July 2000
Lawrence University is one of 21 private colleges participating in "Wisconsin Independent Colleges Week." Students visiting any of Wisconsin's private colleges this week can have the application fee waived when they apply for admission to any of the participating institutions.
The Henry Luce Foundation awards Lawrence a grant that will permit the college to establish a new faculty position in the political economy of East and Southeast Asia. The grant, one of only ten awarded nationally, will provide salary and benefits to a new professor as well as an additional $10,000 annually for program activities. Total value of the grant is expected to approach $300,000.
The Björklunden Seminars program, founded in 1980, offers one-week "vacations with a focus" at Lawrence's 425-acre northern campus in Door County. Alumni teaching seminars at Björklunden in 2000 include: Patrick Short, '81, "The Joy of Improvisation"; Douglas Hyde Powell, '56, "Pathways to Optimal Aging"; Timothy X. Troy, '85, "Scene Study: The Director and the Actors," Dale Duesing, '67, "Goethe Goes to the Opera"; Fred Sturm, '73, John Harmon, '57, and Mike Hale, '74, "Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp"; Scott Klug, '75, "Politics and the Media"; and Daniel Taylor, '63, "Who Killed Homer?"
August 2000
Appointments are made to three administrative positions. Gerald Seaman, formerly chair of the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Evansville, is named associate dean of the faculty. Andrew Law, who has more than ten years experience in study-abroad programs and international education, including positions at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, is appointed director of international and off-campus programs. Frank Lewis, an art magazine editor and long-time art educator, is the new director of exhibitions and curator of the Wriston Art Center Galleries.
Lawrence University receives a $200,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations in support of construction costs for Science Hall, the $18.1 million, 78,000-square foot laboratory and classroom building nearing completion on the site of the former Stephenson Hall of Science.
The second stage of a four-year renovation of Main Hall is completed in time for the opening of a new academic year. The building's fourth floor having been renovated in the summer of 1999, this year's efforts are centered on the first floor, including classroom refurbishment and the creation of a Humanities Computing Laboratory. Interior and exterior renovation of the President's Home is also underway.
September 2000
U.S. News & World Report's 14th annual report of "America's Best Colleges" places Lawrence 42nd among 160 national liberal arts colleges. Lawrence is also cited as one of the nation's "best values," being ranked 19th among national liberal arts colleges based on a ratio of quality of education to price.
The Wild Space Dance Company of Milwaukee begins a two-year "company-in-residence" appointment in the Department of Theatre and Drama. Members of the seven-person professional dance ensemble serve as instructors for a Movement for the Theatre course, lead four annual dance workshops, and offer one major performance each year, with students involved in staging the production.
Members of the Class of 2004 arrive for the start of their first college year and immediately set some records. The 398 incoming students -- 367 freshmen and 31 transfer students -- represent the largest class of new students since 1973, when 423 freshmen and transfers matriculated. In addition, they were drawn from the largest number of applicants in history; applications for admission increased 17 percent over 1999, climbing to a record 1,584, up 34 percent from just three years before when the Class of 2001 entered Lawrence.
President Richard Warch officially opens the college's 154th academic year -- his 21st as president -- with the annual Matriculation Convocation address. Under the title "The Campus Business," he responds to charges that the physical college campus is becoming an antiquated educational arrangement, arguing on behalf of the distinctive purposes of the residential liberal arts college.
Takakazu Kuriyama, LL.D. '93, former ambassador of Japan to the United States, spends the first five weeks of the Fall Term at Lawrence, as the Stephen Edward Scarff Memorial Visiting Professor, team-teaching a course on The Postwar Japanese-American Relationship. Recipient of an honorary degree on a previous visit to Appleton, Ambassador Kuriyama attended Lawrence during the 1954-55 academic year as a special student in an overseas study program sponsored by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The college welcomes 24 new faculty members, including tenure-track appointments in chemistry, economics, music, and Spanish. Regulatory agencies, international trade, Czech music, and Argentinean literature are among the scholarly and research interests of the new faculty members.
The Lawrence University Alumni Association invites alumni in the Classes of 1990-2000 to "Welcome to Our City" gatherings in 15 cities across the country, including the Fox Valley. Guests of honor at each location are members of the Class of 2000, many of whom have recently relocated to new cities.
