Lawrence University News

APPLETON, WIS. -- Henry Mayr-Harting, Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History emeritus at Oxford University, discusses the renowned Oxford tutorial as part of Lawrence University's year-long examination of individualized learning and tutorial education.

Mayr-Harting presents "The Oxford Tutorial" Thursday, November 9 at 11:10 a.m. in Lawrence's Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

The tutorial system is at the heart of an Oxford education and is characterized by intellectual rigor designed to develop the habits of independent thought and rational argument. All Oxford undergraduates attend tutorials at least once a week. The tutorial system stresses personal relationship between teacher and student that will allow student to produce their best.

A Fellow of the British Academy, Mayr-Harting previously served as Reader in Medieval History and Fellow of St. Peter's College before being named Regius Professor in 1997. The professorship is a Crown appointment and one of Oxford's most distinguished positions. In taking up the appointment, Mayr-Harting became both the first non-Anglican and non-ordained Canon of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Lawrence in 1998.

Born in Prague, he studied at Merton College, Oxford, earning the doctor of philosophy degree and began his teaching career at the University of Liverpool in 1960. He has served as Fellow and Tutor of St. Peter's College, the Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford, a Visiting Fellow at Peterhouse, Cambridge and the Brown Foundation Fellow at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. He also serves as a Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Mayr-Harting is the author of "The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England," regarded as the most definitive and widely cited work on the subject; a two-volume book on Ottonian book illumination; and a historical account of the clergy members from 1075-1207 at the cathedral in the medieval town of Chichester. A contributor to the "Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity," he co-edited, with Richard Harries, the book "Christianity: Two Thousand Years."

APPLETON, WIS. -- A review of the complex consequences on both humans and wildlife caused by the use of diethylstilbestrol (DES) and other endocrine disruptors -- chemicals that mimic hormones -- will be the focus of the final installment of Lawrence University's environmental studies lecture series "The Fox River Through Time."

Nancy Langston, associate professor of forest ecology and management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presents "TOXIC BODIES: An Environmental History of Endocrine Disruptors" Thursday, Nov. 9 at 4:45 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

Langston will examine the conflicts over the FDA's approval of DES, the first synthetic estrogen and the first chemical identified as an endocrine disruptor, despite research indicating it caused cancer in laboratory animals. DES was prescribed to nearly five million American women in the early 1940s as a treatment for menopause and to reduce miscarriage risks.

DES also was used on livestock as an agent to promote rapid weight gain. According to Langston, a wide range of wildlife was subsequently exposed to the hormone's effects through the runoff of wastes from feedlots and other sources of contamination.

Like all endocrine disruptors, Langston argues that DES connects environmental histories of the body with environmental histories of wildlife and wild places. She believes "the human body has become the site where environmental degradation occurs in its most uncertain and troubling forms," resulting in increased rates of reproductive cancers, infertility and intersexuality.

A forest and environmental historian, Langston is the author of two books, 2003's "Where Land and Water Meet: A Western Landscape Transformed" and 1995's "Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares." Her current research focuses on a history of adaptive management of forested watersheds in northern Wisconsin and an examination of the links between ecosystem health and human health.

A member of the UW-Madison faculty since 1997, she earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, a master's degree from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in environmental studies from the University of Washington.

The "Fox River Through Time" environmental lecture series is sponsored by the Spoerl Lectureship in Science in Society. Established in 1999 by Milwaukee-Downer College graduate Barbara Gray Spoerl and her husband, Edward, the lectureship promotes interest and discussion on the role of science and technology in societies worldwide.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Sophomore Lacy Benter, one of eight Lawrence University students awarded first-place honors, won her second straight state singing title at the 2006 Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held Nov. 3-4 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Benter of Southport, Fla., earned first-place honors in the women's lower college women's musical theatre division after winning the freshman women division in 2005. Just as they have in recent years, Lawrence students again dominated the annual state competition, winning eight of 11 divisions, including four divisions in which they earned first- and second-place honors. A total of 18 Lawrence students advanced to the competition's finals.

