Faculty

Category: Faculty

Professor David McGlynn’s Memoir Honored by the Wisconsin Library Association

For the second time this year, Lawrence University Associate Professor of English David McGlynn has been honored for his writing.

David-McGlynn_weblog
David McGlynn

His memoir, “A Door in the Ocean,” has been recognized by the Wisconsin Library Association’s Literary Awards Committee with its 2013 Outstanding Achievement Award. Earlier this year, the book was cited by the Council for Wisconsin Writers with its 2012 Kenneth Kingery/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award.

The WLA’s Literary Awards Committee annually reviews some 200 books by Wisconsin authors published during the previous calendar year and chooses 10 or less to be recognized as outstanding. The selections are based on both literary merit and quality of production, including editing, printing and publishing.

“A Door in the Ocean” traces McGlynn’s journey from competitive swimming and family tragedy through radical evangelicalism and adult life.

This is the second time McGlynn has been honored by the WLA. His first book, “The End of the Straight and Narrow,” received the WLA’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2008.  That book, a collection of nine short stories examining aspects of religious faith, also earned the 2008 Utah Book Award.

Most recently, McGlynn wrote the chapter “Leviathan,” the story of a triple homicide that devastates a high school swim team, for the just-published book “True Crime, Real Life Stories of Abduction, Addiction, Obsession, Murder, Grave-Robbing and More.”

He also has written a number of essays and short stories for a variety of publications, including Men’s Health, Huffington Post and The Literary Review.

A Lawrence faculty member since 2006, McGlynn was presented Lawrence’s 2009 Award for Excellence in Creative Activity. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from the University of California, Irvine and master and doctorate degrees from the University of Utah.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2014 and 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 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

Economist David Gerard Addresses Corporate Responsibility in Lawrence Colloquium, Grinnell Symposium

Lawrence University Associate Professor of Economics David Gerard will be among the invited guest speakers at a symposium Feb. 12-14 on sustainability and corporate social responsibility at Grinnell College, his undergraduate alma mater.

David Gerard

Gerard presents “The Capitalists’ Cooperative: Economics of Organization and its Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility” on the second evening of the symposium.

Prior to his symposium address, Gerard delivers the Economics Colloquium “Waiting for Godot and for Corporate Social Responsibility?” Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 11:15 a.m in Steitz Hall of Science, 102.

A scholar whose research interests focus on the areas of risk regulation and public policy, Gerard joined the Lawrence faculty in 2009 after eight years at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was the executive director of the Center for the Study & Improvement of Regulation in the department of engineering and public policy.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in American studies and economics from Grinnell, Gerard earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and 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 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

Former Lawrence University Art Professor Recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award

For the second time in two years, Arthur Thrall, Professor Emeritus of Art and former Charles S. Farrar-Laura Norcross Marrs Professor of Fine Arts, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.

The Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) Council of New York City recently announced it will recognize Thrall with a Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of his distinguished career as a printmaker. Thrall was invited to be a SAGA member in the 1950s.

A grouping of Thrall’s work will be exhibited at SAGA’s 80th anniversary at the Delind Gallery in Milwaukee during the Southern Graphics Council International Conference beginning March 22, 2013.

In May, 2011, Thrall was recognized by the Museum of Wisconsin Art with the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award.

Thrall joined the Lawrence art department in 1964 following the consolidation with Milwaukee Downer College, where he had been a faculty member since 1956.  He retired from Lawrence in 1990, but remained an active artist in retirement in Milwaukee.

A painter and printmaker with an international reputation, Thrall has been the recipient of more than 75 awards, including “Artist of the Year” honors in 1984 by the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Fellowship in Printmaking.

His works have appeared in more than 500 exhibitions as well as the White House and are included in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery in England, the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress and the Chicago Art Institute, among others.

SAGA is a nonprofit national organization of fine art printmakers that was founded in 1915. During its history, its membership has included most of America’s foremost printmakers.