Lawrence is one of ten institutions nationwide chosen to participate in the National String Project Consortium, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The program provides assistantships for undergraduate music-education majors as a way of attracting string players to the teaching profession.
The Wriston Art Center Galleries' first show of the year is "do it," a conceptual installation exhibit featuring two-dimensional work, sculpture, and installation pieces by 15 artists. Written instructions from the artists challenge the interpretive skills of those charged with executing the directions. Each version of the work in "do it" is different.
Lawrence meets St. Norbert College in the first night football game in school history, made possible by lights installed at the Banta Bowl during the summer. Celebrating the illustrious history of the stadium, a pre-game ceremony features remarks by Margaret Banta Humleker, '44, daughter of George Banta, Jr., '10, in whose memory the Banta Bowl was named. The evening also includes a halftime ceremony recognizing eight members of the 1965 football team -- the first Vikings to play there -- and their coach, Ron Roberts.
October 2000
Alumnae of Milwaukee-Downer College, the women's institution that consolidated with Lawrence College in 1964 to form Lawrence University, gather in Appleton for Milwaukee-Downer Reunion Weekend, the second of a planned series of three fall reunions held separately from Lawrence alumni reunions, which take place in June. During the weekend, Jeanette Hess, M-D '60, a community activist from Dubuque, Iowa, is presented with the George B. Walter Service to Society Award.
Edward Hirsch, poet, scholar, and professor of English at the University of Houston, presents a reading of selected poems from his 1998 book, On Love, as well as some of his newest work, in the first lecture in a new series supported by the Mia T. Paul, '95, Poetry Fund. Established in 1998, the endowed fund brings visiting poets to campus for public readings of their work and to collaborate with students interested in writing poetry and verse.
More than 40 former Lawrence players take part in the first alumni football game, part of Homecoming activities. Spanning the years from the Class of 1952 to the Class of 2000, a Blue team and a White team battle to a 0-0 tie. At the annual Blue and White Dinner, the Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame inducts six new members: Carl Giordana, '48, Dick Gast, '55, David Mulford, '59, LL.D. '84, Jim Schulze, '61, John Davis, '76, and Tracie Spangenberg, '90.
Dedication ceremonies for Science Hall feature a roundtable discussion on the role of science in the undergraduate curriculum that features a panel of six Lawrence alumni currently active in the sciences. Panel members include Carol Arnosti, '84, Thomas M. Baer, '74, Andrew N. Binns, '71, Mary C. Dinauer, '75, Ashley T. Haas, '61, and Deborah Sycamore, '80. At a dinner that evening, the keynote address is delivered by Thomas Steitz, '62, D.Sc. '81, a professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University.
Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the best-selling autobiography Angela's Ashes, presents a University Convocation titled "A Memoir of a Memoir." An enthusiastic audience overflows the 1,248-seat Memorial Chapel and then fills 500-seat Stansbury Theatre, where a closed-circuit television hook-up has been provided.
Performing Arts at Lawrence presents an Artist Series concert by baritone Matthias Goerne. Postponed from its original October 13 date by an emergency in the singer's family, the concert actually takes place on October 22. A student of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Goerne perpetuates the tradition of the lieder recital.
"Lunch at Lawrence" is a noontime lecture series popular among members of the Fox Valley community. On October 13, Ambassador Takakazu Kuriyama, the Stephen Edward Scarff Memorial Visiting Professor and former Japanese ambassador to the United States, opens the 2000-2001 series with a talk titled "Japan Faces the New Century: Challenges and Opportunities for Japan as a Society and Nation."
Percussionist Craig Hauschildt, '01, and pianist Ji-Young Kim, '02, are winners of the seventh annual Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, selected from a field of 14 finalists by a jury of Lawrence Conservatory of Music faculty members. Each performs with the orchestra at a concert during the academic year. Seniors Julianne Carney, violin; Katie Snyder, violin; Kate Lewis, viola; and Heather Greening, cello -- known collectively as the Draheim Quartet -- win the first LSO Community Outreach Resident Ensemble competition. During the 2000-2001 academic year, the quartet represents the conservatory with lecture/performance presentations at high schools, churches, and civic organizations.