Other Lawrence first-place finishers included Derrell Acon of St. Louis, Mo., in the freshman men division; Molly Wilson of Richmond, Va., in the freshman women division; Garth Neustadter of Manitowoc, in the sophomore men division; Sarah Botsford of Waukesha, in the senior women division; Cami Bowers of Storm Lake, Iowa, in the continuing senior women division; Megan Flod of Stillwater, Minn., in the upper college women's musical theatre division; and Mike Axtell of Galesburg, Ill., in the upper college men's musical theatre division. Flod's first-place finish was her second NATS title, having previously won the lower college women's musical theatre division title in 2004.

Bender and Bowers are students in the voice studio of Joanne Bozeman. Acon and Flod study in the studio of Patrice Michaels. Neustadter and Botsford are students of Ken Bozeman. Wilson is a student in the studio of John Gates and Axtell studies under Karen Leigh-Post.

All first-place finishers received $150 for their winning efforts, while second- and third-place finishers received $125 and $100, respectively.

A total of 60 Lawrence students and two students from the Lawrence Academy of Music participated in this year's NATS competition, which attracted more than 400 singers from colleges and high schools throughout Wisconsin.

In addition to the eight winners, six Lawrence students and both Academy of Music students earned second-place honors: Cassie Glaeser (high school girls), Natalie Beck (freshman women), Andrew Penning, (sophomore men) Katie Hawkinson (women's lower college music theatre), Keely Borland (junior women), Andrew Lovato (junior men), Becca Young (contiuing senior women), and James Dedering (adult avocational).

Depending upon the category, NATS competitors are required to sing two, three or four classical pieces from different time periods with at least one selection sung in a foreign language. James McDonald, professor of voice at the New England Conservatory of Music and Shari Rhoads, opera coach at the University of Iowa, served as guest judges for the competition.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Charles Dickens' last, and unfinished novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," will be brought to life by the Lawrence University Theatre Arts Department at 8:00 p.m. November 16, 17, and 19, and at 3:00 p.m. November 18 in Stansbury Theatre, in the Music-Drama Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students and are available at the Lawrence University Box Office or by phone at 920-832-6749.

This interactive musical, written by Rupert Holmes, kicks off when the Music Hall Royale, a hilariously loony Victorian musical troupe, puts on its flamboyant rendition of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." The story itself deals with John Jasper, the "Jekyll-and-Hyde" choirmaster who is madly in love with his music student, Miss Rosa Bud who is, in turn, engaged to Jasper's nephew, Edwin Drood. When Drood mysteriously disappears one stormy Christmas Eve, suspicions arise and questions linger as to whether Drood has been murdered or simply has run off. It is up to the audience to decide how the play ends as Dickens never had the chance to finish his novel before he died.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood has won five Tony Awards, eight Drama Desk Awards along with other numerous awards and honors. After its inception as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival, headed by Joseph Papp of the Public Theatre, The Mystery of Edwin Drood moved to Broadway and played for a total of 608 performances at the Imperial Theatre, where the title was changed to Drood halfway through the run. After its run on Broadway, Drood was staged in London's West End.

Director and choreographer for the production is Annette Thornton, Lawrence University Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Theatre Arts, music direction is by Jacob Allen '03, and set design is by Richmond Frielund. Playing the part of John Jasper is Brad Grimmer. Edwin Drood is played by Tamara Forward and Rosa Bud is played by Megan Flod. Chairman of the Music Hall Royale is played by Matthew Murphy.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Sophomores Lindsey Crabb and Garth Neustadter were named co-winners of the 13th annual Lawrence Symphony Orchestra concerto competition held November 5 at Lawrence University. They will each perform as soloists in upcoming concerts with the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra.

Crabb, a cellist from Columbia, Mo., will play Dvorak's Cello Concerto during the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra's January 27, 2007 concert. She is a student of Janet Anthony in the Cello Studio.

Neustadter, Manitowoc, plays violin and studies with Stéphane Tran Ngoc. He will play Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 during the April 14, 2007 Lawrence Symphony Orchestra concert.

Crabb and Neustadter were chosen as this year's winners from a field of 10 finalists. Serving as judges for the competition were Dean of the Conservatory Robert Thayer, and conservatory professors Kenneth Bozeman, James DeCorsey, Michael Kim, and Matthew Michelic. Each finalist is required to memorize a full concerto and then play up to 15 minutes worth from memory any part or parts of the concerto chosen by the judges.