About Lawrence University
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. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and 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 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

 

 

Pedal Power: Lawrence University Wins National Bike Challenge

Only a road trip to a local nature center to pick up some duckweed for a biology class that required the use of her car prevented assistant laboratory supervisor JoAnn Stamm from biking to work every day this summer.

Stamm’s dedication helped Lawrence University edge Ripon College to finish first among 111 colleges and universities nationally in the small-colleges division (less than 3,000 students) in the recently completed first National Bike Challenge.

Led by Stamm’s team-high 1,108 miles, Lawrence’s 27 faculty and staff riders logged 6,270 miles during the challenge that ran from May 1 to August 31. One point was awarded for each mile ridden with 20 points awarded to each rider for each day they biked.

Lawrence finished with a total of 21,505 points, edging Ripon College, which had led the challenge most of the summer, by just 279 points. Out of 9,578 workplaces nationally who participated in the bike challenge, Lawrence placed 124th.

Avid biker JoAnn Stamm helped Lawrence University win the small college division of the first National Bike Challenge.

“Everyone at the bank knows me because I come through the drive-in on my bike,” said Stamm, a 15-year Lawrence employee who makes the daily three-mile trek from her home to the Lawrence campus on an 18-year old Timberland crossroads bike. “I do my grocery shopping on my bike. I just try to ride every day all year long, as long as there isn’t any snow on the street.”

For the past several years, Stamm has averaged about 1,500 miles a year on her bike, but is hoping to top the 2,000-mile mark in 2012.

“Biking has been a part of my life since I was a teenager,” said Stamm, 58. “We only had one car in my family growing up so I used a bike to get around. It just became a part of my lifestyle.”

Patty Leiker, Lawrence’s employee wellness coordinator, said she was thrilled when the final standings were posted and Lawrence finished first in the nation in its category.

“It’s exciting to know that Lawrence values the well-being of students, faculty and staff and continues to support these and other types of wellness offerings through both on-campus opportunities and collaborations within the Fox Cities community,” said Leiker.  “Kudos to all the Lawrence folks who participated.”

Lawrence will be recognized Thursday, Sept. 27 for its winning performance by the City of Appleton’s Trail Advisory Committee and Andy Clark and Elizabeth Kiker, president and vice president, respectively, of the League of American Bicyclists. The city of Appleton also participated in the challenge, placing second nationally in the “communities” category.

The awards presentation will be part of a public forum — “Making Appleton More Bicycle Friendly” — hosted by Lawrence at the Warch Campus Center Cinema from 6-7 p.m.

“Kimberly-Clark is pleased to be the corporate sponsor of the first National Bike Challenge. We congratulate Lawrence University on its first-place finish in the small university category,” said Rob Gusky, Kimberly-Clark’s Ambassador of Cycling. “As the National Bike Challenge was developed in the Fox Cites, it is exciting to see a local university have great success in this program.”

Kimberly-Clark Corporation organized the National Bike Challenge in partnership with the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong and Endomondo, a mobile-based sports and fitness tracking community, as a way to promote bike ridership for both transportation and recreation purposes. The entire challenge generated 12,094,591 miles ridden, surpassing its overall goal of 10 million miles.

Sixty-three percent of Lawrence’s collective 6,270 miles were logged for transportation purposes, saving an estimated 5,740 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

About Lawrence University
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. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and 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 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

Thought Into Action: Matriculation Convocation Opens Lawrence University’s 164th Academic Year

President Jill Beck

Under the theme “Thought into Action,” President Jill Beck opens Lawrence University’s 164th academic year and the 2012-13 convocation series Thursday, Sept. 13 with the annual matriculation address.

The convocation, at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, is free and open to the public.  It will be Beck’s final matriculation convocation. In February she announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2012-13 academic year.

Named president in 2004, Beck is the college’s 15th — and only woman — president. In 2009, Forbes.com named Beck a “barrier breaker,” one of 15 female college presidents on Forbes’ list of America’s 50 Best Colleges. A native of Worcester, Mass., she earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and art history from Clark University, a master’s degree in history and music from McGill University, and the Ph.D. in theatre from City University of New York.