Throughout the academic year, groups of Lawrence students and faculty members travel to Björklunden for weekend seminars and retreats. Seminar topics are wide-ranging, and students have the opportunity for intensive inquiry and discussion with faculty members and among themselves in an informal, intimate setting. In this, the program's fifth year, Björklunden student seminars include specialized sessions in archaeology, music composition, botany, intensive language study, musical theatre, gender studies, Beethoven symphonies, jazz chamber music, medieval book illumination, spring wildflowers, physiological ecology, women's music, and many others -- a total of 51 seminars led by 88 faculty members and involving nearly 1,000 students.
Each year 25 teachers are selected from the Appleton and Shawano public schools to participate in the Mielke Summer Institute, which takes place on the Lawrence campus for a week in June and at Björklunden for a weekend in October. Working with six members of the Lawrence faculty, Mielke Fellows take a multidisciplinary approach to a particular topic, which in 2000 is "Knowledge of Gender, Gender of Knowledge." After the summer session, the teachers write papers relevant to the issue under study, which become the basis for discussions at Björklunden.
Concluding a two-year effort, the Task Force on Residential Life presents its final report to the Board of Trustees at its fall meeting. The Board accepts the report and responds positively to its recommendations, including the planning and eventual construction of a new campus center to serve as the hub of residential activities on campus; construction and renovation of residence halls in order to provide more attractive and varied housing options for students; the strengthening of food services; and the expansion of opportunities for students to live together in formal and informal small groups.
The Board of Trustees also receives the report of Sasaki Associates, Inc., of Watertown, Massachusetts, a consultant firm it had commissioned to conduct a comprehensive update of the campus master plan Sasaki Associates had developed for the college in 1995. In particular, the Board seeks to inform its thinking on how the potential construction of additional residential units and a new campus center might affect other issues of campus planning.
Lawrence University Theatre presents Milwaukee's Boulevard Ensemble in a revival of their production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, directed by Timothy X. Troy, '85, assistant professor of theatre and drama.
November 2000
Lawrence helps commemorate the nation's first International Education Week celebration by hosting a series of special events, including a "get acquainted" potluck dinner for the 30 area families who serve as host families for some of Lawrence's 102 international students.
Actors from the London Stage (five British Shakespearean artists from such companies as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, and the BBC Shakespeare series) present As You Like It as part of a week-long teaching and performance residence at Lawrence, during which they interact with all sections of Freshman Studies.
Faina Belozyorova, an associate professor at Russia's Kurgan State University and a visiting professor in the Russian department, delivers a public address, "Old Challenges to Women in the New Russia," co-sponsored by the gender studies program and by Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs.
The 100th football game between Lawrence and Ripon College takes place at Ripon. With the series between the two tied at 46-46-7, Ripon wins 31-18 to gain possession of the Doehling-Heselton Memorial Trophy.
Joy Jordan, assistant professor of statistics, is featured in a Lunch at Lawrence presentation titled "Don't Let the Numbers Fool You: The Use and Abuse of Statistics in Our Daily Lives."
The women's soccer team captures Lawrence's first Midwest Conference Championship title and earns a berth in the NCAA Division III Championships, losing 2-0 to Albion College in the first round.
Richard Yatzeck, professor of Russian and a published nature writer, talks about ways of turning simple observation of everyday surroundings into inspiration for writing about nature in a Main Hall Forum titled "Bearding the Bristling Beast."
Featured performers at the 20th annual Jazz Weekend are the Dave Holland Quintet with the Lawrence Jazz Ensemble on Friday evening and Nancy King, jazz vocalist, with Steve Christofferson, piano; John Harmon, '57, piano; Janet Planet, jazz vocalist; and the Lawrence University Jazz Singers on Saturday. The event also marks the 30th anniversary of Lawrence's academic program in jazz studies.
The art exhibition "Artistas Argentinos, Contemporáneos/ Four Contemporary Argentinean Artists" opens at the Wriston Art Center Galleries with an opening lecture by Gustavo Fares, associate professor of Spanish and one of the artists represented in the show.
The Fall Term musical theatre production is The Most Happy Fella, by Frank Loesser, directed by Timothy X. Troy. Also on the theatre schedule this month is a live stand-up comedy performance, "What a Character!" by Marlin Hill.
