More than 50 people -- including WCAL staff members, faculty, students and Northfield residents -- attended the meeting, held in the Viking Theatre in Buntrock Commons.

Thomforde began by apologizing for "anger and heartbreak" the decision has caused.

He then outlined the timeline of each of the steps in the school's decision to sell the station.

The sale of WCAL had been suggested from time to time, he said, but had never been a strategic concern.

In November, however, Thomforde received a formal proposal from MPR president Bill Kling offering to buy the station. As it was a formal proposal, Thomforde said -- and not simply "an idle conversation in a Minneapolis parking garage," he felt obligated to proceed.

Thomforde said he first contacted Jan McDaniel (vice president of college relations and one of the people directly responsible for the station's license). He and McDaniel agreed that the amount -- at that time $8.5 million -- was large enough that they were obligated to take it seriously.

They then contacted a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in the sale of radio stations. Attorneys with the firm told Thomforde and McDaniel that MPR's offer was, indeed, serious, and that the amount offered was in line with what other non-commercial licenses in similar markets would bring.

They then brought the proposal to Jerry Tostrud (chair of the board of regents) and Tad Piper (chair of the board's finance committee), who agreed that -- as a matter of fiduciary responsibility to the college -- the offer should be further investigated.

Radio industry brokers Patrick Communications were involved next. The company, which specializes in the sale of radio licenses nationwide, performed a detailed survey of the station's property and a listener survey.

Thomforde said Patrick Communications came back to the school with two interested parties, out of 13 who'd previously expressed interest in WCAL. MPR at that time increased its bid to $10.5 million, Thomforde said.

McDaniel contacted the interested parties, Thomforde said, with a list of "certain things we wanted." The list included broadcasting of the St. Olaf Christmas festival, use of WCAL by St. Olaf on a regular basis and severance packages and continued employment opportunities for WCAL staff.

Thomforde said none of the parties other than MPR would agree to any of the conditions.

The question was next brought to the executive committee of the Board of Regents, who agreed it should go forward, and then to the entire board.

Thomforde said about 20 regents were present, with another five or six participating in the meeting by telephone.

"The board was basically unanimous in its decision to sell the license," Thomforde said.

Before taking questions, Thomforde told the group that while the decision to sell WCAL has been controversial and difficult, "the amount of anger has been considerably higher on two other occasions." He would return to this theme several times during the ensuing discussion.

He cited the decisions to invite former President Jimmy Carter to speak and the college's hosting of the Conference on Human Sexuality as the two other occasions.

Thomforde's hot seat

The first question, posed by a student, dealt with Thomforde's choice not to include students in the decision to sell the station.

Thomforde elucidated a "general theory of decision-making" before directly responding.

He said that since he came to St. Olaf, he has tried "to be clear who is responsible for each decision," while also taking into account those "who also believe they have an ownership" in a given matter.

He admitted that there are at least two groups -- the St. Olaf College Chaplin's Office and Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis -- that he did leave out of this decision.

"That was wrong," he said.

After further discussing who he felt is responsible for decisions regarding WCAL, Thomforde answered the question.

"It was a judgement call on my part," he said. "I don't believe -- and no offense meant to the students -- the [WCAL] license is not owned by the SGA. I didn't consult them."

The SGA is St. Olaf's Student Government Association.

Another question asked whether a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of the sale had been performed.

Thomforde said that, at a guess, the college spends between $150-200,000 each year on maintenance at the WCAL building and related administrative costs. The sale will net slightly more than $10 million for the school's endowment and, he said, a 4 percent draw will put $400,000 into the yearly budget.

Thomforde acknowledged that estimating the "good will" and "public relations" WCAL generates is a more difficult task.

"My sense is that the goodwill part … the college needs to move along with its central mission," he said. "College staff and students are not aware … of the ill-will generated by nearly everything we do. It can be highly organized, mean-spirited and aggressive."

Another person commented that she would like to see the WCAL legacy carried forward in some way.

"Yes. Excellent," Thomforde responded. "I think that's most fair."

Saying the college will not simply "throw the $10 million into the pool of $200 million" (roughly the amount of the St. Olaf endowment) and watch it disappear, the school is considering a range of options including endowments or more funding for music-related programs and possibly the refurbishment and moving of the historic organ in Boe Chapel.

A WCAL staffer was particularly incensed by the sale and the way it was handled by Thomforde and the administration.

"I find that your comments sound like rationalizing, and some of these arguments are disingenuous," she said. She characterized WCAL as being similar to a speedboat in the radio market, in that it is small, fast and easily maneuverable.

She went further, saying that she found several aspects of the way the sale was handled "shameful."

"At the last WCAL board meeting, Jan McDaniel was standing there talking about the marketing plan," she said. There was no mention whatsoever of the proposed or potential sale of the station, she said.

She was also offended by McDaniel's comment -- quoted in the Northfield News -- that the college "came up empty" when seeking a compelling reason to not sell WCAL.

"I was offended by the statement about coming up empty … after 82 years of faculty, presidential and student input," she said.

She added that despite what Thomforde had said, there are "absolutely no guarantees" that WCAL employees will find employment within MPR.

Thomforde took issue with the phrasing, saying there is a difference between "disingenuous" and "wrong."

"There certainly was no treacherousness or disingenuousness involved," he said.

-- Erick Sommers can be reached at 645-1113 or esommers@northfieldnews.com

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