Past Events

Category: Past Events

Real markets, really interesting panel

On the heels of a fascinating Chicago trip, we have the Investments Summit coming to Lawrence on Saturday, 4:00—6:00, in the Hurvis room. Click the poster for more details. Our panelists bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences:

Charles Saunders ’84, Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager, NorthRoad Capital Management; Dean DuMonthier ’88, Portfolio Manager, Copia Capital; Guy Scott ’88, Co-Portfolio Manager and Executive Vice President, Janus International Equity Fund; Hugh Denison ’68, Portfolio Manager, Heartland Advisors; Markus Specks ’06, Hedge Fund Analyst, Varde Partners, Inc.

In addition to some of the basics of the investment trade, there will be a special focus on high energy prices. How do rising energy prices affect portfolio construction? Which companies suffer or benefit from rising energy prices? This is a great opportunity to learn about issues that are of great interest today, from the perspectives of people who are participating in the markets and who see the most recent developments up-close. See you there!

LSB Entrepreneurial Ventures Summit

The stream of extraordinarily useful and interesting alumni presentations continues this Saturday with the LSB Entrepreneurial Ventures Summit, to be held from 1pm to 3pm in the Hurvis Room in WCC. Our very special guests will be Susan Palm ’80, Pete Shuster ’81, and Greg Linnemanstons ’80. Click the poster on the left for more information. Come to learn about the fascinating work that three distinguished alumni have done, and maybe even win the prize! Join our guests for lunch at 12:00 in the Parrish-Perille room in Andrew Commons.

Lawrence Scholars in Environmental Careers

Here is exciting news from the Career Center and the new Lawrence Scholars in Environmental Careers program — an inaugural summit! That’s this Saturday at the WCC.

Inaugural Summit
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Lunch @ Noon, (Parrish-Perille)
Program: 1-3 p.m.
Warch Campus Center-Kraemer Room

PANELISTS:

Betsy Benson ’69, President, Energy Associates

She specializes in electricity issues, principally those related to different generation sources. Her clients have included utilities, independent power producers, energy trade associations, and regulatory bodies throughout the United States and Canada. She also serves as an advisor to the US Government on international trade and trade treaty negotiations related to energy and environmental issues. Betsy will focus on the issues, opportunities, and challenges associated with energy and environmental careers today and in the future.

Bill Haas ’02, Director of Energy Programs for the Energy, Sustainability and Carbon Solutions National Practice at Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc.

He is responsible for the execution and management of energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability projects. Previously he served as Energy Division Representative for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and was a Policy Associate with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.  Bill’s company is hiring – learn about exciting career opportunities!

Cathy Statz ’96, Education Director, Wisconsin Farmers Union

Local food and sustainability are old ideas with new energy. Society’s growing interest in agriculture and the environment has created opportunities to explore the economy, health, social justice and community development.  Cathy’s Lawerence experience broadened her understanding of – and approach to – the challenges and initiatives of her work with a non-profit family farm advocacy organization.

LSB Marketing and Advertising Summit

Advertising, Branding, and Marketing Summit 2011
Saturday, April 9, 1:30pm
Warch Center Cinema

Industry leaders from Chicago, New York, San Francisco and elsewhere will be on campus to give students a rare glimpse inside a field that’s creative, dynamic, fast-changing and brimming with opportunities for liberal arts graduates.

> Learn how Lawrence graduates used their college education to land rewarding jobs and climb the ladder.

>  See actual campaigns on the big screen including:

  • Apple
  • AXA Art Insurance
  • Blue Moon
  • Chrysler
  • Dos Equis
  • M&M Pretzels
  • The National Gallery (London)
  • Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup
  • Seasons 52
  • Snickers

> Participate in a hands-on session that solves a creative challenge steeped in a real-world advertising situation.

> Join the panelists for dinner in the Parrish and Perille rooms in Andrew Commons at 6:00pm.

> Ask Lawrence alumni your questions, gain from their real-world experience.

