Inside Lawrence - Lawrence University

Lawrence Today magazine, Spring 2009

The Gift of Music
The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music recently received an extraordinary gift — a quartet of hand-carved instruments created by Douglas Cox, one of America’s premier violinmakers. Cox spent more than a year fashioning the two violins, one viola, and one cello that make up the quartet. The instruments were a gift from musician and educator Allen Greenberg of Chevy Chase, Md., who explained the reason for his generous gift. “Students at Lawrence not only have the opportunity to receive a first-rate undergraduate education delivered in small classes by highly qualified and dedicated professors, but, uniquely, also to freely participate in a dynamic music conservatory program, no matter what their professional aims might be. Students here are truly fortunate to have the opportunities the school provides, and I am happy to assist these gifted young players with these instruments.” Brian Pertl, dean of the conservatory, said that the gift of the instruments “will help further the development of talented young string players and to add to the quality of the musical life at Lawrence.”

Academic Calendar Changed
At its winter meeting, the Lawrence Board of Trustees voted to change the 2009-10 academic year calendar, setting new start and completion dates for the fall term. Under the revised schedule, fall term will begin Monday, Sept. 14 and end Tuesday, Nov. 24. The shift in the calendar will create a six-week winter break, and the trustees estimated the amount of money that could be saved on heating and other student-related expenses during that time to be $200,000 or more. Lawrence President Jill Beck said the change “will create operating costs that will help us address effectively the financial crisis that Lawrence, along with other institutions, is facing, while protecting our core educational programs.” No changes were made to the winter and spring term schedule.

Pedal Pushers
As part of Lawrence’s Green Roots™ initiative, the college recently introduced the LU Bikes Program. With funds provided through the Class of 1965 Activity Grant, Lawrence purchased 10 Trek mountain bikes and is making them available to students and faculty to ride — free of charge. Greg Griffin ’80, campus center director, said the impact of the program is immediate. “The bike rental program reinforces the idea that we don’t always need to use a car when we need to go somewhere. There are plenty of places around Appleton that are easily accessed by bike. I think riding a bike to an appointment or when running errands is a great way to go green.” The Class of 1965 Student Activity Grant is an endowment created to support studentsponsored events that help create a co-curricular atmosphere on campus.

Concert Choir Performs at National Choral Convention
The Lawrence University Concert Choir, under the direction of Richard Bjella, recently performed at the American Choral Directors’ Association national convention in Oklahoma City. Out of 300 applicants, only 20 choirs were selected for performances during the convention. Lawrence was one of four mixed college/university choirs chosen to perform. The 56-member concert choir had the privilege of performing twice on the convention’s final day, singing in the morning and again during the convention’s coveted final performance slot. Jim Heiks, fine arts coordinator for the Appleton Public Schools, attended the convention and said Lawrence’s performance was “…a triumph…literally stunning…and a home run that made ACDA history.” With more than 20,000 members, the ACDA is the world’s largest choral organization. Several thousand choral leaders of the nation’s best choirs attended the convention. After its performance, the Concert Choir received a resounding ovation that lasted until the entire choir had walked off the stage.

More Light! Campaign Update
Goal: $150 million
Raised so far: $108 million

While the college continues to face the realities of the economic downturn, the More Light! campaign continues to press forward and recently surpassed the $108 million mark. “We must never forget that this campaign is about an investment in our students,” said President Jill Beck. “We have momentum in our academic and artistic programs. This campaign will help our college continue to thrive, even during challenging times.” Contributions to Lawrence’s annual fund, The Lawrence Fund, are keeping pace with last year while many other colleges’ annual funds have trended down. This is heartening, as Lawrence relies heavily on unrestricted gifts to support academic programs and provide scholarships for students. Major gifts have been received for the following:

• Lawrence Fellows Program
• Posse
• Scholarships
• Student-faculty collaboration grants
• Memorial Chapel renovation
• Riverwalk path adjacent to the Warch Campus Center

“Lawrence has long benefited from a forward-thinking constituency who included the college in estate planning,” said Cal Husmann, vice president of development and alumni relations. “This aspect of giving has served the college exceedingly well in recent years, and continues to do so during the campaign.” Perhaps the most visible and exciting aspect of the campaign is the Warch Campus Center that is nearing completion. This long-anticipated addition to the college is fully funded by gifts and commitments. It will open in fall 2009.
For more information, visit morelight.lawrence.edu or call 800-283-8320.

