Contact: Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 414/832-6590 For Immediate Release June 19, 1997 Lawrence University Concludes Sesquicentennial By Honoring Four Area Alumni at Reunion Weekend Celebration APPLETON, WIS. ~ For seven months, Lawrence University took the sesquicentennial anniversary of its founding to its alumni, with concerts featuring its symphony orchestra and jazz quartet and ensemble, and parties featuring President Warch and faculty members in stops from Boston to Los Angeles, from Seattle to St. Louis. This weekend, it's the alumni turn to come to Lawrence for the last sesquicentennial event of the college's year-long celebration. This year's Reunion Weekend June 19-21 is expected to test the record turnout of 1,330 set in 1988 with alumni and guests arriving from 39 states and five foreign countries. Three former Lawrence presidents, Douglas Knight (1954-63), Curtis Tarr (1963-69) and Thomas Smith (1969-79) are also expected to return to campus for the weekend festivities. Four Fox Cities residents -- Betty Ducklow, Charles Merry, Earl Miller of Appleton and Joseph Hopfensperger of Menasha -- will be among 12 alumni honored for their achievements and service to the college during the reunion convocation Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Long-time Appleton High School teacher Esther Graef Hamilton, Class of 1920, the oldest class represented at this year's reunion, will serve as ceremonial leader of the traditional "parade of colors" across College Avenue prior to the reunion convocation. In addition to its distinguished achievement awards and outstanding service awards, Lawrence will confer its first annual George B. Walter Service to Society awards, in honor of the college's long-time education professor who died in 1996. "These are alumni who have chosen to make quiet, but important, contributions to society, very much in the manner George Walter did in his years at Lawrence," said Jan Quinlan, director of alumni relations at Lawrence. "These recipients epitomize all the Lawrence alumni who make a difference in their communities." 1997 GEORGE B. WALTER SERVICE TO SOCIETY AWARD WINNERS Alice Heath, Santa Barbara, Calif., Milwaukee-Downer, 1940. Heath's career was spent working in public health, including directing health education programs in Illinois and California. In retirement, she founded the Hospice of Santa Barbara in 1976, the second hospice in the U.S. In 1990, she founded Heath House, a residential facility for persons living with AIDS, and three years later helped open a second home, Sarah House. Her community service has previously earned her "woman of the year" and "lifetime achievement" awards in Santa Barbara. Ann Dempsey, St. Louis, Mo., Lawrence, 1959. Dempsey devoted her career to education, including 31 years teaching at St. Louis Community College before retiring this spring. She is credited with developing a "changeable topic" course, a remedial/developmental writing program, an Honors Course program based on collaborative learning and implementing the Circle Project in the early 1970s, which provided programs for adult women entering college or the work force. John van Hengel, Phoenix, Ariz., Lawrence, 1944. Van Hengel is credited with starting the world's first "food bank" in Phoenix in 1967 when he began collecting surplus citrus from producer growers and storing it at a local abandoned building. Ten years later, with the help of a federal grant, van Hengel developed "Second Harvest," which has grown into the largest hunger-relief organization in the country. In 1992, he was recognized nationally as one of the country' 10 "most caring" people by the Caring Institute of Washington, D.C. 1997 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS Laura Caviani, St. Paul, Minn., Lawrence 1984. A composer and pianist, Caviani has since made her mark on the Midwest regional jazz scene. A former music professor at UW-Stevens Point, she recently released "Dreamlife," her first CD as lead artist with the Laura Caviani Trio. A music critic reviewing the CD called Caviani, "an excellent pianist, an inventive arranger and a composer with new things to say." Cynthia Cooley, Pittsburgh, Pa., Lawrence 1953. An artist who works in acrylics and watercolors, Cooley has focused her art on capturing the "industrial landscape." Her work is represented in more than 1,500 private collections and 80 public and corporate collections. In 1989, she was honored as Pittsburgh's "artist of the year." Edward Smith, Verona, Italy, Lawrence 1959. A concert harpsichordist specializing in Baroque and Renaissance music, Smith has performed throughout the world with New York Pro Musica, the Philidor Trio, the New York Consort of Viols, and the Waverly Consort. James Sattizahn, Lawrence, 1942. Sattizahn, who died in August, 1996, will be honored posthumously. He spent more than 40 years as a leading figure in top-level radiochemistry research, first in the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and later at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He developed methods of assessing and verifying the degree of nuclear development of other countries on which many current arms-control treaties are based. His son, Ed, will accept the award on his behalf. Five alumni also will be honored with service awards for exemplary dedication, leadership, commitment and volunteer service to the college. Ducklow, class of 1942, served as the board of the college's alumni association from 1973-79 and was a class secretary for a dozen years. Hopfensperger, class of 1952, started and developed the popular Bjorklunden Seminars on the college's Door County campus in the early 1980s and oversaw the program for many years. He also served as an alumni admissions representative throughout the 1980s. Merry, class of 1957, has worked as a volunteer with the college's Business and Industry campaign since the program's inception in 1980 and has served as chair of the 40th reunion committee. Miller, class of 1932, is a former treasurer of the alumni association and has worked as a volunteer for more than 10 years on the Business and Industry Campaign. Greg O'Meara, Hingham, Mass., class of 1972, spent four years as a member of the alumni board and three as an alumni admissions counselor in the Boston area.