A sampling of media clippings about Lawrence University, its faculty, students, and alumni from Spring 2008. For more clippings, see the Lawrence in the News index page.
Bennington (Vt.) Banner
April 24, 2008
MAU grad named Fulbright Scholar
Byline: John Waller
Link: http://www.benningtonbanner.com/headlines/ci_9036273
Excerpt: A 2004 Mount Anthony Union High School graduate was recently named a Fulbright Scholar and, as a result, was awarded an $11,250 fellowship to teach English at a secondary school in Germany.
Katie Peacock, a senior at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, received the honor, which will send her to Germany for 10 months after she graduates this spring. The German and linguistics major, Peacock said she was ecstatic when she learned the news last week.
"I went crazy," she said Wednesday. "I was jumping up and down and was very, very excited."
Peacock said she applied to the Fulbright Program at the last minute in October after hearing about the opportunity through two of her former Lawrence classmates that received the award, but her interest in the German language and culture started much earlier, in Bennington.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 20, 2008
Headline: College student has role in delegate decision
Lawrence
senior was Democratic National Committee intern
Link: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=741177
Byline: Diana Marrero
Excerpt: A senior at Lawrence University in Appleton could play a role in whether voters in Florida and Michigan have a say over the Democratic presidential nominee.
Leila Sahar, a 22-year-old from New Berlin, was one of 25 people appointed by party Chairman Howard Dean to be part of the so-called Credentials Committee, which could determine whether the two states have delegates at the national convention.
The committee is important because Hillary Rodham Clinton has argued that the party should recognize the results of the primary elections in those states, a stance opposed by her rival, Barack Obama.
Because the race for the Democratic nomination is so close, the committee's decision could be key to deciding who will represent the party in the fall election.
"I was excited when I got the appointment, but I don't think we knew how significant the appointment was at the time," said Sahar, who won't disclose whom she voted for in Wisconsin's February primary.
Politico.com
April 18, 2008
Headline: The Dean 25 could decide Clinton's fate
Link: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9698.html
Byline: Avi Zenilman
Except: If, as Hillary Rodham Clinton has suggested, her campaign takes the fight to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations all the way to the Democratic National Convention this summer, the fate of her challenge is all but certain to hinge on 25 individuals appointed to the Credentials Committee by party Chairman Howard Dean.
What follows is Politico ’s guide to the Dean 25, based on interviews with appointees and additional reporting.
Leila Sahar
Background: A college senior at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. Spent recent summers interning in the DNC’s Political Department and working as an assistant at the Voting Rights Institute.
Dean Connection: Served as DNC intern under Dean chairmanship.
Hint: None.
The Daily Reporter
April 18, 2008
Headline: Study in suspension
Link: http://www.dailyreporter.com/item.cfm?recid=20048399&snippet=f
Byline: Dustin Block
Excerpt: Lawrence University is building a $1 million pedestrian bridge on its campus in Appleton. The land bridge, which crosses a busy street, is part of a $35 million Campus Center under construction.
It's 60 feet wide with trees and a bench on one side, and grass and a sculpture on the other. Instead of a wall, the bridge will be bordered by a railing. The walkway will be made of rectangular pavers.
Lawrence is split in half by Lawe Street. The academic buildings are on the west side of the street, and the main dining hall and most student residences are on the east side.
“Most students have to cross Lawe Street several times a day,” said Amanda Van Lankvelt, a sophomore geology and linguistics student.
The land bridge also leads to the new Campus Center, which came to fruition after 19 years of planning. The four-story, 107,000-square-foot building will include space for student activities, student mailboxes, the main dining hall, a cinema and a convenience store.
Inside Higher Education
April 10, 2008
Headline: An Unlikely Dean
Link: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/10/lawrence
Byline: Elia Powers
Excerpt: Read part of the news release about Lawrence University’s hiring of Brian Pertl and it seems to reflect a familiar pattern: proud alumnus returning to take a leadership position at his alma mater.
But Pertl is hardly your typical dean. For one, he left his Ph.D. program and dreams of an academic life behind more than 15 years ago to work at Microsoft. That’s where he’s been ever since.
“It was a conscious decision,” Pertl said of leaving the University of Washington ethnomusicology program. “I said to myself, ‘Once I do this, I probably won’t ever be back in the academic world.’ “
This fall, when Pertl’s mentor at Lawrence suggested that he apply for the Conservatory of Music dean opening, the former music performance and English student balked. Pertl had enjoyed being on the lecture circuit and occasionally speaking at Lawrence, but he was happy at Microsoft, where he’d risen up the ranks.
Chicago Tribune
April 9, 2008H
Headline: Colleges send record number of rejections
Competition for admission soaring
Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0409rejectapr09,0,2890744.stor
Byline: Charles Leroux
Excerpt: Ah Spring. The crocuses are beginning to poke their pretty heads above the soil; the birds are building nests; and, throughout the land, a resounding chorus of rejection is heard.
This has been a record year for college applications and, hence, a banner year as well for rejections. Admission rates are down at Yale and Princeton, and Harvard took in the lowest percentage of applicants in the school's history.
Steve Syverson, vice president for admissions at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., said the letter he sends to those who didn't make the cut is "intended to let them down gently and preserve their dignity."
It notes that "despite your many fine qualities," the competitive nature of the process means that, though many call, not all are chosen. "You don't ever want to say, 'You fell short,' " he said.