> Enjoy a free Snickers

Who Should Attend: Humanities majors, especially Anthropology, Art, Economics, English, Ethnic and Gender Studies, Film Studies, History, Languages, Linguistics, Government, Philosophy, Psychology, Music, Theatre

Click the poster for more information!

Special Meeting for Economics Majors

On the first Wednesday of the Spring Term, the faculty in the Economics Department looks forward to meeting with all students interested in majoring in economics to discuss four topics:

  1. Next year’s class schedule
  2. The two options for meeting the Senior Experience requirement
  3. Upcoming Lawrence Scholars in Business events including the trip to Chicago
  4. Internships
  5. Discovering Kirzner and continuing reading opportunities

Of course, we will provide both food and food for thought.  We look forward to your participation. The pertinent details are as follows:

WHAT:  MEETING FOR ECONOMICS MAJORS

WHEN:  4:30 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23RD

WHERE: BRIGGS HALL 420

Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!

Cheap is the title of the “community read” that dozens of students and over a dozen faculty members will be discussing weekly during the first half of next term. Here is the semi-official course advertisement:

A 'Cheap' Shot

Registration is open for the 2011 Community Read! This year we’ll be reading Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, by Ellen Ruppel Shell.  It’s a deep look at the environmental, social, political, economic and human costs of consumerism in the US.  There are nine different sections available, each led by two faculty members from different departments.  The sections are listed as Environmental Studies (ENST) 320 – SEM: CHEAP, which is a 1-unit S/U-only course that will meet for the first half of Spring term.  These are discussion sections, so there are no exams or writing assignments – only lively conversation!***

Professor Gerard is partnering with Professor Maryuri Roca (Chemistry) for a section at 2:30 on Thursdays, and I (Galambos) am co-leading a section at 8:30 on Fridays with Professor Beth De Stasio (Biology). We’d love to have you in our sections.

Based on some book reviews (here’s one), I will have a lot to say about this book, but I promise I’ll try to shut up most of the time. I know one chapter beats up on IKEA pretty badly, and I’m just not sure how I will handle that… Let me just say that other than a couple of chairs, perhaps, all our furniture comes from that wonderful, CHEAP, tastefully Northern European design paradise.

***An earlier version of this post said the book would be available at the Gift Shop.   It turns out that this is not true.  We sincerely apologize for the mix-up.

A Superior Discussion

Another in a series of notes from the very busy ENSTers — Mike Link and Kate Crowley from Full Circle Superior are speaking on Tuesday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Steitz Hall 102. Here’s a brief description:

Full Circle Superior’s mission is to bring attention, education and research to the Great Lakes and to promote healthy water quality and fresh water conservation now and for future generations. Through the summer of 2010, two retired naturalists and educators, Mike Link and Kate Crowley, successfully circumnavigated Lake Superior along its shoreline on foot! This 1500+ mile journey has taken them through 4 states and provinces, dozens of state, provincial and national parks, and countless communities and special places over the past 5 months. The hikers, assisted by a small support crew, conducted a scientific study of the vegetation, hydrology, ecology and sociology of the lake in collaboration with various research institutions and universities on both sides of the border to build a benchmark body of data on the lake for the study of future generations to come.

See you there.

Career Center Event this Sunday

It’s never too early to think about what you are going to do after you leave Lawrence. In fact, thinking about what you might do after graduation could well open up some exciting opportunities whilst you are still here in the friendly confines of Appleton.

This Sunday (February 27) alumni will be on campus for the Shine Light, More Light on Your Future conference. I recommend that you seize the opportunity to meet our alumni and discuss their career paths and experiences. They are here because they love Lawrence and want to help folks just like you.

Here’s the scoop (see below) from the Career Center blog.

Date: Sunday, February 27, 2011
Time: 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: Warch Campus Center

Whether or not you know what direction you are headed, take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn from those who have gone before you.

Registration is required.
Cost: One meal swipe.
Contact Sherri at 832-6854 or alumni@lawrence.edu to register by February 23, 2011.

Continue reading Career Center Event this Sunday

Here Comes the Sun — Thursday at 4:30

A message from our resident fluvial geomorphologist, Jeff Clark:

I know a number of you are interested in renewable energy and solar power in particular. Heck we even have our own array. Why not come and learn more about large scale solar power from an industry insider?

