Lunch at Lawrence

For nearly 40 years, Lawrence University has sponsored a program of informative luncheon lectures for the Fox Valley community. Known as “Lunch at Lawrence,” these gatherings provide an informal opportunity to hear from a diverse group of Lawrence faculty and distinguished visiting faculty on a wide range of issues and topics.

All lunch programs are held on Fridays at 11:30 a.m. in the Warch Campus Center. The cost of each luncheon is $16.50 and advance registration and payment is required. The full series is available for $82.50 ($99 value.)

Register online by clicking on the links below. For more information, or to register by phone please call the Office of Alumni and Constituency Engagement at 920-832-7019.

The remaining lunches of the 2019-2020 season have been cancelled as we put the health and safety of all of our community members first. Stay tuned for updates on next year's series!
 

Learn about Lawrence University's response to COVID-19 here.
 

October 11, 2019

"Scandalously Scandalous Scandals in College Admission - The Rest of the Story"
Lawrence University's dean of admission will shed a light on some of the recent scandals in college admission - and what may be some of their causes, as well as their remedies. Viewed from the perspective of a college that puts students at the center of the admission process, this conversation will help attendees understand some of the nuances of how admission decisions are really made - and what they can do to enlighten others about the process.

Ken Anselment, Dean of Admission and Vice President for Enrollment & Communication
 

November 8, 2019

"Into the (Russian) Woods: An Encounter with Baba Yaga"
This lunch will take you on a journey into the colorful and dangerous world of Russian fairy tales and mythology. We will cross into the realm of Baba Yaga, a hideous witch whose chicken-leg hut guards the border between the world of the living and the dead. Appearing in hundreds of Russian folktales, this complex character is deeply rooted in ancient rituals and beliefs and has inspired numerous artists, musicians, and filmmakers.

Victoria Kononova, assistant professor of Russian
 

February 14, 2020

"BYOBEES: Protecting our native bee biodiversity"
Did you know that in the Fox Cities we have more than 100 different species of native bees? Our lab works on the wonderful biodiversity of wild pollinators in your backyard. As we look to building a sustainable community on campus and around town, we have to consider how to protect the little things that run the world. Come learn about what you can do to protect our native wild pollinators and do your part to create a sustainable community.

Israel Del Toro, assistant professor of Biology
 

March 13, 2020

"Poetry and Process: A Reading and Discussion of 'Scriptorum' and New Poems"
Assistant professor of English Melissa Range will read poems from her latest book, Scriptorum (2016), along with newer poems, and will discuss elements of her writing process in a way that is interactive, allowing for plentiful opportunities for questions, comments, and ideas from audience members.

Melissa Range, assistant professor of English

April 10, 2020
**CANCELED**
"Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World"
Geology addresses not only pragmatic questions - where to find groundwater, how to protect people from natural hazards - but also deep, even philosophical ones: Where do we come from? Why is the Earth the way it is? What factors favor stable, resilient ecosystems and societies? Both kinds of inquiries are important to humans, and both require a keen sense of temporal proportion - the relative and absolute durations of the great chapters in the planet's past, the characteristic rates and timescales of natural phenomena. But as a society, we are largely time-illiterate - shockingly ignorant about how our activities intersect with the Earth's long-established habits. Developing the practice of 'Timefulness' - the geological capacity to see our place in time in proper perspective - may be a way to spring ourselves out of the polarized mindsets in which we have trapped ourselves. The narratives of natural history are a heritage we all share as Earthlings, and expanded awareness of that legacy may liberate us from self-destructive tendencies.

Marcia Bjornerud, Walter Schober Professor of Environmental Studies and professor of Geology
 

May 8, 2020

**CANCELED**
"Gran Kakalin, the Grignon Family, and the Making of Wisconsin"
The Native American village of Gran Kakalin, located in what is today Kaukauna, was arguably one of the most important communities in the Old Northwest. The Grignon family settled on land purchased from the Menominee across the Fox River from Gran Kakalin about 1808 and both the family, the mill, and trading post were key points of interaction between Native Americans and European settlers in Wisconsin's pioneer era. Lawrence University has recently initiated an archaeological research project on the former Grignon property and have made important discoveries about the Grignons and the Native peoples who lived alongside them. Professor Peregrine will introduce this research, its findings, and what those findings mean for our understanding of the pioneer era in Wisconsin.

Peter Peregrine, professor of Anthropology
 

Check out an archive of previous Lunch at Lawrence presentations from 1993 to 2015.