Wide receiver Zach Michael, '04, is named to the USA Football Freshmen All-America team, the second year in a row a Lawrence player has been so honored.
Terry Rew-Gottfried, professor of psychology, presents his research on the connection between musical training and language learning in a Science Hall Colloquium titled "Mandarin and Music: Relation of Musical Ear Training and Mandarin Tone Identification."
December 2000
Princeton University historian Anthony Grafton, visiting campus under the auspices of the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program, discusses the rise and importance of magic during the Renaissance in a lecture titled "Dr. Faustus and His Friends: The Renaissance Magus in Context."
At the Wriston Art Center Galleries, the exhibition "Double Exposure: Pairs, Sets, and Twins from the Permanent Art Collection" features works in the college's collection that have doubling and repetition as a prominent feature -- e.g., by addressing the subject of twins, seeking to emphasize family resemblance, or simply dealing with the formal exercise of arranging two figures in space.
January 2001
"Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality in Changing Societies," a six-part lecture series in January and February, examines the role racial and ethnic differences play in problems ranging from crime in America to international disputes, as presented by leading scholars. The series is sponsored by the Lt. William Kellogg Harkins, Jr., Values Program and by the Mojmir Povolny Lectureship in International Studies.
Brian Greene, proponent of the united theory of superstrings and professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, is featured in the first University Convocation of the Winter Term, speaking on "What is String Theory?"
A Lunch at Lawrence audience hears Rebecca Epstein Matveyev, assistant professor of Russian, speak on "The Post-Soviet Decade: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
The Artist Series presents violinist Midori in her second Memorial Chapel appearance (the first was in 1988). She performs with her regular recital partner, pianist and Lawrence alumnus Robert McDonald, C'73.
Lawrence's ninth annual Kwanzaa celebration, a festival of African American cultural heritage and awareness, includes music by Kinkaviwo, Lawrence's African percussion ensemble, among other attractions.
The 36th annual Great Midwest Trivia Contest enlivens the airwaves of WLFM for 50 consecutive hours during the weekend of January 19-21. Through the years, the trivia contest has nurtured friendships, sparked romances -- at least one marriage united a couple who met as trivia teammates -- and spawned second- and even third-generation trivia devotees from among the original players. In recent years nearly 60 off-campus teams, some featuring as many as 30 players, have participated.
Professor of Music Kathleen Murray is appointed by President Warch as dean of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, after serving as acting dean since the start of the 1999-2000 academic year, when former dean Robert Dodson accepted a similar position at Oberlin College. Murray, a pianist, has been a member of the conservatory faculty since 1986.
William Baer, '72, Susan Nelson Goldsmith, '65, and Greg O'Meara, '72, are elected to four-year terms on the Lawrence University Board of Trustees as alumni trustees.
An exhibition titled "Transforming Gender/Picturing Difference" opens in the Wriston Art Center Galleries, presenting a wide variety of images from the college's permanent collection that exhibit both conventional and revolutionary attitudes toward men and women and their activities and place in society.
Thomas Ryckman, professor of philosophy, addresses the question "What is truth?" in a Main Hall Forum titled "Facts and Truth."
As part of its residency at Lawrence, the Wild Space Dance Company presents a performance of Wild States, choreographed by Deb Loewen, artist-in-residence.
February 2001
Four Lawrence University faculty members examine the benefits and consequences of corporate-sponsored scientific research at American universities in a panel discussion featuring Corry Azzi, '65, the Edwin N. and Ruth Z. West Professor of Economics; Jeffrey Collett, associate professor of physics; John Dreher, the Lee Claflin-Robert S. Ingraham Professor of Philosophy; and Richard Summers, assistant professor of chemistry.
Members of Lawrence International raise nearly $1,000 to aid relief efforts for the victims of the devastating January 26 earthquake in India. The student organization donates all the profits from its recent African Dinner celebration and solicits Lawrence students, staff, and faculty for donations.
Heidi Busse, '01, is chosen by USA Today for its 2001 All-USA College Academic Team. She is one of 100 students honored from among 682 nominations from colleges and universities across the country, earning honorable-mention recognition. Students are selected on the basis of their grades, activities, leadership, and how they use their intellectual skills outside the classroom.
