2011

Year: 2011

Harry Jansen Kraemer Jr. ’77 On Leadership – Listen Now

Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr. — author, professor, and executive partner of the Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners — delivered a lesson on leadership at Lawrence University’s opening convocation of the 2011-12 academic year.  Sharing the insights revealed in his book “From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership”, Kraemer encouraged students to take the leadership reins “ASAP”.

Watch the speech.

A 1977 Lawrence University graduate, Kraemer is also the former chief executive officer of the multibillion-dollar global health care company Baxter International. He generously donated 500 copies of his book for distribution to Lawrence students.

Stanford Scientist Tom Baer ’74 Discusses Photonics’ Role in Combating Global Warming

Thomas Baer, a 1974 Lawrence graduate and executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center at Stanford University discusses the role photonics technologies are playing in the implementation of strategies designed to lessen the possibility of radical climate changes due to global warming in a Lawrence University Science Hall Colloquium.

Thomas Baer

Baer presents “The Global Impact of Photonics: Renewable Resources, Climate Change and Energy Conservation” Monday, Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in Thomas Steitz Hall of Science, Room 102.

Photonics, one of the world’s fastest growing high-tech industries, is expected to be a critical factor in multi-faceted strategies designed mitigate the impact of rising atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, including the development of alternative non-carbon energy sources and the replacement of existing infrastructure with more energy efficient technologies.

Recognized in 1994 with Lawrence’s Lucia Russell Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award, Baer has been awarded more than 60 patents. He is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and The Optical Society of America, an organization he served as president of in 2009.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Asha Srinivasan Wins International Composition Competition

Assistant Professor of Music Asha Srinivasan received the first-place Ruam Samai Award at the 2011 Thailand International Composition Festival for her original composition “Dviraag.”

Asha Srinivasan

Srinivasan’s composition was one of four works selected as a finalist from nearly 100 entries submitted for the competition, which was held at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “Dviraag,” an eight-minute work written for flute and cello, was named the winning composition by a judging panel of four composers from China, Thailand and the United States. A vote by the audience for their favorite among the four finalists was factored into the final decision. Srinivasan received a first-place prize of $1,500.

The work incorporates a Carnatic vocal exercise, a classical style popular in South India. Srinivasan wrote the piece in 2009 as a commission by the Flute/Cello Commissioning Circle.

Listen to a recording of “Dviraag.”

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

“And the Emmy Award goes to…Garth Neustadter ’10!”

UPDATE: Garth Neustadter ’10 talked to Lawrence this afternoon about what it was like to hear his name called at the Emmy Awards, and also how Lawrence prepared him for a career in scoring films.

*****     *****     *****

Garth Neustadter’s young career has already earned its share of accolades, but none bigger than the 2010-11 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award he received Saturday (9/10) at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.

Garth Neustadter ’10

The 2010 Lawrence graduate was honored in the Outstanding Music Composition for a Series category for his original score used in the American Masters documentary “John Muir in the New World,” which was written, directed and produced by Catherine Tatge, a 1972 Lawrence graduate.  The film, which chronicles the life and legacy of naturalist, author and scientist John Muir, was broadcast last spring by PBS on Earth Day.

Neustadter, 25, who earned a degree with majors in violin and voice performance, wrote the score while still a student. The music was performed by students in the Lawrence Conservatory of Music.

“Of  course I was shocked when I heard my name called and it took a few seconds for it to sink in,” Neustadter said from Los Angeles. “Then I realized I only had a limited amount of time to go up to the stage, accept the award and make a short speech. They only give you 45 seconds from the time they announced the award, so you have to think fast and hurry up to the stage. Everything was kind of a blur, I couldn’t think very clearly.”

In addition to thanking the Lawrence musicians who performed the score, Neustadter said he thanked people he worked with at PBS and Global Media Village, which is Tatge’s production company.

“I also mentioned John Muir because I thought it was important to recognize the legacy that he has left,” he said.

Neustadter’s parents joined him for the ceremony. He was seated at a table that included Rickey Minor, musical director of   the band for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Minor also was an Emmy nominee (he didn’t win).

“I had a great time talking to him,” Neustadter said of Minor. “He was very nice and offered his congratulations.”

Garth Neustadter at the 2010-11 Emmy Awards ceremony

He said he was surprised by how heavy the Emmy Award actually is. He’s planning on taking it back to Yale University with him, where he is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in music composition.  Assuming he can get it by TSA officials.

“I have to make sure I can bring it back on the airplane,” he explained. “It comes with two very sharp and pointy wings and I guess it could be perceived as a weapon by the security folks. I have to figure that out yet.”

