Member of faculty and administration (1918-1969)
Orlando (Pip) W. Qualley was born in 1897.
Orlando (Pip) W. Qualley (1897-1988)
A member of the Luther College class of 1918, Qualley became part of both the faculty and the administration at Luther between his graduation in 1918 and his retirement in 1969. During his years of service to Luther, he held positions of Vice President, Dean, Professor of Classical Languages, Registrar, basketball coach and football coach. Qualley was the first to hold the position of Dean, serving from 1946-1964. He was also the first Luther Vice President, a position to which he was appointed in 1936. He was Registrar for two periods, first from 1942 to 1946, and again from 1950 to 1956. Qualley worked especially closely with President J. Wilhelm Ylvisaker to assert direction and policy for the college. Often described as a workaholic, he was known for his firmness, directness and drive. He encouraged high academic standards, and recruited a faculty devoted to education. After he stepped down from the office of Dean he returned to teaching for five years before retiring. Qualley passed away in 1988.
The first endowed faculty chair at Luther College is named for Qualley.
William P. Sihler gave Qualley the nickname of "Pip" because that was "the name of the small but strong mediaeval king, Pippin the Short" (Jordahl and Kaasa 57).