Lennart Meri and Philip Brunelle, founder of
VocalEssence.
One of this year’s recipients, Henry Oertelt, is a Holocaust survivor who now resides in the Twin Cities. Born in Germany in 1921, he witnessed first-hand the rise of the Third Reich, and was sent to five concentration camps before he was liberated by the U.S. Army in 1945. He and his family moved to the United States in 1949, and he now travels the area, telling his story and encouraging audiences to take a stand against hatred and
prejudices.
“He has shared his personal story of loss and survival through the worst of Nazi Germany, but also a message of tolerance and of understanding and forgiveness and the challenge of our community to fight hatred and the onset of processes that lead to dehumanization,”
Kris Thalhammer, professor of political science, said about Oertelt.
Besides public speaking, Oertelt has written a book about his experience, entitled “The
Unbroken Chain: My Journey Through the Nazi Holocaust.” The book is also currently
being made into an independent feature film and has been featured in in a UCLA visual
history project.
“It’s something I never envisioned, especially given some of the extremes of my life that begin in Berlin,” Oertelt said about receiving the honorary doctorate.
He continued by sharing his hopes for St. Olaf students, “My very best wishes to all the
students of this fine campus, for a wonderful future, for a wonderful and peaceful life with a sense of ethics and positive morality, for a life free of hatred and prejudices, for a life with respect for all people in this world.”
Professor Roderic Camp also received an honorary degree. Professor Camp has taught for 21 years. He is currently in his eleventh year at Claremont-McKenna College, and has also taught at Central College of Iowa for 21 years and at Tulane for seven years. Camp specializes in Mexican politics, having written 121 scholarly articles and 29 books, including “Politics in Mexico,” one of the most widely read political books in America and Mexico.
Camp spoke about the fulfillment teaching others has given him.
“Perhaps the most influential variable which I believe predisposes someone to become an educator is the incredible joy one experiences in discovering a new idea or learning how to create something and reaping the emotional benefits of seeing others experience similar achievements.”
Camp spoke about his time growing up in Orange, a citrus farming community outside of Los Angeles, where he first began working with Mexican immigrants, becoming fascinated
by their culture.
“I’ve always likened academic research to being a scholarly detective. Curiosity is what snares the intellectual researcher to pursue explanations about what occurs in social and
political processes,” he said, explaining why academic research is so intriguing to him.
Both Oertelt and Camp also held separate lectures as opportunities for students and
faculty to learn more about their work.
skaggs@stolaf.edu
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