Lawrence Today magazine, Spring 2006

David Becker, formerly director of orchestras and professor of the graduate orchestral conducting program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, joined the conservatory faculty in September as a tenured full professor and director of orchestral studies. A violist, the new conductor of the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College and the Master of Music from the University of Louisville.

Julie Lindemann and John Shimon, who have taught photography in the Department of Art since 2000, now share a tenure-track appointment as assistant professors of art. Professional photographers who maintain a studio in Manitowoc, they have been photographing collaboratively since the mid-1980s and are the authors of Season’s Gleamings: The Art of Aluminum Christmas Trees. Each holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Illinois State University.

Another tenure-track appointment, tenor Steven Paul Spears, assistant professor of music, joined the Lawrence faculty in 2004 after completing a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Louisville School of Music and has performed with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and in several opera companies in the United States, including Utah, Utah Festival (Logan), Palm Beach, Kentucky, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Memphis.

Other appointments for the 2005-06 academic year included Marcos Balter, pre-doctoral fellow in music theory; Alberto Bellg, lecturer in psychology; Bryan Brophy-Baermann, instructor in government; Abd al-Hakeem Carney, instructor in religious studies; Winnie Chan, visiting assistant professor of English; Kate Fisher, instructor in art; Kiyomi Fujii, lecturer in Japanese; John Gates, visiting assistant professor of music; Robert Johnson, instructor in theatre arts; Anthea Kreston, instructor in music; J. Timothy Petersik, lecturer in psychology; Amy Speier, instructor in anthropology; Julia Stringfellow, assistant professor and archivist/reference librarian; Lee Tomboulian, instructor in music; and Jeremy Zilber, visiting assistant professor of government.