In addition to his course work at Yale, Neustadter is currently working on a score for a silent film for Turner Classic Movies and Warner Brothers, 1925’s “The Circle,” which featured legendary actress Joan Crawford’s film debut. He plans to have the score completed by next January.

“It’s just been a really amazing experience. It was such an honor to be included among the other composers who were nominated. They’ve all been in the business so long. The win is definitely the icing on the cake for me.”

The Emmy Award is just the latest accolade in a growing list of accomplishments for the Manitowoc native. He earned first-prize honors (second place behind the grand prize winner) in the 2007 Young Film Composers Competition sponsored by Turner Classic Movies. A year later he was commissioned by TCM to write an original score for a restored version of the 1923 silent film “The White Sister.” In April 2010, he was named one of 37 national winners of the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards for his 15-minute composition written for full orchestra and choir based on a Spanish text entitled “Oh llama de amor viva.”

Earlier this year, Neustadter was recognized with his fifth Downbeat award in the magazine’s annual student music competition for a five-minute arrangement of the 1946 Walter Gross jazz classic “Tenderly” he wrote for studio orchestra and vocalist in 2010.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Read more about Garth’s award in his hometown paper.

President Beck Welcomes Business Leader, Author Harry Jansen Kraemer Jr. ’77 for Annual Matriculation Convocation

Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr., former chief executive officer of the multibillion-dollar global health care company Baxter International, joins President Jill Beck in opening Lawrence’s 163rd academic year and 2011-12 convocation series Thursday, Sept. 15 with the annual matriculation address.  The theme for this year’s convocation series is “Liberal Arts and the Life of the Mind.”

Harry Jansen Kraemer Jr.

A 1977 Lawrence University graduate, Kraemer presents “Becoming a Values-Based Leader” at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.  The convocation is free and open to the public.

The address is based on his 2011 book “From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership.” Kraemer has generously donated 500 copies of the book for distribution to the Lawrence community.

In the book, Kraemer draws upon his own professional experiences to provide a values-based framework for leaders to create organizations that do the right thing, not just do things right. Leaders, according to Kraemer, should be guided by four critical principles: self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence and genuine humility.

“Harry has spent a great deal of time in recent years looking inward, reflecting on who he is and what it is that he most believes in,” said Beck.  “In doing so, he’s identified keys to a style of leadership that is values-based and driven by success that is not defined in dollars, or in owning sprawling mansions and luxury cars, or by the title that is on an office door.”

Past chairman of the Lawrence Board of Trustees, Kraemer is an executive partner at Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago. He also serves as an adjunct professor of management and strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he was recognized with the school’s 2008 “Professor of the Year” award.

Other speakers on Lawrence’s 2011-12 convocation series include:

• Nov. 3, 2011 — Alex Ross, author and music critic for The New Yorker, “The Lamento Connection: Bass Lines of Music History.”

• Feb. 2, 2012 — Frans de Waal, primatologist and professor of primate behavior at Emory University, “Morality Before Religion: Empathy, Fairness and Prosocial Primates.”

• April 19, 2012 — William Deresiewicz, essayist, literary and cultural critic, and former associate professor of English at Yale University, “Through the Vale of Soul-Making: the Journey of the Liberal Arts.”

• May 31, 2012 — Jerald Podair, professor of history and Robert S. French Professor of American Studies at Lawrence, “The Only Life: Liberal Arts and the Life of the Mind at Lawrence.”

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Final Weekly, Grand Prize Winners Announced for Summer “Here’s Looking at LU” Photo Contest

Congratulations to Richard Wanerman ’11 of Potomac, Md., winner of our final weekly installment of the summer “Here’s Looking at LU” photo contest.

Richard was among just four people who correctly identified the Week No. 9 mystery photo as the swan atop the silver communion vessel that sits encased in the main entrance lobby of Colman Hall. The vessel was presented to Rev. Harry Colman and Lucinda Darling Colman, class of 1857, by the Methodist Church in Lake Geneva in 1872.  Elizabeth Colman subsequently donated it to the college in 1997 in honor of Lawrence’s sesquicentennial celebration.

And now, a drum roll please for our Grand Prize Winner…Suzanne Witt ’03 of Hartford, Conn., who will receive a $50 package of great stuff from KK’s in the Warch Campus Center. Suzanne was randomly selected from among the 100s of correct weekly entries that were submitted during the course of the contest. Congratulations, Suzanne!

Thanks to everyone who participated. We hope to test your knowledge of Lawrence again sometime in the future.