Lawrence recognized for Community Service
Exemplary service efforts earned Lawrence a spot on the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Lawrence is one of only four Wisconsin institutions named to the Community Service Honor Roll every year since the program was launched in 2006. “I couldn’t be more proud to have our students’ good efforts beyond the campus borders be recognized nationally once again,” said Lawrence President Jill Beck. “I salute our students, and the faculty and staff who work with them, for the breadth and quality of their efforts to build a stronger community.”

The Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to servicelearning and civic engagement. In the past year, Lawrence documented more than 9,000 service hours involving at least 400 students, including more than 20 students who performed at least 20 hours of service per week.

Among the initiatives for which Lawrence was recognized were the Lawrence Assistance Reaching Youth (LARY) Buddies, a mentoring program for at-risk elementary students; a program of foreign language and culture presentations in local schools; the Confidence and Determination in Youth (CADY) student organization which provides younger students an inspirational, college-like experience in learning; and the establishment of a long-term partnership between Lawrence and the Appleton Fire Department to enhance fire safety education.

More Giving Back
Making it a “day on,” rather than a day off from classes, more than 70 Lawrence students gave back to the community Jan. 19 as part of the 2009 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. Coordinated by Lawrence’s Volunteer and Community Service Center, students volunteered with numerous programs and agencies in the Fox Cities.

One of the days biggest service projects involved 26 students, who led a diversity lesson at Edison Elementary School designed by Megan Luedtke ’11, coordinator of the LARY Buddy program.

“The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is an opportunity for Lawrence students to better understand the needs of the Appleton community by providing service to area community agencies in need of assistance,” said Kristi Hill, the VCSC’s coordinator of internships and volunteer programs. “All of our students are encouraged to do something on their day off to discover how a small donation of their time can make a big difference to a member of our community.”

Glick Research Cited As “Breakthrough Idea”
Collaborative research by Peter Glick, professor of psychology and Henry Merritt Wriston Professor of the Social Sciences, on stereotypes and prejudice was included in a list of 20 breakthrough ideas in 2009 by Harvard Business Review. The article, “Just Because I’m Nice, Don’t Assume I’m Dumb,” cited Glick and his colleagues for their research on how people judge others on fundamental dimensions of warmth and competence, and how stereotypes often characterize minority group members as either warm or competent, but not both.

Bjørnerud Awarded Fulbright Research Grant
Marcia Bjørnerud, professor of geology and the Walter Schober Professor in Environmental Studies, has been named a recipient of a 2009 Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to conduct field research in New Zealand. In March, Bjørnerud embarked on a four-month-long study of exposed rocks along the Alpine Fault on the country’s South Island, one of the worlds most active plate boundaries. “Convergence between two tectonic plates, combined with extremely rapid rates of erosion, can force rocks from as much as eight miles deep in the earth’s crust to the surface in ’only’ a few million years,” said Bjørnerud, a member of the Lawrence faculty since 1995. “I will be studying rocks that have recorded ancient earthquakes along this fault line as a way to understand better what happens during great seismic events.”

This is the second time in nine years Bjørnerud has been recognized as a Fulbright Scholar. In 2000, she was awarded a Fulbright fellowship that took her to the University of Oslo for a year of field research on the west coast of Norway.

Trivial Things
It took a pair of Sunday rallies for the off-campus and on-campus teams to defend their titles in the 44th annual Lawrence University Great Midwest Trivia Contest. In one of the closest finishes in years, the Bank of Kaukauna came from behind to capture its ninth straight off-campus title, racking up 1,465 points to edge out the Trivia Pirates Aargh, who finished with 1,435 points. Bucky’s also rallied to win its seventh straight title among 12 on-campus student teams. Bucky’s tallied 1,393 points, while Super Mega Soviet Gang Bang Dream Team Party finished second with 1,332 points. A total of 346 questions were asked during the 50-hour event — the nation’s longest-running trivia contest.

Jazzing up the Rolling Stones
Lawrence presented the U.S. premiere of “The Rolling Stones Project,” a collection of 12 Stones’ classics arranged for large jazz ensemble by New York saxophonist Tim Ries and Los Angeles arranger Matt Harris.

The Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble and Lawrence Jazz Band, under the direction of Fred Sturm ’73 and Patty Darling ’85, respectively, performed “STONE AGE: Music of the Rolling Stones” in March. “This program will be played all over the world in the next few years, and we were thrilled to launch it here in the states,” said Sturm, director of jazz and improvisational music at Lawrence. Sturm had previously worked with Ries, and Harris and Sturm have been friends for years.

“Jazz musicians have been fascinated with standard tunes going back to Tin Pan Alley and the American Popular Songbook of the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s,” Sturm added. “Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and other jazz greats have recorded their own treatments of the new standards in contemporary pop music. In that same creative spirit, we put our own interpretive stamp upon these great Rolling Stones hits.”