Why not, indeed?

Mark Culpepper, Chief Technology Officer, SunEdison will be on campus Thursday to give us “An Insider’s View of the Solar Power Industry.”  You can find us at 4:30 over in Thomas Steitz Science Hall 202.

Mr. Culpepper has a background is telecommunications and IT security, and is working on distributed generation issues for SunEdison.

This is certainly a hot topic.

EntrepreneurTheArts

Another very interesting person I heard at the CEO conference on Friday was Lisa Canning. Well-known for Entrepreneurthearts.com, Lisa Canning is a prominent face of arts entrepreneurship these days.

Lisa Canning with her baby at CEO

She founded the Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship, which has a two-year post-graduate certificate program that could be of interest to many Lawrentians. Their mission: “The IAE is committed to helping our students discover meaningful solutions to one essential question: As a person committed to the arts, how do I develop the knowledge and skills to create a successful, meaningful and sustainable life in today’s world?” Ms. Canning has started six highly successful ventures in the past twenty-some years. She sold all of them to start the Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship, except one: the one that is about her “baby,” the instrument she has played since her childhood, the clarinet. Lisa’s Clarinet Shop is still helping musicians of all levels find the perfect clarinet. Even when she was running those earlier businesses, Lisa hired artists and helped them build on their artistic skills and develop entrepreneurial skills. Artists can use their empathy and ability to connect with people to become successful entrepreneurs. Rather than pitching the “what” to a customer, it is much more important to make a human connection around the “why” and the “how.” This is good advice to anyone–Gary Vaughan was telling me on the way home that in any business, people buy from you because they like you. As Lisa said, she never has to talk about price, because it becomes a secondary issue to the customer. She is certainly a very kind and very emotional person, and I believe that she can teach a lot to artists about “entrepreneuring their art.” I hope we can get her to Lawrence in the not-so-distant future.

Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization conference

Gary Vaughan and I spent the last two days at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) conference in Chicago. The conference is largely sponsored by the Coleman Foundation, who also made our Entrepreneurship in the Arts course possible through a grant, and who continue to fund some of our arts entrepreneurship initiatives. Our own Alex Chee and Cuong D. Nguyen are still at the conference.

This three-day event features a number of entrepreneurs who share their experiences with about 1500 students from all over the country. We heard, among others, Jimmy John talk about his story. (His father lent him $25K to start a hot-dog stand, and said that if he makes it, Jimmy gets 52% of the company, father gets 48%; if he fails, he agrees to enlist. The threat of boot camp pushed Jimmy to succeed and buy out his father. How did he sell his first sandwiches? Well, he didn’t. After he opened his shop and not a soul showed up by 2pm, he grabbed a few sandwiches and went to the neighboring businesses to hand them out as samples.) Another interesting person I heard was Phillip Leslie. Formerly a Microsoft software engineer (mobiles apps division), Mr. Leslie just couldn’t help getting into the iPhone app gold rush when he was an MBA student at Chicago’s Booth School of Business. So he launched ProOnGo, a mobile expense reporting app. In the middle ages, when you went on a business trip, you came home with a pocketful of receipts, which you then meticulously recorded and submitted. With ProOnGo, when you get that receipt, you take a pic of it with your iPhone, or Blackberry, or whatever, and in a few seconds you are done. At the end of the trip, you click to submit your expenses in excel or pdf format. Huge hit. Mr. Leslie gave very good advice indeed on how to make it with an app. For example, do you know the three ways to make money with an app? Through ads, one-time sales, or subscription service. Sounds obvious, but, actually, he is one of the pioneers of the last of these: it was believed that subscription service just wouldn’t be viable for iPhone apps. And how much do you get per impression if you advertise on your free app? Well, between a tenth of a penny and a penny. He also encouraged students with economics and social science-type skills to pair up with computer science majors to produce an app. But be clear about one thing: is this a hobby (which will cost you money), or a business (which should make you money)?