Lawrence University Freshmen Head “Into the Streets”

Members of Lawrence University’s class of 2015 will become better acquainted with their new hometown Saturday, September 10, when they head into the streets of Appleton for an afternoon of volunteering.

The 363 first-year students arrived in Appleton this week from 26 different states and 21 different countries. The Into the Streets program is designed to help them understand the needs of the community they will call home for the next four years.

“The program is a great introduction to the community,” said Kristi Hill, director of volunteer and community service programs. “Participating in a group service project allows students a comfortable approach to becoming involved in the community and may motivate future interests in career and volunteer options, expand social connections, and to learn more about community needs.”

The Lawrence students will volunteer at the following organizations:

Lawrence students will help with cleaning, unloading, taking inventory, planting, harvesting, landscaping, bowling with senior citizens and constructing a greenhouse alongside homeless shelter residents.

Lawrence University’s mission emphasizes preparing students for “responsible and meaningful citizenship” and the Into the Streets Program is one of dozens of community service events that Lawrence University students participate in annually.

Lawrence Welcomes 363 New Students from Record-Setting Applicant Pool

Huma Hakimzada is confident she can handle anything Lawrence University throws at her having already survived fleeing her native Afghanistan to escape the fundamentalist rule of the Taliban.

The 24-year-old from Monterey, Calif., isn’t your typical Lawrence freshman, but Hakimzada is just as excited as any of her classmates to begin her Lawrence career.

“I’ve done a lot of different things in my life, but nothing gave me the comfort of getting that phone call offering me admission,” said Hakimzada, who has worked as a personal banker for Wells Fargo the past three years while taking some night classes at a community college. “A whole new book opened for me with that call. I can’t wait to fill in the pages of that book with the new adventures Lawrence promises for me.”

Peter Thurlow will arrive on campus from Madison with a penchant for recreating ancient objects. The gastraphetes he constructed — a type of ancient Greek crossbow — won first prize at the 2010 Junior Classical League National Convention’s models competition, while the wax writing tablets he made earned second-place honors at this year’s competition.

While taking very different routes to Lawrence, Hakimzada and Thurlow are among 363 new students —330 freshmen and 33 transfers — admitted from a record-setting applicant pool college officials welcome Tuesday, Sept. 6 for a week of orientation activities. Classes for the 2011-12 academic year, Lawrence’s 163rd, begin Monday, Sept. 12.

Hakimzada, the first female Afghan student to attend Lawrence, is following in the footsteps of her older brother, Zubair, who graduated from Lawrence in 2006 and now works for the U.S. Department of Defense.

When the Sunni Muslim Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 1996, Hakimzada and her family hastily fled their hometown of Kabul and relocated in Islamabad, Pakistan. After five years of seeking refugee status, the family’s application was finally approved on Sept. 9, 2001. Two days later, terrorists struck America, changing everything. It would take another 13 months before the family finally would reach the United States, eventually settling in California.

The daughter of two former college professors in Kabul, both of whom now teach Dari, a native Afghan language, at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Hakimzada says school was her favorite outlet.

“Life took me on a different route for a long time, but going to school was always my priority. When the opportunity arose, I didn’t want to wait another second. Zubair doesn’t love any place half as much as he loves Lawrence, so he obviously was an influence on my decision. I always wanted to go to the same school as Zubair, so Lawrence was an easy choice.”

Thurlow’s list of creations include a working hydraulus, considered the world’s first keyboard instrument and a forerunner of the modern church organ, that used water power to move air rather than a bellows. He constructed his version based on drawings and pictures of Roman and Greek mosaics. He also has built a Greek lyre.

“I enjoy figuring out how an ancient weapon or instrument would work,” said Thurlow, who is considering a major in art history or history. “A deep part of me likes to preserve cultural and historic items and actually build reproductions.  That’s a really good way of showing what these items were and preserving the knowledge of them.”

A school record 2,667 students applied for admission to Lawrence in 2011, surpassing the previous high-water mark of 2,625 established last year.  But because of an unexpectedly large freshman class in 2010, Lawrence needed to be even more selective than usual to meet its target goal of 330 freshmen.  Only 52 percent of this year’s applicants were offered admission, the lowest figure in recent history

“Last year’s class of 452 freshmen — 100 more than we expected — was unprecedented in its size,” said Ken Anselment, dean of admissions and financial aid. “That had a ripple effect this year. To ensure the best academic and residential experience for our students, we need to limit our overall enrollment, which meant admitting far fewer freshmen this year.
“And despite popular belief, admissions folks don’t always take pleasure from saying no to really good students,” he added. “Ours don’t.”

