Contact: Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 920/832-6590
For Immediate Release
February 7, 2003

Lt. Governor Lawton Kicks Off Civic Engagement Week at Lawrence University

APPLETON, WIS. -- Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton will help launch Lawrence University's celebration of Civic Engagement Week, a national initiative Feb.16-22 to provide students opportunities to learn about critical public issues and encourage them to speak out on issues important to their future.

Lawton will lead a four-member panel of elected women officials discussing opportunities in public service Monday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence's Wriston Art Center Auditorium. Joining Lawton on the "Women in Politics" panel will be Brown County Executive Nancy Nusbaum, Appleton Common Council member Helen Nagler and former Seymour mayor and current Outagamie County Board member Judy Schutte. Lawton, the first woman elected lieutenant governor in Wisconsin history, is a 1987 graduate of Lawrence.

The four women officials will share their reasons for pursuing public service as a career, what obstacles they have encountered in a male-dominated profession and the importance of women becoming engaged in civic affairs. A brief reception will follow the event, which is free and open to the public.

Lawrence is one of 600 colleges and universities across the country participating in the week-long campaign to raise civic awareness among students. The program is sponsored by Campus Compact, a national organization of college and university presidents committed to promoting the civic purposes of higher education by encouraging community service and citizenship skills to best prepare students to become active and informed leaders in their communities. In 1986, Lawrence became one of the first 100 colleges in the country to join the Campus Compact.

"An active and informed citizenship is a worthy aspiration not only for our students, but for everyone," said President Richard Warch. "Lawrence has long prided itself on its commitment to preparing students for lives of service, leadership and achievement and the upcoming Civic Engagement Week celebration is an opportunity to reaffirm our belief in those ideals. I commend the students who have spearheaded this effort."

"As citizens not only of the United States, but of the world, our concerns for the future, our hopes for peace and security, our commitment to confront the root causes of problems -- poverty, human rights abuses or the spread of nuclear weapons, among others -- demand that we enlist our collective skills and knowledge to contribute however we can toward alleviating them. National civic engagement campaigns like this one can help jump start that involvement."

Other student activities scheduled during Civic Engagement Week include a discussion on equality and human rights led by Rod Bradley, assistant dean of students for multicultural affairs, a volunteer fair with area service organizations providing information on volunteer opportunities and a forum on public service careers led by Lawrence alumni involved in those fields.

Lawrence's Civic Week Engagement activities are supported by a grant from Wisconsin Campus Compact, a statewide organization founded last October as an affiliate of the national Campus Compact.

For more information on Civic Engagement Week activities, contact 920/832-7891 or 920/832-7112.