This is LUCEM

In a follow up to our “Reeding Period post,” this week’s This is Lawrence video features the Lawrence University Collective of Early Music (LUCEM) “petting zoo” from a couple of weeks back.  The petting zoo allowed anyone to come in and check out, fondle, and even play these instruments from our James Smith Rudolph Collection of Early Winds.

Our own Katelin Richter is featured prominently, both in explaining what is going on and in her “oboe d’amore” performance.

We’ll chalk this up partly to the Entrepreneurship in the Arts and Society effort. I’m sorry I missed this one.

First LSB event of the year!

The LSB season opens this year with the Alternative Investments and hedge funds event, this coming Sunday. Bob Perille himself is leading this one, and it’s promising to live up to the high standards we have come to expect from him and his colleagues. This year’s event will be different from last year’s, however, so come even if you attended last year. Jason Spaeth is skype-ing in, participating as an LSB panelist for the first time, and he is going to be introducing the industry. Another good reason to come is the actual, real-life, taken-from-the-trenches (or tranches?) offering memoranda that Mr. Perille always brings. You get to work on those in teams, and, in the past, Mr. Perille has offered a prize of $100 for the team with the best presentation on their “mini case study.” So don’t miss your chance to learn something interesting about the world you live in–whether you want to become a private equity whiz or not.

Lawrence Scholars in Law!

5:30 Wednesday at WCC

Firmly on the coattails of the extraordinary success of the Lawrence Scholars in Business program, the inaugural Lawrence Scholars in Law event kicks off at 5:30 on Wednesday, October 27 in the Hurvis Room of the Warch Campus Center.

Who should attend this session? I would suggest anyone who is thinking about a law career should clear their schedule for this one.  Also, anyone who isn’t sure about their own career ambitions might consider poking her head in. Many students these days work for a few years before returning to pursue a law degree. And liberal arts majors generally, and economics majors in particular, have potential to succeed.

The talent on hand for this program is exceptional.  We have five successful attorneys, each a partner or a shareholder (what’s the difference? Good question to ask) with a major law firm. And each with a member of the Lawrence University Board of Trustees.  They are:

  • William J. Baer ’72 Attorney and Partner: Arnold & Porter
  • Thomas C. Kayser ’58 Attorney and Partner: Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP
  • Jeffrey D. Riester ’70 Attorney and Shareholder: Godfrey & Kahn
  • Priscilla Peterson Weaver ’69 Attorney and Partner, retired: Mayer Brown
  • William O. Hochkammer ’66 Attorney and Partner: Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP

Professor Gerard will also be on hand to moderate.

Please sign up in the Career Center or e-mail careercenter@lawrence.edu to make your intentions known.

You are welcome to bring your dinner to the program.  Or, better yet, plan to dine with the five panelists afterwords.

Schumptoberfest a Success

The Schumptoberfest celebration was a smashing success, with at least one of us understanding the Williamson debt-equity financing argument a little better at the end than at the beginning.  Thanks to all those who participated, especially Professor Galambos, who took time out from his sabbatical leave to read “100” pages and keep me in line.

As per usual with these events, we received word that there were some items left behind.  Here is a partial accounting: a set of dentures, a hearing aid, “a leather whip, a live rabbit, a tuba, a ship in a bottle, 1,450 items of clothing, 770 identity cards, 420 wallets, 366 keys, 330 bags and 320 pairs of glasses, 90 cameras and 90 items of jewellery and watches.”

Thanks to Tom for the tip.

Tuesday Reeding Period

Last year’s Entrepreneurship in the Arts & Society course included An Evening of Baroque Dance and spawned the formation of Lawrence Baroque on campus.  Lawrence Baroque is one of many that is inviting you to stop by the Lawrence Chapel Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. to try out some of the new acquisitions from the James Smith Randolph collection of early winds! The invitation is extended to all, from professionals to novices. So stop by if you can spare a major second.

The event is part of the Lawrence University Collective of Early Music (LUCEM) the campus early music initiative at Lawrence, and, in addition to Lawrence Baroque, the Lawrence University Musicology Association, Harmonia, and Alta Capella are also involved.