Kathrine Handford

Beck will be joined by Kathrine Handford, lecturer of music and university organist and award-winning filmmaker Catherine Tatge, artist-in-residence.

Catherine Tatge ’72

Handford presents “Connecting the Dots: An Organ Studio Transformed” that will focus on a trip she led last March to Paris with a half dozen student organ majors while Tatge will present “Telling Stories That Matter.”

As part of the convocation, a clip from a documentary film made about the trip to France, “A World of Sound: American Organists in Paris,” directed by 2012 Lawrence graduate Mark Hirsch will be shown, junior Mathias Reed will perform on Lawrence’s Brombaugh tracker organ and senior Alexis VanZalen will present the address “Music, Meaning, and My Experience with French Organ Culture.”

Other speakers on Lawrence’s 2012-13 convocation series include:

• Oct. 11, 2012 — Larry Robertson, award-winning author and founder of Lighthouse Consulting, which guides entrepreneurial ventures, their leaders, and those who invest in them.

• Jan. 24, 2013 — Lynda Barry, author and nationally syndicated cartoonist known for her comic strip “Ernie Pook’s Comeek” and the books “The Good Times are Killing Me” and “What It Is.”

• April 16, 2013 — Bill Viola, contemporary video artist who explores New Media through electronic, sound, and image technology.

• May 23, 2013 — Claudena Skran, professor of government and Edwin and Ruth West Professor of Economics and Social Science at Lawrence.

About Lawrence University
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. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and 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 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

Lawrence Mourns the Death of Professor Emeritus Mojmir Povolny

Mojmir Povolny, Emeritus Professor of Government and Henry M. Wriston Professor of Social Sciences died suddenly in Appleton. He was 90 years old.

Professor Povolny taught at Lawrence from 1958 to 1987. He began his academic career with a J.D. degree from Masaryk University School of Law in Czechoslovakia.

He came to the United States and earned a Ph.D. degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago. At Lawrence, Professor Povolny taught courses on human rights, international politics, European democracies, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia and Communist rule. He was an active figure on the Lawrence campus. In 1969, he became the chair of The Select Committee on Planning which was charged with investigating the elements of a revised liberal arts education at Lawrence and formulating a coherent institutional plan that would lead to the implementation of a liberal arts curriculum at Lawrence. In addition, during his tenure at Lawrence, Professor Povolny shepherded more than 50 LU mentees. He was honored with the Lawrence University Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1986.

Upon his retirement in 1987, Povolny was praised for his service as an “academic dean, department chair, wise counselor to presidents, confidant to colleagues, pedagogical innovator, scholar, and, above all, generous guide and teacher to students.” To honor his retirement, the Mojmir Povolny Prize in Government was established. It is given annually to an outstanding senior government student.

In recognition of Povolny’s commitment to the education of students, the Department of Government named its lecture series after him. Since 1987 the Mojmir Povolny Lecturship in International Studies has brought numerous distinguished internationally acclaimed scholars to campus to address crucial issues of the day.

“Professor Povolny was a wonderful colleague and a gentleman,” said Provost and Dean of the Faculty Dave Burrows. “He played a central role in helping Lawrence become aware of the vital importance of global affairs in the life of each person. He inspired the Povolny lecture series that is a critical part of the intellectual life of the University. Always friendly and supportive, he was a central figure in Lawrence’s development as a nationally prominent university.”

Professor Povolny also took an active role in international politics. After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948, during which he was executive secretary of the Benes Party, he left the country. He worked with the anti-communist movement in exile. From 1974 to 1993, he served as chair of the council. He has also served on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and with the American Friends Service Committee. On October 28, 1995 the independence day of the Czech Republic, Czech President Vaclav Havel presented him with the Masaryk Order, the Czech Republic’s highest civilian honor, “for his service to democracy and human rights”.

Professor Povolny is survived by his wife, Joy, and sons Daniel and David.

A formal obituary will be published in the Appleton-Post Crescent.

An on-campus memorial is being planned. Details will be forthcoming.