The Lawrence Symphony Orchestra concerto competition started in 1994 to give students the opportunity to perform a full-length work with the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Against a backdrop of continuing turmoil in Iran and Afghanistan, an emboldened Syria and Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, historian John Lewis attempts to answer the question "what went wrong" since the September 11, 2001 attacks on America in an address at Lawrence University.

Lewis, assistant professor of history at Ashland University, presents "9/11 Five Years Later: Why we are Losing the War" Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. In the auditorium of Lawrence's Wriston Art Center. The event is free and open to the public.

While President Bush maintains America is vigorously pursuing its enemies, Lewis will argue in his address that the failure to identify the ideology of those enemies--Islamic totalitarianism--has made it impossible to confront them. Drawing upon the lessons of America's victory over Japan in World War II, Lewis believes for the the United States to secure victory, it must reject assumptions about the nature of a "just war" and demand the removal, "by force, Islamic Totalitarianism -- State Islam-- from the face of the earth."

A faculty member of the Ashland University department of history and political science since 2001, Lewis earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Rhode Island, a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Cambridge and an Anthem Fellowship for Objectivist Scholarship. He has taught at the University of London, and was a visiting scholar at Rice University and at Bowling Green State University.

He is the author of the 2006 book "Solon the Thinker: Political Thought in Archaic Athens," and is completing the book, "Nothing Less Than Victory: Military Offense and the Lessons of History."

Lewis' appearance is sponsored by Lawrence University Students of Objectivism, an organization dedicated to the study and spread of the ideas of author and philosopher Ayn Rand.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Even our own solar system isn't immune to downsizing, as unlucky Pluto discovered earlier this year when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded its status from planet to "dwarf planet."

Lawrence University astrophysicist Megan Pickett sorts through the controversy surrounding Pluto's status, why its new designation makes sense and ultimately why it doesn't really matter in the Lawrence University Science Hall Colloquium "Confessions of a Pluto Hater." The address, Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 4:45 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102, is free and open to the public.

On August 24, amid much fanfare and after decades of contenious debate, the IAU -- the governing body of astronomers and astrophysicists responsible for classifying and naming celestial objects -- officially removed Pluto from the list of nine planets in our solar system. The announcement was met with mixed reaction among astronomers and astrophysicists. Some hailed the reclassification as a "triumph of rationality over sentimentality," while others argued that the new designation made little sense, was too vague or was just plain mean.

A self-proclaimed "Pluto hater" who has long argued against planetary status for the tiny sphere of rock and ice, Pickett joined the Lawrence physics department in the fall of 2006 after six years on the faculty at Purdue University Calumet. A specialist in the origins of solar systems and star formation, she has served on several NASA review panels as well as on the 2006 National Science Foundation Review Panel on exoplanets.

Pickett earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Cornell University, a master's degree in astronomy from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Indiana University.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra and Choirs present "The British Are Coming" at 8:00 p.m. December 1 in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Under the direction of Richard Bjella and Phillip A. Swan, the concert will feature works by British composers including Ralph Vaughan Williams, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Benjamin Britten, and more.

The Viking Chorale will sing several selections including Rejoice in the Lord arranged by Jeffrey Rickard and Joy to the World by G.F. Handel. The Concert Choir will perform Salvator mundi by Tallis, O Beatum et sacrosanctum diem by Peter Phillips, and Jubilate Deo in D by Henry Purcell, among other selections. The Cantala women's choir will perform Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten. The combined choirs and the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra will perform two selections by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Dona nobis pacem, which includes a solo by Melissa Kelly '00, soprano, and Let All the World in Ev'ry Corner Sing from Five Mystical Songs, which includes a solo by Keith Harris '98, baritone.

Before the concert, James DeCorsey, associate professor of music, will deliver a talk discussing the works on the "British Are Coming" program at 7:15 p.m. in Harper Hall.

Bjella is the director of choral studies and leads the Concert Choir, Chorale, and Collegium Musicum. Swan is the associate director of choral studies. He is responsible for directing the Women's Choir.