Seattle Times
Date: April 3, 2008
Headline: Microsoft ethnomusicologist to be dean of conservatory
Link: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2008/04/microsoft_ethnomusicologist_to_be_dean_of_conserva.html Byline: Benjamin J. Romano
Excerpt: Brian Pertl has been at Microsoft since 1992. He heads up a small group in charge of media acquisitions. Now he's going to be dean of a music school.
We got word of his new gig at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music this afternoon.
I only thought to write about it because the fact Pertl's position even exists at Microsoft is a great reminder of how vast the company is and how many people are tucked away in various corners of campus working very interesting jobs.
The Washington Times
April 2, 2008
Headline: Process Thrusts Panel into Spotlight
Byline: Sam Lengell
Link: http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/NATION/823571737/1001
Excerpt: Twenty-five Democratic activists named to an obscure party committee face the prospect of doing what millions of primary and caucus voters across the country so far haven't — choose their party's presidential nominee.
A law school dean, a car dealer and a college student are among the 25 people appointed by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean to the Convention Credentials Committee, a body that could swing the election when settling the brouhaha over seating Florida and Michigan's delegates.
"It's too early to tell at this point — something might happen before we get [to the convention], but if not, it's a pretty big decision to make considering how close this election is," said Leila Sahar, a senior at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., who was appointed to the committee by Mr. Dean in January. "That's a pretty significant thing, and it's a big committee to be a part of now."
The Observer (London)
March 30, 2008
Headline: Forty Years After the Shot Rang Out, Race Fears Still Haunt the U.S.
Byline: Paul Harris.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/30/race.uselections2008
Excerpt: Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, looks frozen in time. The sheets of the beds are rumpled, undrunk coffee stews in cheap cups, a meal seems half-eaten. It is a re-creation of the room as it was at 6.01pm on 4 April, 1968. That was the moment when, on the balcony outside, the room's most famous guest, Martin Luther King, was shot dead.
King died four decades ago at the end of an era of civil rights victories that ended racial segregation and won black Americans the vote. It was a struggle that finally cost him his life, felled at the Lorraine by a white assassin's bullet from across the street.
Statistics indicate that things are getting worse. More black people are being jailed than a decade ago. Only 31 per cent of black children born to middle-class parents earn more than their parents, compared with 68 per cent of white children. More than half of black workers are stuck in low-paid jobs.
Many experts think there is little prospect of the underclass's plight changing at all. "The outlook is very bleak," said Professor Jerald Podair, an expert on civil rights history at Lawrence University, near Appleton, Wisconsin.
As Obama's campaign changes the American political landscape, it might be wise to remember that race is not the only controversial issue that mainstream politics still tends to shun. There is the thorny issue of class, too.
"If you thought having a talk about race was difficult in America, then having one about class is even harder," said Podair. Yet 40 years ago King tried to start that debate as well. A bullet cut short his ambitions. Room 306 at the Lorraine was not the only thing his death left frozen in time.
CNN.com
March 25, 2008
Headline: Pottermania lives on in college classrooms
Byline: Patrick Lee
Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/03/25/cnnu.potter/
Excerpt: J.K. Rowling has retired Harry Potter, but the fictional boy wizard lives in on college classes across the country where the children's books are embraced as literary and academic texts.
Danielle Tumminio, a Yale Divinity School graduate student and the instructor for Yale's Harry Potter course "Christian Theology and Harry Potter," said her academic background in literature and theology, combined with her personal interest in the books, inspired her to design the course.
Although Yale's course is its first Harry Potter-themed offering, other universities, including Georgetown University, Liberty University, Pepperdine University, Stanford University, Lawrence University, Swarthmore and Kansas State University, also have integrated the series into their curricula.
Edmund Kern, author of "The Wisdom of Harry Potter" and professor at Lawrence University, was originally attracted to the books based on his training as a historian of early religion, magic and witchcraft. For him, the books' historical impact, rather than their literary context, makes for a more intriguing analysis.
"As a kind of global cultural phenomenon, Harry Potter in a sense is unprecedented. I think movies have been extremely popular around the world, I think that certain music has been extremely popular around the world, but never before has a single literary endeavor caught the attention of so many people," Kern said.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
March 24, 2008
Headline: No-test option gives Lawrence a different look
Byline: Erica Perez
Link: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=731278
Excerpt: Elizabeth Byers didn't really worry about having the academic chops to get in to college.
She was a valedictorian at Reedsburg Area High School, had a 4.0 GPA and had a nice set of scores: a 29 on the ACT and a 1980 on the SAT.
Still, when Lawrence University in Appleton asked if she wanted her test scores to be considered, she checked the "no" box - and breathed a sigh of relief.
Lawrence is among a growing list of more than 750 colleges and universities that have some kind of test-optional admissions, according to FairTest, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that opposes heavy reliance on the tests. The trend comes as standardized tests have faced increased scrutiny for possible bias against students who are the first in their family to go to college, minorities or non-native English speakers.
When Lawrence went test-optional in late 2005, about a quarter of its roughly 2,300 applicants chose not to submit scores. About a quarter of admitted students were also non-submitters. A study of students admitted in 2006 showed that non-submitters had lower test scores, but ended up with roughly the same GPAs at the end of their first term as those who submitted test scores.
The school also experienced a 12% increase in applications when it went test-optional.
"This ends up being a good option for . . . the students who are doing very well academically in school, but their test scores don't necessarily match up with their academic performance," said Ken Anselment, director of admissions at Lawrence.