Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 920/832-6590
For Immediate Release
June 9, 2000

Lawrence University Salutes 74 Years of Service by Two Faculty Members,
Dean at Commencement 


     APPLETON, WIS. -- Fred Gaines was a struggling writer living on a
farm in western Wisconsin trying to make ends meet when a chance meeting
in Minneapolis with a man who had once directed of one of his plays
alerted him to a teaching opportunity in Lawrence University's theatre
department.  Gaines investigated and wound up getting the job.  With all
the security of a one-year contract, he trekked across the state to
Appleton in the fall of 1977. 
     "My assumption was this would be a very temporary thing," Gaines
recalled. "I just wanted to earn enough to get some bills paid and get
back on my feet." 
     So much for temporary.
     Twenty-three years later, Gaines will  be honored Sunday at
Lawrence's 151st commencement with professor emeritus status as a
retiring member of the faculty.  Charles Lauter, dean of off-campus programs 
and international student advisor, will join Gaines on stage.  Each will 
each be awarded honorary Master of Arts,  ad eundem, degrees.  Alice King Case, 
lecturer in art, also is retiring after 20 years in the art department.
     While he became a teacher of the dramatic arts, Gaines never
abandoned his love of writing.  A prolific playwright, he has written
nearly 80 plays in his career that have been performed throughout the
country, including the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, the Ellen Stewart 
Theatre in New York City and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Among 
his works were a series of short "history" plays Gaines wrote in 1999 for 
the Outagamie County Historical Society that focused on such local 
topics as the Nichols bank robbery and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.  
In addition to writing plays, Gaines also has directed more than 70 
theatre productions during his career.   
     A native of Nebraska, he has been the recipient of a National
Endowment Award in Playwriting, a Eugene OšNeill Fellowship, a Fulbright
Fellowship, two Wisconsin Arts Board Grants and a prestigious Guggenheim
Fellowship. 
     The faculty advisor to Lawrence's Black Organization of Students
for 15 years, he also has been a long-time volunteer at the Oneida
Reservation Outreach Program, teaching acting and playwriting classes.
     Gaines earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University
of Nebraska, a Diploma in Drama at the University of Manchester,
England, and his Ph.D. in theatre arts at the University of Minnesota. 
     Case joined the Lawrence art department faculty in 1980 after
teaching art classes in suburban Chicago for 21 years.  Through her
initiative and insistence, Lawrence introduced computer-assisted art
courses to the department curriculum in 1987.  In addition to teaching,
she has directed Lawrence's art education program, supervising the
certification of nearly 50 art teachers.  She also served as
coordinator of exhibitions at Lawrence's own Wriston galleries.  
     An accomplished artist who specializes in drawing, Case's works
have been showcased in national juried and invitational exhibitions in
more than 30 galleries across the country.  Included among her many
works have been several compact disc covers for Lawrence Conservatory
ensemble recordings.  
     A two-time recipient of Artist-in-Residency awards to the Vermont
Studio Center, one of the country's premier creative communities for
working artists, Case earned her bachelor's degree in studio art at Coe
College.  She has pursued graduate studies at Northern Illinois
University and Bennington College through the Massachusetts College of
Art.
     Since he arrived in 1969 as Lawrence's first dean of student
affairs, Lauter's administrative title has changed nearly a handful of
times, but his close, personal association with students has never
been altered.  During his 31-year tenure he has worked closely with
students on matters ranging from academic advising and career planning to
off-campus study options and multicultural programming.  A strong
advocate of student volunteerism, Lauter was the guiding force behind
the creation of community service programs that have since grown into
the present Volunteer and Community Service Center.
     Since assuming his present position in 1995, Lauter has overseen
Lawrence's London Center campus, coordinated the college's 27 off-campus
programs, assisted students in the pursuit of major national fellowships
and scholarships and coordinated weekly student seminars at Bjorklunden,
Lawrence's "northern" campus in Baileys Harbor. 
     During the Vietnam War, Lauter helped organize student candlelight
vigils and peace marches in opposition to the war.  That activism led
him to work with the city of Appleton in establishing a sister-city
relationship with Kurgan, Russia.  A founding board member of the 
program, Lauter has served  as president of the Fox Cities Kurgan 
Sister Cities Program since 1989.
     A native of New York, Lauter spent six years in student services at
Wesleyan University before coming to Lawrence.  He earned his bachelor's
and master's degree at the University of Rochester.