Tickets for the concert are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students and are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center or by phone at 920-832-6749. Tickets, if available, will also be sold beginning one hour before the concert at the box office.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The Lawrence Academy of Music is busy getting ready for its annual winter concerts, scheduled for December 3 in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The Academy String Orchestra and String Groups present a concert at 3:00 p.m. While the Academy Honors Band and Wind Ensemble perform at 7:00 p.m.

The Academy String Orchestra and String Groups concert includes a variety of works that will appeal to young and old alike. Opening the concert is the Academy String Groups, which includes string students from a variety of Academy programs. Most notably are the String Repertoire Class students who range in age from three to 13 years old. These students will perform several selections during the concert. The String Groups will conclude their portion of the concert with works by Seitz, Bach, and Vivaldi. The String Orchestra, which includes violin, viola, cello, and string bass, performs Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace), three American fiddle tunes, Cripple Creek, Haste to the Wedding, and Bile Them Cabbage Down, along with The Barber of Seville (Overture), Night Shift, and more.

The Academy String Orchestra is an auditioned ensemble for talented and very motivated string players in grades four through eight. There are currently 63 members in the orchestra, which is conducted by Linda Calhan. Students performing in the String Groups are from the studios of Arden Lambert, Barbara Beechey, Caroline Brandenberger, and Yuliya Smead. Most of these students are currently continuing their ensemble playing in the Academy String Orchestra, the local Fox Valley Symphony Youth Symphonies, or other smaller chamber ensembles.

The Honors Band and Wind Ensemble perform several pieces during their evening performance. Works on the program for the Honors Band include Ballade by Darren Jenkins, Cavata by Francis McBeth, Mountain View Portrait by Jared Spears, and The Black Knight by Clare Grundman. The Wind Ensemble performs Folk Dances by Dmitri Shostakovich and arranged by James Curnow, Whatsoever Things... by Mark Camphouse, and Irish Tunes From County Derry and Shepherd's Hey by Percy Aldridge Grainger. The concert will close with an Honors Band and Wind Ensemble combined performance of Fidelity March by K.L. King.

The Honors Band provides experience with advanced music for middle school band students. Jon Meyer conducts the 49-member band. The Wind Ensemble provides advanced high school band students with the opportunity to become acquainted with music specifically composed and arranged for wind ensembles. Conductor Michael Ross currently has 63 members in the ensemble.

Tickets for each concert are $6 and are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center or by phone at 920-832-6749. Tickets, if available, will also be sold at the box office beginning one hour before each show.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The evolution of the "Baby Doe regulations" and the current status of decisions involving handicapped infants with life-threatening conditions will be the focus of the opening address in Lawrence University's annual Edward F. Mielke Lecture Series in Biomedical Ethics.

Dr. Norman Fost, professor of pediatrics and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presents "Whatever Happened To Baby Doe?: The Transformation From Undertreatment To Overtreatment" Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence's Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Fost will review the history of the Baby Doe controversy and the lessons learned from the national response, beginning in the 1970's, when parents and physicians commonly agreed to withhold standard life-saving treatment from handicapped infants. The celebrated "Hopkins Mongol Case," involving an infant with Down Syndrome and duodenal atresia who was allowed to die of dehydration, sparked a film and symposium that attracted widespread national attention and played a pivotal role in the emerging field of bioethics.

Physicians, hospitals, legislatures and courts consistently allowed these practices until the 1980s when the Reagan administration issued "Baby Doe regulations" in response to a Bloomington, Ind., infant with a reparable birth defect who died. The new regulations resolved the problem of inappropriate undertreatment of infants who had excellent prospects for meaningful lives, but also resulted in the overtreatment of infants with limited prospects for meaningful life.

According to Fost, both the initial undertreatment and subsequent overtreatment were driven by concerns other than the best interests of the patient and by misunderstandings about the law.

A practicing pediatrician, Fost is the director of the UW's program in medical ethics, which he founded in 1973. He also serves as head of the child protection team, chairman of the UW Hospital ethics committee and vice chair of the department of medical history and bioethics.

