Power Pair: A college president and a relationship researcher on what makes a happy marriage

What’s it like to be married for 34 years to someone who wrote a book called “What Happy Couples Do.”

That’s the lucky situation in which Brian Bruess finds himself.

He is president of the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University and the first president to lead both schools. His wife, Carol Bruess, is nationally known for her research on relationships and communication and is the schools’ scholar-in-residence for relationships and dialogue.

MPR News host Angela Davis continues her Power Pairs series talking with Carol and Brian about how they’ve supported each other in marriage, careers and creating community on campus.

Guests:

• Brian J. Bruess is the president of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University outside of St. Cloud, Minn. He started in July of 2022 and is the first person to serve as the joint president for both schools. He was previously president of St. Norbert College in eastern Wisconsin. Before that he worked for over two decades in administration at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minn.

• Carol Bruess is scholar in residence for relationships and dialogue at the College of St. Benedict and Saint John’s University and professor emerita of communication and family study at the University of St. Thomas. She researches, speaks and writes about how to create healthy relationships. She’s the author of five books, including “What Happy Couples Do,” and “Family Communication in the Age of Digital and Social Media.”

Do you know a Power Pair?

“Power Pairs” is a series featuring prominent Minnesotans in a close relationship. You may know of them separately but they reveal a new side of themselves when they sit down together. Listen to past interviews here and submit your idea for a future Power Pair here.

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.