When the More Light! campaign was publicly launched in 2008, there were four major goals:
- Grow the endowment
- Complete necessary, new capital projects without incurring debt
- Further enhance the academic experience for all students
- Bolster the Lawrence Fund (for annual operating expenses.)
Lawrence University, it’s alumni and friends achieved the goals — and then some. Here is a brief summary of the highlights:
- The opening of the $35 million, 107,000-square-foot Richard and Margot Warch Campus Center, the largest building project in the school’s history. The engineering crown jewel has been recognized with numerous awards, among them LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The project was launched with a $16 million gift — the largest in Lawrence history — from an anonymous donor. The Warch Campus Center has become the focal point of campus life with its multiple dining options, meeting space for clubs and organizations, concert venue, art exhibition space and a cinema. It also has enhanced college-community relations, as numerous corporate and community organizations have taken advantage of the campus center’s stunning spaces and amenities for meetings, retreats and training sessions.
- The addition of four endowed professorships, two in the sciences (environmental studies and biology), one in the Conservatory of Music and one in servant leadership. Endowed professorships enable Lawrence to attract and retain the most talented teachers and offer new programs for collaboration and interdisciplinary study.
- The establishment of the Lawrence Fellows Program, which brings scholars who have recently completed their PhD to campus for a two- or three-year appointment. Fellows teach courses, offer individualized instruction opportunities to students and continue their professional activities as scholars and/or performers. Since the program was launched, 35 Fellows have brought the latest research directions from many of the country’s most distinguished graduate programs to Lawrence.
- A 20,000-square-foot expansion of the Bjorklunden lodge on Lawrence’s 425-acre “northern campus” outside Baileys Harbor in Door County. The additional space allowed Lawrence to expand its signature adult summer seminar series course offerings from 24 weekly seminars to 36.
- The establishment of the Senior Experience. A significant capstone curricular project required of all students, the Senior Experience is designed to demonstrate proficiency in the students’ major field of study.
- Commitment to greater diversity, in part through a partnership with the Posse Foundation, Inc. Each year, a culturally diverse cohort of 10 students from New York City public high schools is selected to join Lawrence’s incoming freshman class. Students are selected for the four-year program on the basis of their leadership ability, community engagement and the unique perspectives they bring from one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities.
- Renovations to the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, Harper Hall and Stansbury Theatre, including new seats in all three venues, state of the art sound system in the chapel, aisle lighting in the chapel and Harper Hall.
- The launch of the Lawrence Scholars programs, which bring alumni to campus for presentations about their particular career field and assist students with connections that could lead to summer internships or jobs after graduation. The program began with a focus on scholars in business and has grown to include alumni programs on arts and entertainment, the environment, film studies, government, international business, law and medicine.
- Enhanced athletic facilities, including a resurfaced track, outdoor batting cages for the baseball and softball facilities, a remodeled weight room, a student-study lounge at
Alexander Gym, complete with computer work stations, a projector system for video analysis and the installation of championship banners in Alexander Gym.