He was written widely on issues ranging from euthanasia of handicapped newborns and genetic screening to human subjects research and the use of performance enhancing drugs. He served on President Clinton's Health Care Task Force, the National Academy of Science Committee on Guidelines for Stem Cell Research, whose report was published in 2005 and is currently a member of the FDA's Pediatric Advisory Committee on Children's Drugs.

Fost has appeared frequently on national television shows, including "Nightline," "Frontline," "Crossfire," "Good Morning, America," "The News Hour," "Oprah," and HBO's "Real Sports." He was awarded the 2004 Nellie Westermann Prize for Research Ethics and received the William G. Bartholome Award for Excellence in Ethics from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2003.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University, his medical degree from Yale University and master's degree of public health from Harvard University. He completed residency training in pediatrics and two years as Chief Resident at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and spent 1972-73 as a fellow in the Harvard Program in Law, Medicine and Ethics.

Joining Fost on this year's series will be Jonathan Moreno, professor of biomedical ethics at the University of Virginia, who will deliver the address "Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense" on March 30, 2007.

Fost's appearance is supported by the Edward F. Mielke Lectureship in Ethics in Medicine, Science and Society. The lectureship was established in 1985 by the Mielke Family Foundation in memory of Dr. Edward F. Mielke, a leading member of the Appleton medical community and the founder of the Appleton Medical Center.

APPLETON, WIS. -- For the second year in a row, Lawrence University student cellists placed second and third at the 2006 Wisconsin Cello Society Solo Competition conducted at UW- Platteville.

Sophomore Lindsey Crabb of Columbia, Mo., received first honorable mention (second place) honors, while junior Elise Butler-Pinkham of Ferndale, Mich., received second honorable mention (third place) honors.

Crabb also received the competition's special "Concerto Award" and will be invited to perform a solo with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville University Orchestra next season. She played "Bourees" from Bach's Fourth Suite and the third movement of the Dvorak Cello Concerto for the competition. Crabb was awarded a new bow from the Coda Bow Company for her performance.

Butler-Pinkham performed "Lo How a Rose" by Mark Summer, cellist of the Turtle Island Quartet and the fourth movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto. Both students study in the cello studio of professor of music Janet Anthony.

Students in the competition performed 15-20 minutes of music of their own choosing. This year's competition, the Wisconsin Cello Society's second, featured 11 cellists from around the state. It is open to all Wisconsin students aged 14-22 who have studied privately for more than one year.

Founded in April, 2000, the Wisconsin Cello Society is a state-wide organization that promotes the art and appreciation of cello playing, furthers the musical development of its members and provides performance opportunities for professional, amateur and student cellists.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir presents "Songs of Travel" at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. December 9 in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The concert includes songs of actual travel along with songs about other countries and cultures, songs about the journey of the spirit, and songs about our own personal life journeys.

On the program are works by Eric H. Thiman, Charles Collins, Nick Page, Gustav Holst, along with a Norwegian folk song, an African-American spiritual, a Cajun French folk song, American folk songs, a French folk song, and a Taiwanese folk song.

In addition to celebrating travel, the Girl Choir will celebrate its 15th anniversary and the introduction of two new conductors, Karrie Been and Dan Van Sickle, at the concerts.

Been, the new conductor for the Primo choir, has been teaching general music for 16 years. She is currently teaching at Woodland School in Kimberly. She graduated from Carroll College with a degree in music education and earned her Master's degree in music education from Silver Lake College. Girls in third and fourth grade make up the Primo choir. Van Sickle is the new conductor for the Intermezzo choir, which consists of girls in fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. Van Sickle graduated from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in 2004 with degrees in choral and general music education and piano performance. He has been the choral director at Xavier High School in Appleton for two years.

Other conductors for the performances are Karen L. Bruno, conductor of the Cantabile and Bel Canto choirs and the artistic director of the Girl Choir program; and Cheryl Meyer, conductor of the Allegretto choir. Girls in grades seventh, eighth, and ninth make up the Cantabile choir, while the Bel Canto choir is for girls in grades nine through 12. The Allegretto choir consists of girls in grades four and five.

About 275 girls from over 50 public, private, and home schools in the Fox River Valley participate in the Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for senior citizens and students. Tickets are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center or by phone at 920-832-6749. Tickets, if available, will also be sold at the box office beginning one hour before each performance.