Dave Ruhly, head coach of men's hockey, is named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year.
Catherine Stewart, '89, assistant professor of history at Cornell College, speaking at a Main Hall Forum, examines the oral histories of former American slaves collected during the 1930s in a lecture titled "Writing 'Race:' Performances of Blackness in the Ex-Slave Narratives of the Federal Writers Project."
An exhibition featuring the photography of Appleton businessman Rudy Cherkasky is hung in the Science Hall Atrium. The photographs, taken in the "slot canyons" of Antelope Canyon in northeast Arizona, have been donated to the Lawrence geology department.
Antonio Escalante, '04, from Cartagena, Colombia, receives an award from Colombian President Andres Pastrana, recognizing his superb performance on the Colombia Institute for Secondary Education Exam. Out of nearly 500,000 students who took the two-day examination in 2000, Escalante recorded the second-highest score in his state and the 41st best score in all of Colombia.
Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau and his trio present the third concert in the 2000-2001 Lawrence Jazz Series.
The Conservatory Opera program presents two short works by Puccini, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. Bridget-Michaele Reischl, associate professor of music and the Kimberly Clark Professor of Music, is musical director, and Timothy X. Troy is stage director.
March 2001
Julianne Carney, '01, is one of 60 national recipients of a $22,000 fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation. The fellowship supports a "wanderjahr" -- a year to travel and explore the world -- on a topic of the student's choosing. Carney will spend her year studying the modern legacies of historic European violin schools, principally in Vienna, Prague, and Karlsruhe, Germany.
Jerald E. Podair, assistant professor of history, delivers a Lunch at Lawrence lecture titled "The Sixties: How They Changed America."
The Vikings wrestling team finishes tenth at the NCAA Division III Championships, marking the team's highest finish in school history. Ross Mueller, '01, and Andy Kazik, '02, each earn All-America status, the first time Lawrence has had two All-Americans in the same season.
During Spring Break, Lawrence University Food Services hosts the regional conference of the National Association of College and University Food Services.
The Formal Group Housing Planning Committee, comprised of students, faculty, and staff, unveils its proposed plan for implementing the Task Force on Residential Life's proposal to establish a system of formal group housing for groups of students that have a shared mission and organizational structure and wish to live together on campus. After a period of campus comment, a final report is issued in June.
The Winter Term play is Shaw on Marriage, three one-act plays by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Kathy Privatt, assistant professor of theatre and drama.
April 2001
The Lawrence University Saxophone Quartet and cellist Tara Santiago, '04, are first-place winners in Wisconsin Public Radio's Neale-Silva competition, the third time in five years that Lawrence Conservatory students have won the annual event. As winners, Santiago and quartet members Allen Coordingly, '01, baritone sax; Stephen Rodriguez, '01, alto sax; Tony Bell, '02, soprano sax; and Casey Schmidt, '02, tenor sax, perform on WPR's Live from the Elvehjem program.
In a visit to campus on April 9, the Japanese Consul General of Chicago, Mitoji Yabunaka, addresses government and economics students on "The Relationship Between Japan and the United States in the 21st Century" and speaks to community and business leaders at a luncheon in his honor.
Thirty-five members of the Lawrence Arts Academy Girl Choir sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City as members of the National Children's Choir.
"Islam and America" is the topic of a Lunch at Lawrence lecture by Kathryn M. Kueny, assistant professor of religious studies.
Lawrence's international students host the 25th annual International Cabaret, featuring international cuisine, live music, native dances performed by Lawrence students from around the world, a Korean martial arts demonstration, and a fashion show featuring students modeling traditional clothing from their home countries.
Marcia Bjørnerud, associate professor of geology, newly returned from nine months of field research in Norway under a grant from the Fulbright Scholar Program, discusses her latest findings in a Science Hall Colloquium on "Earthquakes, Metamorphism, and Metastability: A View into the Deep Crust from Western Norway."
The third annual Earth Day Festival begins with trash collection and tree planting along the banks of the Fox River by Greenfire, the college's environmental-awareness group, and the Fox Valley Sierra Club. Other events include a children's float parade with the theme "Wisconsin Plants and Animals" and an "information fair" featuring environmental issues ranging from low-impact camping to the Outagamie County Recycling Program.