This year’s freshman class profile upholds Lawrence’s long tradition of academic excellence:

• 13 freshmen were valedictorians of their graduating class

• Average high school GPA of 3.66

• Average ACT score 29 (among those submitting scores; Lawrence is a test-optional institution)

• Average SAT score 1,916 (among submitters)

• 31 percent graduated in the top five percent of their class

• 81 percent of freshmen graduated in the top quarter of their class

“Although numbers may be an easy way to assess the ‘quality’ of a class,” Anselment said, “it’s the stuff beyond the numbers that’s more important. What matters most to us is who these students are as people with unique talents, interests, perspectives and experiences. That’s what really gets us going here.”

While members of the freshmen class hail from 26 states and 21 countries, nearby Neenah High School accounted for the most freshmen (6), while Appleton North and Deerfield (Ill.) high schools were second with four students each.

Ninety-two percent of incoming freshmen received need- or merit-based financial aid with need-based financial aid packages averaging $29,500.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

German Professor Brent Peterson Awarded $149,000 NEH Grant for K-12 Teacher Seminar in Berlin

Lawrence University Professor of German Brent Peterson has been awarded a $149,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities for a summer seminar in Berlin, Germany for K-12 school teachers designed to enrich their knowledge of contemporary German culture and history.

Professor of German Brent Peterson

Peterson, in collaboration with Robert Shandley, professor of film studies and German at Texas A&M University, will direct the seminar “Berlin’s Cultural Diversity Across Two Centuries” June 17 – July 20, 2012.

Aimed primarily at language, literature, social studies and modern history teachers, the grant will enable as many as 16 educators to participate in the five-week long seminar. Selected from a national, competitive application process, each participating teacher will receive a $3,900 stipend to help cover their expenses.

“Although Germany has long been at the crossroads of European culture, many Americans still imagine it to be the quaint land of Beethoven, bratwurst and beer,” said Peterson, whose scholarship includes the construction of national and ethnic identities. “The seminar is designed to give teachers and ultimately their students a more accurate and, at the same time, more appealing picture of a society shaped for centuries by migration. We use the tools of the humanities to see what it means to be German today in the midst of Berlin, Germany’s vibrant, complex and diverse capital.”

The NEH grant is the second Peterson and Shandley have received for this seminar, which they first directed in the summer of 2010. The program incorporates 19th- and 20th-century literature, including children’s and adolescent literature, with contemporary films and television programs. Conducted in German, classes are held in the mornings with afternoons and weekends free for participants to explore the diverse city of Berlin on their own.

Teachers interesting in participating in the seminar can apply online here.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Lawrence University Ranked 60th Nationally in U.S. News’ “America’s Best Colleges” Guide

Lawrence University was ranked 60th among 236 national liberal arts colleges and universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2012 “America’s Best Colleges” report released today (9/13).

U.S. News’ annual guide combines subjective information such as peer assessment with a statistical analysis of various factors it considers indicative of academic excellence — graduation rates, student retention and acceptance rates, among others — to determine its rankings.

Lawrence had strong showings in several of the categories used in the ranking methodology, including number of incoming students ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class (43 percent), freshman retention rate (88 percent), graduation rate (73 percent), full-time faculty (93 percent), alumni giving rate (40 percent) and classes with less than 20 students (78%). Only 16 schools had a higher percentage of classes with an enrollment of 20 or less, a reflection of Lawrence’s commitment to individualized learning and small classes.

Lists and rankings of a numerous other niche categories are included in the guide. Lawrence was ranked 24th nationally in a survey of guidance counselors from America’s best high schools who were asked which liberal arts colleges they think offer the best education to their students.

“We are delighted that school counselors, who are uniquely positioned to help students find colleges that fit with their talents and aspirations, continue to think very highly of Lawrence,” says Ken Anselment, dean of admissions and financial aid at Lawrence.

Williams College of Massachusetts earned the magazine’s top spot in the national liberal arts college category for the eighth year in a row.  Harvard and Princeton universities shared the top ranking in U.S. News’ national universities category for the second time in three years after finishing no. 1 and no. 2, respectively, last year.

In compiling its annual “America’ s Best Colleges” guide, U.S. News & World Report evaluates nearly 1,500 of the nation’s public and private four-year schools, using data from up to 16 separate factors, each of which is assigned a “weight” that reflects the magazine editor’s judgment as to how much that measure matters.  Each school’s composite weighted score is then compared to peer institutions to determine final rankings.

Institutions are divided into several distinct categories. In addition to the best liberal arts college category that measures national institutions like Lawrence, other rankings are based on universities that grant master and doctorate degrees and colleges that are considered “regional” institutions.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.