Background

Odd Sverre Lovoll was born in Sande

Sande, Møre og Romsdal

Sande is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Larsnes on the island of Gurskøya.-General information:...

, in Møre og Romsdal

Møre og Romsdal

is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...

, Norway. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 and is a naturalized United States citizen. Lovoll received his education both in Norway and in the United States, passing university exams at the University of Bergen

University of Bergen

The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...

 in 1961 and at the University of Oslo

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 in 1966 and 1967. Lovoll graduated from the University of North Dakota

University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...

 (M.A. 1969) and from the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 (Ph.D. 1973).

Career

He served on the faculty of the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 from 1967 to 1970. For thirty years, Lovoll served on the faculty of St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...

. He retired from the King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies at St. Olaf College in 2000. Lovoll continues a part-time appointment in History at the University of Oslo. From 1980 until 2001 he served as publication editor for The Norwegian-American Historical Association

Norwegian-American Historical Association

Norwegian-American Historical Association publishes scholarly books, documenting research and interpretations of the American experience of immigrant Norwegians....

. In that capacity he edited and supervised publication articles mainly on Norwegian-American and Scandinavian-American immigration. He has been published in both Norway and the United States.

Personal life

In 1958 Lovoll marrid Else Navekvien. They have two children: Audrey born 1960 and Ronald born 1963. Audrey has two children, and Ronald has three, all of which are mentioned in dedication pages in a number of his written works.Lovoll was decorated with the Knight's Cross First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in 1986 by Olav V of Norway

Olav V of Norway

Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...

. In 1989 he was inducted into membership in The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...

. He was induced into the Scandinavian Hall of Fame at the 2001 Norsk Høstfest

Norsk Høstfest

Norsk Høstfest is an annual festival held each Fall in Minot, North Dakota. It is North America's largest Scandinavian festival. The event is conducted in the All Seasons Arena on the grounds of the North Dakota State Fair in Minot, North Dakota...

.

Selected works

• A Folk Epic: The Bygdelag in America (1975)
• The Promise of America : a History of the Norwegian-American people (1983)
• A Century of Urban Life : the Norwegians in Chicago before 1930 (1988)
• The Promise Fulfilled : a Portrait of Norwegian Americans today (1998)
• Norwegians on the Prairie : Ethnicity and the Development of the Country Town (2006)