Jennifer Baumgardner, '92, and Amy Richards, authors of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, discuss the expectations and responsibilities of the latest generation of feminism -- "the third wave" as they call it -- in a Gender Studies Forum.
Gustavo Setrini, '03, is selected to receive a $5,000 scholarship from the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation, which awards undergraduate scholarships to students in fields related to the environment. Lawrence is one of only three colleges or universities in Wisconsin to have a student named a Udall Scholar.
Gerald Seaman, associate professor of French and associate dean of the faculty, delivers an address titled "French or Foe,"based on Languages and Cultures of Europe, a course he has taught to American students in England.
Author and scholar Martha Nussbaum, described by The New York Times as "America's most prominent woman philosopher," delivers a University Convocation address titled "Global Duties: Cicero's Problematic Legacy." Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago and also holds appointments in the philosophy department, law school, and divinity school.
Annie Krieg, '01, is awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2001-2002 academic year, under which she will travel to Germany as an English instructor working with students in grades 5-13 in the north-central state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Vermeer String Quartet, from Chicago, presents the third concert in the 2000-01 Artist Series.
The Wriston Art Center Galleries present "Three Pieces in Time Fragments," an exhibition of the photography of John Shimon and Julie Lindemann, instructors in the Lawrence art department.
A traveling company from Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater, in residence at Lawrence, presents Brian Friel's play Mollie Sweeney, in addition to conducting workshops and impromptu theatre tutorials for students.
May 2001
The fourth annual Richard A. Harrison Symposium in Humanities and Social Sciences presents original scholarly research and writing by students. The symposium is named for the late dean of the faculty, who was one of its staunchest proponents.
Elaine Hoft-March, associate professor of French, delivers a Main Hall Forum titled "Still Breathing: Sarah Kofman's Holocaust Memories."
David Arnosti, '82, assistant professor of biochemistry at Michigan State University, speaks on "The Human Genome Project: Lewis and Clark or the Closing of a Frontier?" in a Science Hall Colloquium.
Ballet Folklorico Mexico, a ten-member dance troupe performing regional dances in elaborately beautiful costumes, performs in a celebration of the traditions, customs, history, and ancient folklore of Mexico.
Sean Smith, '03, is honored by the Appleton chapter of the Salvation Army as its Volunteer of the Year, for his contributions to its homeless shelter.
William J. Perreault, professor of biology, delivers a Lunch at Lawrence presentation on "Folklore Meets Science: Discovering the Microbes in the Foods We Eat."
The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music presents a Festival of Women's Music, featuring composers Joan Tower and Chen Yi; performance artist and composer Kitty Brazelton; jazz composer, arranger, and bandleader Maria Schneider; and music historian Susan Cook. The week-long program begins with weekend events at Björklunden and then moves to the Appleton campus for performances, lectures, discussions, and workshops, with the participants discussing, performing, and conducting their own works.
President Warch opens Classics Week with a proclamation from the steps of his office, reaffirming Lawrence's commitment to, and the importance of, the study of the classics. Among other events, the celebration features an address by William Metcalf, former chief curator at the American Numismatic Society in New York, "Contextualizing Ancient Coins: The Ottilia Buerger Collection at Lawrence University."
Final concerts in the Artist Series and Jazz Series for the year feature the percussion ensemble NEXUS and trumpeter Roy Hargrove, respectively.
The concluding event in a multi-part seminar series on biomedical ethics is a lecture by former U.S. senator David Durenberger on "Community Health: Community Responsibility." Following his remarks, local context is provided by a panel consisting of Dr. John Mielke, an Appleton cardiologist; Kurt Eggerbrecht, director of the Appleton Health Department; and Martin Myse, assistant vice president for corporate benefits of Aid Association for Lutherans, moderated by Merton Finkler, professor of economics.
Sociologist William Julius Wilson, the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University, is the speaker at the annual Honors Convocation. Wilson, author of The Declining Significance of Race and The Truly Disadvantaged, among other award-winning works, is presented with the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters.
