Karl A. Olsson

Rev. Karl A. Olsson, 82, president emeritus of North Park College, headed the school from 1959 to 1970. A native of Renton, Wash., Rev. Olsson moved with his family to Sweden and later, Russia, returning to the United States in 1922. He attended North Park Junior College and North Park Theological Seminary. He was ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church in Minneapolis in 1942. He served as a pastor in Minnesota and Chicago. He enrolled at the University of Chicago and received a master's degree and a doctorate in English there.

During World War II, he was a chaplain with the U.S. Army and earned both a Bronze Star and a Silver Star "for gallantry in action." He later was also a chaplain for two years during the Korean War. From 1945 to 1948, he was on the faculty at University of Chicago and served as assistant dean of students. He then joined the faculty at North Park. During his years as head of the college, he helped it complete its transition from a junior college to a four-year liberal arts program. He left the school in 1970 to become director of training for Faith At Work Inc., an interdenominational fellowship for promoting Christian ethics in business and personal lives.

For Nordic Studies Press, he contributed to the editing of the book The Suffering Human Being.