Lawrence hosts "Skappleton Punkiversity 2001," a Memorial Weekend concert of ska bands. Born in Jamaica in the 1950s, ska is an upbeat, danceable brand of music, faster in tempo than reggae, with an affinity for horns and socially conscious lyrics. It combines the musical influences of calypso, jazz, blues, and swing.
The Spring Term play is Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, a production that serves as the senior projects of Paul Hurley, director; Jamie LeBlanc, scenic design; Emily Rohm, costume design; Ryan Marx, lighting design; and Cori White, actor.
The inaugural production of the Lawrence University Theatre of the Air brings such Golden Age of Radio favorites as "The Shadow," "Nero Wolfe," and "Dimension X" to the Cloak Theatre, where a live audience witnesses the shows' taping for later broadcast.
June 2001
The work of 13 graduating art majors is featured in the annual Senior Art Exhibition, which opens with a "meet the artists" reception on June 1 and remains on display in the Wriston Art Center Galleries through August 11.
Kathleen M. Murray, dean of the Conservatory of Music, delivers a Lunch at Lawrence talk on "Bridging the Avenue: Con Meets College -- Do We Do More Than Coexist?"
The Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, Concert Choir, Chorale, and Women's Choir are joined by the White Heron Chorale and the Appleton Lyric Boychoir in presenting Benjamin Britten's War Requiem in the Memorial Chapel. J. Michael Hittle, professor of history, delivers a pre-concert talk titled "Music for an Age of Total War."
Kenneth Sager, '39, retiring professor of education, at the invitation of the Class of 2001, speaks at their Baccalaureate Service during Commencement Weekend, addressing the theme "Courage, Curiosity, Confidence." Class officers Curtis Lauderdale, Sarah E. Morris, Lyndsay A. Sund, and Zachary W. Walker also take part in the program.
Xavier High School teacher Peter Bartman and Leyla Sanyer, orchestra director at Oregon High School, receive Lawrence's Outstanding Teaching in Wisconsin Award during the college's 152nd commencement.
Also at Commencement, retiring faculty members James Dana, economics; J. Michael Hittle, history; Kenneth Sager, education; and Mari Taniguchi, music, each receive the honorary degree Master of Arts, ad eundem, and are promoted to the rank of professor emeritus. The four are also honored the following week at Reunion Weekend 2001, as is retiring Assistant Dean of the Conservatory Nancy Marsh Stowe, '61.
Theodore Steck, '60, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago, receives the honorary degree Doctor of Science, and His Grace Bishop Kallistos Ware is awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters. Professor Steck is one of the country's leading researchers on cell biology, and Bishop Ware, the Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Pembroke College, is the first Englishman ever ordained a Greek Orthodox bishop. As is customary, both distinguished visitors present a brief charge to the graduating members of the Class of 2001.
Steven Jordheim, professor of music, receives the college's 2001 Excellence in Teaching Award, and Jeffrey Clark, assistant professor of geology, is presented with the Young Teacher Award.
At the annual Alumni Convocation during Reunion Weekend, eight individuals receive special recognition from the Lawrence University Alumni Association. Honored for distinguished achievement in their career fields are James Sinclair, '51, Jane Schulenburg, '65, Stephen Edwards, C'85, and Amy Thiel, C'85. Cecilia Goetz, '87, and Christopher Laing-Martinez, '85, receive the George B. Walter Service to Society Award (Cecilia Goetz' award is presented posthumously and is accepted on her behalf by her sister, Laura Goetz). Jane Holroyd, '61, and Stephen Albrecht, '86, are recognized for their volunteer service to Lawrence.
"Focus on Tolerance" is the theme of the 2001 Mielke Summer Institute in the Liberal Arts for teachers from the Appleton and Shawano public schools. Under the direction of six Lawrence faculty members, the 25 local teachers explore issues related to ethnic, social, and cultural diversity in the United States from the perspective of the liberal arts. The Institute is made possible by a grant from the Mielke Family Foundation, Inc. (See also October 2000)
The Summer Institute for Secondary School Teachers, also taught primarily by Lawrence faculty members, is another summer tradition on the campus. Operated successfully for a number of years, the program is designed for those who teach advanced placement or other accelerated courses for high school students capable of college-level work.
